Technical Tuesday - Lightroom Presets

I'm not much for using Photoshop effects or Lightroom presets but I thought if I could find some for free, that were decent, I would share them.  I found them at Adobe Lightroom Presets web site.

I was really looking for some presets that imitated Instagram but all of those cost $10 - $40, and frankly I don't want to spend that kind of money not knowing what the results are going to be.  And for that matter I'm not one for heavily processed images anyways.  But sometimes I just want a certain feel to an image.  Maybe its a vintage look or a color cast, but its just a nice change of pace sometimes.  And I like to make those changes without a whole lot of thought.  Just click through the options and see if I like them or not.  So here's a comparison of some effects applied to an image I took of Link on his birthday that has a very vintage feel on its own.

The Original:

Analog:

Fine Art:

Lomo:

Old Polaroid:

Retro:

Toy:

Vintage:

What do you think about the differences?  My three favorite are Lomo, Retro and Toy.  I love the contrast of Lomo, the muted tones of Retro and the warmth of Toy.  Its always fun to experiment with these things, but like I said, I just don't use them that often.  However the ease of applying them in Lightroom makes them a lot more appealing than hours of work in Photoshop.  I'm a photographer not a digital artist.  I can see myself using these in the future to achieve very specific results and you can't beat them for free.

Technical Tuesday - White Sheet Backdrop

This is a very simple and cheap technique.  All you will need is a king size white sheet, some shop clamps and a place or a structure to hang it on.  A king size white sheet at Wal-Mart is $16, Harbor Freight carries  the spring loaded clamps I use, $5 for 22 clamps, and for the structure...just find something to clamp it to that doesn't block light from shining through the back.  You could use an awning, a porch, a swing set, etc...  I haven't used this technique in a while but it is a really effective look, especially with black and white work.

Once you have the sheet hung and there is nothing blocking the light from landing on the sheet you can focus on your exposure.  To get the exposure you want, first step back and look at your subject, then decide what part you want to expose for.  Then move in close and get your exposure only for the part of the subject that you want to expose correctly.  Shooting directly into a white background can be very tricky for your cameras light meter.  That's why its important to get in tight and expose only for the section of your subject that is most important.  Most likely this will be their skin.  But its your image, expose for what ever you want.

The image on the right was made using this technique.  With the sunlight not falling directly on the sheet it offers a nice soft look to the image.  And look at the beautiful highlights on his skin, very soft and it wraps right around his face.

This image was made in the same manner but the sunlight was falling directly on the sheet.  You can see how it offers a blown out look to the image.  It softens the edge of the skin, but is a much harder light.  I really like how it wraps around her cheeks in a much more high dynamic look.

Moving in tight gives your image a different look, but still retains the feel that it has shot wide.

Next time I'll discuss shooting on the other side of the sheet.

Technical Tuesday - Zack Arias

Here's a great post by Zack Arias  on a fun little lighting setup.  http://zackarias.com/editorial-photography/buckhead-bottle-bar-for-the-atlantan-magazine-lighting-diagrams/  I've used this lighting scheme on a couple of occasions and it works really well. Thanks for sharing Zack.

Not So Technical Tuesday - Valentine's Day

This post is more a series of thoughts than technical by any means.  Come on...its Valentine's Day!  My wife wanted to surprise me tonight and not let me in on what the plan was for the date.  She succeeded.  First she kept me distracted while we were driving so I wouldn't pay attention at all to where we were.  And when we pulled around the back of the building and there was no signage she had me again.  So we entered this hallway on the back side of the building and this was the first thing I saw:

You can imagine my dismay.  However that black door on the right was the actual entrance.  At this point I was laughing so hard I was sure this was a joke.  Then I saw this and it totally made up for it:

Seriously!  A giant mustache over the entrance.  Are you kidding me.  Perhaps the single greatest piece of decor that I have ever seen.  She took me to a great little pub here in Stockton, called the Abbey.  The food was amazing...

...and the laughs continued.  Bryony ordered a "Mexican Coke", fully expecting something exotic and fun, but what she got was literally a Coca Cola Classic made in Mexico.  How great is that?

Bryony thought that was hillarious and so did I.  Doesn't she look beautiful?  This is our 10th Valentine's day to celebrate together.  Two dating and eight married.  Time really flies.

I loved her jewelry selection for the night.

Yeah that's my name on her heart.  Pretty cool huh.  I bought her the hot pink necklace for V-day.  She said she liked it.  She wore it.  I believe her.  Here I am with my smorgasbord of food.  Tri-tip sandwich, potato salad and raw oysters.  I told her oysters were like sushi only really squishy.  She still didn't want to try.  I thought I made them sound amazing.  Hmmm, more for me.

We finished dinner off with these "Fried Dough Fries".  They were incredible as expected.  Serious side effect though...bodily enlargement.  Not gonna lose any weight eating these bad boys.  Especially when I'm dipping them in that chocolate sauce.

Here is the sign I missed on the way in.  I guess the joke was on me.  Thank you baby for a great night out.  I love you so very very much and can't wait to spend a lifetime of February 14th's with you!