August 2nd, 2009
It is important that graphic designers know how to take nice photos of their work. However, taking photos can be intimidating, especially for students who have never set up lighting or have limited experience using a camera. I decided this would be a nice opportunity to conduct a workshop and demonstrate how simple it really is. During that workshop, I gave a quick camera tutorial, displayed examples for lighting, and offered some quick retouching suggestions. In the aftermath, I realized a web tutorial, Portfolio Photography Workshop, would be a more effective way of communicating this information. It’s simple, clean and very easy to navigate. My intention is that instructors will use it as a teaching aid, and students will use it as a reference.
July 18th, 2009
Sometimes you just want to give your photos a soft look around the edges. This is an easy 4 step tutorial that shows you how to quickly soften a photo in Photoshop.
1. Open your photo in Photoshop.
2. Duplicate the layer: Layer > Duplicate Layer.
3. Blur the top layer with a Gaussian Blur: Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to the desired pixels (depending on the photo and how soft you want it to look, I usually stay between 10-20px.
4. Adjust the Opacity for the top layer between 60-70 percent.
It’s as easy as that! Enjoy!
July 16th, 2009
“We were taught that the most important thing a young photographer can do is learn how to see. It wasn’t about the equipment, a camera was only a box that recorded an image. We learned to compose, to frame, to fill the negative, to fit everything we saw into the camera’s rectangle.” – Annie Leibovitz
I received this book for Christmas last year from my girlfriend’s Aunt who lives in San Francisco and had it autographed by the author, none other than the magnificent Annie Leibovitz. Needless to say I read it in two days over the break, and decided that I should read it again. The book is mostly short stories about her experiences starting out in photography at the San Francisco Art Institute followed by experiences while shooting for Rolling Stone when it was still a small magazine. As an aspiring photographer, this is a great read about someone who has worked in the industry for over 25 years, and has documented some of the most memorable moments. Though seen as a photographer for ‘celebrities’, reading about the thought process behind her photos is intriguing, exciting and helpful to anyone interested in photography.