Frosty E photos

heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
edited October 22, 2008 in Weddings
Matthew and Kristina are getting married summer 2009 up at Hatchers Pass, so we thought the location where they will say their vows would be the most appropriate place to create some really special engagement photos for their announcement. We had a good time, and I really got to experience more of their personalities, which I loved!

My favorite of the set: (And if you squint down the valley to camera left you can see just a smidge of the famous Wasilla Alaska:rofl )
1.
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Who said you had to save the best for last? Not me... That was my first time going for the starburst, and it was actually pretty simple dimple.

2. This is my second favorite of the set. It was pretty tricky to get the flash just right on this one.

Side (personal) note: Hatchers Pass is one of my favorite places in AK. It is our cheap version of a ski resort. The way it works is you ride in your car instead of a ski lift...This photo is taken at the drop off point. Everyone (except the driver) skis/snowboards/sleds down the 16 mile run and generally beats the driver down. Load up and repeat. You can do around 5 to 6 runs in a good afternoon and it is super fun! To tell the truth the snow was perfect during the shoot and I was wishing for a sled!
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3. I know the super shallow DOF isn't for everyone, but I think it works in this photo.
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4. They brought along their doggies and so we had to include them in the family photos, of course. The bigger dog had the most amazing blue eyes. This was my first time shooting with animals, and I think it went fine. I did have to do the old head swaperoo on the group shot, but that is fairly normal, I think.
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5. Another fav... He is trying to read her mind, LOL. 399667327_Awgo9-M-1.jpg

6. The ring shot. Do you think it is too yellow?
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7. I think his teeth being out is a bit distracting. But I like the desat/ boosted contrast look mixed with the emotion of the photo.
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8. This is the lodge where the wedding will take place. So we got some photos in front of the sign. Don't you think he looks a bit mischievous here?
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9. There could be a good reason for the mischievous look, huh.
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10. We had a great morning. But it took me the whole rest of the day
to warm up. I bet these guys were freezing because he put her in the snow
many times. But she was laughing at the end, so it must have been okay.
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Question for anyone caring to answer:
Glasses and snow- how do you combat the reflections?
Snow and the WB dropper... worked okay, but often turned things too cyan.. Got any tricks?

Coments and constructive critique are wished for! Help me fix it next time!

(Been slow around digital grin lately, so I am not really expecting many comments, so each one is golden to me!)

Comments

  • urbanariesurbanaries Registered Users Posts: 2,690 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    And I've definitely been thinking about you all the times I hear about Wasilla...the Daily Show did a piece on the "small town-ness" of it (highlighting folks in the MugShot Saloon) and I have to say, it didn't look anything like the Wasilla you show in your photos! It was a humorous piece, but clearly not flattering.

    I can see why #1 is your favorite!!! Gorrrrrgeous photo! Whoa! I like your decision to put your fave first, I just might steal that idea mwink.gif I wonder if everyone is as crazy busy as I am in late Oct, and that's why they're not posting? (I'm home with a sick kiddo or else I wouldn't be here!)

    2.....very very nice! Awesome exposure of the blue sky and snow. Did you have any trouble getting the STe2 to fire? I would think all that reflected light would give the IR fits. One tiny nit, maybe PS out the hat he's holding in his hand, it keeps grabbing my attention.

    3. I like the DOF, I'm just not sure about seeing just one of her eyes completely, they look so different.

    4. Love love love the collage with the dogs!!! The second one (the dip) is my fave of that series....so cute. They're having fun and the dog is like, dude, what are you doing with my mom? rolleyes1.gif


    5. Gorgeous lighting and DOF.....awesome colors...just beautiful.

    6. I do think it is a bit warm. Funny, I did a shot similar to this last night and I had the same problem...skin tones that far out of focus looked very dark/over saturated. I went with BW but only bc I was lazy!

    7. Like the processing, very nice! Agree somewhat on the teeth. Not sure there's much you can do about it though? I bet they don't notice it if they like the photo otherwise.


    8. I like the background I just think some other angles might work, the sign and the logo on his hat are a little distracting. Really love the moment caught here, though!!!

    9. Awesome!!! Love everything about this one!

    10. Love this one....one of my faves and one I bet they'll order! I am not sure what you can do about the reflections. I would try to bring out the detail/outlines of his eye and not worry too much about them. The reflections are pretty even, not too bright or "spotty" so they don't bug me that much.

    Awesome set, I wish I could get my clients to think past the 60 degree mark when it comes to outdoor photos!!! (prolly why I have 6 shoots in 7 days this last week of October...they think November is off limits!! argh!) :D
    Canon 5D MkI
    50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 24-70 2.8L, 35mm 1.4L, 135mm f2L
    ST-E2 Transmitter + (3) 580 EXII + radio poppers
  • AgnieszkaAgnieszka Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,263 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    Wow, wonter is coming, huh?? iloveyou.gif

    This set is gorgeous!!! #1 is my favorite - I think ... or maybe #9? .... aaaah, you have soo many good ones!!! rolleyes1.gif I am never brave enough to take eng. photos in the snow .... - well I did once, ... at a windy, windy beach, and it was BAAAAAD news, haha!

    Congrats, a fun set!! clap.gif
  • cmasoncmason Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    Great stuff Heather!

    per your question on glasses: the trick is to take shots of the subject (who wears glasses), without glasses, and basically merge the eyes from non-glasses shot with the glasses shots, to remove the reflections from the lenses (keeping the frames intact of course).

    So you make a mask of the inside of the glass frame, use that to 'cut' from the non-eyeglass image, and then blend.

    I recommend Scott Kelby's "The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers" which has a step by step guide to solving this problem.
  • SwartzySwartzy Registered Users Posts: 3,293 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    Beautifully done Fred! I love them. Wow, your DOF really takes these to a new level. The different processing gives them such a "now what's hot" look. Most excellent!
    Swartzy:
    NAPP Member | Canon Shooter
    Weddings/Portraits and anything else that catches my eye.
    www.daveswartz.com
    Model Mayhem site http://www.modelmayhem.com/686552
  • urbanariesurbanaries Registered Users Posts: 2,690 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    cmason wrote:
    Great stuff Heather!

    per your question on glasses: the trick is to take shots of the subject (who wears glasses), without glasses, and basically merge the eyes from non-glasses shot with the glasses shots, to remove the reflections from the lenses (keeping the frames intact of course).

    So you make a mask of the inside of the glass frame, use that to 'cut' from the non-eyeglass image, and then blend.

    I recommend Scott Kelby's "The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers" which has a step by step guide to solving this problem.

    cmason, you are just full of helpful tips!!! Brilliant idea (which explains why I never thought of it!) Thanks for sharing with all of us!thumb.gif
    Canon 5D MkI
    50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 24-70 2.8L, 35mm 1.4L, 135mm f2L
    ST-E2 Transmitter + (3) 580 EXII + radio poppers
  • heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    My comments will be in there with your comments. Mine will be italicized, though...
    urbanaries wrote:
    And I've definitely been thinking about you all the times I hear about Wasilla...the Daily Show did a piece on the "small town-ness" of it (highlighting folks in the MugShot Saloon) and I have to say, it didn't look anything like the Wasilla you show in your photos! It was a humorous piece, but clearly not flattering. See that just makes me crazy- The Media strikes again...I have seen Wasilla characterized as an podunk 80's strip mall... What they don't point out is that our area has won huge awards for the fastest growing community in the US and Wasilla is the main shopping for the Valley- I have heard 85,000 people are here. We have lots of new box stores (Target, Fred Meyers, Safeway, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes etc) And lots and lots of development everywhere you look. We are not the hillbillies that we are represented as at the Mugshot. (which I have never even darkened the door of) The whole thing makes me want to do a photo "expose' " of Wasilla, and show everyone what it is like from an insiders perspective. (Which is: beautiful & nice most everywere, with a few bits of ugly mixed in for spunk.)

    I can see why #1 is your favorite!!! Gorrrrrgeous photo! Whoa! I like your decision to put your fave first, I just might steal that idea mwink.gif I wonder if everyone is as crazy busy as I am in late Oct, and that's why they're not posting? (I'm home with a sick kiddo or else I wouldn't be here!) That is too bad that Harry is sick! But then you get to snuggle on the couch all day with him. So it isn't all bad, huh.
    I was really really busy the couple of weeks before snow- Everyone was panicked to get their SR shots done before the yearbook deadlines. But it has petered down to normal now.

    2.....very very nice! Awesome exposure of the blue sky and snow. Did you have any trouble getting the STe2 to fire? I would think all that reflected light would give the IR fits. One tiny nit, maybe PS out the hat he's holding in his hand, it keeps grabbing my attention.
    I did have some trouble getting it to fire. How did you know!?!! In fact this was the first photo of the series and one of the 2 that it actually fired on.


    3. I like the DOF, I'm just not sure about seeing just one of her eyes completely, they look so different. I hear you, her eye was kind of scrunched from the pose... I will watch for that later.

    4. Love love love the collage with the dogs!!! The second one (the dip) is my fave of that series....so cute. They're having fun and the dog is like, dude, what are you doing with my mom? rolleyes1.gif
    The dip on is my favorite too. My only issue with it is the bit of motion blur on her, but I go back and forth about its acceptablity.

    5. Gorgeous lighting and DOF.....awesome colors...just beautiful.
    Thanks! I like that one too!

    6. I do think it is a bit warm. Funny, I did a shot similar to this last night and I had the same problem...skin tones that far out of focus looked very dark/over saturated. I went with BW but only bc I was lazy! Sounds like a great solution! I even lightened up the yellows quite a bit!

    7. Like the processing, very nice! Agree somewhat on the teeth. Not sure there's much you can do about it though? I bet they don't notice it if they like the photo otherwise. My thoughts exactly.


    8. I like the background I just think some other angles might work, the sign and the logo on his hat are a little distracting. Really love the moment caught here, though!!! I have a bunch of different angles, but didn't share them all. I do love their expressions in this one though.

    9. Awesome!!! Love everything about this one! Thanks again!

    10. Love this one....one of my faves and one I bet they'll order! I am not sure what you can do about the reflections. I would try to bring out the detail/outlines of his eye and not worry too much about them. The reflections are pretty even, not too bright or "spotty" so they don't bug me that much. This one is great in color too. I just love the pose. Can you believe that she hates to have her picture taken and does not like any photos she has seen of herself in the past!? I told her I would do my best to change that. She is a real cutie pie.

    Awesome set, I wish I could get my clients to think past the 60 degree mark when it comes to outdoor photos!!! (prolly why I have 6 shoots in 7 days this last week of October...they think November is off limits!! argh!) :D

    60 degrees! Shoot this summer we barely got UP to 60 degrees. Well, we get the mountains and you get the warm winters. We get the better end of the deal, I think. rolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gif Thanks Lynne for the awesome feedback. I truly appreciate the time it took!!
  • heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    Agnieszka wrote:
    Wow, wonter is coming, huh?? iloveyou.gif

    This set is gorgeous!!! #1 is my favorite - I think ... or maybe #9? .... aaaah, you have soo many good ones!!! rolleyes1.gif I am never brave enough to take eng. photos in the snow .... - well I did once, ... at a windy, windy beach, and it was BAAAAAD news, haha!

    Congrats, a fun set!! clap.gif

    Winter IS here...
    When I woke up that morning it was sooo windy, but by the time of the shoot it had calmed down and become so beautiful! It was perfect! Thanks for the comments!
  • heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    cmason wrote:
    Great stuff Heather!

    per your question on glasses: the trick is to take shots of the subject (who wears glasses), without glasses, and basically merge the eyes from non-glasses shot with the glasses shots, to remove the reflections from the lenses (keeping the frames intact of course).

    So you make a mask of the inside of the glass frame, use that to 'cut' from the non-eyeglass image, and then blend.

    I recommend Scott Kelby's "The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers" which has a step by step guide to solving this problem.

    That is great! I love your idea! I will be implementing that one...!!!
  • heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    Swartzy wrote:
    Beautifully done Fred! I love them. Wow, your DOF really takes these to a new level. The different processing gives them such a "now what's hot" look. Most excellent!

    Thanks Steve! I love to hear that from you! I did use some new techniques while processing, so thanks for noticing! Glad it worked out!
  • coldclimbcoldclimb Registered Users Posts: 1,169 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    Ahh, it's good to catch a glimpse of home, while I'm heading further and further south. :D My wife wanted to do our whole ceremony right where you shot these, but I didn't figure it would be kind to make everyone stand around outside in March. Awesome shots though, that view of the Valley is treasured by just about everyone I know who goes to Hatchers much. Thanks for sharing! :D
    John Borland
    www.morffed.com
  • heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    coldclimb wrote:
    Ahh, it's good to catch a glimpse of home, while I'm heading further and further south. :D My wife wanted to do our whole ceremony right where you shot these, but I didn't figure it would be kind to make everyone stand around outside in March. Awesome shots though, that view of the Valley is treasured by just about everyone I know who goes to Hatchers much. Thanks for sharing! :D

    Ha Ha! March at Hatchers IS a big nippy for an outdoor wedding. And you are right! I have many family photos from that exact spot.

    Glad you like my piccies! I have been enjoying your shootout stuff, but think you might be half crazy with all that climbing stuff.
  • urbanariesurbanaries Registered Users Posts: 2,690 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    big nippy ...outdoor wedding....

    Hey, keep those posts in the "Go Figure" forum! rolleyes1.gifD
    Canon 5D MkI
    50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 24-70 2.8L, 35mm 1.4L, 135mm f2L
    ST-E2 Transmitter + (3) 580 EXII + radio poppers
  • jeffreaux2jeffreaux2 Registered Users Posts: 4,762 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    3.4.6.7.10.......just gorgeous. clap.gifclap.gifclap.gif I like the energy in these!
  • heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2008
    urbanaries wrote:
    Hey, keep those posts in the "Go Figure" forum! rolleyes1.gifD

    hahahaha! rolleyes1.gif

    Some people can't type around here and I am sick of it. (slams door) :giggle
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