Try it in Black & White

 

I was going through some photos from my last photo shoot and came across one I really liked. The only problem was that the subject wasn’t really standing out from the background. All the color tones were too similar. What did I do, you may ask, I switched it to black and white!

Granted, I did have to play around with the exposures of different colors quite a bit, along with adjusting levels and using layer masks, but I have to admit I like how it turned out.

So if you’re having trouble figuring out what to do with a photo, try it in black and white. It’s amazing what you can do with the contrasting tones.

I hope you’re all enjoying your Christmas and NYE weekends!

Click Here to See the Full Sized Photo

3 ways to make your photos brighter without using a flash

OK, I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Mostly because I’m exhausted from not getting enough sleep this week and then not being able to catch up on sleep this weekend.

I was down at a Christmas party in Richmond this weekend and one of my friends made a side comment about not being able to make her photos brighter. I figure if she was curious how to do it, then there are probably plenty of other people wondering as well.

I know it took me a while to get it figured out at first.

There are three main ways to get more light into your photos (i.e. make them brighter) without using a flash or some other outside light.

Photos for Friday: Dulles to Hotlanta

Have you ever wondered what it was like to fly most of the way down the coast at the crack of dawn? For the most part it’s not very fun because you’re up several hours before you want to be. Not only that, but you have to be functioning on top of that.

However, you’re in for a real treat when you get up above the clouds. Talk about a light show.

I had planned on sleeping on my flight to Atlanta before connecting to Tucson, but I had not idea what I was going to see out that little porthole.

Click the link below to view photos from the flight.

Gallery: DULLES TO HOTLANTA

Lights, Camera, Action!

Hi everyone.

This has been such a short week for me. Mainly it’s because I’m preparing to leave for Arizona in a day. Hopefully I’ll still be able to put up a post or two while I’m out there, though.

With that said, I figured you would get more out of me finding some relevant tutorials than you would if I were to write another post about how tired I am.

Thankfully, for both of us, I was able to find a couple of them that illustrate what I’ve been talking about in my recent posts of using off camera flash and action photography pretty well.

How to Shoot Action Photos

Action photography. It doesn’t have to be limited to sports photos. It can be of you and your friends running through a field while goofing off. It can be a photo of a train rolling through a station. It can be a photo of your dog chasing a squirrel or cat playing with a toy.

The funny thing about action photography, and photography in general really, is that it is very unnatural. Life is constantly moving and flowing. Even at rest we still have things going on around us.

Photos for Friday: Soccer in the Fall

This past weekend I had the pleasure of going out to see my sister’s soccer team make it to the semi-finals of their league’s playoffs. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it to the championship game, but they did put up quite a fight.

The game was so close that they had to go to a shoot out to determine the winner.

Click the link below to view the photos from the game.

 

Gallery: SOCCER IN THE FALL

Keep At It

Some times life can get crazy. Unfortunately, that craziness can also wear us down and keep us from doing what we really want to do.

The problem with getting worn down isn’t always that it physically keeps us from doing what we like to do, but rather that it can take your passion and make it feel like a chore.

More Inspirational Photos

Hi Everyone.

I feel like I’ve been flaking out of all of you these past couple of posts. Unfortunately, it’s because I’ve been feeling really run down this past week and hardly have energy to do much of anything.

Good news though, I 1) took a bunch of photos this week which should be up on Friday and 2) have found a bunch of new locations that I really want to do shoots at.

Speaking of which, if any of you want to have some free pictures done, let me know. I’m updating my portfolio and I need more portrait shots. It will be fun, trust me. You know, like what PC says to Mac. Yes, I did just quote a commercial. I’m tired, give me a break.

Anyway, there’s no way I’m going to leave you guys without posting anything worth your while.

The other week I came across this great collection of black and white portraits. Some of them really are breathtaking. Don’t worry, there are plenty of them to help get you through your Monday.

Also, let me know what you you think about all the posts that I’ve been putting up lately. Is there something you’d like to see more of? Is there something that you gloss over every time I post about it? I want to make my blog as interesting and captivating as possible.

Let’s hear it.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to check out the great gallery as well.

Gallery: Black and White Photography: 100 Pieces of Exquisite Portrait

Link of the Week: SEVANS

Have you ever had one of those weeks where life gets in the way of living? If you have then I’m sure you all know how I’m feeling this week. Quite a lot has been going on for me and it’s been anything but easy to keep things going on here.It’s funny how something you love to do can seem like a chore when you’re short on time.

I love putting up posts on here and playing around with the site, but there are times when so much is going on that it gets hard to keep up. Anyway, if you do have something that you’re passionate about, be sure to keep plugging away. Even if it takes a while to make any progress at it, it will definitely be worth it in the long run. I mean, since when has anyone looked back in life and regretted pursuing a passion?

Well, enough blabbering from me. This week’s link is actually a friend of mine as well as a former coworker. Her name is Sarah Evans (or Sevans to some of her friends). She’s a great photographer that really knows her stuff, whether it be with taking photos or running the business aspect. After all, you kind of have to do that when you’re the Director of Photography for a national weekly paper. On top of all that, she even makes for a good conversation as well.

So head on over and check her site out. Feel free to say hi for me while you’re at it.

www.sevansphoto.com