I had the wonderful benefit today of being asked to give a private lesson to an upcoming photographer. Naturally, I was completely honored and still a little surprised that my work was seen as professional enough to be asked about all my little tricks and secrets. After giving her some advice that I had to learn the hard way, I liked feeling as if I've made a little difference. At least I hope I did. Photography isn't one big secret or an unobtainable goal. Yet, nothing really is if you have a passion to learn and understand it. I've always liked taking pictures even before I ever owned a digital camera, but I never had a passion for it until I realized that it was actually in my reach to be good at photography. I'm my own worst critic and still see a ton of room for improvement which I will probably ALWAYS feel. Even some of the best photographers in the world need to a goal to work towards, which is usually improving on some skill or technique. 

Nevertheless, I wanted to share some of the advice that I gave this excited but slightly overwhelmed lady.
She explained that she was looking to make her photography more than just a hobby and didn't know where to start. For many people, this starting point can be different. It may come as common-sense to some and others may really be at a loss for where to turn. My advice to her was to set a few goals for her photography. Start by looking up photographers that you admire. Look at their work. When I was a student in architecture (yes, I really had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, lol!) they would call these precedent studies. Depending on the project we were assigned, whether it was to create a museum, construct a water tower, or design a house, we were assigned to precedent studies. Researching previous works (and I mean good quality works too) will give you a goal to work towards. I would even recommend replicating that work in your own way if you can. 

I found this image at http://miskamiller.blogspot.com/2010/10/miller-family-has-grown-by-two-feet.html It's a beautiful photo that she has taken. I liked the idea of using a family's feet. So I did my best to recreate the photo in my own way. 

The photo is different, but still has a similar theme or central pose/idea. 

One of the greatest tips I can give a blooming photographer is to find something unique. Make your photos stand out. I can look through my arsenal of images and give you tons of examples of why I took that image. For example, in the photo below, I found a tree that had carvings all over it. It was unique. I could have picked any other tree in the area, but this one stood out. 

It adds just a little more character to her photo. If you aren't photographing people and think, well I suppose I could go take a picture of this flower for practice, try different angles. Picture what it would look like from underneath, straight above, or even directly beside whatever you are photographing. This doesn't really work as well with people, but it makes nature photography very interesting. 

Angles of things can make an image very exciting and really pop too! It can leave your photos unforgettable or even a little mysterious. This is especially true if you have zoomed in to something. Macro images are some of my favorite types! I could have held my camera at eye level and looked down at the stones or grass and shot from above but it makes the image so much more interesting if I can look at it from a way most people don't see. 

Let's not jump ahead though. It's also important to find interesting THINGS to take pictures of as well. People like to look at people, that's true enough. But what about things? I could sit here at my desk and take a picture of my keyboard if I like, but would that make for an interesting photo? Maybe if I was creative with the angles or other elements of that nature. OR I could go out and find something that most people don't notice or see very often. It strikes intrigue into what you are photographing. How many people really stop to look at a fence post? But I was drawn to it because wood has great texture and rich colors. 

Or we can zoom in even more and look at the barbed wire. I like this image because it shows such a great contrast between the rusty metal and the old wood. 

Yet, I have people say, well Amy that just isn't interesting to me. To which I would reply, GREAT!! If it was interesting to everyone, we would have pictures of fence posts everywhere and would defeat the purpose of it being unique. Maybe you prefer capturing the movement of water like in the image below?

Maybe you prefer something different like in the images below? I wouldn't say these are all super interesting, but some people may prefer the photo of the cake over the photo of the eight ball. To each his own. 

However, I took each of these images because I was learning what I like to take pictures of, which turns out to be things found in rural areas in case you are wondering. Some people like food, landscapes, every-day items, or any number of things. The trick is to make it interesting. Adding a variety to your portfolio will increase the chances of gaining supporters as well as increasing your skills at photographing things outside your comfort zone. 

I ended up giving that lady a bit more advice, but I'll save that information for another blog. I got kind of long-winded in this one I'm afraid. Nevertheless, I hope it has helped some of you. I did want to post that I ran across an article that may help those of you who are passed this point and are looking to make your hobby an actual business. It's not a long article and gives some sound advice. It's written by a photographer named Veronica Gillas. You can find the link here: 
http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2013/09/11/5-steps-successful-photography-business/

Good luck! 
-Amy

I've slowly become aware of how little people know about what goes on after a photoshoot is complete. Why I haven't blogged about this before now is maybe due to the fact that I was not aware that many clients and other people who do not take photos on a professional scale realize just how much goes into editing images after they have been taken. Now of course, this does not apply to every client's photos or every style of image. There have been many images I have taken that are just exactly how I want them coming straight off of the camera. We call these images SOOC. I have had many that I simply slap a watermark on and upload to my website or facebook page. The image below had no post-processing. This is what the image looked like exactly as I took it, the only addition was my watermark. 

However, these are typically not pictures of people, and if it is, they are rare. Most times, one image takes as long as half an hour to an hour just to get the quality and look of what I want in the final image. 

You have to understand though, most photographers do not like sharing their SOOC images for a multitude of reasons: their images are low to bad quality and they rely on an editing software maybe more than they should, the product they offer is one that is more prone to editing (which is okay if that is what the client wants or likes), they do not want to give away their editing techniques and secrets, or to dissuade unprofessionals from trying to copy or imitate their work. I'm sure there are other reasons, but that's really not the point of my blog today. 

The image below is one that I found online (NOTE: this image is not mine. I do not own the copyrights to it). The image can be found at: http://www.bloomandgrowphotography.com/2011/08/bloom-grow-actions.html
This image is of a newborn, which fyi- takes a TON of editing just because a newborn's skin is typically so rough, pink, or transparent. You'll notice the lighting has changed, as well as the baby's skin. Also, it seems the photographer has edited out part of the top right image, which can also be time-consuming if done properly. 

To illustrate this better (and since this IS a photography website and most of you like to see photos) I have recreated some of the steps I go through to show you just how I get to this process. I'd upload a video, but alas... my new computer does not have the software yet required to record all my steps. So screenshots will have to suffice. For my purpose, I'm going to go through and edit one of the images that I feel needs a much bigger change. The end result will be more dramatic so that you can tell what I am doing; however, this does not necessarily mean that it takes more or less time. It just means I am exaggerating my steps a bit more so that they are more noticeable. 

My first step is to decide how I want the image to look... black and white or a more blueish hue? I don't have to decide yet, just have a goal to work towards. I want something that will pull the eye to the model, particularly his eyes (or maybe his senior ring since this was a senior portrait). I have cropped the image so that you can see the timestamp on each. That gives you a general idea of how long it takes me between each step. You can click on each image to enlarge it. 

I noticed that he had a lot of acne (as teenagers tend to have) and so I went through and blended them into his natural skin tone. This is the kind of thing I mean when I say post-processing. I typically don't cover up moles or freckles unless specifically asked to simply because they make a person unique. I also happened to notice that he had a bad sore on his left hand. I went ahead and edited that as well. 

I went ahead and checked the rest of his skin for any noticeable blemishes. I have to stay zoomed in so that I don't miss it, so this takes time. 

After that I wanted to sharpen the image because it looked a little fuzzy on my screen. 

My next step is to go through and touch up his eyes. This is before I adjusted the opacity so that you can really tell what I'm doing. The whites of his eyes will not be quite as red as they were and you will be able to see the color of his eyes a little better. Many times I don't have to do this step, but for this image, I felt it needed it. 

Next I need to even out his skin color a little better, getting rid of the dark circles below his eyes and any other blemishes I may have missed. Yes, I know he looks plastic, this is after-all, before I have adjusted the opacity. 

As you can see, he now has his skin looking a little more realistic and a little less plastic. 

Remember I mentioned his senior ring? I want to make that pop a little more and be noticeable to the eye as well, so I'm going to pull out the color just a little. It seems intense here, but when I scroll back out, it won't be as extreme. 

I also want to pull the red out of this image some. It's not the color tone that I like for this overall look. 

I wanted to play with the shadows some as well and really pull the focus towards the center of the image. I haven't exaggerated it here just because it looks so dark and with low quality images, it's hard to depict. 

Now for the experimental part. Some images I can look at instantly and tell you what would look best. Others, I have to basically "try-on" different looks to see which I like best. I went with a sepia look first. However, with all the light and shadow behind him, I'm not sure if this is the best way to go with this photo. Let's try something different. 

This may be the way to go, but if it is then I'm going to need to dial down some of the hues in this photo. 

Yes, I like this look much better. However, there is still the problem of focusing the image in some more. After editing the hue, I realize I still need to add a little more shadow around the edges to help pull the eye towards the middle again. I don't want to overdo it though, or it will look too edited. I like my photos to have a much more natural look and not have black frames. 

And then the final step, the watermark. 

Now that image alone took nearly fifty minutes! Did you know that that is how much goes into an image?! 

Next time you think, gosh that photographer is charging a lot of money for just one hour of pictures, think about how much work goes into those pictures behind-the-scenes. That was one image and many clients expect anywhere from 20 to 100! I'm not going to do the math but if I did a bridal session for $100 and gave that bride 40 images, can you imagine the amount I got paid per hour?! So do your photographer a favor, don't request her/him to go back and re-edit, un-crop, or change their final work. It took them a long time to get there, and it comes off as rude or unappreciative. 

Well, I hope this blog post, helps to explain a little of what I and other photographers do after they see you from behind the lens. I've enjoyed giving you a little behind-the-scenes look at my post-processing. 

-Amy

Photographing in the Rain: How to get Great Photos While Protecting Your CameraPaul Cook found @ http://www.tocofi.com/how-to-photograph-in-the-rain/ 

Most photographers do not like taking pictures on a rainy day because of the problems that arise in their images and camera. Unaware to many of them is the breath-taking world that exists during the rain.

The rain provides photographers an opportunity to let their creativity run wild and capture some of the most stunning pictures. Many professionals consider photography in the rain to be a form of fine art photography as it requires skill and patience to capture remarkable images.

Photographing in the rain is very exciting. Photographers are able to capture shapes, shadows and colors that cannot be captured on a normal sunny day. For example, raindrops hitting the surface of an object, raindrops falling, rain falling onto petals and leaves, water droplets on grass, the different reflection and colors cast by wet objects. These are only some image ideas that you can undertake in your photo project when it’s raining.

Taking photos in the rain can be a bit tricky. Images can come out blurred if certain photography techniques are not used. To get great looking photographs in the rain, follow the tips mentioned below.

Adjust Shutter SpeedIn the rain, the DSLR camera’s shutter speed needs to be fairly increased in order to prevent the images from becoming blurry. Depending on the intensity of rain, the shutter speed should be at least 1/250 or higher.  Sometimes that can be hard to achieve and get a well exposed photo, but that is the fun of photographing in the rain.  Sometimes you get moody darker photos.  It really all depends on what you want to photograph.

ApertureSet the camera to use the aperture priority mode. Under this mode, the pictures will come out in more depth and with clearer light. Ideally, a wide camera aperture (f/4 or f/1.4) should be used when taking photos in the rain.

Macro ModeTurning on the macro mode on the DSLR camera is a great way to get interesting and captivating photos while it’s raining. This mode is ideal if close-up photographs are going to be taken. For example, taking a photo of a blade of grass with water droplets in macro mode will bring out sharper and clearer color. Make sure that the background is blurred out so that the viewer focuses on the object you captured.

When photographing in the rain, it is equally important to protect camera equipment as you would protect yourself. Camera equipment is very sensitive. Although a few droplets of water will not do any harm, prolonged exposure under the rain without any protection can damage the camera.

Below are a few tips that can help protect the camera when photographing in the rain.

Change Lenses under Shelter-
Changing the lens while under the rain can cause water to seep into the camera housing and cause damage. When the camera lens needs to be changed, look for shelter. This way, the camera is protected and you get a moment to dry your hair.

Wear a Raincoat-
Place the camera under your raincoat whenever you are moving around to find a photo location or if the camera is not in use.

Waterproof Casing-
If you plan on taking photographs in the rain, purchasing waterproof housing for the camera is essential. The housing will stop any water from seeping into the camera. It will also help to somewhat improve picture quality as the lens will be under the casing. A simple wipe to the lens area of the casing with a dry cloth will help bring out clearer images.

Lens Shade-
Typically a Lens shade is used to prevent glare and sunlight from affecting image quality. These shades can also be used to keep rain off the camera lens so that you can capture blur-free pictures in the rain.

Digital photography in the rain maybe a little tricky but the quality and creativity of the images are well worth the trouble.

http://www.thephotoargus.com/tips/great-tips-for-shooting-in-the-rain/

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-to-capture-rain-in-photography2.htm

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm