Wedding Day

Hi

What a gorgeous day we had yesterday, sunny and bright.  I was more than happy.  I had my very first wedding shoot for a friends of mine Anne-Marie and Steven.  They had a beautiful day at a georgeous historical venue.  Here is a photo of them after the service.

Hope they like what I've done.

Lens Hire

Hi all

Today I've been trying out a lens that I haven't used before. 

It's a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM. 

It's a monster of a lens, weighing well over two pounds.  I've actually hired it from Lenses For Hire for seven days.  The reason for hiring in the first place is to use for a wedding shoot I have this Friday.  It's a costly lens, so hiring it is a great way to test it out to determine whether it will be worth purchasing.  I have been taking shots of my son in a bid to get used to what it can do.  I love it.  So here are a couple of shots I've taken of my son.

I love black and white shots, but I've used an action from The Coffee Shop.   I have some more testing to do before Friday, but I'm pleased with the result so far.

If you would like to try out any lenses, I can thoroughly recommend the excellent service from Lenses For Hire.

Thanks for visiting.

Deborah Jane   

Blue Moon

Hi everyone.

As much as I love taking photos of babies and children, I'm always looking for other opportunities to broaden my skills.  As I was walking to my car after work today I gazed up at the most amazing moon in the darkening sky, and thought "I've just got to capture that".

As soon as I got home I grabbed my camera, attached my zoom lens and took a few shots.  Now I have photographed the moon before, and it's not as easy as you think.  The camera, doesn't see the moon as you see it with the naked eye. 

Try photographing it yourself, and you'll see what I mean.  Here's the original jpeg I took:

As you can see, the moon in this jpeg image is very bright, but I've lost the shadows and definition.  I did however shoot a RAW image too  A RAW file is much larger than a jpeg image as it retains all the digital information as it was shot.  It is the equivalent of a negative from a non digital film camera.

With a RAW file, you can bring back the areas that have been over exposed, which you wouldn't be able to do with a jpeg.  Is that all as clear as mud....ok.  So after I edited the RAW image I cropped the photo so the moon was bigger.

 

Now doesn't that make for a more interesting shot.  The moon is much more planet like....not just a bright white ball in the sky.  You can actually see much more definition.  I'm really pleased with this shot, but I thought I'd have a little fun with it, and make it even more interesting and more of an artistic image.

I used the Lens Flare effect in Photoshop, to put a bright white light on the edge.

I love this effect, but then I decided to add a lighting effect filter to the image....and here's what I got:

It's more of a fantasty image now, but it just goes to show how versatile Photoshop is, and what fun you can have using it on the most common of everyday images.

I've just learned that tomorrow night will see the the biggest full moon in two decades, when it reaches it's closest point to the earth.  So you'll have to be ready if you want to see it,  I might even take some more shots, it should be spectacular.  Lets hope it's a clear sky.  If you are interested in the moon and would like to know more then just click on the link HERE

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Deborah Jane

Nicole & Taylor

Hello

I recently took a visit to Sacrewell Farm with Nicole and Taylor, my grandchildren, specifically to do a photoshoot.  When we got there the weather was gorgeously sunny, but wouldn't you know it, after about half an hour, the rain came down and didn't stop.  We did however get a few lovely photo's, then went over to my daughters house to finish off the session.

Now I know this isn't a child shot, but I do love it.  First I bumped up the brightness & contrast using a curves layer.  I wanted a vintage look, so I ran an action on it (Creamy Chocolate Black & White), from The Coffee Shop blog.  Then I ran a Vignette action to darken the corners.  The Coffee Shop is run by Rita, she has some amazing Photoshop actions, and best of all they're free....now how good is that.

Here's a shot of Nicole, running off to see the animals.  I love these type of shots that show a little bit of action, yet keep a little mystery.  Look at her cute little wellies, and those gorgeous curls at the back of her head.



Now, what's all this then....

How's this for a cheeky smile...and look who's been kissing the girls...(tooth missing).

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Now here's some shots we took in an improvised studio at my daughters house, when we came back after it started to rain.

There....just a few....there are many more as I'm sure you'll guess.  Can't wait until the next session....apparently Nicole has a tutu and a wand, now that should be fun.

Take care

Deborah Jane