Blog Archives
Portraits, Weddings, Bar Mitzvah’s OH MY 2013
As 2013 comes to a close, here are just a small taste of the photos we created during 2013! Dig it!
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshop at Manic Training Wakefield Rhode Island
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshops
I co-hosted yet another “Light The Way” photographic workshop with my friend and fellow photographer Brad Smith this past weekend. This one took place at Manic Training Which by the way is an EXCELLENT place to workout!
We had a blast with lots of photos created and lots of learning happening I LOVE to teach what I love… I believe we had about 15 photographers in the room with 5 models and 2 hair and make up professionals. Thanks also to Trevor Holden and Matt Jacobsen for some behind the scenes photography and assistance in setting up and breaking down the piles of gear we brought with us, as well as taking some participants under their wing as needed.
Check out this really fun video we made of the event!
Thank you very much to Lynda Williams of Formal Hair Design her hair styles keep getting better and better! Check out these ladies!
And Thank you to Jennifer Hodge of Spectrum Make up Artistry Always does just the right amount of makeup so the ladies look their best!
Here are some photos that I created
A big THANK YOU to our Models who really stepped up to the plate!
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshops
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshops
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshops
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshops
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshops
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshops
“Light The Way” Photographic Workshops
Light The Way, Lighting workshop Narragansett Rhode Island, Portrait Photography
I am very proud to announce the 2nd lighting workshop I am putting on with the talented Brad Smith! Here is the info on how to sign up if you want to take your photography to the next level. We will have models that will be done up professionally by the lovely and talented Lynda Williams of Formal Hair Design and make up by the beautiful Jennifer Hodge of Spectrum Make up Artistry
Lighting workshop info
Light The Way
Light The Way
lighting techniques and posing in a dynamic, hands-on workshop?
Photoshopping behind the scenes
I get asked all the time what amount of photoshopping I do to my images and the truth is not very much. Most of the time I prefer to do my work before hand using good composition, good lighting, and just generally get the fundamentals of photography “right” in camera. But sometimes I do take extra time and really tweak and tweeze a photo in the computer to push it to another level. Also let me be clear I have NO problem AT ALL with using the computer to enhance, change or manipulate a photo. There is an erroneous idea out there that with the invention of Photoshop so came the invention of the manipulated image. This is simply NOT SO. Here two examples of people using the dark room, airbrushing, and other techniques to manipulate enhance or just change an image…
The great master Jerry Uelsmann
And Joseph Stalin not only wiped people out with guns, but in photos too…
But I am getting a little off topic here, I love the computer and Photoshop, and have no problem using them to execute my vision of what a photograph should look like. Maybe on another day I will spend some time writing about this and going into in with more detail, but for now I want to show you what I have done with this image of a beautiful woman who I photographed this week. This 1st shot is straight out of the camera no changes at all to the image. Pretty good ha?
This 2nd version has been adjusted in Adobe Lighroom 3
I added just a tiny bit of green and yellow to the white balance of the photo, removed the mole from her chest and brightened the shadow on her face just a little. It’s getting better…
This finished version was exported into Adobe Photoshop CS5 and changed a little more there.
I added a little more yellow to the photo softened just a tiny bit, and cleaned up the stray hairs on her head, and last softened the shadow on her chest. So this is my vision of what this photo should look like as realized by the computer. I hope this helps illustrate to those of you who are interested what can happen behind the scenes on an image. As I said at the beginning of this post, I mostly don’t do this much work on my photos. Because there is something to be said for a more “natural” look. But sometimes I feel the desire to push an image to that next level…
Model photo shoot
I created some cool photos today. As with all great endeavors this wasn’t done alone. I had the help of some very talented people.
Lynda Williams of Formal hair design did the hair styling and wasn’t it super cool!!! Here is her website
Jennifer Hodge from Spectrum Makeup Artistry did the make up. I am always amazed at what make up does to create a look and she did a wonderful job!
And Brad Smith another photographer was there. We helped each other out and bounced ideas and light around together. Just a fun playful day creating cool images. Â Also thanks to our model Cory for being so great! Digem!!!
A few from this past year
Here are a few wedding, portrait and client photos from this past year in Rhode Island. It was a great year for photography! I grew as a photographer and got to know some wonderful people along the way!!!
THANK YOU!!!
#8 rugby shirts
I don’t do a lot of  “commercial” work, but today I photographed for the #8 rugby shirt company and had a BLAST!!! What fun we had. Our models were a real joy to work with and everyone was totally relaxed and comfortable! I think we ended up with great photos, don’t you?
Here is a link to the #8 Rugby website
How to create a beautiful wedding portrait
First and foremost a good portrait comes from 2 main places in my opinion. 1st understanding photography, the fundamentals of light and composition has to be in place. But then you have to understand people and how to make them feel comfortable… I am writing about the 1st part. If you need help with the people part, I can’t help you. But if you can’t get someone to relax in front of the camera 99% of the time it is the photographers fault… not the subject
The photo you see here was taken in a hotel room. I was standing on a chair with a large window to my left. I had one of the brides maids hold up the brides dress high behind her to make a pleasing background and to bounce a little light back at her. This is all natural light. ISO 100 1/90th shutter and 1.8 Aperature on a 50mm lens. Here is a photo of me taking this photo to give you a perspective
