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.

Upgrades to our Online Galleries

With every package/shoot, we include a private, password-protected, online gallery. This way, you can see your images faster, because we upload batches as they become available. You don't have to wait for all the images to get done or a CD/DVD to be mailed to you. Plus, you can order prints, view, download, share with others (some options depend upon the package you selected).

I did a great deal of research before we picked our current vendor, Zenfolio.com. They offered many of the features I wanted, BUT they continue to add more! This means that we can offer more and better features to our clients. Some of the latest enhancements:

1. Batch downloads. Nice! Now, you can download more than one image at a time - which can be a slow and painful process, I admit. Of course, downloading hundreds of images will take you days due to the large file size. We are on a very high speed connection, and it will still take 8-10 hours to upload 500 or so images. So, keep that in mind if you select the option to download all files.

2. Export to Flickr. This is more of a feature for the photographer (me), BUT it means I might be able to offer this service to clients. Need to noodle on it some more and check it out, but if there's a way to offer better service to my clients, I'll find it!

3. Share the love! Now your gallery will offer a "Share" feature. Cool new option! With one click, you can Tweet your gallery, post to Facebook, send in an email, etc.

Can't wait to see what new enhancements Zenfolio will announce next! Keep them coming - we love them!

Three Years Ago....

....I was in the hospital giving birth to my beloved Nicholas! All nine pounds and six ounces of him. Happy Birthday, my silly, little Boo! I can't believe you're three already....you're the reason I finally indulged my passion for photography. Hard to put a camera down when such a cute subject is around....

A Day Off!

Tomorrow is my son's third birthday. To celebrate, my husband and I decided to take the day off and take all the kids to The Beach Waterpark. I'm doing some quick work in the morning, and then we'll head out. I know the three kids are looking forward to it - especially the birthday boy.

Hope we have some good weather for our fun day out!

Gone Shoppin'

Was out shopping for my almost 3-year-old's birthday and decided to stop into Best Buy for some new movies for him. Well, we wandered into the computer section, and I ended up with a few new toys!

I'm all about the latest gadgets - especially if they'll make my life easier, and I can deliver better quality in less time. I'm also all about having the right equipment. External hard drives are VERY important, because I would hate to think of what would happen if I ever lost any photos - eek! That thought gives me nightmares, chills and gray hair.

That's why I back up my images online at Zenfolio.com AND on an external hard drive. My current drive of choice is the Western Digital My Book. It's 1 TB (size matters!) and is a slick looking black device. Ever since we got the new Canon 5Ds with their 21 megapixel awesomeness, I've been filling up my current My Book rather quickly. It's down to 500 GBs!

So, I picked up a second 1 TB My Book, and I'm ready for the megabytes - bring them on!

In addition, I got a fancy new DVD writer. It is much faster than the one in my laptop and offers some additional features like LightScribe label printing. I am VERY interested in checking this out, because it means I can print on the CDs and DVDs - much better than marking them with my trusty Sharpie. Hey, it works, but it's just not the prettiest way to go.

As we add more fancy, cool gadgets to our arsenal, I'll report them here! Just one more way we are trying to offer the best service and options to our clients.

Good to the Last Shot

Batteries may not sound like an exciting thing to discuss, but they really are very important to a wedding photographer. We go through A LOT of batteries in one wedding, because our Canon 580 EX II flashes are battery hogs. I can almost hear the sucking noise as I take photos.

Like myself, my husband is a research freak. And, like me, he wants to have the best equipment, so that we know we can take the best photos. I never want to worry about my gear and whether it's going to deliver.

So far, we've been using Eneloop and Duracell rechargeable AA batteries. At first, I thought I preferred the Eneloop, but it seems the Duracell actually last a little longer. I know the Duracell are 2650 mAh, but the Eneloop might be a little less.

A fellow photographer recommended Powerex. Since I liked their chargers and planned to order one, I decided I'd get two packs of the 2700 mAh batteries and give them a "shot." They should arrive this week - just in time for our next wedding on 8/29. I'll have to report back on how they do.

One of the goals at Gardner Photography & Design is to deliver the best service possible - that is why we put so much time and effort into picking out something as small as batteries. They seem like nothing major until they die on you in the middle of a key shot!

BEST Best Man Speech

Even I was laughing, and I don't know these people....this guy was a riot!