Make Light Real

Neil July 18th, 2008

My thanks go out to the Professional Photographers of Ontario for hosting a wonderful half day workshop for their members with me as their speaker at the Ashbridges Bay Yacht club in Toronto.

I was able to present to the group a motivational lecture, an on-location shoot, and an image review and quick post processing example after dinner.  However to extend your experience, I’m going to provide you with some original Canon 1Ds raw files shot that day to try your hand at lab color mode post processing, as well as altering the mood of the photo with a lighting overlay image you can download from the Create Cart:

Have a brand new free texture from me as you check out from the cart - there are a few more free ones and several sets of high resolution texture and lighting files if you are interested.

Now on to the full raw file downloads:

Download Test file one (13mb Canon CR2 raw file): Blue background accentuated by a tungsten gelled main flash, if you weren’t there you can download this screen cast movie file to learn to process your files for rich and vibrant blues : or view this post page on photoshop manipulating the blue in images.  This image would be a fun one to try out the texture - if you try it - post a link in the comments to your blog page, flickr page, or other way to see your results. In this image we use the principles of Make Light Real:

• provide a clear subject - by making the subject brighter than the background
• create compelling color and contrast - by altering the flash color temperature with a gel to warm it
• compose the unexpected - I waited until the boat was in the right place to add the added ’story line’ to the photo

Download Test file two (13mb Canon CR2 raw file): another gelled image of the model on the rock, this is would be a great candidate for the lighting overlay you downloaded from above.

Download Test file three (13mb Canon CR2 raw file): a strong test of balancing the very dark nigerian model with the bright summer sky on the lakefront.

Have your fun with these images and post your versions to the comments and I’ll do my photoshop edits and post back in about a week.

• Free stuff , Hear the Shadows , Inspiration , Motivation , Photography Lighting , Photoshop , Real-light Overlays , Tutorials , Workshop , learning
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Neil May 26th, 2008

If you can swallow this yucky corporate video there’s probably a nugget there for you.

I use the extra small softbox, as you can see in my bag, but I always use it hand held because the principle:

the larger your light source, the softer your light

Only applies if you are computing your exposure solely on the quantity of light that is coming from that source.

Your light source is relative to the subject.

A 18″ softbox is a small light source compare to a 70 inch man - so what is it good for?

Working close

I often use the ST-E2 transmitter and keep the flash on TTL allowing me to control the contrast using Exposure compensation on the camera. In this way, you can see how I’ve blended the daylight balance in the room - the tunsten source in the background - and finally the softbox providing the ‘key’ or main illumination shaping the subject.

There aren’t any shadows though, because my baseline exposure is the light in the room. I’ve used the soft box to create a shaping highlight. So there’s a bright shaped area, and a darker flatter area.

In this shot an assistant was holding the light (as I can only shoot hand held - light to my left). Here again you can see how I have blended the ambient and bumped it up with the softbox. Using your light to see shapes is really the psychological core of ‘making light real’. Light gives you that power to sculpt and form.

To achieve this exposure with your camera in TTL auto flash as well as Aperture, Shutter Speed, or Program exposure mode.  Adjust your main exposure compensation value to -1EV.  That’s it - the flash exposure will correct for everything else - easy eh?

Upcoming later, I have a video clip titled the 3 minute portrait, that will show how I’m using the mini softbox.  So the question of size must come up at some point….and you have to know the right answer when you’ve found the right question.

Is the 18 inch softbox big enough?

NO - so (moments later) I switched to using the ceiling as my soft-box.

Size is relative to proximity (distance from the subject) and you want to always have a softbox as big as or larger than your subject.

• Exposure , Gear , Photographic Flash , Shoe Flash Technique , Tutorials
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Neil May 22nd, 2008

Tutorial: Lighting for Impact (Professional Photographer Magazine Web Exclusives)

As a piece of music has rhythm, harmony, and melody, so there are elements to lighting that must be included for the image to have impact. Light has the ability to invoke emotion on the part of the viewer. We relate emotionally to different types of lighting and even our moods are affected by light. Light is necessary to our very survival and existence.Light is a force to be harnessed for our photographs as well. One difference between a professional and an amateur photographer is that the professional is in control of the light.

And let me recommend this album for your enjoyment of rhythm, harmony, and melody with a touch of insanity, oddity and weirdly lovable tunes to listen for inspiration this Music from the Penguin Cafe:

• Photography Lighting , Tutorials
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Neil May 16th, 2008

I realized again how much I love the color blue when VFXY had a blue theme week.

Ever wonder why blue is such a wonderful color?

Blue is the hardest color for camera sensors to capture, and the hardest color for CMYK printers to print.

So how we deal with it in Photoshop is of utmost importance.

We’re sitting here on this beautiful blue jewel hanging in the galaxy, wouldn’t it be great if you captured some of that uniqueness in your images?

If you’d like to continue learning about the possibilities to accentuate and control the blue channel, purchase the Beautiful Blues Screen cast Training video.

• Color Theory , ONE Action , Photoshop , Tutorials , Video , how to
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Neil April 25th, 2008

JoeyL Tutorial Review - Behind the Scenes | An American Peyote Scribble

Well, if you haven’t been ‘up’ on a recent internet fad, there was a buz about a Photographer calling himself Joey L…..he was interviewed glowingly by Strobist, and self produced a tutorial DVD to teach others how he produces his shoot. Just so you’re informed on the pop culture behind this review. I’m about to review this review in talking about the creative process….

“This is the first Photoshop tutorial I’ve ever bought, and it was purchased for the following reason: I’ve become comfortable with the basics of Photoshop, using the clone tool for basic corrections, levels and saturation control for various tonal adjustments. Basically using those tools to enhance the feeling I wanted to communicate with the images taken using my cameras. I’ve been looking for a learning package to help me take things to the next level and to expand beyond the basics of enhancing an image and start using Photoshop as a tool to create a specific visual impact with my digital images – beyond what can be accomplished with cameras and basic lighting.”

Now that’s a good reason to get yourself a PhotoShop tutorial. Maybe it’s just cause this guy’s a climber, but he’s definitely articulate and intelligent.

” Did the JoeyL DVD contribute in the aim of fulfilling my creative desires? “

That’s a great question, I sometimes find the same desires in my life as I’m hard pressed for creative time when business tasks take up 90% of my day.

” The creative process was a main draw when I finally sent my credit card info for the DVD, knowing full well that $249 was just dropped electronically. In my opinion a description of the creative process is probably the weak point of the tutorials. “

An American Peyote was disappointed by the DVD - and while I feel for Joey, I’m not surprised that the creativity mark was missed. Why?

While Joey the photographer certainly has a style - it’s a level 6 style - one that is recognizable and marketable. The current trend is in love with anything dark, or low key a little bit pictoral. A style is repeatable, and marketable in a DVD, and powerful enough to convince an intelligent person to spend $249, but real creativity is almost too hard to see. Real creativity hides among the interaction between a self and a medium ….like in Tao 33.

Creativity is a process.

A process of pouring out oneself into a medium: for understanding, for expression, for communication, for documentation.

Technique is a gateway to open up the flow of creativity.

“During the lessons Mr. Lawrence talks through his thinking process in adding various layers and how to do different adjustments. Adding layers and blending and the use of manipulating shadows and adding light to images is well explained. This is exactly what I was looking for, since it shows you how to enhance lighting effects in Photoshop which were absent or difficult to produce in reality.”

But to learn creativity, one must learn to be open.

Evidently the reviewer did open up after watching the video again a few times “In this capacity I’m very happy with my decision to drop $249 on the JoeyL DVD tutorial and would do so again.”

One day I’ll have a DVD worth spending $300 on, that will leave it’s customers open, educated and inspired. But creativity is never something that can be bought, only something that can be initiated or opened as I impact you, or you draw from the universe. I wish a creative blessing for my climber friend, and that JoeyL learns to communicate what wells within him. So let this review remind you as you’re tempted to buy the latest DVD, to instead go out and watch the sun set, feel the grass in your toes or hug your daughter. Open up to the flow, instead of spend your cashflow.

• Creativity , Inspiration , On Art , Photoshop , Reviews , Tutorials , Workshop
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Neil March 21st, 2008

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial: Cast Light From A Window - Learn Adobe Photoshop

The above Photoshop Tutorial can give you an idea how you can manipulate a photo in photo shop from ‘flat’ light to something that looks like light is shining through a window using layer blend modes. The same principles apply using the Make Light Real Overlay files.

<before - after>

In honor of Good friday I’ll throw out an image for you to play with….

Download the high res version

And your lighting overlay to give that transcendental religious feeling - download link.

If you like these texture files and want to support this site, buy a CD of the lighting effects:

• Creativity , Free stuff , Real-light Overlays , Tutorials
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Neil March 12th, 2008

I’m including a You-Tube quality screen cast of the walk through using the ONE action:

Included in your purchase of the ONE Action set is a high resolution walk through video to help give you your bearings on using the LAB color space for your photoshop workflow.

• ONE Action , Photoshop , Tutorials
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Neil March 5th, 2008

This last week I was in Texas with my wedding photojournalism friends at Foundation Workshop. I was a mentor to five awesome students in a group led by Greg Gibson, a two time Pulitzer prize winner and also mentored by Jennifer Dominic, also a professional photojournalist expat working in the wedding industry also. Our staff to student ratio at the workshop is nearly 1:1 and so our team assistant was Tina Carter who was a student last year. As the first day, we assigned the students to shoot portraits of each other as an icebreaker and learning exercise, so I got to shoot Tina as part of our team.

Here’s the final image, illustrating Tina’s new business logo and her dramatic pose, read on to get the full details of the creation of this shot in the bright springtime sun. Last time I posted on overpowering the sun, this time we’ll skirt it, and flirt with it.

Continue Reading »

• On Art , Photographic Flash , Photography Lighting , Real-light Overlays , Tutorials
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Neil February 19th, 2008

Final image result:

Download the fiberglass insulation texture used in this tutorial. Visit Texture King.com

This photoshop tutorial attempts to mimic the traditional printing processes such as Daguerreotype, wet plate collodion, hand painted emulsion and filing the negative carrier for full frame prints. These traditional photographic processes created printing effect that were generated as light passed through the negative, or print material leaving artifacts of hand made imperfection. Modern printing papers such as Innova, Hahnemuhle Paper, and Moab offer the digital artist a fast and tactile solution for creating wonderfully warm pieces in Photoshop.

So the object in Photoshop is to use layers and blending modes to create the effect of light passing through an imperfect emulsion. To do this you will need at least two layers, one in a darkening type mode such as Darken, Multiply, Hard light, or normal mode with light pixels erased. To finish the effect realistically, a second border must be applied over the darkening border so that the two borders interact three dimensionally.

Other shot’s I’ve created borders for:

You can download some border and edge effects from several Flickr Groups….

• Free stuff , ONE Action , Photoshop , Tutorials , Video , how to , learning
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Neil February 15th, 2008

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

If you have any trouble viewing this video you may try the alternate video on YouTube at this link.

OK, OK - so no complaining - it’s my first screen cast. I’m getting the hang of it.

So here’s the finished image from the intro video run through the ONE Action.

• ONE Action , Photoshop , Technical , Tutorials , Video , audio/podcast
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