editing process #1

Like I promised, I have finally gotten around to posting my editing process. I have decided to start off small and then move to the more complicated ideas further on. For this process, I have just posted a before and after because it's a simple edit.

So the shot above was actually a test shot (I hadn't gotten my setting right yet) but I liked it so much, I decided to use it. The problems with this picture are:

- It's underexposed
- There's too much green for an Autumn shoot
- Her shirt is not tucked in

Despite the edit being simple, the process was much more complicated.

- Increased the exposure by 2 stops (if I recall correctly), increased the vibrancy and added some fill light using CameraRAW
- Used the selective colour tool to make everything an autumn orange
- Used curves to add more red into the foilage on the ground
- Used the liquify tool to bring in the sides of her shirt
- Added a circle gradient around the light source to make it softer

As you can see from the before and after, I didn't do too much to it besides increase the exposure and change the colour but it made a world of a difference.

kathryn and jared

Last Friday I went on a photo shoot with Kathryn and Jared - Kathryn being the sister of Brittany - in Hamilton at Church Hill Park. It was a super chill shoot as we only decided on the location last minute due to the rain and general dreariness outside. I remember seeing a photo a friend took of the park recently and decided we had to go down there. Well the park didn't disappoint as it was absolutely stunning with bright yellow leaves everywhere and the trees sheltered us from the rain.

Anytime I go out on a shoot, I always do my research to get ideas for angles and poses. I even make sketches that are so poorly drawn that I end up writing a paragraph explaining the drawing just to embed it into my brain. I was set on breaking my boundaries and pushing myself with this shoot so I can grow and learn from experience. It's so nice when you're working with great people who are willing to accommodate this, so big thanks to Jared and Kathryn!

I hope my growth as a photographer has translated into this photo set. I tried different poses, did a 180 on my editing style and visualized the end result before shooting. I'll be doing a blog post soon on my change in editing style and how I go about editing, so watch out for that. So till then, enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/killthemessenger/8137231941/

I've been having some issues with monitor calibration so I hope the colours look as good on your monitor as they do on mine. Urgh, the technicalities of photography -_-

running free

This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to photograph one of my good friends, Alison. She wanted some shots of her running and I was more than happy to accept this offer. We hit up the Guelph Arboretum to capture the Autumn colours so we could have a scenic backdrop. Due to time constraints we could only scout out a few locations but they were beautiful nonetheless. The whole shoot happened on a whim but I'm extremely happy with the results and hope each image invokes a love for running. I can't wait to try out another running photo shoot as it really shows you the importance of getting creative and finding that perfect angle.

Check out a higher quality diptych over here.

editing process of "keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on"

Woot, this is my first explanation of how I edited one of my photos. The process of how I edited this photo is basically the same for every square picture I create. I start off with 2 or 3 images, merge them together, edit the colours via curves and voila!

The first step I did was take the main picture of myself, then expanded the frame to the left and right. This resulted in the following three images:

These images were then edited in RAW, which resulted in the following:

In RAW, I bumped up the exposure by 1/3, added some fill light, and increased the brightness. These were all very minor adjustments but make a huge difference.

After editing in RAW, I placed these images together and essentially did the Brenzier method. I blended the images together in a square canvas to create the final product. I then used the patch tool, clone stamp and healing brush to remove some minor distractions such as the tiny specks of lens flares.

As my last step, I edited the colours using curves as I felt the lights were too bright and were taking away from the image. I also wanted to add more intimacy to the final product, so I added more warmth and darkened the background.

Voila! Very simple editing but it makes all of the difference. I hope you enjoyed my thought process. If you have any questions, just leave a message in the comments.

P.S I didn't realize that the before images were such terrible quality. I'll make sure to change that next time!

brittany and james

When I finished my exams and was just frollicking around in Hamilton, one of my best friends - Brittany - asked me to photograph her and her boyfriend, James. Brittany has left for England to au pair this adorable family and she wanted some photos for memories. We did this shoot really last minute and right after Timmies but it was so much fun despite the chilly weather. Thanks Britt and James for being such troopers while freezing your butts off :D

 

dan and tiffany

Woah time really flies by! I didn't realize that my last post was almost four months ago. During that time span, I went to South Africa and graduated from McMaster University with a degree in Honours Bachelors of Science of Kinesiology with a minor in Social Psychology. For my journey into the "real world," I applied for a government sponsored ESL program called JET, which gives people the chance to teach English in Japan. I am currently waiting to hear back, so I'll keep you updated.

Moving onto photography, I was recently contacted by my friend Dan who asked me to photograph him and his girlfriend, Tiffany (who I know as well) for her birthday. I, of course, was overjoyed and happily accepted. I scouted out Church Hill Park in Hamilton and decided on a spot near the aviary, which had beautiful magnolias blooming. The weather was quite iffy that day but we made it work. It's a bum the sun didn't come out but I believe the photos came out beautifully!

Until my next blog, which hopefully won't be so far away!