Editing Samsung S8 Hiking Photos in Lightroom

I mainly use my cell phone, a Samsung S8, when I take pictures on my hikes. In this video I show you how I generally edit my photos in Adobe Lightroom. The picture was taken at Palisades Interestate Park in Fort Lee, NJ on the Shore Trail. It was an overcast day.

Hope you like this short video.

 

Read More

Can a Black Girl Look Goth?

This is the first Photoshop Toning Tutorial I'm posting here on creating a cool toned goth-type feel in a portrait of an African-American model. Using some Hue/Saturation adjustment layers plus some standard retouching, dodging, burning, etc. I was able to get the effect I wanted and we were both pleased with the results.

Before I even get to the tutorial let me just say that as a an older white guy there are a million other things I'd prefer to talk about than anything to do with race. Trying to make an African-American model look like a pale white model and publishing this online is not comfortable. Especially since I tend to look at my pictures objectively in terms of light, shadow and colors that create a pleasing picture. People who know me understand, or at least I hope they do, that I'm not objectifying the woman in the photo.

Read More

DIY PVC Scrim Plans with Folding Legs

Call it a diffusion panel, call it a reflector, or throw black fabric over it and call it a flag. Whatever you want to call it, it's worth making one and keeping it in your studio. You'll save a lot compared to buying one and you can customize it to suit your needs. I looked at a few different DIY diffusion panel designs out there and they didn't work for me so I came up with my own.

With a translucent fabric on the frame it can create a very beautiful soft light by placing a light behind it and shooting through. With the same white sheet you can place it opposite your main light and use it as a reflector to lighten the shadow side of your subject. To block stray light and create higher contrast shots drape a black sheet over the frame.

For me, I wanted a big scrim. The diffusion area of mine will be about 7'6" tall by 4'6" wide. Plus a little extra height for the legs. I wanted it to stand on it's own and I also wanted to be able to store it against the wall easily. That's why the legs can fold up so everything is flat.

Read More