Capture drama after a storm...

Happy Friday! It's winter, but I look forward to summer. Days like the one above are what makes living in Florida just heavenly. A great time to visit the beach is right after a storm. The sand gets soaked and creates a wonderful mirrored reflection of a beautiful sky. Just a touch of texture to add to the depth and color of the image.

I'm heading down to Florida's beautiful Everglades National Park to co lead a workshop with Maxis Games, bird photographer extraordinaire! The weather in Florida is perfect right now and I can't wait to meet the group! I hope everyone has a great weekend!



Flypaper Textures 15% savings for you with code DEBS

Create a fine art textured look with your photos...

You can create a fine art look with your photograph by simply applying a texture. A texture layer addition can increase the depth, dimension, and drama of a photograph. It is one of the easiest ways to create a more expressive image. A texture layer can be anything you wish, from painterly looking brushstrokes, to a coarsely textured canvas, to old grunge that appears in the viewfinders of antique cameras. 

Texture can add more personality to an image. You can make a digital image look like an old photo by simulated film effects, or make a photo look more painterly or impressionistic, or even create something more contemporary and abstract. Textures can be applied to a still life, landscapes, portraits… anything goes! 

For this photograph taken in Santorini, I added a beautiful texture called Brushed Rose from Flypaper Textures.  This accentuates the color and texture throughout the image, creating an artistic look, and is very easy to do. You can save 15% on Flypaper Textures by using promotional code DEBS. Have fun with textures!

Zoom during exposure, a creative technique...

An easy way to create an artistic look with your photography is to use in-camera effects such as zooming the lens during exposure. No Photoshop needed! For this technique, the lens is zoomed in or out during exposure to suggest motion. To keep things sharp, yet blurred at the same time, I mounted the camera on a tripod and experimented with zooming until I found just the effect that worked for the starfish. It may take quite a few tries to nail the shot as this isn't an exact science, however it's fun to do!

Experiment with your lens to get the hang of zooming, and you don't need to zoom the entire focal length of the lens to get a great effect. Zooming during exposure is great for overcast days, and you can use a neutral density filter to slow down the exposure even more. Use a small aperture and experiment with shutter speed, giving yourself time to zoom smoothly. Try this at night too, with city lights, or colorful lights from a fair or circus.

Have fun shooting! ~ Deb

Add depth to your photos by adding texture...

Adding texture to a photo can add depth, and a little more drama. Textures can even create an aged or vintage look. There's a little something extra that can draw the viewer in to explore the image more. For the musician, I converted the image to black and white with Nik Silver Efex Pro, using the Full Dynamic (Harsh) preset. This sets the stage for the addition of textures. You can also leave the photo in color, but for this shot, I liked the warm sepia look that the texture provided with the black and white conversion.

There is something mesmerizing about adding texture, a bit serendipitous and a lot of fun! The new collection of Flypaper Textures, Autumn Painterly is fast becoming one of my favorites. I used Ambergris 100% with a blend mode of Soft Light, and a second texture of Xeryus 30% also with a Soft Light blend mode. For a quick tutorial on using Mini Bridge to easily add your texture to an image, click here. You can save 15% on any Nik Software product by using the promotional code DSANDIDGE, and 15% on original Flypaper Textures too by using code DEBS.

Happy Friday the 13th! Enjoy working with textures!
Deb

Shooting at twilight...

Shooting at twilight allows the photographer to create beautiful story-telling imagery. The drama of the night sky can make a big difference in how the image is represented. Scout out locations ahead of time, and make a few test shots to figure out the best composition and a few variables. The photograph is your story, a visual narration of what you experience, your interpretation of the scene.   

You can see from the test shot below, how much more impact you can create by photographing during more flattering light conditions. The lights on the bridge create starbursts, and the city lights and night sky are reflected in the water. This automatically creates a much more glamorous look compared to the image below. 

What's great is that you really don't need anything additional to add to your photo arsenal to accomplish twilight photography. You probably already have a tripod and cable release, or you can use the self timer feature on your camera.

What you might want to do is experiment with white balance. If you have Live View enabled, a feature on many cameras, you can scroll through the various white balance settings to find the most complementary setting. Don't worry about the "correct" white balance, use the one most complementary to the scene. I find 4000K a good place to start. If you are shooting in Raw format, you can tweak this after the fact, which is most helpful if you change your mind!

Since you are set up on a tripod, use the lowest ISO, and use an aperture to create the most depth of field, or to quote fellow BetterPhoto.com instructor Tony Sweet, depth of feeling. You can shoot during twilight almost anywhere, cityscape, landscape, before dawn or after sunset. Twilight can make the ordinary look magical...

Make great pictures! ~ Deb

Online Courses Start Tomorrow @ BetterPhoto.com

Tomorrow is the first day of my online courses for the month of January! I hope to see you in class for Photoshop - Enhancing Images and Creating Works of Art, or Digital Infrared Photography. I'm excited to get started, we'll cover a multitude of creative techniques to work with your photography. Classes are a lot of fun, and you'll get to meet other photographers from all over the world, right online from your computer! I've had the best students ever, very talented and creative. Here's what they are saying in the course reviews on the BetterPhoto.com website...

"Amazing instructor, cover lots of options, answers e-mails very timely and even on New Year's Eve . . . how cool is that. Her critiques are the best I have ever received . . . ever . . . ever . . .her suggestions for improvement are gently worded so as to not deflate your passion. She always tells you what your best photo is and why. So glad to have met Deb through this online course. Just can't say enough positive things about her approach to teaching and fueling your passion for creativity."


Hope to see you in Photoshop - Enhancing Images and Creating Works of Art and/or Digital Infrared Photography. Be immersed in something exciting and new this year, get creative with your photography! ~ Deb

Happy New Year...

Today is the very last day of the year, a time for reflection. Tomorrow is a brand new day, and the start of a brand new year! New goals, new ideas, new ventures, anything can happen with a fresh slate and shiny new possibilities! Here's to happiness, health, and a year full of exciting new experiences! Make each day a celebration...

I hope to see you in one of my seminars, workshops or online classes this year! My BetterPhoto.com courses start on Wednesday, Enhancing Images & Creating Works of Art, along with Digital Infrared Photography. We have a lot of fun creating pictures like the one above, and we cover a lot of material that blurs the line between artist and photographer. Hope to catch up with you in 2012!  Happy New Year! ~ Deb