Before & After - When Photoshop Saves the Day

I wish every photo that came off my memory card was perfect, every time....but that doesn't always happen.  Heck, that never happens!  There are many factors that go into creating a photo, so anything can go wrong.  That's when Adobe Photoshop can sometimes save the day.

I had a wedding about a year ago and was asked to work some Photoshop magic.  A very specific image of the Bride and Groom didn't exist, so the Bride asked me if I could "create" this image.

It was a tough challenge, but I was up for it!  It would mean finding an image that was close and then removing people and recreating a background.  With something like trees or sky, it can be relatively easy to clone the background.

Not with this photo.

It had a lot of details that were in focus - the slats in the porch, the windows next to the front door, the vase of flowers....luckily, I did find two choices, and the couple looked great in both!

You can see the amazing "before" and "after" here....

This was a very rare and extreme case - but it shows that Gardner Photography & Design has the ability to work their "magic" behind the lens AND on the computer.

Santa Claus Must be a Canon Man

I've decided Santa must be a fan of Canon.  This past holiday, he brought me some fabulous new toys to add to my camera bag....

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" for the Photographer

Twelve Powerex batteries...
Eleven new wedding leads...
Ten SanDisk memory cards...
Nine lens cleaning cloths...
Eight lens filters...
Seven new Photoshop plug-ins...
Six hour wedding shoot...
Five (in 1) disc reflectors...
Four new back drops...
Three Scott Kelby photo books...
Two Canon L Lenses...

....and a Canon battery pack......

Happy Holidays!

Something Borrowed, Something New...

 I love playing around with Photoshop.  After all, I've been doing it for....gasp....20 years now!  But there's always something new to try - a filter, technique, action, you name it.  I especially like some of the tools from Nik Software and Alien Skin.

Yesterday, I came across a tutorial for making faux HDR images.  From Wikipedia:

In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of luminances between light and dark areas of a scene than normal digital imaging techniques or photographic prints. This wider dynamic range can allow HDRI to more accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to deep shadows.

In English - it creates some very cool images.

I haven't really done much with HDR.  My one and only attempt didn't turn out, so I poo-pooed it as some passing fad and moved on.

Yesterday, I read a tutorial about faking HDR and gave it a try.  What fun!  I saved it as a preset in Lightroom and went to town on a bunch of photos.  It is definitely NOT for some photos, but I rather liked how crazy some others turned out.

Full slideshow:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/gotbaby/sets/72157622154433356/show/

I may start to offer this option to Clients who want something a little more edgy or artsy - ask if you're interested in knowing or seeing more!  Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the photos.

Vendor Recommendation : Jewelry

I've decided to start something new - vendor recommendations! The longer you're in this business, the more vendors you meet, and the better your recommendations get. Some of my recommendations are based on who I used for my own wedding - and some are based on the fabulous folks I've met and worked with at other weddings.

For my own wedding, I truly struggled with the dresses and jewelry for.....my bridesmaids! Yes, picking out my own dress was pretty easy. I went to David's Bridal and quickly had it narrowed down to two dresses. With the help of my stepdaughter, Taylor, and some very nice women at the store, I was able to settle on a dress (okay, okay, so it was about four hours later, but it was only ONE trip to the store).

After that, I spent countless hours searching for dresses for my bridesmaids - they even laughed at me for working so hard on finding THEIR dresses. I didn't want them stuck with ugly dresses that they would hate. Same for the jewelry - for them and me! After I did find dresses (also from David's Bridal), I spent weeks trying to find matching jewelry that wasn't tacky or cheap but something I could afford. NOT an easy task.

That's when I was lucky enough to find Redot Designs. I was actually able to custom design my own necklace based on earrings they offered. I mocked up the design in Photoshop and sent it to Rebecca Dotson (the owner), and the resulting necklace was perfect! I ordered all the jewelry for myself and my bridesmaids from Redot Designs and was VERY happy with the entire experience. One of my bridesmaids was wearing her necklace of black Swarovski crystals recently, so I'm happy to know that my gift is getting more use than one day!

I was just on the site and noticed they now have a "Christie" necklace. It's not the one I designed, but I love it and may have even ordered it for myself! It looks like they're going to start a big face lift/redesign, so I will be sure to check them out afterwards and possible pick up some bling for myself.

To learn more about Redot Designs or order their gorgeous jewelry, visit: http://redotdesigns.com!