ADJUSTMENTS

To take your editing skills to the next level, you need to learn how to make local adjustments.

There are many reasons why you may want do use local adjustments, but before we give you reasons we will have to explain what local adjustments are.  As you can figure it out from the title, they are adjustments applied to specific areas of the image, rather than global adjustments that effect the whole image.

Local adjustments come handy in situations where you want to bring an emphasis to specific parts of the photo.  For example, when you want to focus more attention on your athlete.  Shooting outdoors often exceeds the dynamic range of your camera, and in these situations you can use local adjustments to brighten the shadows or darken the highlights.. or both.  Sharpening could also be used as a local adjustment when you want to make your athlete stand out even more, without over-sharpening the whole image.  A similar effect can be applied when you want to bring out a lot of detail form the sky or clothing, but you don’t want your shot to look overdone.  Or may be you want to change the color of someone’s jacket, then you need to apply local adjustment to the jacket itself.  You can always apply any of these adjustments to the whole image, but you will either ruin the rest of the image or it is going to look ridiculously over-done.  Local adjustments are really important, and can easily change the overall look and feel of your photos for the better.

Many of the most popular photo editing programs have added local adjustments in their latest versions.  Now you don’t have to be a Photoshop guru to apply these.  Adobe Lightroom and Camera Raw now have the Adjustment Brush and the Gradient Tool, Capture One has a whole Local Adjustments tab, as do most popular photo editing programs.  Of course, since the beginning of time Photoshop has had Layers and Masks that allow you to apply local adjustments.

The next time you start editing your photo, try to focus on specific areas of the image and apply local adjustments rather than global.  After you get the hang of it, we can guarantee you there is no going back.  Just like the example above, try to fix problems in specific areas.  Use the gradient tool in Lightroom to darken/recover the sky.  Mess with the Adjustment Brush and apply more sharpening to your subject.  You should be able to see the difference right away.  Overusing the Clarity slider for example, makes the your images look really over-done.  Try using the brush and apply it only to the clothing of your athletes to give them a nice 3D look without ruining the rest of the photo.

Article Reposted from ActionPhotoSchool.com:

http://actionphotoschool.com/local-adjustments/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ActionPhotoSchool+%28Action+Photo+School%29

Kodak going bankrupt? Where will our film come from? « Vincent Laforet’s Blog

Kodak going bankrupt? Where will our film come from? « Vincent Laforet’s Blog.

Everything’s Sexier With Lenny…

Even Charlotte’s Bojangles Arena, which, let’s face it,  isn’t among the sexiest of venues.  Lenny Kravitz is a very cool cat, at ease with himself, and a pleasure to work with, if only for a few brief minutes.  And after all these years of making great American rock & roll music, he still obviously enjoys what he does, almost making sweet love to his microphone.  He also likes to take in a great show as well, attending a recent performance in Charlotte by the amazing Sade.  Sex appeal was off the charts that night, with the two of them in the same room.

All in all, a great day with a great subject… a phenomenal performer who loves what he does.

Feeling Nostalgic for Your Old Polaroid? Get Their New Lenses!

From the article by Shane McGlaun:

“Polaroid has been in the photograph business for as long as I can remember. The first camera I can remember having around as a kid was one of the old instant cameras from Polaroid. The company has unveiled a new line of accessory lenses that will work for DSLRs, camcorders, and cameras. It’s not exactly clear from the details released so far what specific cameras these lenses will fit.

Polaroid has unveiled the Studio Series 58mm 2.2x Telephoto and 0.43x Wide Angle Lens Travel Kit that sells for $49.99. The lenses mount onto the existing lens on your camera and converts it over or more zoom. The Polaroid Studio Series 0.3x HD Ultra fisheye lens adapter is also offered in 37mm and 52/58mm versions. They will fit on any camcorder or DSLR lens and offers 180-degree field of view. The lens is priced at $269.99.

The most interesting of the lenses is the 900mm Mirror Lens for outdoor and sports shooting. It uses reflection optics and lenticualr light refraction such as a telescope uses. The lens is priced at $299.99. These lenses are very cheap and should be appealing to photographers wanting more lens options at a lower price than buying a new camera or DSLR lens.”

Move Over Houlihan, There’s a New HotLips in Town!

Photographers of weird and overlooked species are finally bringing some long overdue attention to their subjects. In a contest offered by the Guardian, patrons were asked to give names to these oft ignored bits of nature. Like this one:

Hotlips!

 

Named by 12-year-old Rachel Blackman, this vivid species gets renewed attention.

“They looked a bit like lips and I thought the name suited it really well because of the bright orange colour,” said Rachael. “It’s exciting to know it will always be called hotlips.”

 

What I learned at camp Today

There is always something to learn when you’re around kids who are charming and elated.  It’s even more apparent when you are around 300 Special Olympics athletes.   This was the case today at the Levine Jewish Community Center in Charlotte.  The kids were taking part in the Special Olympics Athletes Retreat (SOAR).

These kids know how to make every basket the best thing that they have done in the last 10 years.  Excitement was passed to and from one kid to another then back to the volunteers.   When you looked into the kids eyes, all you could see in them was joy, pure and true.  They were peaceful for at least one moment because they had time to celebrate with their heroes, Stephen Jackson and D.J. Augustin of the Charlotte Bobcats.   These kids are so excited to meet each and every person, but these two are more special to them.

There is always one kid that standouts each year, and this year was no exception.  He was happy to meet each and every person, but he really wanted to see Michael Jordan.  He wanted to know everyone’s names.  This might sound like nothing special, but this really stood out to me.  It was how he approached each person with a caring heart and did something that most of us have trouble doing when talking to people; he looked deep into each persons eyes without blinking.  So hopefully, we can all learn from these little lessons, to be more considerate with the person next to us in line.

Stephen Jackson of the Charlotte Bobcats plays One-on-One

Studio for Rent in Charlotte, North Carolina… Built on a Gold Mine

This is the same location that many commercials, celebrity photo shoots and yes, even a movie (The Last Passport), have been made.  We think it’s a very unique place that offers lots of options and space, but not so much that it isn’t affordable!  So when you make a trip to find your next nugget of gold in Charlotte, make sure to check us out!  We have daily and weekly rates.

Studio Rental close to Uptown Charlotte

Photography/Video Studio Space for Rent in South End

Studio Conveniently located in the heart of South End only 5 minutes from uptown Charlotte, our space is ready for your shoot!  Find out why this is one of the most popular studios in town.

We offer:

40’ x 40’  Very Clean Studio Space

18’ Ceilings for Any Kind of Shoot

Large Sliding Wall (can accommodate a vehicle)

Modern Dressing/Makeup Area (with good lighting, large mirrors, and makeup table)

12’ x 12’ Waiting Area

Huge Multi-Speed Fashion Fan

Mens/Ladies Restrooms

Wi-Fi Internet/ Fax Machine/ Phone (local calls)

Stereo System (CD, iPod/MP3 Hookup)

Refrigerator/Microwave

24-Hour Alarm System

Drive in Entrance (with plenty of parking, easy access ground level loading)

RATES:

$250 half day

$400 whole day

$1400 week

15’ x 15’ multi purpose office that can be rented for an additional $125 which includes TV,  office desk, sound system, and chairs.

Uptown Charlotte Studio for Video Production or Photography

Photography studio for special day

Charlotte Photography and Video Production Studio for Rent

Photographer vs. Lawyer

It's not as easy as people think.

I ask you this question:  What is the difference between a lawyer and a photographer?  It takes both years of actually studying their craft before they can actually call themselves professional.  Both are only as good as the last case or image that they make.   They are both chosen by people who use them because of their rare talents to describe and argue a point.  Okay, so some of you will say that it takes longer to become a lawyer than to become a photographer because of the many years of college.  I would have to say that you are correct on that point, but I would have to point out that it takes just as long to develop a style and art form in the photography world.

When I started out,  I remember hearing John Biever (one of the best follow focus photographers ever) say that it takes 1,000 rolls of film (36 frames to a roll) before you can really understand this craft.  That might sound like nothing in this day of digital images, but in the days of chrome slides, this was no small feat unless you had deep pockets.  The cost of one roll of quality slide film would cost between $14-25 to shoot with processing cost attached.  So basically,  it would take about 36,000 frames before you had actually developed your eye to capture the correct moments on that one piece of film.  Now take in to account, that you would not just hold down the button and shoot five frames per second, instead you would look for the image and then think about the image before actually shooting the picture because each frame cost you money.  So, you may ask yourself, what is the difference between the two?

The main difference is in pricing.  Lawyers are willing to charge for their talents and most photographers will not.  You might think that is not on the mark at all.  I recently received an email from a friend who was wanting an image for his corporate headshot.  Now, his company sends their people to XXXXX and they pay $50 for the shots.  I am sure that it will take at least 30 minutes for the shoot to happen plus at least another 30 minutes to set up the shot.  Now you have to add the time to put the images into the computer and get a version that is ready for output.   I would say that we are talking a minimum of at least 1 hour and 30 minutes.  A lawyer on the other hand would charge by the hour for this service.  So I can tell you that my lawyer would charge at least $250 per hour for his services, so this simple shoot would run $375.  Now the client would like to have the image color corrected and then put in the correct form so that you can email it to them so they can use it on their website, business cards, and any other place that they would like because its digital.  This takes time to get this ready plus tying up your computer so that it can’t be used on something else.  How about a disk after this?  This takes even more time to burn a disk with the images on it.

So in a nutshell,  what I am trying to say is that it takes time to do what we do as photographers.  We have spent many years working on building our craft.   We are not day workers at the local apple orchard picking our favorite fruit.  Rather, we are skilled workers who bring years of experience to every shoot.  So now, I pose another question:  Are you an apple picker or a skilled craftsman working your magic?

Fresh Start for the Studio

The transformation of  Kent Smith’s Photography studio is almost complete! When it’s all said and done, we’ll have one of the best studio spaces in Charlotte! New floors, new paint, new makeup counter, new lighting, new, new, new! It’s a cleaner, fresher, more open space to let the creativity flow, and better serve our clients. Keep your eyes peeled for before and after shots of our makeover, updates on what we’re up to in our glamorous new space, and studio rental rates (so that you can get in here and use our great facility!).

Portfolio

Portfolio , a set on Flickr.

Make sure to check out the flickr group.