Author: SiobhanKyle

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Beginner Photography: Multiple Exposures

Hey y’all! As you may know, Tony and Chelsea are away for a few weeks, leading a photo trip in Thailand. We don’t have a live show this week, so I decided to try a photography project: multiple exposures. If you’ve never done it before, or just need a refresher, watch this great video Chelsea made on two different methods:

I decided I would try both ways and see which worked better. I’m using an Olympus E-M10, which has the capability to do the process in-camera. So this is what you need to do in preparation:

  • choose a subject and a relevant overlay image
  • have your subject backlit to make a silhouette
  • photograph your subject, then photograph your overlay image to show through the dark parts of your silhouette

I tend to shoot opportunistically. I spotted my cat sitting in the window and thought he’d make the perfect subject. An easily recognizable shape and ready-made backlighting. Unfortunately cats aren’t the most obliging models. The window he was in front of was a bit busy, which complicated the image. I decided to shoot his food as the overlaying image. Here’s how it turned out:

 

I like how it fades to all food at the bottom, but the window frame, yard, and food bowls made the shot more complicated than I’d like.

I got a few more shots like that, none particularly successful. Franklin D. Catsevelt needs some coaching. So next I followed him around and shot him while in front of a different window. I used Chelsea’s method in the above video to make a multiple exposure in Photoshop. This time the background was still a bit busy, so I used the magnetic lasso tool to select him and add him onto a blank, white background before completing the process. 

The edges could use some cleaning up, but that far exceeds my Photoshop skills.

And finally, I got a shot of my beloved dog, Hungry Hungry Hippo. He was sitting nicely on the radiator cover in our front window. The blinds were closed behind him, give a cleaner backdrop than the images of the cat. I did some work to clean up the lines of the blinds before overlaying the food shot.

I think this is my most successful of the three.

 

And there you have it! My first attempts at multiple exposures. This was a really fun project, I think I’ll try it again with more reasonable models so I can control the background better.

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Beginner Photography: Actual Wildlife

Hey guys! This past week I was in Connecticut to see my family for Thanksgiving and I got to go out shooting with Tony, Chelsea, Madelyn and Justin. We made a video on shooting wildlife, so keep an eye out for that. We also made it into the local paper!

So I got to do some bird photography with some serious equipment. I borrowed T&C’s Nikon D500 with a 200-500mm f/5.6, and that thing is intense. Shooting with a lens that big is a real adjustment. 

Tony and Chelsea know their wildlife spots, so we went out to Harkness Memorial Park and down to a little inlet surrounded by tall grasses. There weren’t a whole lot of birds out, just some gulls for a while. I practiced tracking them through a bird blind. One of the hardest parts was just getting a bird in the frame while looking through that insane lens. I would zoom all the way out to 200mm just to get the bird in frame before zooming in to 500mm to try and capture it. Holding it still in blustering winds was hard enough just shooting a still subject. I didn’t get anywhere close to getting a moving subject in focus. Thankfully we had an obliging mockingbird who modeled for us as soon as we got there.

Here’s a great video on shooting songbirds:

And another on shooting flying birds:

Half of us had our batteries freeze up or die towards the end of our session, and of course a whole flock of turkey vultures and black vultures came swooping overhead as we were packing up. It was a rare and beautiful sight that I was completely unprepared to capture! Always have a spare battery, kids.

So here’s what I gleaned from my one trip out with our talented teachers:

Research your location

    • There are local bird-watching groups you can join who can tell you where specific species nest.
    • Choose a clear day, hard light is good for widlife.
    • If shooting songbirds, choose your setting, set up your gear and wait.

Bring the right gear

    • Dress for the weather! Gloves, boots, hats and coats were a must for us going out that early on a windy day.
    • Camouflage, netting, and bird blinds all help you get closer without the need for a huge lens.
    • A telephoto lens is the best if you cannot get close. Watch this video for some suggestions.
    • Spare battery!

Camera settings

    • Put your camera in shutter priority so you can adjust for still subjects to moving subjects.
    • Autofocus for moving subjects.
    • Keep your f/stop higher to increase your chances of getting the nearest eye in focus.
    • Use continuous shutter to fire off multiple shots in a row.

 Great model, nice setting, and some pleasing depth of field.

 

Another angle.

 

I just love the texture of this little guy’s feathers.

 

This is the closest I got to getting a moving subject in focus before my battery died.

 

I had a lot of fun out there. I can’t imagine wildlife will ever be my particular focus, but it was a really interesting practice and I truly appreciate how difficult it is to do now that I’ve attempted it. I did a bit of post processing on all of these shots, mostly cropping in tight (the Tony Northrup way) and checking my white and black points. I could use to do some noise reduction on the background of that vulture shot as well.

So how’d I do for my first time? 

And a final tip, don’t be annoying:

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Live Show Recap: Wildlife

Hey! I’m live in the studio this week and awkward as ever! If for no other reason, that’s a reason to watch the show. 

We reviewed wildlife again this week and as always we had some great submissions.

No live show until December 15th! Chelsea and Tony will be away traveling in Thailand for their photo trip. But once they’re back, Kyle Wolfe will finally be a guest on our show reviewing your night photography. Super exciting.

We have a huge sale right now in our store, so go check out our bundles and give gifts to yourself or your friends.

Okay, we get into reviewing your photos here:

  • foxy
  • “you’re running around in the park with your kids and there will just be monsters there.”
  • handsome tree frog
  • hedgehog!
  • great bison
  • “ugh, not today Roger”

Time for chit-chat! Our favorite part of the show where you make funny, dumb, great comments and we highlight them.

  • “I’m a certified photographer”
  • y’all are real conflicted about what it means to be a pro
  • Tony=Cliff Clavin
  • pro brothers

What is this. Why. No.

Back into your photos:

Over to me for some of your questions:

  • cold weather gloves good for photography? Mittens, or mittens with finger flaps.
  • how to wrangle family for portraits during the holiday? Drink! Jk. Threaten, use ultimatums. Use the matriarch or patriarch of the family as the instigator. Use dumb jokes.

Let’s do a portfolio review! JMB Photography. Stunning artistic work. If you want to be hired for portraiture, you should have a more professional site focused on what’s marketable.

More questions from you, via me:

  • what’s the most satisfying picture you’ve ever taken? For Chelsea it’s her bubble shot. For Tony’s it’s his osprey shot where it caught a fish. He’s vindictive.
  • what’s your favorite compositional technique? Depends on the subject. Tony’s least favorite is the golden ratio.

Back to photos:

Back to me for your q’s:

  • how many plates do you have? Like 50?
  • does shrinking an image size make it sharper? No.

Back to photos:

‘Nother question:

  • How do you keep a tripod from sinking in the sand? Are you in quicksand? Get out.

Back to photos:

How to explain AOL to children.

More questions:

  • any photography horror moments? Justin does. So does Tony. Don’t wear flip-flops.

More photos:

We’re speeding through now to get through before the end of the show.

Final questions from you all:

  •  how can I take pictures with a drone without looking like a drooling pervert? Don’t take pictures in windows. Wear a tie.
  • 1DX Mark II as an underwater camera? Sure?

We breeze through a bunch of photos at the end, so just watch those. White squirrel!

Alright folks, that’s our show! We’ll be off for a few weeks, so we’ll see you again December 15th with Kyle Wolfe. Don’t forget! 

Edited to add: Fyn made a list of every animal displayed during the show! Holy cow:

Fyn Kynd 

 
Fyn Kynd1 day ago
A complete list of all species viewed on this show. You are welcome 😉 -your resident naturalist <3 Red Fox American Alligator Northern Paper Wasp European Red Squirrel Cheetah Herring Gull Gray Tree Frog Osprey European Hedgehog Eastern Gray Squirrel Brown Pelican American Bison European Robin Caribou Great Gray Owl Mallard American Elk Common Shag White-tailed Deer Coyote Song Sparrow Eurasian Jay Glaucous-winged Gull American Goldfinch Red Kite Eastern Bluebird Mute Swan Common Raccoon Cooper’s Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Scarlet Tanager Canada Goose Sicilian Wall Lizard New Holland Honeyeater Northern Mockingbird Eastern Bumble Bee Western Bluebird Blue Tit Northern Cardinal Bengal Tiger Double-crested Cormorant Dingo Bald Eagle American Crow Japanese Sea Nettle California Sea Lion Black-headed Gull African Elephant Common Hippopotamus Great Spotted Woodpecker Nanday Conure Meerkat Moose Roseate Spoonbill American Robin Lion American Lady Wood Duck Magnificent Hummingbird Stellar’s Jay Great Blue Heron Ruby-throated Hummingbird American Flamingo Southern Giraffe Eastern Screech-owl Least Grebe Great Egret Downy Woodpecker White Stork Hoopoe Rook Laughing Gull Royal Tern Common Wood-pigeon American Black Bear European Coot Eastern Chipmunk Tree swallow Red-breasted Sapsucker Laughing Kookaburra European Eagle Owl Northern Goshawk Grizzly Bear Little Egret River Otter Glossy Starling Leopard Cope’s Gray Tree Frog Scarlet Macaw Ostrich Australian Pelican Eastern Rosella Small Tortoiseshell American Oystercatcher Galah European Nuthatch Mountain Goat Common Loon Tricolored Heron Wild Turkey American Bullfrog Black Swan Ural Owl Hooded Crow Rainbow Lorikeet Greater Roadrunner California Ground Squirrel Gray Wolf Red-tailed Hawk Bobcat Autumn Meadowhawk Tundra Swan Common Raven Sarus Crane Ring-billed Gull Black-capped Chickadee  
Black Vulture 
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Beginner Photography: Not Wildlife

Soooo, this weeks’ live show topic is wildlife. Thing is, we did wildlife a month ago and I wrote a blog post on my attempt then.

Wildlife is a near-impossible task if you are not a dedicated wildlife photographer. It takes time, patience, and the proper gear. None of which I have! I went on a hike with my family this weekend and did not come across any wildlife besides an errant squirrel or a far-away bird. There were a lot of dogs on the trail, mine included, so what little wildlife may inhabit the area avoided us. So I took photos of what I had, which is my family and a beautiful setting.

For whatever reason, every shot I liked I wound up converting to black and white. My family was wearing bright colors which were distracting, and even though there were some nice fall colors in the trees, the sky and water both looked murky. 

I focused on the backlighting of the sun behind the kids when we were at the stream, which cast some interesting shadows. I think I was able to capture some of the joy of a warm late-fall day, moments of peace in a tumultuous time.

Trail shadows 

 

I cannot figure out how to separate my black dog from the background

 

I love the ripple in the water and the motion of her hand

 

A pause in motion

 

Soft glow

 

Girl in flight

 

I’m gonna be honest, this did not feel like a successful shoot. But I had a hell of a week and this was a moment of brightness. Please let me know what you would have done differently with these shots. 

Also, I’ll be in CT starting tomorrow, and I’m be going out to shoot some real wildlife with Chelsea, Tony, and Justin! So I’ll have some actual wildlife work to show for myself. Keep an eye out!

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Live Show Recap: Wedding

 

Hey folks! This show was a blast. We reviewed your wedding photos and there were some lovely ones. ATTN: next week due to Thanksgiving, we’re doing our live show a day early. We’ll be doing the show on Wednesday at our regular time and looking at your wildlife photos.

We start right off with some chit-chat! Our favorite segment of the show where you say mean or funny or dumb things to us and we respond.

  • “your talking crap.” Get your “you’re”s right, Philip.
  • Tony did donuts, and he’ll never stop
  • indoor drone flying? Never.
  • Skip, no. Photoshop doesn’t make a photographer bad.
  • oops, there’s my handsome husband in a tub.
  • One circle only, Tony.

Ok, let’s get into your photos, but also talk about Westworld:

  • stunning shot
  • classic head shot
  • a well done kiss shot
  • “you just realize how dirty and banged up your whole life is”
  • expression
  • sassy lassies
  • “I get kissed all the time, you think I give a damn?”
  • “nooo, I’m not uncomfortable, I’m an adult”
  • so sweet
  • magazine worthy

Alright, let’s pop over to me for some Q&A:

  • what is your Hogwarts house? We’re adults. “You think they made a Disney theme park because it’s a crappy book?”
  • can you be a wedding photographer if you don’t agree with the institution of marriage? Probably not.
  • my child showed up behind me
  • what is with all the questions about Fuji raw files?
  • what’s the most reckless thing you’ve done in the name of photography? Chelsea married Tony. Trespassing, getting close to dangerous animals. Tony almost drowned with dolphins. “It turns out dolphins are like, really good swimmers.” “Very nearly drowned all the way to death.” Chelsea’s whole response to Tony’s story is amazing.

Okay, over to a portfolio. Beautiful photos. Be one of those Instagram people who makes lots of money by being cool. 

PhotoNews:

  • Nikon 70-200E f/2.8, Tony would pick the D810 with this lens over the 5DSR!
  • Phantom 4 Pro Batteries can be used for the original Phantom 4. “I just want to live my life as a drone.” #DroneLife

Okay, back to your photos:

  • “this photo’s nice because this man is like, handsome.”
  • perfect backlighting
  • is there anything Kyle can’t do? “This is like when your Furbys start talking.”
  • “I like this guy’s stance because he’s in it to win it.” This whole conversation is perfect.
  • Caleb!
  • I got a pick!
  • “look at you, you’re beautiful!”
  • a real ridiculous Captain Planet moment starts here
  • “maybe he’s gonna punch us, that’s the gag”

Back over to me:

  • Chelsea grills me about Captain Planet and then we sing a duet
  • what do you want the future to say about you? “Tony was helpful, but Chelsea made me feel bad about myself.” Tony wants to be remembered for his educational techniques. Chelsea wants to be accessible. “I just hope that they point out that one car circle would have been enough.”
  • this question was hella confusing, so we just run with it. Emotion, emotion, what?
  • Sigma 35 or 50mm Art lens?

Back to your photos:

Back to meeee:

  • tech q’s
  • iPhone 7+ portrait mode?
  • high price point of the 70-200? Not sharp enough to justify.
  • I got nothing. Your tech questions bore me.
  • what would you use to shoot protests? Street photography gear, 24-70, 70-200. Nothing special.

And that’s our show! Join us next WEDNESDAY at 5pm EST for your wildlife photos. 

 

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Beginner Photography: Wedding

You guys! This is a big one. A few months ago I got the honor of being a second shooter for my friend’s wedding, assisting my very talented friend and wedding photographer, Carina of Love Me Do Photography. Our friends, Rick and Nicole, got married in the backyard of their huge community house in Germantown, Philadelphia. The wedding was quirky and fun and I wanted to do my best to capture their unique personalities. 

So the second shooter for a wedding has different responsibilities from the primary shooter. If you have Stunning Digital Photography, there’s a whole chapter on wedding photography which includes a very helpful checklist for what you need to prepare for before shooting a wedding. I used it and I highly recommend it. As the secondary shooter I was responsible for shooting details of the space, the groom and groomsmen preparing for the ceremony, candid shots of the wedding party and guests, and the all-important reaction shots of the groom, family and guests. I’ll show you examples of all of these below.

I can’t speak too much on the preparation before the shoot as I was not part of that, but it is integral to meet with your couple before hand and make a list of what shots they need, posed and otherwise, and what events will happen throughout the day that you need to be prepared for.

For this shoot, Carina lent me her Canon 5D Mark III with a 24-70 lens and a Canon 600 external flash. After the wedding, she gave me .jpgs of the best shots I took, so I did some editing on them, but they aren’t as intricate edits as I would have attempted with raw files.

Details:

It is important to capture parts of the wedding that make it special. Keep your eye out for the little details and decorations that the family put so much effort into.

The bride’s bouquet

 

These adorable pins of the bride and groom were the wedding favors

A glimpse of the groom’s socks

Getting Ready:

The primary shooter will most likely shoot the bride getting ready. She’ll get shots of the wedding dress, shoes, rings, etc. 

Requisite tie-in-the-mirror shot

 

Waiting for photos

Posed Photos/Candids of Posed Photos

The primary will do the majority of posed shots, but you can get the moments in between where you can catch some great moments of joy and nervousness.

 

 

Fun family photo

Goofy groom

Ceremony

The ceremony is the time to get shots of as many of the guests and family members as possible. It is important to capture the important people in the couple’s life and their moments of shared joy. Make sure to be present for the important reaction shots like the guests seeing the bride for the first time, the wedding kiss, and the reactions of the guests to those moments. 

Waiting to enter the ceremony

Here comes the bride

Guest reactions to the bride

Husband and wife

Celebration

Reception

The reactions of the parents of the couple are very important to capture, as well as the dance of the mother of the groom and the father of the bride. Not all weddings will follow these traditions, but find out in advance which of these will appear so you can be prepared to shoot them.

Surprise guest

Reaction shots to the toast

Bride and groom dance

Father of the bride dance

Mother of the groom dance

This was such a great experience. I would highly recommend offering your services to a professional photographer if you aren’t one yet yourself. I took thousands of photos and got a handful that I am really proud of. It was a long and physically strenuous day (I didn’t consider how much I’d be crouching and running around!) and the experience was invaluable. 

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Live Show Recap: Candid Family Photos

Hey there! This week we looked at your candid family photos and they were lovely. Chelsea is sassy on tequila this week and it was great. Justin was drinking sambuca and that is gross.

Tony chose a confusing password in reference to War Games. No more guessing!

Next week the topic is wedding photography because that works for me.

Let’s start off with some photo news:

  • sdp.io/LRPS $89 deal for Lightroom and Photoshop
  • Tony switched back to iPhone! Traitor. “Your old phone was like trying to hold a fish.”
  • Apple Drone!
  • GoPro Karma crashes!
  • Nikon D5600
  • Nikon headcount reduction

Let’s get into your photos. I’ll highlight our picks here:

Over to me for some of  your questions:

Time to look at a portfolio! Beautiful photos, great eye. Include contact info, pricing, some way to hire you. But if you’re trying to market yourself, you’ll want to lead with your marketable work instead of your artistic photos.

Here’s my cat peeing.

Back to me for a question:

  • how to get started with bird photography without spending all the money? Get a 300mm zoom, a bird feeder and a bird blind. Here’s a few videos to help you get started. “The video has helpful information if you can get over my jacket.”
  • “Robots put me out of business again!”

Now to chit-chat! Our favorite segment where you say dumb or funny things and we enable you:

  • Chelsea’s camera strap is a guitar strap. She doesn’t recommend it.
  • Tony is the Mr. Rogers of photography
  • +1 for Tony’s chill
  • Tony was indeed there for the boudoir video
  • “old guy looking younger or a young guy looking older”
  • is Tony and undercover superhero?

Back to your photos:

  • our girl Brittney killing it again this week!
  • “I was reaching for the P myself”
  • “why didn’t you guys tell me my booty was so fly?”
  • “I wrecked that outhouse”
  • hotel del coronado
  • swim kids
  • bread makers
  • “In some cultures, when they dog is old they take it out to sea“
  • “babies gone wild”
  • beach punks
  • laughing
  • backlight
  • photo album
  • gross, gross baby
  • tree house
  • horse face
  • beach babes

Back over to me for some questions and comments:

  • dream feature for camera tech on a smartphone? Camera to phone transport. Telephoto lens capability. Aperture control.

And right back to photos:

  • “always keep your family photogenic”
  • too cool for school
  • sad baby
  • “this photo reminds me of Siobhan, because she wants white guys to stop talking”
  • musical family

Back to me for a question:

  • live show prep? Hahahahha no.

Aaaand back to photos:

Ah, back to me:

  • 6D Mark II next year? Finally a tilt screen? 

Back to photos:

I feel the need to point out that it was Tony’s idea to fly the drone inside. It is so loud. But no one died, so I call that a success.

“How are you gonna land it?” “I’m not, this is my life now.”

“That was stupid.” “I wanna do it again!”

We scroll through the remaining photos before we head out. And that’s our show! Next week we’ll look at wedding photography because I said so. Byyyyyye!

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Beginner Photography: Candid Family

Hey there! This week the topic for the live show is “candid family photos” which is right up my alley. So, this isn’t really a formal genre, but it certainly follows the rules of some other more established topics like street photography. It’s all about capturing the mood and expression of your subjects, giving the viewer a “slice of life” view.

You’ll notice most of my photos in this post are black and white. That’s because I’m photographing children, who tend to wear bright colors, and I’m shooting in my house and outside which have distracting elements. Converting photos to black and white helps to focus the viewers attention and eliminates distractions.

While most of my family moments would realistically include the TV or cell phones, I managed to capture my daughter goofing around on the couch, and her and my stepson outside playing with my neighbor’s grandkids. It’s hard for me to objectively know which of these images are successful. This topic is more sentimental than many, and I can’t help but judge these images on my feeling towards them and the emotions they elicit more than the technical aspects. These certainly don’t have the sharpest focus, but I tried to capture movement and expression above all else. I used low f/stops (which aren’t actually that low since I’m using a micro 4/3 camera) and auto ISO and shutter speeds.

 

My regular weekend view.

 

This is pretty much the essence of Eloise; pretending to be a cat.

 

I love this one. The expressions, the movement. The car and post make an unfortunate background though.

 

Gleefully collecting leaves to throw in the air

 

Rule negotiation.

So how’d I do? What could I have done better? I wish I’d gotten some sharper images of the kids throwing leaves (I didn’t post any here because they weren’t great) but I still have trouble balancing my shutter speed and exposure. Time to revisit the basics!

Can’t wait to see what you all come up with this week!

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Live Show Recap: Spooky Shots

 

OoOooh, we reviewed your Spoooky photos this week and it was a blast. We’re so glad to be back at our regular drinking time.

 

*Attention!* Next week the time may be an hour off for you, as we have daylight savings time this weekend. So make sure to check sdp.io/live for the countdown next week. That show will be on “candid family” photos, street photography tips apply.

 

Shout out for my photo blog! I had a great spooky model this week and got a few killer shots.

 

Chit-Chat! Our favorite segment where you say dumb stuff and we respond:

  • “Have fun on snapchat and instagram you wrong-headed buffoon”

  • Responses to Chelsea’s boudoir video were… mixed

  • An Arnold Schwarzenegger!

  • Mona Lisa was shot on a film camera

  • Chelsea has a sharpened toothbrush

 

Kyle Wolfe! Our friend won an award in the USA Landscape Photographer of the Year contest for the youth category. He’s the best. But haters gonna hate.

And on that note: ignore the haters, y’all. They are a loud, cowardly minority.

 

Ok, let’s look at your photos:

  • Tragic teddy bear death

  • Ghost pumpkins

  • Mask

  • “This zombie has great bone structure”

  • “This guy is really committed to his Halloween costume.” “No, that’s his life, Tony.”

  • “You have tar in you?”

  • Jack Skellington

  • “It’s like the prostate exam from hell”

  • Blair Witch

  • “Beat it, dementor, I’m having a latte”

 

PhotoNews:

  • Adobe Photoshop update: finally a search bar

  • “OM-D, more like OMG, it’s $2,000”

  • Nigel Barker’s show premiered, you can see it at sdp.io/top

  • New FAA guidelines on travelling with batteries

 

Over to me for some viewer questions:

  • What would be your one vice if you could only choose one? Miami (vice). Alcohol, candy, sugar. Meth?

  • Any plans for the super, super moon on November 14th? Yes.

  • How long does it take you to become comfortable enough with a new camera to take it on a (paid, presumably) shoot? Depends on the shoot.

  • Favorite 4k camera? We use the A7Rii and the GH4.

 

Let’s look at some portfolios! Brittney Watson up first. Change your landing page, the Disney shots are nice, but not marketable. Your portraits are lovely! You could market yourself easily, so add a pricing page and more hiring info.

 

Next up, Martin Kynde. Delete the “Portfolio” header, just use your two sub-menus. Gorgeous landscapes. Bulk up your portrait page, separate any shots of repeated models. Great work!

 

Ok, back to your photos:

  • Condom head?

  • They had a fog plan

  • Not spooky owl

  • Black eyes, black water

  • Illuminati spot-colored cat

  • “It’s got a little crucifix. I bet this is called the Jesus spider. Oh, it’s a garden spider. I was spookily wrong.”

  • Headlights

  • “This breed is prone to hip dysplasia, that’s spooky”

  • Not today, zombie

  • “Old man in the sea, it’s a different kind of book.”

  • “This is like when I order chinese and I’m waiting”

  • “You know what’s going to be spooky? Their lighting bill.”

  • Light play

  • Black Widow

  • “Is this Jamie’s picture? Because we had a guy named Jamie who had a lot of feelings about that photo shoot.”

  • Award-winning photographer Kyle Wolfe

  • Colored contacts are HELL on your eyes

  • Ghoooost

  • “Low low, what the heck is that? Irish buttermilk.” “That’s what is bothering you?”

  • Nuh-uh, Pan

  • Great bike shot

  • Maya! Nice fish.

  • “She’s just like ‘what, this is what we do, it’s Wednesday!”

  • Horror at the Samsung store

  • Eyes wide shut

  • Black cats get a bad rap

  • Face paint

  • Creepy baby

 

I got fired while I was gone. Justin takes over.

Question from twitter: third-party batteries? Don’t do it!

Opinion on the new Macbook? Not really our thing.

 

Back to photos:

  • Shoutout to the few of you who sent in photos of angel statues a la the Dr. Who episode “Blink”

  • Free hugs!

  • “There’s me and you, still waiting for that delivery food.”

  • “That’s a lot of hands”

  • Modern witch

  • “Sexy giant” “is that what you’re into?”

  • Shadow

  • “When you’re dead but you still gotta take care of your baby”

  • Donnie Darko

  • Axe man

  • “Oh, computer problems”

  • Vampyre

  • Speed round! There’s some gems in here.

  • Murder face

  • Bloody kid

 

And that’s our show! Tune in next week for candid family photos, and make sure to check the time because we have daylight savings.

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Beginner Photography: Spooky

Guys! This was a fun one. I paid my daughter, Eloise, in candy to come out with me and take some photos, because kids are creepy as heck. Styling, setting, and mood are very important for setting a spooky scene. I put her in a vintage dress and hair bow and put brown eye shadow around her eyes and on her cheek bones to make her look emaciated. I also put cover-up on her lips to make her look paler. She wound up looking quite ghostly.

I had a place in mind to shoot, a condemned church in our neighborhood that would fit the old-timey vibe of her costume. We went out around sunset so that it would be a bit darker out to suit the mood. I would have shot later, but I don’t have an external flash and my camera isn’t the best in low light situations. You’ll see that the images came out pretty noisy, luckily it didn’t much matter with the mood of the images. 

The one thing I regret is not putting her in different shoes. The shoes she wore are really modern and I had intended on having her take them off, but then didn’t want her standing in sticks with her bare feet. The styling is so important though! Something modern looking in a photo that is meant to look antique will take the viewer out of it. Pay attention to detail! Eloise is not great at smiling for the camera, so she was kind of perfect for this shoot. There are so many old buildings in the area that served for great settings. Here’s what I came up with:

I positioned her with the date of the building to add context. I also used a radial filter to blur the area around her for mood. I converted all the images to black and white and pulled down the reds and oranges to lighten her skin. The dress wound up far brighter than the rest of the scene, so I pulled down the highlights.

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I loved the little chair sitting by the building, along with the slope of the ground. I positioned Eloise coming towards the camera and nearest the right of the frame to have her uncomfortably entering the viewers space.

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I wanted a shot of her in front of the Danger sign, although it messes up the timelessness of the scene a bit, the signs are obviously current. But look at that vacant stare!

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This is probably my favorite. The leading lines up to her, the darkness in the trees behind and her creepy stance.

 

How’d I do? Did I successfully creep you out?