What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me … is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.
Rain, rain, go away
Rain – A wedding day’s worst enemy (in some cases). Rain often holds out enough, but when it doesn’t you might have to get a bit creative. The wedding I last photographed was just such a case.
It was overcast which is awesome for lighting, but then the rain came in hard, and only got harder. Luckily, there was a tent out back, and I was able to use it to keep the bride dry while taking some shots.
In this shot, and a few others, I had to resort to taking the photo with some parts of the tent in the way. In post production (using tools from photoshop) I was able to remove harsh rain, steal tree bottoms from other photos, and boost the colour in the trees/sky.
The challenge I faced was to create sunny day out of a rainy one, while keeping the bride as dry as possible. Thankfully my skills in post production are as strong as they are. Day’s like these really keep my on my toes, but I’m always up for the challenge.
Hope the weather cooperates with you,
Zack
A Year’s Improvement
From 2010 to 2011, I’ve picked up a few tricks when it comes to photo editing. Like the background eraser for instance. In this case, I was under a very tight schedule in 2010. But now that I’ve had a year to grow and learn more techniques, Erasing the background seamlessly, and keeping edge detail was a breeze.
Also, over the past year, it seems my eye has been fine tuned to notice things like balance, contrast and which subjects I am putting emphasis on. Looking back to 2010, the ad seemed to lack a strong emphasis because I didn’t know what the focus should be.
I’m thankful that my skill has improved, through practice and experimentation throughout the year. Just goes to show that good things take time to learn.
I’ve been experimenting in the studio tonight, and finally realized how easy it is to light a background, not to mention how much better it makes a photo look.
This particular study started with the light a bit high, which was causing the raccoon effect in the eyes. I ended up lowering the key light and moving to the side for more dramatic shadows. I then took my SB-800 flash and pointed it directly at the backdrop.
To soften the gradation of light I wrapped a piece black paper around the flash which seemed to tighten circle, give the background darker edges, and focus the light to bring focus to the subject (ME!).
I can’t wait for the next photo shoot to be able to use this lighting effect. Once I buy a black background, this effect should look even more dramatic. Until then, this will do nicely.
Haven’t been on the blog in a while.. Haven’t taken in a nice sunset in a while either. Must be this wintery season.. But now that I can see the days getting longer, its time to start getting outside and taking some colourful photos again.
Photo taken on HWY 400.
Bokeh Effect :: Lewis Design Plus
For those of you who haven’t heard, I was inspired, over the holidays, to test out this bokeh effect using a paper cover over my camera lens. http://lullaby.homepage.dk/diy-camera/bokeh.html
I tried it out, and was very impressed with how simple a technique this is, and how well it works. This effect can only get better with more practice and once I get a hold of a wider fixed-lens, the testing on human subjects will commence.
These photos are my first test shots from the holidays. Hope you enjoy them and get motivated to try this out for yourself! All you need is paper and a camera! Go try it!
This is where all the magic happened.
About 80 gorgeous and adorable couples got their photos taken right here – at the Cementation Christmas Party. Thank you to everyone who participated, I had a blast taking photos of you all, and hope to have more shoots that go this smoothly in the New Year!
Hockey season is starting up!
If you’re interested in getting team photos taken, Send me an email or call me to book your Ice time. Time is limited so don’t leave booking your Team photos until it’s too late!
Email me at
info@lewisdesignplus.com or phone me at 705.498.3206 (evenings and weekends) for more information.
A sneek peek at another J2 Productions performance. This photo is from a shoot for a theatrical comedy, titled, “People Grieving”.
Click here to check out the J2 Productions page on Facebook. Stay up to date on new performances and events.
The new Lewis Design Plus website is up!
Unfortunately, the design pages aren’t complete yet, but there are now more “PLUS”es to the site (pun fully intended), such as:
- Downloadable Wallpapers
- Lewis Design Plus Apparel
- 30% larger image viewers
- + More
So go check it out: lewisdesignplus.com
