Photo shoot with the “L” Girls…
Growing up with black and white photography, I still find myself going back to my roots, even with digital. Sometimes I see the image in black and white as I’m looking through my view finder. Here are a few from the day…
Graphic design gone wild, well at least Warhol!
I’ve been busier than ever these days, but mostly with graphic design projects. I also opened a store on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/sartoriphoto), where I’m now offering custom Andy Warhol pop-art style canvas prints. Recently, it seems more and more people are interested in Warhol photos and this custom listing allow them to choose colors, styles, sizes, etc.. Here are a few recent projects that I’ve worked on… each example is a little different, as will happen naturally depending on your photo.
I really L.O.V.E. Warhol designs, it started when I worked on a project of my own. It’s also great to work with everyone on these projects, not only do I get to see a lot of old family photos, but learn so much about families during the process, getting to hear all the great stories behind the photo and why it’s special to them. XO love you all!
Alex: Senior Portraits at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge
I’ve been shooting Senior Portraits at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, there are some really cool settings. My advice is to visit both sides of the refuge area, well worth the variety and get to see tons of wildlife!
New Custom Canvas Photo Mounting Projects
I’ve been busy coming up with new ideas and projects, some that I really like and some that turned out to be disasters! This is one of those projects that I really liked. So much so that I created several as Christmas presents. Since then I’ve had a lot of people interested, so I listed the availability for custom orders through my new Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/sartoriphoto) Check out my shop and hit me up with any questions you have. Custom is custom, I can use almost any color/cardstock/ribbon/quote, etc. you want to match your room. You can see it in the photo, but this canvas frame hangs by a blue ribbon to match the ribbon around the parameter (only wider).
Enjoy!
A sneak peak at the Class of 2011
Senior Picture Time…again!
Scheduling is booking fast, so get your date secured today! I will share some photos eventually of my new work, but have to focus on my customers first and edit, edit, edit.
Fireworks
Love, love, love Independence day! Again, this year I was asked to bring my camera and capture some of the evening. So, I thought I would share my favorite!
Before and After Background in Photoshop
Once in a while I look at a photo and think of ways to make it look completely different than the original. Occasionally, it’s the subject, but in this case I focused on the background. This is a recent photoshoot where all of the photos for this client were taken outdoors, typically this works well, but as a senior portfolio it was missing a certain traditional “portrait” feature, thus my goal was set.
Using this first photo (picture above) I started with my selection tool in Photoshop. I selected my subject and did a control (command) J to copy her entire body to its own layer. Then I hid the first layer which shows the original background. After that I added four layers
- Added a color background to match her dress
- Added a bright light glow effect to the blue background
- Added a black vignette around the parameter of the photo
- Added the 2010 text, with various layer styles (blending modes) to give it a glow similar to the background (text along with the background have also been blurred somewhat to achieve a depth of field).
I also edited further by whitening teeth and editing white balance around her pupils. Included with the steps above I developed this second photo.
But I still wanted more…
Recently, I added a digital effects plug-in to my Photoshop program called Tiffen Dfx. I love it! Not only does it give me color, lens, tints, gel, etc. effects, but also offers different lighting effects. (No this is isn’t a shameless plug and no I do not get paid to brag about their product… hmm, maybe I should, I digress… it’s just a great program to use for effect shortcuts that used to take hours to complete) For the last photo I built upon the existing blue background and distorted a Dfx Gobo light pattern to create the streak lighting in the background. I also lowered the opacity of the black vignette so it is barely visible, but still adds depth. This is what I finished with…
Senior Pictures
…and a few more without filters or vignettes.
