Seniors, kids, models & trains :)

Swartzy

Hi gang.....I haven't been around much lately as there is lots of work to be done. Will be back more frequently soon...sorry for the intrusion again. Thought to share some different stuff from the last couple weeks...still not done editing around here.......but hey, it's fun Yes...still have to make a new watermark for this year....so far behind.

In no particular order...just some stuff:

#1



#2



#3



#4



#5



#6



#7



#8



Thanks for looking :lust

Nikolai

Someone was busy with PS:-)
Nice work!

rwells

Really nice work Dave

Swartzy

Thanks Nik & Randy. Getting caught up with post work certainly is a challenge

Halite

I really like the stylization in the train project--color, lighting and poses are working well together to convey a cool, vintage theme.

The composites of the kids are a creative alternative to straight up portraits--less formal, more engaging. How have the kids' parents reacted to these?

Mitchell

I love the train series.

Great work!!

Richard

Mitchell wrote:

I love the train series.

Great work!!

Especially #4.

heatherfeather

Yup #4 is pretty amazing...

#2... incredible hair. So beautiful!

The gal in #7 and #5 needs to take a happy pill... She has that "who the heck are you?" look or "there is something crawling into his ear" in #7 and #5 looks like her tummy hurts. Very funny! The pose though is spot on.... Love that look.

Jealous of your old trains.

Nice to see you around! Don't get too busy to hang out!

D'Buggs

Some wonderful shtuff here.

TangoJuliet

Great work. I love the train shots. I'm still in the early learning stages of lighting and PP. Can you explain to me how you achieve that muted/dark tone of those shots? How much is done in camera and what is done PP? It's a look that really intrigues me, but to this point escapes my comprehension. Thanks.

TJ

Swartzy

Halite wrote:

I really like the stylization in the train project--color, lighting and poses are working well together to convey a cool, vintage theme.

The composites of the kids are a creative alternative to straight up portraits--less formal, more engaging. How have the kids' parents reacted to these?

Thanks Halite. The composites...parents and kids love them. Rather than do something in the current trend as far as desaturation, vinettes, grunge overlays, I thought cleaner versions would look more appealing. Guess I get tired of brown images....

The train shoot was quite fun and played with lighting scenarios

Swartzy

Thanks Mitchell & Richard...that of course is my "Ooooh Baby" from that shoot. What I love about it is that the execution took place from conception..and we all know that doesn't happen too often

Swartzy

heatherfeather wrote:

Yup #4 is pretty amazing...

#2... incredible hair. So beautiful!

The gal in #7 and #5 needs to take a happy pill... She has that "who the heck are you?" look or "there is something crawling into his ear" in #7 and #5 looks like her tummy hurts. Very funny! The pose though is spot on.... Love that look.

Jealous of your old trains.

Nice to see you around! Don't get too busy to hang out!

Heheh...thanks Fred! No..no happy pill...this was about mood/period set. Pull up some old Hollywood movies..hehehe. Our make up artists are really masters at that vintage hair styling. It's amazing to watch the transformations as they get the ladies prep'd.

Thanks so much...I will try to hang out a bit more..just so much going on..and hey..we have some nice weather so I'm outside quite a bit.

Swartzy

D'Buggs wrote:

Some wonderful shtuff here.

Thanks D'Buggs...appreciate your comment

Swartzy

TangoJuliet wrote:

Great work. I love the train shots. I'm still in the early learning stages of lighting and PP. Can you explain to me how you achieve that muted/dark tone of those shots? How much is done in camera and what is done PP? It's a look that really intrigues me, but to this point escapes my comprehension. Thanks.

TJ

TJ....the muted dark tone is post processing work. The lighting of course is in camera. To accentuate the highlights and shadows there are numerous ways to skin a cat in PS but dodge and burn, contrast, sharpening, vibrance, selections, layers and masks achieve the look. It would take an entire tutorial to show/explain how this was done and some things wouldn't be applicable on another image. I've found that there really aren't any formulas to achieve a particular look because each image is different..yes you can do the same things with each image as a base but each has it's own individual attention.

A few images have skin smoothing/blemish removal, desaturation and the like. The PS learning curve takes time.....and dedication. I too look long and hard at images wondering, "How did they do that?" Watch tutorials, read, and immerse yourself in PS and it will come. Thanks!

TangoJuliet

Thanks Swartzy. I kind of figured it would take a book to explain, so I didn't expect a full tutorial. I only have PSE 7 (PSE 5 before that) so I may be somewhat limited on what I can learn and achieve anyway. Someday though ...

zoomer

These are all very nice.
Looks like you are having fun with some creative processing.
Nice lighting.
Love the contrasts in the guy with the dark hat.

rwells

Hey Dave,

Would you mind telling about your lighting setup on this pic?

Did you use a snoot on the kicker, to keep it out of the background shadows?



Thanks

Swartzy wrote:

#4

Swartzy

You bet Randy. The light to CL was actually inside the train car with enough light spill to illuminate the upper part of the subjects face...slightly. Just set up a 580 inside and laid it on a table in there for it to bounce around so some light would come through the window. Had to adjust it 3-4 times for the right power but was pretty easy. On CR, an umbrella was hand held with another 580 set at, if I remember correctly) 1/4 power. Did some shots with it higher but had the assistant lower it for a more direct beam..but still allowing softness (hence shooting through the umbrella rather than bounce). The concept was to duplicate that of a street light..then in post of course, there was much more to do achieving this look...but out of camera, I knew it was THE shot of the day.

Swartzy

zoomer wrote:

These are all very nice.
Looks like you are having fun with some creative processing.
Nice lighting.
Love the contrasts in the guy with the dark hat.

Thanks Zoomer! Yes, I am having fun....love creating, love processing..and yes, I'm a sick man..

rwells

Thanks Dave, very nice of you to share...

That's a great photograph

Swartzy wrote:

You bet Randy. The light to CL was actually inside the train car with enough light spill to illuminate the upper part of the subjects face...slightly. Just set up a 580 inside and laid it on a table in there for it to bounce around so some light would come through the window. Had to adjust it 3-4 times for the right power but was pretty easy. On CR, an umbrella was hand held with another 580 set at, if I remember correctly) 1/4 power. Did some shots with it higher but had the assistant lower it for a more direct beam..but still allowing softness (hence shooting through the umbrella rather than bounce). The concept was to duplicate that of a street light..then in post of course, there was much more to do achieving this look...but out of camera, I knew it was THE shot of the day.