Saturday, January 30, 2010

The Edits #6

Photo taken at Urban Location #1


I really think this was just a test shot but caught a good smile so I kept it.




Edits Include: Cleaned up bench, cropped in alittle, added overall contrast & darkened outer edges.



black & white version.



The Edits #5

Location: Chandor Gardens

Edits Include:

Reduces overall color about 80%, add contrast , diffused glow & burned leaves to darken & show more detail.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Edits #4

Taken at Urban Location #3

Edits include:

Cropped image to center, brighten & add saturation to entire image, brighten & add more color saturation to background. Slightly darken edges.

The Edits #3


Click image to get a better look.
I always like to leave a little room so I can later crop to my liking. The frame was a bit heave for this little one to hold so mom had to help support the edge.

Edits include:
Digitally remove mom's hand, crop in a small amount, used diffused glow & removed most of color saturation for a low contrast effect.

The Edits #2

For today's post I selected an image of little Elliot's 2 year old session. Mom brought the hat just for this shoot & gave it to me afterward, so it's in the studio ready to use again. Mom also emailed me after the shoot to make sure I was aware of Elliot's two beauty marks on her face. She knew how I usually go in & clean up the image & thought I would probably mistake them for "kid dirt." She was right... I would have zapped them off. It would have made her less beautyful.


This is the raw un-edited image.




The edited image shown to customer. Edits include:
Cropped in a little, added contrast to entire image, brightened eye color, darkened edges & slightly removed runny nose.



I basically took the edited photo then added a LOT of contrast. Adding contrast will then make the colors pop. I finished up by adding diffused glow which softened the skin.


The high contrast image ended up being mom's favorite....

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Today Starts 'Daily Picture Post'

I can't believe that it's been almost a year since I began our blog. 'Felts Photography Blog' is where you will find our latest photo updates & a place I can post any random info I come across. Many photography blogs are full of only session images, but I thought it would be cool to include some funny videos & photos that could entertain our readers. You may also find some random facts that might catch your interest. During our busy season it's hard to spend much time on the blog but I try to updates at least every week.

You wouldn't believe how much of our (photographers) time is spent in post production. It would be safe to say I spend about 70% of my day editing images & other office work. After a session I will individually review each file & choose the best over all image from each pose. Then I will open each of my selections to begin color correcting, cropping & other touch-ups using Adobe Photoshop. After my main edits are complete I will add filters, image overlays, borders or text to a few of my favorites. I will use my favorite shots & put a bit of an artistic flair to it. The customer will be able to see the normal edits as well as the dressed up version through our on-line proofing. It's interesting to see how different an image can look by just adding a filter or tweaking the color a bit.

Since the digital age, its great to be able to review your last shot right after taking it. Sometimes I have customers want to take a peek at the LCD screen to get their approval. This is a pet peeve of mine because I never want the client to see the un-edited image. The photo on screen will not be anything close to the edited version they will see a week later.

For the next month I will give our blog readers an inside look at what a raw image looks like vs. the fully edited version that is shown to the clients. I will also give a brief explanation of what effects/techniques were used to create final product.

Who better to use for my first post than our own kids.

Click image to get a better look


Check out the blog daily to see other comparisons.

Wow!

Take a look at these unbelievable photos I found on the net.








Friday, January 22, 2010

This & That

I thought I would post various photos from some recent sessions I have done.
This first group of images were shot at the Urban location #2 spot.









Sunday, January 17, 2010

2010 Parker County Bridal Fair


Join us on January 24, 2010 for the Parker County Bridal Fair. The event will be from 1:00pm to 5:00pm at the Doss Heritage and Culture Center (Click here for a map). Come visit with 35 vendors to help you take care of all of your wedding and party needs. Many vendors will be offering specials that day only! Come prepared to book these services and purchase their products. Thousands of dollars of door prizes will be given away. Admission and parking are FREE.
For more info visit Video Capades website.

Adryn & Brady

Here are just a few images from the last wedding I photographed in 2009. We shot the The couple was very easy going a great to work with. The bridal portraits we shot at Chandor Gardens in Weatherford & the wedding took place at First Baptist Church, Weatherford.





Saturday, January 16, 2010

Music

John Mayer
'Battle Studies'

On the high-contrast black-and-white cover photo of John Mayer's latest studio album, the singer, songwriter and guitarist's hands are pulling at the collar of a thick winter coat. It seems as though he's trying to brace against the onset of frosty conditions; the overall effect is fairly Morrissey-esque. That's no coincidence -- in themes and tone, Mayer shows a lot in common with the great romantic fatalist of '80s Brit pop: He's "Perfectly Lonely" in the song with that title, and he opens the collection with "Heartbreak Warfare," about the ways we hurt the ones we ostensibly love.Musically he's exploring the moody territory of acts such as Coldplay and Snow Patrol; at the same time, he displays his debt to guitar heroes including David Gilmour, Eric Clapton and George Harrison.For the most part, he expresses himself more eloquently through his guitar than his lyrics in the 10 of 11 songs he wrote. (Intriguingly, his version of Robert Johnson's blues classic "Crossroads" puts Clapton's signature blues-rock riff through effects processing that leaves it sounding like a keyboard.)Why he decided to ape Dave Mathews in "Who Says," his ode to the benefits of escapism during down times, is anybody's guess, but it's set to a lovely country-rock shuffle. "Assassin" stretches the metaphor of a stealth killer too far, while "War of My Life" sets foot on U2's turf -- without the soul-deep passion of the Irish rockers. That deficit leaves many of the songs strangely uninvolving, despite the beauty of his melodies and empathetic production he and drummer Steve Jordan have given them.The lesson of "Battle Studies"? If you're heading to war or in to love, better to take no prisoners.--
Randy Lewis





Video for Mayers latest 'Heartbreak Warfare'


Reba's Latest Milestone
January 5, 2010 NASHVILLE, TN –


Reba’s “Consider Me Gone” celebrates its third consecutive week atop both the Billboard Country Songs Chart and the USA Today/Country Aircheck Chart (powered by Mediabase) this week, making “Consider Me Gone” the biggest chart hit of the superstar’s illustrious career.“Consider Me Gone” also becomes the longest-running #1 hit for a female Country artist since Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” logged a multi-week stint at #1 in 2007.With #1 songs now spanning four decades (80s, 90s, 00s, 10s), Reba’s run of #1 hits now extends to 26 years [her first #1 came in January 1983 with “Can’t Even Get The Blues”]. The second single from Reba’s #1-selling album KEEP ON LOVING YOU, is also the longest-running single of the superstar’s career.“I can’t think of a better way to start the new year and a new decade! I would like to thank everyone at Country Radio from the bottom of my heart”, says Reba of her latest milestone.

The video for 'Consider Me Gone'

Saturday, January 2, 2010

New Site Music

We've updated our site music & I typically try to find easy listening tunes & artists like. If you like what you hear you can download them from any music site. Here's a list of the songs & artists.

Better Together (Jack Johnson)
Timeless (Kate Havnevik)
Some Surprise (Paul Noonan & Lisa Hanigan)
Almost There (Justin King)
Show Me What I'm Looking For (Carolina Liar)
Godspeed (Dixie Chicks)
Virginia Bluebell (Miranda Lambert)
Hey Love (Chris O'Brian)

Friday, January 1, 2010

Chandor Family Portraits

This family session was taken in November at Chandor Gardens in Weatherford. This group was a lot of fun & easy to work with. Maybe because we were neighbors a few years back. The last time I photographed this bunch, the kids were just in grade school. It's hard to believe how time goes, now the two oldest are seniors.









Senior 2010





Taken from Urban Location #1

Senior Class of 2019