The Upcoming Boston Workshop and Photoshop Friday

Tags

beauty, Boston Lighting Workshop, CT Beauty Headshot Photogrpaher, CT Headshot Photographer, headshots, Interfit, Interfit Photographic, Nikon, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, Rogue Flashbenders, Sony, Theia Studios, Theia Studios Workshops

Hi and welcome back.

I want to touch on and upcoming workshop on July 16 at Theia Studios, Boston, MA.

I’m heading to Theia Studios with my popular Headshot Workshop.  I’ll be teaching and you’ll be shooting multiple headshot looks with just speed lights and a few simple modifiers.

This is an awesome workshop that helps you to learn how to shoot the headshot in a studio or on location with just speedlghts and simple, readily available gear.

Here is a link and description, I hope to see you there!!

Theia Studios registration link: Theia Studios Headshot Workshop

I have to repost my Photoshop Friday article as I’m running out of time!

For today, I want to show you how to add a copyright to your images.  And then once you get that, you can create an action to run in the Scripts Manager or just add it per image.  I do it per image on delivered and retouched images as it is fast and simple.

First, pull a web-sized image into PS.  This shot has gone through the scripts manager as a batch conversion and is ready for the internet.

On the left of the PS palette, is the T.  You can choose it here or just type the letter T to place your text:

Once you have that chosen, the box along the top will come up and show your choices.

First: choose your script, I like Zapfino

Second: choose your type style, I choose regular but there are other choices

Third: choose type size, this will differ depending on your Font, just test on your image

Fourth: select your justification, although you’ll change this location to taste

Fifth: choose color.  For dark images choose white, for bright images choose black

Below my text box is on the image and active: 

For MAC users, use the Alt/Option key and the letter G to get the Copyright symbol up in the text box.  For you PC users, you’re on your own!  Sorry.  

Then type in your text.  I like the cursive style, so Zapfino works well for me: 

Once done, click the text box on the layers palette and your are all set.  Once you’ve gone through the motions, set yourself up with an action and let PS do the work for you.

That’s it for now.  Go back a few posts on the page and you’ll find tutorials on how to create an action and batch edit your images to make your photographic life easier.

That’s it for today.  Till next time, happy Photoshopping!

Upcoming Lighting Workshops

Tags

Bowens, CT OCF Workshops, Nikon, NJ Workshops, OCF, OCF Workshops, Off Camera flash workshops, Photoflex, Phottix, Sony

Hi and welcome back.

The next two Off Camera Flash lighting workshops are:

The Speedlight Workshop: An open workshop where I teach to your questions and ideas on lighting.   

Saturday, April 23

11am-3pm

Studio 52 North, Middletown, CT, but I am thinking of changing this to a location lighting workshop to take advantage of the great weather.

Cost: $120.00, you can use Paypal link above to register

Model supplied.

The Headshot Workshop, NJ

I’ll be heading to Unique Photo to teach 9 headshot looks.  We’ll have 3 stations and plenty of time to break out into groups to learn each technique.

Cost: $125.00

Register Here: Unique Photo

 

That’s it for today.  Just want to get the word out about the next two events in April.

Get out and enjoy the day and if you can shoot, shoot, shoot!

Till next time, happy Spring!

 

Smoothing Out Seamless Paper in Your Images

Tags

beauty, Columbus, Commercial, CT Commercial Photographer, Dodd Camera, Katy Ngo, Model, Nikon, NYC Commercial Photographer, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, Ohio, Photoshop, Savage Paper, Sony

Hi and welcome back.

I’m not a Photoshop Guru: actually, I despise the time I spend in Photoshop.  However, there are times when you need to dig deep and fix an image.  All my basic retouching goes out to retouching professionals, but sometimes I need to do it myself based on budget and time constraint.

I generally have a love/hate relationship with seamless paper.  Even though it is the industry standard and you can get some really cool colors for a good price, it is a pain to retouch later.  If you lay the roll down, it gets a bow in it; if you roll it up once or twice, you wrinkle it; if you step on it, you ruin it.  Get my drift on why I don’t like it?

But, it is easy to use and transport and every studio in the world has a selection of it on hand.

So I found myself having to retouch a background and was fumbling around when I found this amazing tutorial by my fellow photographer, Frank Doorhof in his book, “Mastering the Model Shoot.”

He gives the tutorial as a set of keystrokes.  Since I’m a Mac user, all the strokes will be for a Mac, for you Windows guys, just swap keys accordingly.

Ok, here is my image of Katy that needs a background fix:

Ok, here is the process recipe in Photoshop:

After opening the image, press Command-J to duplicate the background and work on the top layer only.

After copying the background, hit Shift-W, this will activate the Magic Wand tool.  Use it to highlight the background edges first:

If you look at my screenshot above, you’ll see how there is one section of hair not highlighted on the edge over Katy’s left ear.

Simple hit Command-Shift-I to invert the layer and then use your Magic Wand to adjust any missing elements:

Now that everything we want is highlighted, we can begin to work on the image.

Click Command-X to remove or cut Katy out of the image.  This will happen on the layer only.  You will still be able to see Katy, but the layer will show her removed.  This is what you want so you can see the effect of your adjustment later on.

Now that Katy is removed from the background, we can work on smoothing out the wrinkled paper.

Go to Filter-Blur-Gaussian Blur and choose a blur amount to taste.  You may need to do it several times to get the correct effect depending on the amount of wrinkles you need to move.

In this case, I chose 127.2 pixels by dragging the slider up and down.  I did this three times until I found the right amount by eye.

Your image will look like this:

But you can still see and uneven look to the seamless paper.  In order to smooth that further and to its final look, simply choose Filter-Noise-Add Noise and add noise from between 1-10 or to taste.  I’ve not gone above 5 for any image.

Now your image will look like this:

Now for the final.  Click Command-Shift-V to bring Katy back from being pasted out of the image.

Your layer palette should look like this:

And your image like this, fully repaired!

Then simply use Shift-Command-E to flatten your image.

Voila! You went from bad to good in a few quick steps.

Try this a few times.  Once you get the keystrokes down, you can fix and image with a wrinkled seamless paper background in a few minutes.

So go from bad to good with the amazing tutorial:

Well that’s it for now.  If you are coming to the Fitness Workshop on April 2, we’ll be shooting on a colored seamless so you can definitely try this at home!

That’s it for now.  Till next time, happy retouching!

 

A Poignant Thought

Tags

Bowens, CT Headshot Photographer, CT Workshops, Expoimaging, Interfit S1, Lighting Workshops NYC, Nikon, NYC, NYC Headshot Photographer, NYC Lighting Workshops, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, Phottix, Rogue Flashbenders, Sony, Workshops

Hi and welcome back.

This is a quick and thoughtful post.

I just found this online and thought it was poignant for all educators.

As a photography educator, I thought it really applied to the workshop format, something I take pride in and teach internationally.

Keep it in mind as you can only go so far with books and videos; you really need to shoot to learn:

Tell me and I forget

Teach me and I remember

Involve me and I learn

Take a workshop, get involved, shoot, shoot, shoot, and when you think you’ve had enough, shoot some more!

Make plenty of mistakes and enjoy the ride.

Till we meet at an event or workshop, happy shooting!

 

40’s Hollywood Glamour

Tags

40's Hollywood Glamour, 40's Hollywood Glamour Workshop, 40s Glamour headshot, Expoimaging, Hollywood Glamour with Speedlights, LI Workshops, Nikon Speedlights, NYC OCF Workhsop, NYC workshops, OCF, Off Camera flash workshops, Rogue Flashbender, Sony, Sony A 7II, Speedlights

Hi and welcome back.

A few weeks ago I ran a 40’s Hollywood Glamour workshop at Berger Brothers Camera, Huntington, NY.

We had a great time with our model, Anastasia, who is not a professional model but who took on the challenge and did a fabulous job.

I just got two retouched photos back and wanted to share the look.  I love this look and it has become my signature style with Rogue Flashbenders.

Key: SB910, Rogue Small Flashbender as a snoot

Hair: SB800, Rogue Large Flashbender as a snoot

Back: SB800, Rogue 25º grid

Here are two finished images, both images had the same setup.  For the full body shot, we adjusted our light power and ISO to get enough light on Anastasia:

Here is a BTS shot using Set A Light 3D software.  Please note, the lighting is reversed on Anastasia, the key is camera left, hair on right, back on left, but you get the idea:

This is the basic setup for the three light 40’s Hollywood Glamour shot.

I highly recommend that you try this at home as it is a fun technique.

That’s it for now.  Till next time, stay glamorous!

The Headshot Workshop this Saturday and a Change to the NYC Workshop

Tags

Beauty Dish, Bowens Softbox, CT OCF, CT OCF Workshops, Godox S Mount, Luna, Nikon, OCF, Off Camera flash workshops, Phottix, Roger Salls Studio, Rogue Flashbenders, Sony, Speedlights, Workshop

Hi and welcome back.

For Saturday’s workshop on the Headhsot at Roger Salls Studio, we are a go.  I have just enough attendees to make it work.  If you are interested in learning Off Camera Flash and how to shoot the headshot for multiple looks, don’t hesitate, join in the fun.  At $100.00 for a model, studio, and shoot time, it is a steal!!
Plus you get to work at Roger’s studio, which he also rents.  So join in to learn the headshot and see a great studio that you can rent.

Location: 80 Ferry Blvd, Stratford, CT. Park in rear.

Time: 11-2

Date: February 6, 2016

Look: The Headshot with sped lights, corporate, actor, model, beauty, creative lighting

Cost: $100.00 register with Paypal with the link on the top of the page
Our model is Nicole Hopke:

A quick update on the Headshot, NYC on Feb 27.

If you are joining or planning on joining this workshop, I had a location change.  Space 4 Shoots has two locations and I had the wrong one.

Space4Shoots new address: 25 W 31st St, 2nd floor.

Details: same as the one above

Cost: $225.00 use Paypal link on top of the page, covers rental studio, model, styling, and a 4 hour headshot event

Attendance: the NYC workshop is only open to 10 attendees and I already have registrants.  If you want to attend, register soon before it is booked up1

Don’t stay home Saturday, join us for the Headshot workshop and learn how to shoot this lucrative style of photography.

See you soon!

Bob

Sunday’s Workshop

Tags

Beauty headshots, Beauty Photography, CT Actor Headshot Photographer, CT Headshot Photographer, CT Headshot Phtographer, CT OCF Workshops, Expoimaging, Luna, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, Phottix, Phottix Luna, Rogue Grids, Rogue XL Pro

Hi and welcome back.

If you are attending tomorrow’s workshop here are the details:

Location: Studio 52 North, 52 North Main St, Middletown, CT

Park in the driveway and we are on the second floor.  If you have a problem getting in, call or text: 203-540-8821.

Time: 12-3

Look: Beauty Headshots, two looks, one clean and simple the other creative with creative lighting.

Thanks and see you tomorrow:

Adding Gels to Your Work

Tags

Blue Gels, Key and fill, NYC Headshot Photographer, NYC model photographer, NYC off camera flash workshops, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, Phottix, Rosco Gels

Hi and welcome back.

Today we’ll take a quick look at adding gels to your work.

This year I decided to add more color to my work using gels.

Gels can color correct, like turning daylight flash/strobe to tungsten, or just coloring the light to change a background from grey to green or cool to warm.

For this post, I added contrast and color by adding a Rosco Blue Gel to my fill light.

I wanted to add color tone and contrast to an image and added it all with just a hint of fill light.

Key: Phottix Mitros Plus Flash, Phottix white Luna Beauty Dish

Fill: Phottix Indra 500, Rosco Blue Gel, Lastolite Tri Grip reflector white side up

As this was shot on location and was a workshop, the triggers are Phottix Ares so all cameras in attendance could participate.

I attached my Indra to a Matthews shorty C-Stand and used a Manfrotto Super Clamp to attach the Tri Grip Reflector lower to the light source, creating a nice bounce fill light on Megan.  The light is soft and fills in all the shadows with just a touch of contrast and color.

Here are BTS shots:

 

Here is a shot with the key only.  As you can see it is underexposed.  The fill light added so much from the bottom up that I didn’t need to correctly expose for the key:

 

Once I added the fill light, all the shadows opened and the exposure evened out across the frame.

Here is an unretouched proof:

 

And here are finals that went through a full round of retouching and finishing, although the model does not need that much work!

Once the images have been finished, you can really see how the blue-toned light from below added fill and contrast to the finals.

So add gels for creative effect and to add dimension, drama, and contrast to your work to keep it exciting and fresh.

That’s it for now.  Till next time, are you gellin’?

 

NJ and The Next Two Workshops

Tags

Expimaging, Milford Photo, Mitros Plus Flash, New Jersey, Nikon, NJ OCF Workshops, OCF, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, Photocenter, Phottix, Rogue, Rogue Flashbender 2, Rogueflash

Hi and welcome back.

I was in NJ all weekend and ran workshops at TF Camera in Vineland and then drove up to New Hampton to teach privately.

Here are a few proof images from the weekend:

I used all small flashes to produce the images above.  If you are interested in the workshop experience and want to learn how to shoot images like these, I’m in these two locations in the next two weeks:

March 28, 2015, Hyatt Place Conference Center, Milford, CT

Milford Photo has two events with Phottix as sponsor.  The cost is very reasonable and if you are in the Milford, CT area, join in the fun.

The first workshop is basic flash:

Off Camera Flash Revealed

The second workshop is advanced lighting and using the new Phottix Indra 500 Studio strobe:

Multilook Lighting Workshop

I have two models for the morning session and a third, different model, for the afternoon.  So come to learn lighting and add to your portfolio.

April 4, Salt Studios, Asbury Park, NJ

Photo Center in Brick, NJ, is having me down to run my very popular
“One Speedlight, 16 Looks” workshop.

Here is the flyer.  You can call the store or go online to register.

The workshop format is a great way to learn new technique, meet other photographers, and check out gear you may want or are considering purchasing.

Join me over the next two weekends for some great shooting at these two awesome events!

Till then, happy shooting!

 

TF Camera, Vineland, NJ Workshops March 20 and 21

Tags

CT Off Camera Flash Workshops, New Jersey, Nikon, NJ OCF, NJ Off Camera Flash Workshops, Off Camera flash workshops, Philadelphia OCF, Philadelphia OCF Workshops, Phottix, Pocket Wizard, TF Camera, TF Camera Workshops, Vineland New Jersey

Hi and welcome back.

If you are in the Central or South New Jersey, Philly, Delaware area, I’m heading to TF Camera in Vineland to run two separate workshops.

All my workshops are shooting workshops, so bring your cameras to learn light and get portfolio images.

On Friday night, I’ll run my “Foolproof Portrait Lighting” workshop, where I’ll use simple gear to show you how to get great results each and every time.

March 20

6-9:30 pm

Ramada Inn, Vineland

Registration Link: TF Foolproof Portrait Lighting

On Saturday, I’ll run my “One Speedlight, 16 Looks” workshop, where I’ll show you 16 different ways to use one light source and a few reflectors to get 16 different looks.

March 21

9:30-3:30

Ramada Inn, Vineland

Registration Link: TF One Speedlight, 16 Looks

One Speedlight, 16 Looks companion book: Book Link

There is a discount if you attend both events: TF Event Discount Link

Come join in the fun and bring your camera to learn new lighting techniques to add to your lighting knowledge and skill.

Till next time, happy shooting!