Holiday cuteness!

Here are some Christmas shots I took last week of a couple of adorable kids!  I added in one of my own two, as well, to have some holiday equality. ;) 

 

Twin one year old cuties!

Here is a sneak preview of a pair of cutie pies I had the opportunity to shoot on Friday.  They were so cheerful and sweet, and very tolerant of the unexpected chill in the air.  I hope you enjoy your sneak peek and I look forward to finishing up your session!

 

New series - searching for a photographer!

This is part one of a series of posts I plan to do over the long, cold winter: how to search for a photographer. Whether or not you are in my area, whether or not you choose me as your photographer, there are some great rules of thumb that you should know to look for when choosing a custom photographer for your family.

Photography these days is just as much about the post processing as it is about actually taking the photo. If you've ever wondered why you are paying $20-40 for a single photograph, this is the reason why. When a photographer puts the camera in his or her bag at the end of a session, the session is not ending, it's just beginning. There are many hours of work that go into a photo session before the proofs are presented to the client. An image straight out of the camera should be technically sound, but it takes the post processing to make it really shine. So, here is my first lesson of something you should be looking for.

Color Casts

What is a color cast? Well, it is exactly what it sounds like - when something casts its color onto the subject. Have you ever taken a fall photo with a pumpkin and realized after that your child's face was orange from the pumpkin reflecting onto it? This is a color cast. These will often happen if someone wears a bright colored shirt or stands next to a vibrant object. A photographer will try to avoid them, but often it becomes the photographer's job to fix it after during the post processing. If you are searching through a photographer's site and you see many color casts, chances are there has been little post processing done, and perhaps the photographer is either new or hasn't studied post processing enough to understand how to deal with this.

Here are some examples for you to see what a color cast looks like and how it looks after it has been fixed in Photoshop.

These are some snaps I took of my daughter last summer. I was just playing around and wanted some cute pictures of her in her new bathing suit. I laid down her towel and put her on it, not even thinking about the bad combination the bright sun and the extremely pink towel would make.

Here is the unretouched photo. Here, you can see the color cast on her face. The pink towel is casting magenta all over her face, to the point that her sunglasses look pink.

Here is the retouched version. Notice I've removed the pink from her face and glasses and she looks like a normal colored baby and not a pink alien. I actually desaturated the blanket a bit, too, because it was just so PINK!

Here is another image from the same day. This is a close up shot and you can see just how extremely magenta her face looks from the color cast.

Here, I've removed the cast and again, given her a more normal color.

Another thing you may see is a photographer converting an image to black and white to avoid dealing with the color cast. It's definitely an easy way to deal with it, but watch out for too many black and white images. It may mean there are other color issues at play. Artistic photos of newborns and maternity are frequently in black and white, because the mood just works, but if you see many black and white photos that just don't seem to fit, it could be indicative of a greater color issue. Here you can see a black and white version of this. I converted the original with no color correction. The conversion hides the color cast beautifully and saves me a great deal of time.

So, that is my first lesson in my series on choosing a custom photographer. Remember, prosumer level cameras are quite affordable now and many people are getting into the business as a way to make a little bit of extra money. Make sure you are hiring a photographer skilled with not only nice composition and a flashy camera, but solid post processing skills and a technically correct portfolio.
Thank you for reading!

Cake Smash!

Who doesn't love a cake smash! Book one today to capture the joy of a first dive into a cake.