Feature Photo Friday :: Exposure

Well Hello there again my friends! Sorry I have not been able to post these past couple of weeks. It has been crazy busy around here with the new season approaching, and getting stuff ready for fall!
Ok... so last time we talked about the importance of 'Contrast' in a photo to help with clarity and enhancement of the colors. {If you missed last times post, click here} This week, we are going to learn about by far the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of photography; "Exposure" So let's get started...

"Feature Photo Friday : Exposure"

As a primarily portrait photographer, I am always striving to get the best picture I can in camera as much as possible. Because of the complexity of the human features, the more you edit, the more distorted the photo becomes. For instance... brown hair becomes black, blue eyes become purple, and the teeth... let's not even get into that. The key to a good portrait it to capture the individual in the most natural way possible, and the same goes for editing. Clean, simple edits are what makes a portrait worth looking at. When I look at a photo, I don't want the persons eyes looking like Dracula's pupils. Simple editing is all it takes to make a photo pop, especially with portraits. So, looking at the above image you might be thinking to yourself... "Clean, simple editing...hmm, looks easy enough". Well I'm here to tell you that IT IS SIMPLE! But, before you can take the reigns, there are a few rules...

1. The eyes must be in focus.

     - If the eyes are not in focus, it is not a portrait.

2. CATCH LIGHTS ARE ESSENTIAL

     -If there are no catch lights, it might as well be a portrait of a dead zombie.

3. Always use composition.

     - Composition is key to making portraits eye catching. The Rule of Thirds goes a long way here.

Alrighty, since we got those out of the way... let's talk editing!

So, since this photo was in the shade, I over-exposed a little to retain a good focus. But, notice I didn't over-expose to much as to loose the detail in the photo. This way, in post I can edit the photo using the exposure slider to maintain a natural looking contrast as opposed to over contrasted shadows. Here are my settings...

Temp: 6010

Tint: 3

Exposure: -.25

Recovery: 50

Contrast: 100

Post-Crop Vignetting: -20

As you can tell I did bring the exposure down -.25 points. This is to confiscate for the overexposing of the portrait which created a natural contrast for the photo. Recovery is to tone down the highlights in the photo, or the whites that are just a little to much over exposed.

Well, there you have it. Clean, Simple edit, using the approach of over-expossing just a bit, which creates a more eye popping, more colorful portrait. My moto is, "Never over-edit a portrait". And, "Never go anywhere without a reflector". That helps out with catchlights.

So, it looks like I am out of time today. Don't forget to follow me and check back every week for new post. Until then...

     ~ Clarissa - {Just an ordinary girl who lives photography}

"Feature Photo Friday" - Contrast

Well, it's Friday and might I say it has already been one of those sleep in and drink some 6 cups of coffee kind of days. Anywho, I am starting a new series called "Feature Photo Friday". I have been getting lots of inquirers from buddying photographers who want to know, "Is post editing really professional?", "Does it matter what editing program I use?", "Do I over edit, or keep the photo as original as possible?". As I look back at my beginner years in photography, I remember searching hours, days, sometimes weeks trying to figure out what would make my photos better. But let me first say, Photography is a art, and the tools are your camera and lens, NOT a computer screen and editing software. Now I am here to help you understand that editing is not a crime, but as professionals, we must always strive to keep a professional presentation in the photos we take. Although post processing helps produce better photos, we must venture to capture our photos in camera as much as possible. Post editing is to fix "minor" flaws in our photos such as white balance, exposure, ect. I personally use Lightroom, which helps with minor editing such as color and exposure, nothing to fancy, which forces me to produce photos using mainly my camera. So, without further waiting, I would like to present...

~ "Feature Photo Friday" - Contrast ~

While preparing for this first presentation, I thought, "What makes a photo really pop?" and to me, I think its Contrast. As an avid nature photographer, I am always capturing flowers, grass, trees, really most anything to looks pretty outdoors (not really). Anyway, flowers and trees look real nice in real life, but sometimes it is hard to capture the rich colors in camera. I mean, come on it's just a machine. This is a good situation where post editing would be a good idea. So, let's get started...

At first glance you might say, "oh yah the right one looks better", or " the purple really stands out". Well you are correct on both accounts. When I took this photo, the flowers were in full bloom, and so naturally I wanted to take a photo. But there was one problem; It was a cloudy day. IT had rained all morning and afternoon, and finally when it stopped raining it was early evening and cloudy. Well, I really wanted that photo, so I tried as much as I could with my knowledge to get a great photo, but because of the lighting and overcast sky, it came out kind of "blah". So it this situation editing was pretty much my only option to get a better photo. But, it didn't take much to create a beautiful, colorful, bright photograph. Simple editis sometimes are the best way to go with these kind of photographs. Here is what I used...

WB: Temp 4857, Tint 0

Exposure: .25

Blacks: 5

Brightness: 50

Contrast 100

Clarity: 50

Vignetting: -20 black

As you can see, I used as much contrast as I could, and using the Clarity slider, I upped the clarity and edge recognition in the photo to make for a more clearer presentation. Very simple, yet very applicable settings that turned a "blah" photo into a "ah" photo.

I hope this has helped those of you wanting to know more about post editing and not sure what to do. As I said at the beginning, I currently use an HIGHLY recommend Adobe Lightroom. It helps with both organizing photos and minor editing.

Fell free to comment or ask questions in the comment box below.

I will hopefully be posting weekly with tips and tricks in post editing so make sure you check back.

Until next time...

     Clarissa - {Just an ordinary girl who lives photography}

Summer Sessions 2012

Here is a quick look at some of the photo session I have been doing lately...

Family - The McCoskeys

Riley Carpenter - 9 Months

David - 4 Months