Okay, that was fun (Edited)

I read this tutorial on removing blemishes and smoothing skin and I just had to try it out.

EDIT: I’ve created a side-by-side jpg to show the subtle changes I made per my note in the comments. As always, clicking on any image will take you to a larger version, and will be very helpful for this particular image.

I took this photo from the other day . . .

Removed a few blemishes, lightened the dark areas under my eyes, corrected a few lines and smoothed my skin. The tutorial said to go 50% on the smoothing, but I just went 25%.  Anyway, it was a fun exercise. And the results are interesting.  It’s still me, but better.

I’m stopping on my way home to have my camera’s sensor cleaned. I was horrified today to notice specks of dust. And since the camera is nearly two years old, I am sure it needs it anyway.

No photo of the day until my baby is all cleaned up. I’ll check in later.

EDITED SIDE-BY-SIDE (click on image for larger resolution)

In the print lab

We are supposed to bring in a couple of “tentative” prints for our final project tonight, so I was in the print lab last night processing and printing. When this one came out of the printer, I stopped short.  He is just one of the couple hundred people who came for dental treatment at the MOR event last weekend.   He was one of the lucky ones – his number in the lottery was drawn.

As you can see, his face reflects a life I can’t know anything about, but he was kind and he was gentle and he trusted me to take his picture.

I have no idea if WordPress is going to do this fellow justice.  I love how the actual photograph came out.

Day 108 – School Night

A few photos from school tonight.

Caught this guy on his skateboard as I was heading to class.

 

The first floor hallway of the art building.

 

Is this where I tell you I messed up and didn’t print my assignment? I thought we were going to show JPEGs.  Guess where I will be tomorrow?

Anyway, after critique we all grabbed our cameras and flashes and remotes and headed outside for a lesson on how to shoot with flash outdoors and still have a lovely photo.  To get the background to have detail and color and not blow out the subject, essentially you expose for the background, then stop down two stops, and adjust your flash to light your subject. After a lot of trial and error, my partner and I seemed to get the hang of it.  I get the concept. Now I must practice, practice, practice!

 

My partner.  This was shot in a well-shaded area with bright light behind her.  A little blurry, but you get the idea.

 

Another classmate working with two others and using a remote flash trigger to light their subject with two Speedlites.  I took her picture with my flash, and it set off the other Speedlite being held by her partner.

Day 106 – Serendipity

Sometimes you just get a lucky shot.

A friend of mine posted a link to this Virtual Lighting Studio (be patient…it takes a while to load). Of course, I had to play with it. What’s really cool about it is that once you find a look you like, you can save it as a jpeg. When you open said jpeg, you see not only your image, but a diagram on where to place the lights to get the same effect. Pretty nifty, huh?

And so you know, I felt the call to try it out. I clamped a dark blanket to our living room windows to block out the bits of sunlight that leaked through the wooden blinds. I shoved the hutch away from the tall wall and pushed the sofa and love seat to each side of the room. I grabbed my studio lights and set them up, along with my camera.

“NO!” I told myself. “Get your taxes done. THEN you can play. And while you’re at it, start some laundry.”

Sigh. Okay…

I quickly worked through our taxes (and lo and behold, we’re getting a bit back – taking a couple of photography classes at the university does have other benefits!)

I finally was able to get going, and just had some fun for a bit. But the best moment was when Maya jumped up onto the chair I’d been posing in. She’s a bit shorter than I am.

As for what I was trying to accomplish in session today…highlights in my hair and a defined jawline.  It’s all about seeing the light.

Main light (soft box) was in front of me to camera left and high, angled down. Second light (soft box as well) was behind me and to camera right. Slightly lower than the main light. This light got moved quite a bit during the session to try to give me what I was going for. I moved it closer, raised it, brightened and dimmed it.

I know I'm not smiling, but look at the highlight on my cheek, and my jaw looks great!

 

I really like the highlight along the right side of my face. Nicely lit hair too.

I'm liking the hair and the cheekbones.