Family Sessions

With the fall season upon us, there is nothing more fun that capturing families in the beautiful light and colors of nature.  It seems like the sunlight is softer and the colors are richer than normal this year.  Thank you to Bob and Liz for letting me spend an evening with your little guys.  I had a blast and couldn't have had more fun!

Here are a couple of favorites from my session...

LAB Color adjustments

Something I forget to examine when working with sunsets and outdoor photos in general, is whether or not LAB effects will bring out anything to make them better.  The last couple of sunsets, I decided to do a little experiment and see if there was something I could do to make them even better.  LAB adjustments can make the photo pop, but the adjustments have to be done tastefully because they can really over saturate your photo if your not careful.  Here is an example of what LAB can do for a photo.  The photos were taken 20 seconds apart with the one of the left being first.  It also is the one I treated with a light touch of LAB.

This technique is done in photoshop by converting the file to LAB color mode.  Find the image tab in the top menu, select mode, then LAB color.  It will flatten your image if you have layers open so beware.  At this point, I like to duplicate my image layer so I can adjust the opacity of it when I have completed the adjustments.  The next step is to open your curves adjustment window.  I don't use the curves adjustment layer since I have used it this way in the past.  Old habits I guess.  Anyway, the first step is to select the "a" channel and move your curves line like shown.

Next step is to move your "b" channel line as shown.  You can see how your image is saturating and changing contrast as you adjust your curves.

The last adjustment is to your "lightness" channel.  Move the adjustments as this.  The top adjustment will bring down the highlights of your photo while the bottom point will lower your contrast.  I like to play with the bottom point a little depending on my view for the photo I am working on.  

Depending on how you like the color and saturation, you can adjust your opacity to taste.  Lastly, you will want to convert your image back to RGB color to make it readable on web and other services.  To do this, go to your image menu on the top, select mode, and RGB color.  This again will flatten your image if you have made any layers.  

That's it!  You have completed your LAB color adjustment for your photo.  Here is another example of what LAB color can do for a sunset.  Click on any of the photos for a large view.

Filter Painted Sunset

The clouds were rolling in and a the temperature was about to have a change for the better.  It had been a beautiful day full of sun and some very welcome warmth.  I knew that there was a possibility of a spectacular light show from the falling sun.  Wanting the kids to experience the sunset, I hustled them to the car and set out for a lake.  I knew the lake would still be very frozen due to the frigid days we had just experienced.  Placed my tripod onto the ice and a very low angle so I could get a better perspective of the ice and more of the sky.  All of these photos were taken with a 10 stop neutral density filter and very in exposure time from 70 seconds to 225 seconds.  To view them larger, visit my landscape gallery at alderimages.com/landscape.

This first photo was meant to display the wide array of colors the clouds were showing as they quickly moved out of the scene.  I had to turn the camera away from my initial location to get the colors.  

The last three photos were successive photos taken one after another and the exposure times increased with every photo due to the fading light.  This first one was approximately 120 seconds and the bottom was 225 seconds.  All the photos were shot with a Tokina @ 12mm, f/9, ISO 100.  I love the effect the 10 stop filter has on moving clouds.  I decided on this spot since the clouds were moving toward the camera.  It gives a better sense of movement and leading lines headed toward the sunset itself.   This is suppose to create a more pleasing photo.  

Thank you for viewing!

Abstracts

Colder temperatures have made things a little harder than normal in terms of getting out to photograph.  Honestly, sometimes you have the motivation to get out there, but it's squashed the minute you step into -20 degree wind chills.  With that point in mind, I have been trying to do anything the last couple of days to get my mind in a better place.  On Facebook, one of the groups I belong to suggested trying oil in water and seeing what you come up with.  Yesterday, I decided to give it a try.  I used a crate I purchased for portrait shots.  I placed some scraps of construction paper on the bottom and stuck it beside the patio door.  The patio light is indirect which is perfect. Next, I took a 11x17 casserole dish and filled it half way with water. Finally, I placed a couple drops of olive oil in the water.  Using my macro lens to get good and close to the oil dots, I started snapping away.  Using the breaks in the construction paper provided some very lovely colors to the oil spots.  To see more, please visit my website at Alderimages.com.