Creative Process Feature 3........ Cindy

Hi... I am Cindy Harter :) I really really LOVE to shoot relationships !! Shooting weddings seem to really suit my personality. I enjoy all the stories going on during the day and capturing the love ! I enjoy the pressure and challenge of getting so many important shots in a short period of time in unpredictable circumstances. I love looking for good light and just having to make something work it is soooo exciting !!!! This couple was sooooo awesome in that they agreed to have a private meeting before the wedding that I photographed so that we would have time during the most amazing light to capture some yummy, romantic, dreaming couple shots. Their meeting was so sweet I was teary :) We had so much fun !!! If you would like to see more from their wedding visit here.

BEFORE: This is what the image looked like straight from the camera

After I played....
Location : Barnsley Gardens

This is inside the ruins. Barnsley Gardens is probably my most favorite place on the planet. It is peaceful, quiet and so romantic. If you haven't been ..... GO !

Camera and Lens : This was shot with my Canon 5D Mark ii and I used my Canon 24-70 2.8L lens . Iso 100 SS 1/125 F 5.6 Focal length 24.0mm

Lighting : This was natural light and my Maggie was holding a reflector to the right of the couple to give more light on their faces.

Creative process : This image was captured during their private meeting before the wedding to allow for more time for couple pictures :) The energy was amazing and they were so excited about seeing each other. I decided on this spot for the meeting because of the arches and the shadow and light. This was taken about an hour and a half before sunset and it was a perfectly clear beautiful blue sky day :) I had the bride wait for her groom and their interaction began in that spot and i moved around getting them from different angles. I really like this composition because I was on the ground trying to stay incognito and they are placed between the door and arches.

Post Process : This image was shot jpeg. I decided to show the SOOC image as well as the edited version. I first ran Kevin Kubota's Vol 1 action Edge burner and then sharpened a bit. I then ran Kevin Kubota's Lord of the Rings everyday to give it a dreamy glow. I bumped up the curves and contrast a bit and there you have it :)

So happy you all are here to visit us !!!!! THIS is a dream job and this group is sooooo AWESOME ... I LOVE MY CHICKS !!!

The Creative Process Feature 2

Hi all... Hayley here. Glad you stopped by :) This is our 2nd creative process feature, today I will be sharing a favorite image from a recent newborn session and the breakdown of how it was created.

Location: This image was made in the client's home in their living room.

Camera & Lens: This was shot with a Canon 5Dmk2 and Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens at 35mm. It was shot in manual mode at f4, iso 640 and a shutter speed of 1/250.

Lighting: Lighting was all natural. There was a large east facing window in their living room which is where I set up next to. It was an overcast day making it perfect to work by this large window. There was also a window in their dining room facing the north which also brought in more light to the room I was working in.

Creative Process: The baby loved being snuggled up in these cocoons. I had 2 that I brought with me and he loved them both. I had mom hold the cocoon while I placed baby in. I then layed him inside a large antique trencher (also known as a dough bowl). That is what you see as the wood background. The thing I loved about having him in the trencher, is I could easily move the trencher to create different angles of light and shadow without actually moving "him". I had the trencher sitting on my fake barnwood floor mat so it slid and moved very easily and it never disturbed him. I was able to make different shots with different light plays just by simply moving the trencher.

Post Production: This image was shot jpeg. I then adjusted the levels in CS4 to my liking and added a blur/vignette effect after the square cropping was done. I felt the square crop represented the best artistic composition for this image.

The Creative Process {Pixel Chicks Photography}

Hi all... Denise here. This is a new and hopefully recurring feature we plan to post to the blog at least once weekly called "the creative process" where each of us will take turns presenting a favorite image and dissecting it to give some insight into what went into the making of the image.

Here is one of my favorite images, titled "A Love Like No Other" and a breakdown of the creative process:

Location: This image was made in the client's home in the baby's tiny little nursery.

Camera & Lens: This was shot with a Nikon D200 and Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens at 32mm. It was shot in manual mode at f2.8, iso 800 and a shutter speed of 1/60th.

Lighting: Lighting was all natural. There was a large window camera right, and another smaller window almost directly in front of the subject. The large window was the main light as the morning sun was shining pretty directly into the nursery.

Creative Process: I wanted to make a very simple image that said something about a new mother's unconditional love. The light in the nursery was gorgeous, and though Mom wasn't crazy about having her photo made, she was comfortable with a shot taken from behind. Her hair was piled loosely on her head and I loved the texture the tendrils created. We decided that the image would work best skin on skin and so we merely pulled down the sleeves of her tank top to get that effect.

Post Production: The image was shot in RAW, so post production included just a quick conversion from RAW to jpeg, and a very basic black and white conversion in CS3.