Small Post

Just a quick post to show what we're working on this week.  More portrait work in the studio, but this week we're working with Rick Ashley! (one of my favorite instructors.)  Post more later this week.

Night!

Portraits

This week we worked on learning how to create a classic portrait.  We learned the different ways to light a subject and a few ways to pose, including masculine and feminine.  However, this week was kind of thrown into a loop because of the blizzard we all had to deal with.  We picked up around a foot and a half!  Because of the storm, school was closed for a day, meaning we had our chance to work more cut short.  However, luckily next week we are also studying portraiture.  Here are a few examples of what I did.

Til next week,

Breanna

Happy New Year!

Hello all :)

Hope everybody is starting their new year off right!  I really enjoyed this week of class because it was heavy in photoshop, and I love all things photoshop!  This week we worked with taking several images and compositing them together.  The first half of the week was spent photographing several objects together in one shot.  However we would focus on one object at a time, make sure it was lit properly, then take the picture.  Then without moving anything we would light the next object and so on... it was super important not to move anything because when you get into photoshop to mask all the images together if anything moved then it wouldn't line up properly.  The final image is has everything lit exactly right, even if they call for different lighting techniques.

The second part of the week was spent photographing each other on a full seamless, then masking each other into a different image.  The tricky part was you had to manipulate the image after to make it look like it actually belonged there.  It had to have weight so that it wasn't floating in mid air, be the correct tone, and have correct shadows, along with many other things.

So here are a couple of images from this week.  Enjoy and see you next week!

Breanna

Past Week and a Half

Hey everybody!  So the past week or so has flown by!  I'll update you on what we have been working on.
Last week we were working in photoshop again on Panoramas and HDR shots.  HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.  This means that if you were shooting in a room with windows instead of just either the room being properly exposed or the windows being properly exposed, they both are.  This is achieved by making 5-7 exposures, all with different shutter speeds, so some are under exposed, and some are over exposed.  Then you put them through a program called Photomatix Pro and it compiles them.

When doing Panoramas it is important to keep the camera completely level.  You also have to have several pictures, all with overlapping elements.  Finally, in photoshop, you can stitch them together.  This week we are working on Architecture Photography.  This includes working with a special type of lens called a tilt and shift lens. These help keep the lines of building parallel.  We are also working with lighting interior spaces and learning how to color balance multiple light sources, all which have different "temperatures"

Well, thats all for now!  Here are some pictures from last week and this week.

Still Here

Hi everyone! :)  It's been a while since my last post, but I was on vacation and this week was CRAZY busy (but in a good way!)  This week we continued shooting still life products in the studio.  However, all this week we were paired with a class of graphic designers.  Together we collaborated to make a poster and a cook book page.  The designers came to us with ideas and sketches of what they wanted, and together we worked in the studio to get the images that they wanted.  It was definitely interesting working with them to say the least.  Also, as "extra credit" we could work on building a catalog spread.  We were allowed to choose the subject of the catalog, then had to photograph lots of images to fill the pages.  We were then given a template to put the images into.  I think mine came out pretty well!  Here are some photos from the past week.


Enjoy!

Back in the Studio

This week for class we are doing still life and product shooting.  Monday we focused on things with texture, while today we worked with metal objects.  Today was A LOT harder haha!  Especially the object that I chose.  With out intending it the metal objects would reflect something going on on the other side of the room.  Needless to say this developed into a headache quite quickly.  Not to mention learning how to shoot without getting a bunch of hot spots on the image! (parts that are blown out and to bright.)  After talking with my instructor I learned that if a professional was shooting what I brought to class that day they would use a special light box to light it evenly.  Because I did not have one of these I ended up having to improvise.  What I came up with I thought was pretty good and as close as I could get it without having the proper equipment.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll reshoot something else!  Our focus for tomorrow, however, is glass things.  Finally, on Thursday, we will put all these things together into a more elaborate scene!

Hope that everyone is having a fantastic week!

Here are some of the shots from today and yesterday :)

B

Pimp My Pug!

This past weekend I volunteered at an event called Pimp My Pug.  It was a fundraiser for a pug rescue program.  We invited people to come have their dog's portrait taken professionally for a small fee.  They could then order prints and enter their dog's photo into the calender contest.  The top 12 dogs that get the most votes online will appear in a 2011 calender and all the funds raise will go to the pug rescue.  It was so much fun getting to play with dogs all day and take their pictures!  And even though there were a few accidents, it was totally worth it to see a little 3 month old pug running around in a tutu!  I think the day was a great success and we raised a lot of money!  Thanks to Cheryl for putting this day together.  (check out her dog photography site at: http://www.bostondogphotography.com/  )  Here are a few snapshots I took of the day on my point and shoot.

Hope everyone has a great week!

B