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For this episode we'll move into the realm of portrait photography, where I tend to focus my efforts about 99% of the time. I'll start with an image that has VERY special significance and meaning to me, for several different reasons:1) When I took it, I was little more than a casual hobbyist with regard to photography. However, once it was fully edited (3+ hours in Photoshop, because I was just learning how to tame that beast of a program), the thought of pursuing professional photography entered my mind for the very first time.
2) It's also the first time I ever used off-camera flash (as opposed to on-camera flash, such the one that comes built into almost all modern cameras and even some cell phones and PDAs). It's next to impossible to get good results with on-camera flash, because it essentially turns your camera into a Xerox machine, and often creates problems such as the dreaded "red eye". However, when the flash comes from a position that’s OFF-camera, the resulting light is much more flattering and natural-looking.
3) This image ultimately became the very first one in my portfolio, and I proudly showed it off to all of my friends and family for several weeks afterward. Of course the fact that it’s a picture of my very own daughter made it even more special.
You’ll see that the image went through quite a bit of Photoshopping to arrive at the final product-- everything from cleaning up and smoothing the skin to bringing out the blue color of her eyes. My daughter also had a piece of skin hanging from her upper lip that had to be dealt with (apparently this is common with breastfeeding newborns—who knew?). Anyway, I think the final image really portrays her beauty in a much more flattering way than the original, and it almost single-handedly inspired me to pursue professional photography. Enjoy, and please leave me a comment down below if you like/dislike it! :-)
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3 comments:
The changes are subtle but really make a difference. Nice job Russ!
She looks Like a Gerber baby! :) I totally agree with Trish, bubba. The process was well worth it.
Thanks very much for the comments! As I mentioned, this one will always have a special place in my heart (even though it always bothered me that I cut off the lower part of her face). Nothing's ever 100% perfect.... :-/
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