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.

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!

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!

New open-concept layout will allow photos to be 35% larger than the current website!

I can’t wait to make my new website live. I’ve changed some of the back-end code to make my site easier to search and have also added some bonus features! So keep you’re eyes open for the new site.. I’ll keep you posted.

What a Little Natural Light Will Do

Speed flashes are great in certain situations, but they aren’t always the best choice:

In this example, I was at an indoor wedding reception. Which is often tricky as there isn’t much available light. Taking photos in a large, dark room undesirable due to:

• Low light (Need higher ISO)
• Using Flash (Causes Shadows)
• High Ceilings (Difficult to bounce flash)

What I was able to do was find a glass door nearby (luckily beside a nice curtain) that was letting in great natural light from outside. I placed the Wedding cake at an angle I was pleased with and grabbed my tripod. And Viola!

So when shooting still life indoors, keep your eyes out for soft natural light to get a shot you can be proud of.

The Indie Out Loud Photoshoot was a huge success! There were at times some technical difficulties, but all was resolved thanks to my friends, Rob Bremner, Matt McCoy, and Sarah Paterson-Coulas (Other Photographers at the #iolphotoshoot).

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the models for coming out and doing such an amazing job. For those of you who didn’t hit your heads on that lighting fixture: Congrats! But you might not be so lucky next time.

Lastly, enough cannot be said about Cory McCoy’s effort and passion toward his company. I want to thank him for reaching out to smaller businesses, bands and photographer’s to get our names out there. Gotta respect Cory McCoy. Cheers on a great shoot buddy!

Keep up the good work everyone!

One of my favourites of the Moreau Sibling photoshoot

Waking up to nature.