C. Underwood's Art of Photography Blog

Name This Bird - Get a free $95 Print!

2012-01-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

New Contest!

At 59 years old, I must admit that I am at times a little forgetful, especially when I am engrossed in what I am doing - like when I am out doing my photography thing. So, I need your help. I forgot to make a note to myself on the type and name of this tropical bird when I took this shot at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. I really need to have the correct name for this bird image, otherwise I will have a hard time selling it as a stock image - most stock image websites require correctly identified images, especially exotic animals.
So I got to thinking, why not create a contest and offer a free custom archival print (a $95 value) to the person who correctly identifies the bird in the image. (Please, only for U.S. residents).
To enter simply add a comment to this blog with your specific correct name for the bird.
(Please try to include a link to a picture from a web site that would show that the name you gave me is in fact the correct one for this bird).

Why am I doing this? It's simply one more way of getting my work - specifically my high-end prints - seen and displayed by other people. The more prints I have out in the world being seen, the better overall exposure I have. It's really a win - win situation for both myself and the contest winner.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who submits an entry. Keep following me, because there will be many more of these contests to come!

Warm Regards,
Chuck

2011-12-29T07:37:00.000-08:00

Self Portrait.

I have been studying the art of headshot photography using a recently downloaded workshop (The Art Behind the Headshot) from the master headshot photographer - Peter Hurley.
I am just now beginning to apply what I have learned so far by doing some test shots of myself. This has proven to be somewhat of a challenge - taking self portrait shots that truly "work" as useable headshots is not easy. I'm hoping to get a model or two in front of my camera so I can really test the new skills I have acquired. So, as I progress with this I will be posting some of the shots that worked out well, as well as maybe one or two that flopped - with brief commentary on what I did to create the shots.

Regards,
Chuck

The Eyes Have It!

2011-12-16T05:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome! In this post I wanted to share a way you can enhance your portraits in a significant way

by bringing out the natural beauty and sparkle of the subject's eyes. As we all know, the eyes are

the focal point of any portrait, and I believe it's vital to the success of the overall portrait to pay close attention

to how they are presented to the viewer. Looking at the 2 images below, you can see that the before

image is good - but the eyes even with good catchlights, look flat and 2 dimensional. In the "After" image

I have re-touched the eyes using a Photoshop painting technique I recently learned. This new skill will be invaluable in improving my portraits by taking them a step beyond what is generally available from other photographers.

(Note: Click on the sample pics to view full frame).

A Raw Image Transformation

2011-12-16T03:12:00.001-08:00

Before (top) /After Images - Taking a Raw image file and transforming it in Photoshop using Nik's Color Efex 4.

In a previous post I briefly spoke about the reasons I only shoot Raw image files in my camera. In this post I want to show an example of the dramatic difference that can be achieved with just one Photoshop plug - in.
Here is an example of a minimally processed raw image that I have taken to it's highest potential as a finished work that I will be able to make beautiful prints from or market to photobuyers as a RM stock image. One of my favorite Photoshop Plug - ins that I use on almost every image in my portfolio is Nik Software's Color Efex Pro 4.

The image below is a screen capture of the CFX Pro 4 interface. This latest version has the ability to stack filters together to create what are called: Recipes. On the left you have the option to choose from either individual filters, or pre-loaded recipes, or your own saved recipes. I have found that this is a good place to start - but the fun has only begun! Once you pick a recipe or a single filter effect, you can go to the right side to further refine and define your image to your specific needs and tastes.
It's amazing to me how many different variations you can actually get from just one or two filters or filter recipes. For the sample image above I chose to use the "film fx_modern_pro_contrast" recipe, and then made further adjustments until I am happy with the results. I will usually save the image at that point, and then re-open the plug - in if I still feel a need to add more refinements to the image. My advice is to experiment, experiment, experiment - because there really are so many different ways to enhance and improve on a raw image using this one plug - in alone.

By the way, I am not affiliated or connected to Nik Software in any way - I just really like this plug in and felt it deserved a little love and recognition.

Some other Photoshop Plug -ins I use include: Topaz Adjust, Topaz Re-Mask, Alien Skin Blow Up 2, Nik's D Fine 2, Nik Sharpener Pro 3, Nik HDR Efex Pro, Alien Skin Bokeh 2.

Happy Shooting!
Chuck

2011-11-25T09:41:00.001-08:00

Convert to Lab - Is it part of your Retouching Routine?

As a follow up on the last post about Retouching portrait/headshot images I am describing in this post a little known technique that I use on almost every image I process - and not only people images but also many of my landscape and nature photos as well. I call it the Convert to Lab technique and I have created a Photoshop Action for it so it is a one button step in my workflow for processing images.
So, why would you want to convert an image from the RGB color space to the LAB color space? Actually it's only a temporary change - the final step of the process is to change back to RGB and save your image. The reason I use this technique (which I will describe in detail in a moment) is that it brings out subtle nuances of color that are not present in the RGB color gamut. I have found that in almost every instance where I have used this process, the colors in the image are more robust and accurate without being too saturated.
So here is how it is done:
You should have already opened your image in Photoshop and made all of your usual adjustments and refinements from the Raw image. Next, duplicate the Background layer. Then go to: Image:Mode: Lab Color. A dialog box will appear asking if you want to flatten the layers - you choose "Don't Flatten".
Now go to Image:Apply Image: The Apply Image dialog box appears. You should change the channel to "a" and the Blending Mode to: Soft Light. Then click OK. Because the colors in the image may now appear to be a little too saturated, at this point I usually reduce the opacity of the Lab conversion on the new layer by reducing the layer's opacity by about 40 or 50%. This will give the image just the right amount of Lab color enhancement that I like (most of the time). You can reduce it more or less to suit your own taste.
Now the last step before you save this new Lab adjusted image is to change it back to the RGB color space. Go to: Image:Mode: RGB. (If you haven't already flattened the image you will get another dialoge box asking if you want to flatten it. I usually flatten it, but you can choose to keep the layers as is without affecting the image.
This process doesn't work with every image - sometimes the change is not what I expect, and I will choose not to use it for that image. It does seem to work exceptionally well with skin tones in portraits.
So this is just one of many post - shoot image enhancement routines that I use on a daily basis. As I stated earlier, I have this and many others recorded as a Photoshop Action which greatly speeds up the total workflow time per image.

Retouching - A Must for the Portrait Photgrapher

2011-11-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

Before and After: The image on the top is the raw image which has been opened in Camera Raw and minimally processed for color, tone and value.
The image on the bottom is the finished retouched image.

Please note: This blog post is primarily directed at Photographers who choose to shoot Raw image files as opposed to Jpeg files. (Raw or JPeg? This is a subject for another blog post and I will be working on that one soon). Suffice it to say that I am wholeheartedly a proponent of the Raw file over Jpeg for a variety of reasons - but I do not begrudge or fault those who go with Jpegs because I understand their reasons for doing so - mostly it speeds up the post shoot processing time immensely - but at what price? Anyway, I'm getting off the subject - If you are shooting raw images and do some or a lot of portrait/headshot work, please read on.

Retouching: Is it really necessary?
If you are just starting out in your photography career as a portrait photographer and you want to get clients to return for more and recommend your work to other potential clients you must not only know how to take great photographs, with all of the knowledge that comes with that, but you must be an accomplished retoucher also - (or hire one to do your retouching for you).

After a shoot I use everything possible that I currently have at my disposal, including Portrait Professional Studio, Photoshop CS5, Nik Color Efex Pro 4, Topaz Adjust 5, a Wacom Intuos 4 Graphics Tablet, - and others to transform the Raw image into a stunning, and very marketable photograph that any competent Portrait/Headshot Photographer's clients will deserve and demand.
In the next post I will briefly describe each of the aforementioned software products and the Wacom Tablet along with some examples from my image library that demonstrate what I did to achieve the retouching work.