Here's a few cool effects !

So, I've been playing around with some of my photos. Here's a few cool effects (some subtle, some more drastic/playful)..

1. Here's my daughter Cassandra , all too serious on the left...I wanted to add a little smile to her face... see the edited new version on the right... subtle but yet still noticeable.

2. My step dad makes beautiful handmade violins, each one taking over six months to be complete (carving, gluing, drying, varnishing, curing, etc.) ... and by the way, he tests his violins for another few months after...so, technically it can take a year before his violin gets into the hands of his/her lucky purchaser! In this photo, I wanted to make the violin stand out, it was competing for attention with the statue, clearly, the statue is the "prop" to lean the violin against, it's not the center piece of the photo! So, with some photoshopping "light" effect, I made it stand out a bit more. I'm sure there's more I could do to it but for now, the spotlight effect seems to make the violin stand out a bit more.3. Here's another subtle but cool effect... my poker hands! This is the hands of my husband and his best buddy from NY (twins seperated at birth I tell ya!! lol). This is not a vignette effect but a all around darkening of the edges.
4. Lastly, I played around with my own self-portrait. I personally prefer a more natural look but I understand that some people like the contrasty more edgy look, therefore, I decided to step out of my comfort zone a little bit and "play"... here's the result...the picture on the left is my retouched portrait and the one on the right is the contrasty/edgy look. You'll notice that the image on the right looks sharper then the left and this is because of the various processing steps that I've done to it, it makes the one image on the left look more soft when in fact, it's nicely sharpened.

That's it for today folks! I got some learning to do and errands to run! :) Till tomorrow....

P.s. don't forget to post a comment, I'd love to hear from you!!

The finished edited corporate headshots are done!

Here's a quick review of the four headshots I did this week.

The background was the same for everyone, just different processing was done according to skin tones. I could have made them all the same but they are going to be posted separately so the slight differences will not be as noticeable.

This was a fun job and can't wait to do more!

Carole

My First Corporate Shot... Thumbs Up!

Just got done with a session today (corporate headshots)...but I have to share this candid shot of one of the employees.... I honestly felt like she did, THUMBS UP!! *LOL*

The setup took me a little longer then expected, I was working in a small space, which made it a little challenging but doable. Also, I have to figure out how to photograph someone with glasses, glare is somewhat of a challenge!?! :)

Here the shot I was talking above..... I haven't retouched this picture at all yet, she's naturally BEAUTIFUL!! :) Lucky girl!

Not your typical business card....

I have been brainstorming this week for a new and effective way of showing my work but also at the same time providing the potential customer with a way of contacting me...and then it occurred to me, why not a 4"x6" collage photo!? It may be a little bit more expensive then a typical business card but I believe it will be much more effective! It's all about first impression right?

I'm going to be doing several versions of this as I may want to cater to different market (i.e. Weddings v.s. Maternity). However, at this time, I'm doing a generic one that shows a little of everything "pet, couples, family, kids, babies, wedding, etc.".

Maternity Shots - The Things You Must Know if YOU are the Model ! :)

A Maternity Session is most beneficial after your six month of pregnancy, it is then that we can truly see the belly "pop out". You may or may not feel like getting pictures taken, but trust me, you'll be thankful later on.

Unfortunately, I didn't take as many "belly" shots as I would have liked during my pregnancies, my husband is not behind the camera very much, he'd rather "go shopping" then to take pictures, at least going shopping there's always the possibility of him purchasing a PS3 or XBOS360 game or something! *LOL* I'm not blaming him but rather that I wish I would have taken more. I'll see if I can find some images and post them here.

Anyway, if you are wanting to get some pregnancy shots, here are a few things to consider and do for your photographer:

1. Do not wear anything too tight for at least 2 hrs before the photoshoot...tight fitting pants may leave unwanted marks around your belly. Save your photographer the editing "photoshopping" time so that he/she can focus on enhancing your photos other then fixing them :).

2. Bring several different tops (such as white buttoned up blouse, a form-fitting top to enhance your belly, etc).

3. Do you have little baby booties, an ultrasound picture, or even better yet the "food" you crave? Your photographer can creatively integrate those things into your photos!

4. Also, do not be too bashful...often times, the best pictures are created by being free spirited... there's nothing more natural and beautiful then a woman caring a child and creating life! I have yet to hear someone say "Oh my, why isn't she dressed more" but rather I'll hear, "Oh look how beautiful you are!".

I'm sure there's plenty more to add to the list...if you have recently done a maternity session yourself and would like to add suggestions, please feel free to do so by posting a comment!

Before and After

Here's a Before and After of my very own self-portrait. As you can see, it's amazing the things that you can do! A girl needs all the help she can get! :)

Going by memory, I did the following to the image:

- Brighten the eyes, darken the pupil/iris a smidgen, brighten the teeth, remove some blemishes, whitened the teeth just a tad, removed some lines under the eyes and brighten, dodge/burn the lips, removed some yellow cast in the shadow areas, softened the skin a tad, boosted the contrast a tad and played around with the levels a little to brighten the mid-tones and darken the blacks.

The results are amazing! I can't wait to actually practice on an actual client v.s. me! :)

Photography Goals and Upcoming Sessions

2010 Goals
As many of you already know, I'm literally "gearing" up to start my own photography business operating under the name "Carole Ingram Photography"... simple business name but it's not unusual for photographers to use their legal name.

I have many photography goals for 2010 and I'm listing them below:

1. Improve my night time photography
2. Learn backlighting
3. Improve my Off Camera Flash photography
4. Offer several "free" session to build my Portfolio
5. Get into Wedding Photography
6. Start a Portfolio Website by July 2010
7. Put a Business Plan together for possible "studio" setup
8. Improving my Photoshop Editing skills

Also, here's a list of my future purchases in order of what I think is priority and first in line to be purchased.

1. Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS Lens
2. New Computer
3. Photoshop CS4
4. Lightroom
5. Additional memory cards
6. Battery Grip & extra batteries

Upcoming Photography Sessions
This week I have two sessions...one portfolio building "maternity" shoot and one business headshot portrait session (4 individuals) for their website. Both sessions are very different from each other but equally challenging.

At the end of each posts, I will be adding a "Donate" button for the opportunity to help me on my journey of building a "debt free" photography business. All monies received will be used to purchase gear and educational materials.