Travel Tip #2 // Croatia

Roam.

Even if you're not traveling to a new place or on vacation....go out there and explore...get lost...refresh your soul....roam.  If you are on vacation...try to do something once a day that the locals do.  Don't follow the paths of all the other tourists.  (Don't do anything dangerous or illegal) But try wandering down the less crowded street and see what adventures you find there.

Get Learned // Custom Photo Editing

Editing is huge part of the art of photography.  I've decided I wanted to share with you some of the before-and-afters of my photo editing process so you can see a glimpse of the process.  Of course the better the image is captured in-camera, the less editing and 'work' it will need and the best idea is getting it right when you're taking the photo.  But...alas, I strive to create a special art product for my clients with my special vision!  The work does not stop the moment I walk away from our lovely photo shoot.  I get to go to my computer and look at your cute faces, and choose the best of the best and finish creating something you'll hang on your wall to cherish for a lifetime!  

Every image I make is carefully and individually edited.  Each photo has it's own needs, and it takes a lot of time to give individualized attention to every photo!  But this attention is an integral part of the custom photography experience, and my clients deserve the best I can give them.  I use a variety of special software, mainly Adobe Photoshop to remove blemishes and background distractions, alter the overall color balance, correct skin tones, remove flyaway hairs, darken or lighten certain areas to draw attention where I want it, create custom black and white images and more. 

On to some examples!  

The image on the left is the SOOC, Straight Out Of Camera, shot.  Since I'm a 'Lifestyle Photographer' I strive to capture the real moments.  I'm not able to say to a 1-year-old, 'hold that pose so I can move this cigaret!" so I just shoot anyways. ;)  During my post production editing, I removed the nasty cigaret and some of the dark spots along with the boot on the left side.  I also sharpened and made his face stand out a bit, which I like to do with most of the portraits I edit.  Below is the edited image plainly desaturated.  I like to add some spice and create my own custom B&Ws.  Check out the Get Learned post HERE where I talked about Black and White images!

For children photography I like to add a bit of warmth.  :)  Here I also brightened up his eyes, as the photo was taken on a grey sky day so the light didn't illuminate through completely and the photo was a couple stops underexposed.

In the below images, I wanted to keep that awesome warm glow behind her and illuminating her hair so I had to keep the image a bit dark and underexpose her face.  Because I shoot in RAW, which is the highest quality of a digital image, I was able to brighten up her face and eyes and warm the image up while editing in Photoshop. I also removed slight blemishes and smoothed over her face a bit for a lovely polished photo.

Again, I needed to expose for the sunset behind so I popped up the bride and groom a bit to help them stand out!  And badda bing, badda boom --> Gorgeous! 

And there you have it folks!  Editing isn't about dishonesty or being lazy and "not getting it right in the camera." It's about having a vision and creating a masterpiece of art.  Editing is a technical skill that helps make you look your absolute best and what makes me an artist!  I love editing and seeing those before and afters and seeing how beautiful each person and image is!  Thank you for letting me capture YOU!  (cuz seriously I love it. :)

Just get in there.

Sometimes you just have to 'GET IN THERE' and get your shot.  While traveling, sometimes you can feel like you're imposing especially when you have your massive camera flashing in peoples faces.  The best thing to do:  Smile.  I never like to make people feel uncomfortable or take their photo when they don't want it taken. (Though sometimes this does happen) So...sometimes I'll quickly grab a shot and hope the people don't mind.  Otherwise I smile, and if they don't speak my language I hold up my camera and gesture.  "eh?......big smile"  100% of 96% of the time people say yes.  

When people do not speak your language it's very helpful to smile and SHOW them your photo!  Let them SEE the AWESOME photo that you took of them.  Most of the time they'll smile and laugh.  Sometimes I take a photo with the person just to show them that it's ok.  :)  And then SCORE you've got a nice memory with an nice old lady or a group of good lookin' soldiers.

Sometimes you just need to get in there and TAKE your shot.  You don't have time.  Sometimes you have to look like a gomer to get that cool shot of a bird.  ;)

Below are instances where I was so close to my subject I didn't want to make them feel weird or get yelled at by 'stealing' a photo of them so I simple asked.  Seriously, it's worth the shot!

Get out there and work it.  Don't be shy and remember...you're not a tourist..you're a PHOTOGRAPHER!  

(okay, maybe a little tourist too ;)

Get Learned: B&W

Things aren't always black and white.  They are shades of grey. 

When looking into changing your photographs to black and white you actually have a variety of options.  Photographers usually stick to one method.  I've sort of fell in love with the first image below. A good balance between blacks, whites, and neutrals.  If you've heard of 'BAMF' from Totally Rad Actions...I highly suggest you love it too.  :)

The second image is plain old desaturated, which means all I did was remove all the color and boom...B&W.  Notice a HUGE difference though don't you. 

It's really personal preference.  Which one do you like most?

Get Learned: Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds. The latest installment of 'Get Learned' by Desiree. 

Composition is one of those things that will make or break you as a photographer.  Being able to 'frame up' your shot is critical.  It's an element that helps make your photograph interesting.  The basic principle behind the 'Rule of Thirds' is being able to imagine breaking down your image into thirds so that you have nine parts.  Check out the grid below.  ( I made that in photoshop!  Such talent.  ;)  

Imagine this grid in your view finder.  Imagine it in-between your fingers when you do that one eye squint and frame up an image with your hands.  With this grid in mind the 'rule of thirds' identifies 4 important parts of the image you should consider placing points of interests as you frame and compose your shot.  (Those are the red spots in the grid above) You'll want to place your main subject off center.  Apparently I have a tendency to place my points of interest in the left section as we can see below. (I swear I have others stored on my hard drive!)  

By following these guidelines your image becomes more dynamic yet balanced and the viewers eyes are drawn through the image more naturally.

 Only once you've got it down good...  You get to BREAK THE RULES!  

Get Learned // Aperture Settings and DOF

Tip: DOF is cool.  It's Depth of Field. It's one of the basics of photography.  I've had a lot of people asking about how to take better photos at home with their camera or of their kids, friends, family and I've decided to share a few tips here and there.  If you're using a digital SLR there are a few basics you should know and GET DOWN GOOD.  real good.  real nice.

1. Practice practice practice
2. Know how your camera works
3. Practice practice practice

Those are my very first suggestions.  Knowing how your camera works is vital and sometimes when you're first taking it out it can be intimidating with so many buttons but the more you shoot, the more comfortable you will feel and more confident you will be to get your favorite shots.

I know taking your camera off that little green square of 'automatic' can be scary!  But you can also produce some very cool and more professional looking photos.  If you have a digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) - SHOOT MANUAL!  It's absolutely fabulous once you do and you'll never go back.

One of the basics and one of my favorite technicalities of using a DSLR is being able to control your depth of field.  Your depth of field is related to your aperture.  Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken and this is how much light is let into your camera.  Lower f-stops (wider aperture - ex. f 1.2) give a 'shallow' depth of field which allows you to isolate the subject from the background.  This is great for portraits.  If you're photographing a big mountain range and you want to see everything crystal clear you'll want 'great' depth of field (ex. f 22) to see all the details.

Aperture can be adjusted when you camera is on 'AV' - aperature priority - or in 'M' - manual mode.

More light                         Less light

AV - you choose your value from f1.2 - 22 or sometimes even a higher number and the camera will predict the rest of the information for you!  Bam, super nice and easy sometimes when you're just starting out.
M - once you get more comfortable switch it over to Manual and practice adjusting both your aperature and shutter speed.

The best way to get an idea of the different effects you can get with adjusting your aperture is shooting and SEEING it.  Below are a few images I shot with different apertures.
Think about depth-of-field as f1.2 = BLURRY and f22 = CRYSTAL CLEAR

Aperture: f2.8
Shallow depth of field

Notice the foreground and background are out of focus, allowing you to isolate a certain detail?

Below: Aperture set at f14.

Great depth of field

Notice how more of the photo is in focus?

I LOVE to use a 'shallow' dept-of-field (f2.0 -2.8 is my go to!) when photographing children.  You are able to get your subject in focus and blur out the background.  Giving you an adorable shot!

Little Kalen was photographed last weekend at f 2.0

Did you get any of that?!  I hope....so you can get out there and practice in the BEAUTIFUL weather that's coming up.  Whoop!