Photo Recipe: Old fashioned Photos

It's time to get back to being creative with photos. :)
Last month, I shot some family photos for an awesome local family.  A few years ago, they were able to purchase the farm that had belonged to the great-grandparents of these four children.  Can you imagine the wonderful history and the new memories that are being made?  It just warms my heart.
As we wandered around the farm, taking photos, I decided that I wanted to try to capture them on the swing (not original) with very serious expressions, like a photo might have been 80 or 90 years ago.

As you can see, they struggled a bit keeping the serious face.



When I came home and started playing with the photo, I tried to imagine the photos I may have found in an old shoebox at my grandma's house.  The first thing I did was use the layers function in Photoshop to add a black and white layer to convert the photo to black and white.  Nothing fancy, but I did lower the opacity of the black and white layer to 90% to allow just a hint of color through, like the photo has been colorized.



After that, I browsed my Love that Shot Olde World Collection textures.  I was looking for one that would give the photo a yellow tint and maybe make the edges look like they were slightly damaged. I chose a texture called "Sicily" and applied it in "hard light" mode at 40% opacity.

Here's what I ended up with.



I'm pretty pleased with it. I think that I may experiment with a little blur to see if I can make it look more old-fashioned.

If you'd like to try out some of Love that Shot's textures, you can check them out here.

Have fun being creative!

I hate gym lighting/A photo recipe

My daughter is now playing junior high volleyball.  I have spent four summers capturing softball and baseball and I pretty much have that under control.  I know where to sit and how to handle the bright sunlight and when to click.
Volleyball is another beast entirely.  The action is so much faster, the gym is so much more compact and the lighting is just terrible.  Awful.  Pardon my French, but it sucks, especially in a building that was built in the 1930's.
I have a photographer friend whose daughter also plays volleyball and her photos are so much brighter than mine.  Part of that is her better camera (I can't do anything about that right now) and part of it is light.  So I started thinking about whether or not I could fake the light.
Here's what I started with.  My daughter is a setter.  This was their 4th match of the season and I finally got a decent photo of her waiting for the ball.



I have learned that it is better to shoot wide and then crop...I have a better chance of getting the ball in the frame, especially since I am a newbie.  So I cropped it to make it look like I am really good.  ;)



First I did a little levels adjustment to brighten it up and then I looked at color.  Between the fluorescent lights and the yellow floor, there are all sorts of awful colors going on here.  I thought that white wall looked rather blue, so I toned down the blues a bit.  I eyeball all of this.

Finally I really wanted my daughter to stand out.  I went to the Love that Shot Olde World  Collection Textures (my favorites) to look for one that would really brighten things.  I chose one called "La Rochelle" and applied it at 50% in overlay mode.



Is it perfect?  No?  Do I love it?  Yes.  The texture brightens my daughter and creates a slight vignette.  You can still tell that it's a photo taken in a crummy gym, but it looks less like a snapshot and that makes me happy.

Pinecones

Fall in the Midwest: crisp mornings and beautiful trees.  Years ago, we had to take down our poor old oak tree, and all that we have left is a massive white pine that had been planted by the previous owner.  Blah.  Pine needles are not full of fall glory!

After 15 years, I have finally started to pay attention to the cycles of my pine tree.  Every year it loses some, but not all, of its needles.  And some years it produces a few pine cones, some years it seems there are none at all.  

This year is going to be an exception.  The top branches are struggling under the weight of  all of those pine cones.  Only a few pine cones have made their way to the ground so far.  There will be many many more where this came from.  Let me know if you need any.  ;)

I went out in the evening to take photos of the pine cone.  The first thing that I did was purposely underexpose the image, by two full stops.  I wanted the photo to look like reality, not how the camera thought it should look.

I love a lot of bokeh, so this was shot at f/2.0, 1/20, ISO 400, 35 mm.  In an ideal world, I would have increased the ISO for a faster shutter speed, but this was shot with my old camera and I don't like to push it.

I transferred the photo to my computer and took a look.  I was pretty happy with it, but in the digital age, there's no such thing as leaving well enough alone, so I started editing.

The first thing that I did was a slight levels adjustment.  I made the photo just a little darker to reflect the actual light.  And then, because I had missed the warmth of the sunset, I tried to add some warmth with one of Love that Shot's glows:  "Golden Glow Top." I applied it in soft light mode at 50%.

Next I wanted to try out a little texture.  "Fire" from the Simplicity Collection is my go-to, so I made myself try something different.  I chose " Woodsman" from the Fairytale Collection.  I applied it in Soft Light mode at 50% and then added a layer mask to remove just a little of the texture from the pine cone.  I used a soft brush at 50% to wipe away just a little texture.

It's so much fun to play.  You can check out Love that Shot's Photo Veils and Textures here. 

Photo Recipe: Salvaging a crummy shot

Last Saturday I got up bright and early (for me) to cheer on a friend who was completing her first triathlon.  We drove out along some back country roads and parked and waited for her to come by on her bike.  We nearly missed her the first time and then had some time to kill before she came back by on the return trip.  The girls were a little bored, so they hopped in the back of another parent's truck to wait.  I looked at them sitting there and thought it would make a great photo of rural America.  I tried to snap a couple before they saw me (I prefer natural photos to those with typical tween girls poses) but I failed.

In fact, when I got home and looked at the photo, I pretty much hated it.

But I wanted to love it.  I really really wanted it to look like I had it in my head.  But it was kind of awful.  Rather than just deleting it, I decided to play around.

After looking at it a little more, and realizing that it would have been 1000 times better if all four girls had been looking off into the distance, I decided to treat it like an old-fashioned photo.  You know those ones where no one is really looking at the camera, someone is grouchy, but it was all people had back in the day because film was expensive and photos were rare?

So, I converted it to black and white using a layer.  I played around with the different options and chose "High Contrast Red."  And then I decided I wanted a hint of color, so I set that layer at 75% opacity.

I liked the way it no longer looked like a bunch of girls squinting in the early morning sunlight, but I wanted to make it look grainy and old and well-worn, so I chose Calais from Love That Shot's Old World Collection.  I added it at 75% opacity in overlay mode.

And because I am never satisfied and like big changes, I added one more layer for more oldness (is that a word?) and drama.  I chose Sicily and added it at 45% opacity in linear burn mode.

It's not perfect, but I like how the sky looks moody, just like my daughter's face.  If I edited it again, I might go ahead and remove all color from the photo.  But that's the fun of digital photography, isn't it?  You can just play and play.

If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

~Shannon

Photo Recipe: Faking the Golden Hour

You've heard of it, The Golden Hour, that magical time of day just before sunset when the light is warm and bathes your subject in the most flattering light.  Perhaps you've even had the skill, or luck, to capture it beautifully.  I've been lucky once or twice.  My very favorite golden hour photo is actually of my daughter, in the softball dugout, with a giant welt on her shoulder after she wore a pitch.  Is it wrong that I love it?
Two weeks ago, my son had his first baseball game of the season and it was beautiful (a bit windy, but hey, it wasn't snowing.) As the sun set, and I realized there were no artificial lights, I was giddy about the quality of the light.  By the way, I am fairly certain the other parents think that I might just be certifiably insane, but whatever.
I got home and looked at the photos and was kind of disappointed.  They weren't nearly as golden as I had hoped they would be.  (Um, it would probably have helped if *some* people didn't leave their white balance on auto all of the time, but it was too late to deal with that issue.)
I was disappointed until I remembered my most favorite Love that Shot photo veil ever.  It's called "Fire" and it's found in the Simplicity Collection.  I pulled it up and added it to my two favorite shots of my son from the game and I fell in love.

Here are the before and after of my son at bat:



And one of my son after he caught a fly ball (the center fielder is ducking down so as to not take a baseball to the face.)



Isn't it amazing how that single, simple veil changed the photos?  They now look like they had looked in my head.  And the slight vignette does a great job of placing the focus on KJ.

I first fell in love with Fire back in the fall when editing some senior photos.  It was another case of the photos not matching what I had remembered.  They just weren't as warm as they had been in my head.  I added a little fire (and some other senior-type edits) and voila!



So, to test my theory that Fire is amazing and can give photos that nice, warm glow, I tried it on a photo that I took of my daughter's softball team at about 11:00 am.  No warm glow from the sun at that time of day.

Here's what I started with:



Then I added the Fire veil from the Simplicity collection, in Overlay mode at 50% and here's what I got:



The shadows give it away that this was not taken at sunset, but I love how warm it makes the photo.  I may just start putting it on every photo I take. ;)



P.S.  I tested it again today on my daffodil.  I still love it.

Photo Recipe: Using Textures to disguise a background

I am attempting my 4th Project 365 (I made it about 75% through the first one, completed a second and then let's not talk about the third time.)
Some days, I am inspired. Other days, I look around my house for something-- anything-- to shoot. This was an "other" day. An, "Oh, crud, it's time for bed and I didn't take a photo today." I looked at my dining room table, covered in the paraphernalia that broadcasts, "Two very busy kids live here" and saw my son's new baseball glove. I took one shot, didn't like it, re-positioned the glove and ended up with this:
 I liked it, but then again, I like photos that document my kids' lives. What I didn't like was the warmth of the glove against the cool white window frame, green curtains and that chair on the right.  I went to my favorite textures from Love that Shot, the Old World Collection, and chose "Madrid."
I have a penchant for the dramatic, so even though I toyed with taking the opacity down a notch, I ended up keeping it at 100%, soft light. I love the brick texture on the left and how it made the photo seem more artistic.
 

 I decided to apply a layer mask, though, and remove the warmth off of the baseball a bit.

 

Finally, I added one last texture from the Old World Collection, "Salerno."  I applied it at 50%, soft light, to give the photo a little more vignette and to draw focus to that ball and glove.
  I really liked the way that the photo went from being a snapshot in my dining room to something a little more artistic. The warm background isn't as much of a distraction from the glove and ball.
If I can do it, with no formal training, you can too! Misti and Michelle at Love that Shot have taught me all that I know. If only they could end this long, drawn-out winter so we can play some ball!

 

Photo Recipe: Fun with a snapshot.

Last week, I was lucky enough to go to Las Vegas with my husband, just the two of us.  I left the DSLR at home, so that I wouldn't be all-consumed by trying to find neat angles and interesting subjects and in turn, ignoring my husband.  I would like to say that I was moderately successful.  I was still a little obsessive about documenting the trip, but not as crazy as I would have been with lens choices.  :)

One of my favorite photos from the trip is this one of flowers in the Atrium at The Mirage.


I was pretty darn happy with it, SOOC.  I like my little point-and-shoot.  But, I also like to play and to see what fun changes I can make to the photo.

This time, I decided to concentrate on using Love that Shot's Simplicity Photo Veils.  My favorite one in the group is called "Fire."  It's great for warming up a photo that is too cool.  I applied it in overlay mode at 50%.



I liked the way that it made it seem like we were in the warm wonderful sun, and it added a slight vignette, drawing your eye to the tulip.  I decided I wanted a little more vignette, so I chose the "Northern Lights" Veil and applied it in overlay mode at 25%.


And because I can't just leave well-enough alone, I decided that I wanted a little texture.  The "Twinkle" texture is totally fun.  At full-strength, it will give you the feeling of light being reflected off of a disco ball, or bubbles underwater.  I restrained myself and dialed it down to 50%, soft light.



If you look closely, you can see the texture in the sky.  I think it makes it look like there are clouds floating by.



Hop on over to Love That Shot to check out all of the photo veils and textures that you can use to make your photos more eye-catching!

Photo Recipe: Using textures to add a vignette

This has been the never-ending winter.

Snow.
Cold.
Rinse.
Repeat.

I set a goal for myself to use my Lensbaby for all of January.  It was fun at first, but after a while, because I was stuck inside due to the NEVER-ENDING WINTER, I had run out of things to shoot.

And then, miraculously, we had a day that was 45 degrees F.  The clouds parted, the angels sang and I took the Lensbaby outside looking for something other than snow to photograph.  I found this flower between my yard and my neighbor's yard.  I have no idea what it is, which is embarrassing since I have lived here for almost 15 years, but we won't worry about that.  I just liked what I started with:



I liked the blur.  I wish I had placed the flower a little more off-center, but with an impatient puppy, it was good enough.

I wanted to make sure that attention was drawn to the flower, so I wanted to add a vignette.  I went to Love that Shot's Olde World Collection (because I am in love with the textures) and chose "Calais."  Calais reminds me of an old parchment with ink spilled all around the edges. I added it to my photo in soft light mode, at 75%.  Here is the result:



I liked the vignette, but I am never satisfied with subtlety, so I went back to the Olde World Collection and grabbed "Sicily."  I added it in overlay mode at 50%.  And I was in love.



I really liked the strong vignette and glowy center so that your eye is drawn to the flower.  And I loved the colors that the textures added to the photos.

Two simple steps and my photo became much more interesting.



Check out the products and workshops that Love that Shot has to offer!

Photo Recipe: Winterizing a Photo

We got a puppy yesterday.  We've had cats for all 17 years of our marriage and while I love animals, I love cats for their lack of neediness. (Read: we can be gone for hours with no worries.)  But when my in-laws' dog had seven puppies in September, I knew we were toast.  How could we not take on of Bella's puppies?
Rue joined our family yesterday.  Boo and I went on a shopping spree at PetSmart last week and decided that she needed a winter coat.  She is a short-haired dog, after all and and it's supposed to be one doozy of a winter here in Illinois.  When my daughter got home from school, we dressed her up to go outside and of course, I had to take photos.
{Nikon D7000 | 55-300mm lens @ 85mm | f/5.6 | 1/125s | ISO 1000}

This is what I started with:



I'm not one for posing (and 10-week-old puppies and 11-year-old girls feel the same way) so we took a bunch and this one was by far my favorite.  I first adjusted the levels to get the black of Rue's fur a little "juicier." Then I decided the whites weren't white enough.  I went to Love That Shot's Simplicity Photo Veil Collection to see what I could do.  I chose Chamomile an applied it at 25% in overlay mode.  I was pretty happy with the result.  Rue's black was blacker and her whites were definitely brighter.



I am never happy with just one adjustment and I wanted a little more vignette, so I went back to the Simplicity Collection and added the Fairy's Frock Veil. I made sure to choose a veil in the cool range and with the purple-tint of this one, I thought it might be perfect.  I added it at 50%  in overlay mode.



I liked it more, but wasn't quite satisfied, so I added a hue/saturation layer and decreased the saturation to -25 to take a little of the color out of my daughter's hat and coat.  And then I discovered one more veil to really make things look ice-cold:  Vanilla Twilight.  I added this at 50% in soft light.



I really liked the end result.  I think the photo looks plenty chilly now!   If you enjoy simple ways to play with your photos, check out what they have at Love that Shot.  Misti and Michelle will take care of you!