Archive for the ‘tips & shares’ Category

Behind the Scenes of Digital Photography
Utah Newborn Photography

January 12, 2010

Sometimes I receive e-mails asking me what kind of equipment I use, and how I edit my photos. I thought it would be fun to let you in  and post a ‘behind-the-scenes’.

As a custom photographer, quality is of the utmost importance to me. This starts with beautiful images that are technically sound and as near perfect as possible. The better an image is to begin with, the better the end result will be. It also minimizes editing work as I believe that editing or processing a digital image should be to enhance it only and not try to correct problems. If an image is underexposed, out of focus or has color issues, the editing will not be enough to correct those problems and it will certainly be visible.

I shoot with a Nikon D700 camera and a combination of fixed length lenses that help me capture beautiful portraits. I have spent a lot of time (and still do) learning the technical aspects of digital photography and perfecting my abilities so I can produce the best quality images for my clients.  I use Photoshop CS4 for editing each image individually, and only with the goal of lending  a subtle, but efficient polish to each one, to bring the potential that was already there.

Here are some ‘before-and-after’ examples. ‘SOOC’ is a colloquial photography term that means ’straight out of camera’; this would be the equivalent to a film negative.  I then edit each image individually which means I don’t rely on premade Photoshop actions; I take each image and bring out its best ‘by hand’, in the digital darkroom. I should also mention that I use a professionally color calibrated screen so that the color of each image is as true to life and flattering to the subject as possible.

Children photography is my passion- I love capturing the sweetness and freshness of a newborn, the emotion and laughter of a little girl, and the beautiful eyes full of wonder of a baby boy. As  a parent, when you hire me to capture your child’s special moment, you don’t need to worry about how the images will turn out- you can rest assured that my expertise and knowledge of digital photography will deliver beautiful portraits that you will cherish for years to come.

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Creative Cropping
Utah Photographer

December 9, 2009

Today I thought I’d share a little tip about creative cropping. Sometimes when I am processing an image, I get all excited about it but it lacks something, like the usual crop doesn’t work. It takes a bit of practise and a smidge of creativity to think outside the box and envision the true potential.

Let’s consider this image:
utah newborn photography

The subject is completely adorable (I ♥ newborn sessions!) and I like the pose, especially the positioning of his hands. This is the in-camera crop, which means this is how it came out of the camera as far as size and crop. I also noticed that I cut some of his toes on the right foot and that there is some lens distortion which causes disproportion in his body:

So I threw convention out the door, and tried a 20×10 crop instead of  customary 5×7 (I also converted this color image into a black and white to lend it a morel classic feel). This is the result:
salt lake city newborn photography
By placing the subject closer to the right hand side of the frame, the image has more dynamic and visual interest- your eyes naturally rest on the baby’s face which is where the focus should be. The closer overhead crop took care of the distortion, while keeping important elements in (like toes and fingers).

Although I usually present a gallery with images cropped to a 5×7 ratio, I would include this one with  an ‘artistic note” suggesting the  20×10 crop. It would actually make a beautiful, modern canvas, a true work of art to be displayed in the home.

Creative cropping is as simple as that, thinking outside of the box.

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Cropping ratio: what does it mean?
Utah Child Photography

October 22, 2009

Sometimes I have clients ask why a certain image can’t be cropped differently from what I have suggested.  The following image explains the cropping ratios to 4×6, 5×7, 8×10, 11×14 and square print options:

Utah child photography, utah toddler photography

This is how this image came out from the camera, with an 8×12 crop. Usually, when I am photographing a child during a session, I am careful to make sure that I have enough room when I compose the image so I can have extra space for cropping to most ratios.

Sometimes, however, when I have to chase a busy toddler (like this little one here), I pay more attention to facial expressions, eye contact and the emotion of the moment and not all images will end up with extra space around the subject. In a case like this, not all crops will work for all images. You can see how the lines for the 5×7 ratio are significantly different from the 8×10 crop. I actually prefer and recommend the 8×12 print as a more pleasing alternative.

When I crop an image for a print order, the artistic decision for the crop is carefully made as to preserve all the important elements and the spirit of the capture. The final print will be much more visually attractive and complete with a crop that enhances its value.

I hope this explanation has been able to clarify cropping and the reasons for it.

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