The Digital Photo Guy

The Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul

Today, we’ll post Part 1 of 2 posts about retouching eyes to add intensity and “pop” to any portrait including those where the photographer messed up! Here’s a photo of my favorite model, Tylor. I made this photo at the beach on one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong. Tylor’s eyes were lost in the shadows and her smile seemed lifeless (below left). After bit of Photoshop Elements magic, I brought back her eyes and the photo is almost acceptable. I think you’ll agree the retouched photo is better because Tylor’s eyes are alive with sparkle.

My technique is a distillation of several classes and workshops. Some were overly convoluted while others were too simplified. I’ve tried to walk a line between complexity and finesse so the end result is convincing but achievable.

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The Digital Photo Guy Blog Gets a Facelift

This is the 6th year for this site. During the first 4 years, it was a static site that was rarely updated because making changes was excruciatingly slow, complex and costly. In 2008, I resolved to fix the problem and commissioned a web developer to develop a new site that I could easily and quickly update myself. He recommended WordPress and the initial implementation took just 6 weeks. As soon as he was done, I started making changes and quickly learned how to do just about everything by myself. I’m no rocket scientist but WordPress makes everything simple and straightforward.

Now, a year after the initial launch, a new static home page has replaced the previous dynamic home page. A dynamic home page was fine in the beginning but, now, with so many articles and posts, it was quickly becoming unwieldly. Readers couldn’t easily find the information they sought. A static home page can act as ”street signs” to help point readers in the right direction. As you can see, some of the signs are still not working. That’s because all the MMTs, posts and articles weren’t always correctly or fully tagged.

Tagging the material at this time would be counter productive because each update would generate an e-mail notification of an update and readers wuld be innundated with e-mails.

Starting in 2010, I’ll be more careful about tagging each MMT, post and article so readers can quickly find all material pertaining to Cameras/Lenses/Gear, Photo Editing and Photography.

In the meantime, the existing tags (right side of main blog) can help you find specific articles or MMTs. You can also use the Seach box along the right side of the main blog.

A website is a never-ending process. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment here. Good light, good memories and good luck in 2010.

Monday Morning Tip – 12/07/09

If you’ve ever tried to cut a person or pet out of a photo and found it to be an exercise in frustration, you need to watch today’s Video MMT. Topaz Labs has released ReMask2 and it is an order of magnitude improved over the first version. Here’s a quick example of what ReMask2 can do for you.

The initial pass took about 3 minutes and I spent another 3 minutes cleaning up the edges. It’s still not perfect but much, much better and faster than previous manual methods. Click here to read the rest of this MMT

Today’s MMT, as usual, is in the MMT page behind a password on the Tips & News section. (To get a password, please register) This MMT was inspired by a friend and former student who just bought a new Canon EF-S 10-22/3.5-4.5 super wide angle lens and sent me some photos from his trip to Taos. Readers who have an 18-55 kit lens as their primary WA might have noticed that distant subjects tend to appear tiny when using a WA. This can be both a benefit and a disadvantage.

It’s immediately obvious that a WA isn’t a particularly good lens for photographing small, distant objects because they appear even smaller than they already are. But, if the small, distant objects form a pattern, the WA may be the perfect lens. So, while a WA isn’t useful for photographing the quarterback in the pocket from your seats in the nosebleed section, it may be just the lens for capturing the colors and patterns in the seats across the stadium.

A key technique when using a WA is to get as close to the main subject as possible and give the viewer the sensation of being in the photo instead of observing the photo.

We Have a Winner

Tracie from Hawaii is the first winner in the Photoshop Elements webinar and the class doesn’t even start for another 12 days. Tracie registered herself and two friends for the webinar and won a complete Topaz Labs Suite (Adjust, DeNoise, Simplify, Detail, Clean, ReMask, DeJPEG) worth $179.

There’s one more chance to win a complete bundle and that’s during the webinar when one lucky student will receive a complete Topaz Labs bundle. If you’re not familiar with Topaz Labs Photoshop and Photoshop Elements plug-ins, check out the cool tools on their site. 

But, even if you don’t win the bundle during the webinar, not to despair because I have a great deal for the rest of you. Go to Topaz Labs’ website and order the bundle using the code digitalphotoguy for a 15% discount. That gets you $340 worth of software for just $152.99. It don’t get no better’n that, citizen!

Remember, we also have lots of other door prizes including the 800+ page Workbook from Photoshop World, a BlackRapid camera strap and 1-2-3 of Digital Imaging book on a CD. Click here to see the door prizes and read the descriptions.

Wild Animal Park Photoshoot – Dec 5, 2009

The next WAP Photoshoot class is just 5 weeks away. If you’re the type that likes to see which buttons I’m pressing in what direction and why, this is the class for you. In just 4 hours, we’ll cover Exposure, Focus, Composition and basic photo editing.

Some challenges you’ll learn to overcome include setting the desired exposure by using the Exposure Level Indicator, Histogram and Exposure Compensation. You’ll also learn how to use flash during broad daylight to improve your photos, set your camera and lens for kids and critters in motion and composing for impact.

We end the session by meeting in my RV for a photoshop Elements session to learn the basics of photo editing. This is the fastest, easiest path for new dSLR owners to get “up-to-speed”.

Score, Again!

I snagged several extra Photoshop World workbooks for drawings to be held during the Nov 14 webinar with Rob Sheppard. These workbooks contain class materials from virtually every class offered during PSW this week. That’s over 800 pages of material covering everything from Fixing Common Image Problems by Dave Cross to Graphic Secrets: Totally Text by Lesa Snider to The Perfect Panoramic by Jim DiVitale.

For me, yesterday was more about recharging the batteries and gaining new inspiration than pushing sliders, tweaking colors and adjusting angles. For inspiration, Jay Maisel is at the top of my list. He’s an oddball (synonym for New York photographer) but his ability to see while the rest of us simply look is amazing. His photos of what, at first glance, appear to be everyday, mundane objects is nothing short of brilliant. If B&H had a “Jay Maisel Eye” in their catalog, the owners would be multi-billionaires. Even his photos of kids, which rarely do anything for me, inspire and amaze me. He’s not a splashy, entertaining presenter but he doesn’t need to be, his photos speak for themselves.

Fay Sirkis presented The Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul. The beginning was slow and I was concerned when she said she was going to show us a technique that she applied to every photo. It turns out she’s a 1 trick pony but it’s a huge pony. I was impressed at the breadth and depth of information she was able to pack into a single tip. Her one technique had more product extensions than a MacDonald’s hamburger!

Jack Reznicki was, as usual, full of great tips, tricks and hints but, also as usual, he’s a photog, not an instructor. He was all over the place and it would have been difficult for less experienced photographers to follow. I had to laugh at the people using camera phones to try to capture his exact set-up instead of understanding the concepts.

Joe McNally was my favorite. He most reminded me of my own style: immediately useful tips and info presented in a rapidfire, humorous manner that always kept you on the edge of your seat. I really liked that Joe used V as his model instead of the typical, svelte, 20-something blonde. V was about 350 lbs of muscle and looked like a bouncer at a Las Vegas bar. He was amazingly agile and could leap into the air on cue for McNally.

There was only one disappointment during the day. It was obvious the instructor really didn’t know how to express themselves and convey their ideas. The one thing that surprises me is the lack of preparation most photographers put into their presentations. They don’t seem to understand that presenting an instructional lecture is a completely different animal. I’m also amazed at the frequency of equipment failures.

Today is slow until noon so I’ll be scrounging in the Expo area again. I’m really looking forward to 2 sessions with Ben Willmore, The Newest in HDR and Mastering Curves. PSW wraps up at 5PM this afternoon but a lot of it is, “Rah-rah, sign up for next year!”

One final point of philosophy. After one attends a number of these conferences, it becomes obvious that the tools change and the techniques get better but the desired results are always the same. We’re always looking for ways to get the most out of our art. Bottom line, it’s useful to come to these conference once in a while but don’t drink the Kool-Aid. It’s not Scott Kelby’s art, it’s YOUR art. If you find a way that works for you, don’t let the “next big thing” seduce you into trying something just for the sake of trying something new. This falls under my favorite Dr. Mits Tomita saying, “Keep an open mind but not so open that your brains fall out.”