Make your sky blue
Neil November 29th, 2008
Make Light Real
And if you don’t think a Lightroom preset or photoshop trick can change the lighting in a photo – watch this:
Original Image
Preset #1 – low power
Preset #2 – medium power
Can you see how much more distinct the light coming through the trees is visualized in the photo?
Buy them here:
Blue Skies – Lightroom Preset – to make your photos $9 better!
How to cross light a mountain: Aoraki Mt. Cook New Zealand
Neil November 12th, 2008
his post is in the Thinking Big series combined with a couple other techniques:
- Thinking Big: outside the music hall
- Lighting a HUGE space – for anything that may happen
- + Light Control: turn the sky from white to blue
- + Balancing the Sun with flash – Crosslighting
Equals how to cross light a mountain!
One of the repetitive questions I get from people are – why such a big flash – and why take it all over with you? I suppose it would be like asking someone who works online the whole time why they use a broadband internet connection (http://www.o2.co.uk/broadband/mobile/), for them the answer is pretty obvious. And it is for me too, it just makes so many more options available.
Quite frankly – this is EXACTLY why!
In my lighting case that I loaded onto the plane in Rochester New York was:
- 1 Alien Bee 800 Monoblock flash unit
- 1 Paul C. Buff Vagabond portable power unit and power cord
- 1 Black Impact Air Cusioned light stand height 230cm (model #SLS-LS8A)
- 1 Pocketwizard reciever
- Paul C Buff 11 inch parabolic reflector
Here’s one of the resulting peak moment shots that I try to reach for in my wedding photojournalism. The lighting case was loaded in the helicopter’s coffin gear carrier for the trip up the mountain and across the island. But a large mono-light wasn’t all I had in my arsenal…
Of course I want to cover the whole event with variety as well as style so get past the jump and let’s talk details…
…illuminate your understanding with more…
Light Control: turn the sky from white to blue
Neil September 28th, 2008
Before flash:
After Flash:
…illuminate your understanding with more…
- Comments Off
- Exposure , Hear the Shadows , Inspiration , Photographic Flash , Photography Lighting , Photoshop Retouching , Real-light Overlays , learning
What does a texture do for an image?
Neil September 4th, 2008
Let’s talk about texture
In response to my release of the Light Touch beginner’s textures, we’re about wisdom here
Can you see what’s happening when I added the texture in the first image?
Can you quantify it in your mind?
If not I recommend taking a read of the classic text “Perception and Imaging” to give yourself a strong backbone in realizing the subtitles and abstractions of what you see.
But let’s try and put our finger on it for a moment with the end in mind – what does a texture do for an image?
In the first image I composed the shot with a piece of the ceremony decor in focus with the bride’s head in the background but out of focus. The sharp objects are perceived by our eyes as the subject – the blurry or soft things are the ground – upon which the subject ‘rests’ or ‘resides’. Without separation there is nothing.
So what happens when a texture file with small sharp details is introduced?
In the texture file that I used from the Lighting Overlays Disk 1 set, a focal plane runs through the image with the texture of paper in sharp focus. In this image where only one small object is in the focal plane the texture adds to the perceived depth of the image by adding more ‘figure’ to the figure/ground relationship. It appears as though the crystalline beads rest on something as they sway in the breeze.
The second image of the diptych shows the opposite point of focus, but has the same exact texture applied to the image. Even with my best blue sky photo processing tricks, I couldn’t help the bride’s face rise in perceptual value without some additional lightening or darkening of the sky. I chose the blue texture file and applied it in overlay blend mode which darkened the sky while increasing saturation. Here’s the image as it looks straight out of camera raw.
Interesting perspective, but not the same dramatic picture energy as the finished version. The lighting overlay helps channel the image’s tones into a dramatic and emotionally engaging corner burn (compare the top and bottom right. The cooling blue effect helps the skin-tones rise in prominence and the overlay blend mode deepens the shadows and brightens the highlights for a stronger dimensional feel to the hazy sunlight.
I hope this discussion brings you deeper understanding on your path to visual wisdom!
Catching the color blue, photoshop tutorial
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.
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