Introducing Emma

I had the opportunity to catch up with my friends Marilyn & Dean on a nice lazy Sunday morning and meet the newest member of their family- little Emma! She is an adorable 11 week old German Shepherd puppy. Marilyn & Dean are no strangers to big dogs - they have a long history of owning this noble breed, including their two current GSD's Baron & Maya.

Baron & Maya are senior citizens at 9 and 10 years old, and Marilyn & Dean wanted to retire them from guard dog duty, which means little Emma is going to have some big shoes to fill!  They are planning on lots of education for her from a special guard dog trainer outside of Marengo, IL.

I am excited to take pictures of Maya as she grows up into a big girl - it will be fun to watch her transition from baby to big girl!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the morning!

 

  

  

 

Photoshop Education continues

I've been taking an online photoshop class and learning so much, I thought I'd take a minute to show off & share what I've learned.  The class is through www.equinephotographers.org and the instructor is Sherron Sheppard, who is an amazing ARTIST.  Yes, ARTIST.  It's not just photography any more - it's an art form.  Utilizing a well-taken professional image as the canvas, and the tools within Photoshop, I am finding it is extremely easy to unleash my inner artist and create images I think would look wonderful above the fireplace!  Can I draw?  Nope.  Can I paint?  Nope.  I've never been able to create anything other than stick figures.  Ask my mom, she can tell you - even in kindergarten, it was obvious that the drawing side of art was not my forte.  I'm learning though, that through digital manipulation of light, just about anything is possible.
Here is an example of what I've been up to.  Below is an original image, straight out of the camera.

It's not bad - but I hate the white pole in the background and the edge of the arena that you can see at the bottom.  It's distracting. In addition, the lighting doesn't do anything to draw your eye to the focal point, which is the horse's head.

Below is the after image - I cloned out the white pole and arena edge, added a gradient filter, and played with some burning & dodging to create the light effect & draw your eye to the horse's head.

What do you think?  Post comments below!  Don't hesitate to be critical, I can handle it :)  As always, you can view my photography www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com

Portrait Photography Lessons

Recently I had the pleasure of attending a meetups.com portrait photography class. I was really anxious about attending-what if they were all big time pros, and I was in way over my head? I needn't have worried. I had the best time, and met a great group of photographers. Some were indeed seasoned pros, and some needed help figuring out how to adjust their camera settings! I was pleased that feel somewhere in the middle of the learning curve of the class.
Jim, the instructor, was entertaining and very knowledgeable. He even had two of the most gorgeous models there for us to practice photographing as we learned each style of lighting, posing, and equipment being shown. He did a great job of keeping the class moving along so everyone got fair time photographing each style.
I really do feel it's important not just as a photographer, but as a human being, to constantly be learning, expanding horizons, and pushing myself for more.  If it has to do with photography at the same time, all the better!
Here are a few of my favorite images from the class, starting with "Softbox" lighting.  The model was sitting in a box, open in the front, with lighting from the rear.  It makes for a nice, soft image.

 

Next is an example of "Rim" lighting - it is definitely a more intimate type of portrait lighting, accomplished with a single off camera light and a reflector.  Rim lighting takes some patience to set up - it's all about the angles between the subject, lights, and camera.

 

 

If you get the angle wrong (like I did!) you get something like this - yuck!

 

Next we covered the most typical and popular type of portrait lighting - "Rembrandt" or "3/4" lighting.  It's very distinctive, and was used by all the great historical painters such as Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and the rest of the Ninja Turtles. If cone correctly you get a distinctive triangle of light on the opposite side of the face away from the main light.

  

Next up was something they were calling a "Film Nair" type  of lighting.  It was pretty complicated - it consisted of a flash with a tube to narrow & direct the light on top through a water-filled glass vase.  I'm not sure I quite mastered the shot, but here is my attempt.

Lastly, we played with some different portrait scene set-ups and props, and even had to climb a ladder to shoot down on the models!  Below is my favorite from the day!

Lastly, we experimented with using a mirror - I just didn't do well with this technique, and it was at the end of the afternoon - I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the below image - let's call it the best of the worst!  ;)

 

All in all, I learned a great deal from the instructor as well as many of the participants, and really met a great group of photography enthusiasts and professionals alike.  I'm looking forward to more opportunities to continue my education and growth as a photographer!