Virginia Beach Commercial Head Shots | Laura
Virginia Beach Commercial Head Shots Are you looking to have new or updated head shots done? Contact us today for more information. Professional Head Shots As a business professional it is important to keep your professional head shots current and up to date. In this day and age a lot of our business is done online. A professional head shot is the first impression that we make with our clients. Most of our clients seeking us out online are looking to see if we offer a good quality product. The first quality product that they will view is our head shot. A professional head shot from a professional head shot photographer will stand out in the market. Laura knew the importance of a good Virginia Beach Real Estate head shot. She took the time to pay for professional hair services, professional make up services and professional photography services. She was beginning a new career and knew that the investment of a great commercial head shot would be beneficial. If you use a photographer with a trained and artistic eye will give you the best outcome for your professional head shots. Also, choosing a photographer that is proficient is using professional camera gear, lenses, lighting and editing software, you will achieve a great result. Tips for Your Professional Head Shot Photo Session Professional Hair and Make Up Services: For women, always consider professional hair and make up services. Professional make up application is key to a flawless complexion. We have professional make up and hair artists that will come to the studio and provide that service for you. For guys, a little translucent powder applied to the face will help knock off any shine on the skin. Variety of Colors and Styles: Often we have a favorite outfit or color, but in photographs it doesn’t always translate as beautifully as we imagined. If you have a variety of colors and styles it will give you more choices. Different Backgrounds: If you choose us to be your head shot photographer, we will provide multiple backgrounds to give you a variety of options when choosing your perfect head shots. We also can provide green screen or white screen head shots with extraction services. When photographing on white or green screen you can be extracted from the background and placed into any background. Tiny Prints and Stripes: Avoid tiny patterns, like hounds tooth or tiny stripes. They don’t translate well in camera and give a “zig-zag” appearance in your images. (click on image to enlarge) If you are ready to update your Virginia Beach Commercial Head Shots or any professional head shots? Contact us today for more information.
Virginia Senior Portrait Photographer – Matt
Virginia Senior Portrait Photographer Have you had your senior pictures taken? Are you looking for a senior portrait photographer? Contact us for more information on our senior portrait sessions! Meet Matt. He choose us to photograph his senior portraits. He wasn’t really sure what he wanted for portraits, he just knew that he needed senior photos taken. This is true of a lot of our seniors. It is our job as a senior portrait photographer to come up with locations, poses and dressing tips to help all of our clients have a great senior experience. If you are a photographer and you need help with dressing tips, senior posing tips and more, check out our High School Senior Photography Kit. As with most high school seniors, this is the first time they have had professional portraits taken since they were young. This is a very exciting time in every family’s life. We strive to create amazing images that will last a lifetime. We began Matt’s senior photo session at our studio. Our studio is located in the historic district in downtown Norfolk. In a 2 block radius we have every background imaginable. Trees, cobblestone, history, texture, color, it is a photographer’s background dream! How to Find the Perfect Window Lighting for Portraits There is a learning curve to every type of photography and every type of lighting, especially if you are shooting indoors. Our studio is located in a historic house built in 1850 and has oversized windows that allows in gorgeous light. The direction of light is very important in photography. North light is going to be your best source of window light. When we are photographing someone in window light, we want to light to fall on their face. Then we use a reflector to bounce light back at the subject. Natural window light portraits tend to give a softer look using this technique. This technique works great for clients of all ages. For older clients it gives a very “kind” and softer appearance using window light vs. studio lighting. Here is a series of photos using our window lighting technique. (click on image to enlarge) Creating Unique Senior Portraits with Off Camera Lighting We use a variety of photography lighting in every portrait session and every wedding that we photograph. Learning different lighting techniques is key to creating a well rounded portfolio. Off camera lighting is a technique where you basically get your flash off of your hot shoe and away from the camera. With the right technique and the right equipment you can create unique portraits. Learn more about different lighting techniques. Flow Posing in Photography We tend to use flow posing in most of our portrait sessions and weddings. Basically that is being able to capture a series of images quickly in a short amount of time. We do this by making very small adjustments in our clients posing as well as using multiple lens choices in the same location. Here is a quick sample of this technique that we used on Matt’s senior photo session. (click on image to enlarge) If your senior photography posing is stuck in a rut, check our our Senior Look Book for inspiration in your posing. I could have blogged all of Matt’s senior portraits because I loved his session. I will leave you with a few more of our favorite photos. We are Virginia senior portrait photographers serving all of Virginia and beyond. Contact us today about creating your own unique senior portrait session! If you would like to read more about our senior photography sessions, click here.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Photography – Richmond International Raceway
NASCAR Nationwide Series Photography – Richmond International Raceway Are you looking for a commercial photographer for your business photography? Contact us today for more information. NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice and Qualifying Photos This weekend we had the privilege of hanging out and photographing our favorite sport. We took photos all day at the Richmond International Raceway. We started the day at 9:00 AM with NASCAR Sprint Cup practice. The morning was filled with excitement as cars took the field. They were in and out of the garage area. All morning the were tweaking to get the fastest car possible for the Federated Auto Parts 400. The garages were hectic with crews adjusting their cars during practice. With all of the hectic-ness of the day, it makes it easy to stay busy photographing. NASCAR Nationwide Wide Series Qualifying Photos The afternoon at Richmond International Raceway was filled with qualifying. The first qualifying segment of the day belonged to the Nationwide Series. With 43 cars in the field, all would make the starting line up. Their qualifying would simply determine their starting position, not if someone would not make the field. Kyle Busch, driving for JGR would end up on top taking the pole position for the Nationwide race. Landon Cassill of JD Motorsports would qualify 11th for the Nationwide Race. With top Sprint Cup drivers in the field, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Matt Kenseth, they would give the Nationwide drivers a run for their money. NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying Photos As the qualifying segment began for the Sprint Cup drivers, we knew that there would be a frenzy on the racetrack. We also knew that with a frenzy their would be plenty of opportunity for great NASCAR photos. The reason we knew that all the drivers would head out immediately was because of cloud cover. In NASCAR, the cloud cover cools the track therefore the cars go faster. For qualifying you want the fastest time possible. The faster you are the better line up for the NASCAR race and the better pit selection you will have. Brad Keselowski laid down the fastest lap time making him the pole sitter for the NASCAR Federated Auto Parts 500. Jeff Gordon will be sitting outside on row 1 with the second fasted qualifying time. If you missed the Brickyard where Jeff Gordon took home the trophy, check out some of our NASCAR photos from the race. NASCAR Nationwide Series VA529 College Savings Plan 250 The sun was setting at the Richmond International Raceway as the skydivers plunged from an airplane thousands of feet above. With the sun setting and a gorgeous sky we knew the the photos of the skydivers would be spectacular. From green flag to checkered flag, we were in a night racing situation. We were photographing after sunset, late into the evening presents challenges. Fortunately if you have the right photography gear, fast lenses and fast cameras, you can capture some great NASCAR photos. With dim lighting and fast moving subjects the challenge can be intimidating. Knowing the sport certainly helps with getting key figures and key shots through the NASCAR race. NASCAR Nationwide Series Winner – Kyle Busch Photos The the checkered flag fell, Kyle Busch of JGR won the race in a dominating fashion. He lead every single lap of the VA529 College Savings Plan 250. Check back soon for lots more NASCAR photos coming soon. NASCAR Nationwide Series photography is something that we absolutely love. We hope to have many more opportunities to photograph NASCAR in the near future. If you are interested in us photographing for your NASCAR Nationwide for NASCAR Camping World or NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, contact us today!
NASCAR Photography
NASCAR Photography Would you like information about our photography services? Contact us today. Richmond International Raceway NASCAR Photos We are huge NASCAR fans and have been our entire life. That being said, being given full access at a NASCAR race is exciting for us. We love the opportunity to photograph anything, but NASCAR photography…amazing. Today was our first day at the Richmond International Raceway. Our day was cut short due to inclement weather. We were only able to photograph about 1 hour. Still we were able to capture some cool photos. Those of you that follow our photography know that we love to capture an angry sky. Today’s weather was just what the doctor order. Check out a few of the flooding weather pictures from today’s Nationwide NASCAR Series practice. (click to enlarge image) JD Motorsports We had the opportunity to hang out with Landon Cassill. He drives in the Nationwide Series for JD Motorsports. Unfortunately the second practice shortened with a real gully washer. He wasn’t able to get out of the garage. The team was doing final adjustments on the car for Friday’s qualifying. Check out a few photos of the weather we had to deal with. (click on image to enlarge) We are looking forward to photographing for the next two days. Tomorrow we will be covering the Nationwide qualifying and also the Sprint Cup practice and qualifying. (click on an image to enlarge) Tomorrow evening we looking forward to capturing some more NASCAR photography of the Virginia529 College Savings 250 Nationwide Race. Contact us today for more information for your photography needs. Connect with us on Facebook for up to date photos. Check out more of our commercial portfolio.
Beach Senior Portraits – Jacob
Beach Senior Portraits – Jacob Are you looking for a photographer for your senior photos? For more information, contact us today! Senior Photos Meet Jacob. He chose us to be his photographer for his senior portraits. He had a few ideas for his photo session, but wanted us to come up with the rest. He is an avid reader so we wanted to incorporate that into some photos. He loves Harry Potter books. He also loves the beach, so we new that we would photograph on location for some of his senior portrait session. Senior Photo Ideas Coming up with great photo ideas for any portrait session is important. Senior photos are really important. Having ideas for your photo shoot is critical. As a photographer it is our job to discuss with you your hobbies and interests. We will then come up with suggestions and locations. We also are responsible for correctly posing our clients. It is always interesting to me when my clients are nervous because they are sure how to pose! Well the good news is that isn’t their job, that is our job as a photographer. Senior portrait time is such an important time in a high school senior’s life. It is their last year of school. It’s the year they start focusing on college admissions and let’s face it, they are under a lot of peer pressure. Our seniors trust us and leave it up to us to make them look good. On Location Photography When selection a location we look at many details. We look at backgrounds, textures, colors and most importantly light! You can choose a gorgeous location to be photographed at, but if the light is not right, the result becomes less then desirable. If you are a photographer and are struggling with finding or creating great light. We can help! A great example of good light/bad light is the beach. Gorgeous we all know at all times of the day. Gorgeous on camera, only during the sweet light time or golden hour. Golden hour takes place about 1 hour prior to sunset. Choosing your Senior Portrait Photographer If it is time for your senior portraits or any type of portrait session, chose your photographer wisely. Make sure you see a full portfolio. Also, make sure that you are their interest and achieving your vision is their goal. When you feel confident and comfortable with your photographer that will result in great portraits! Here are a few more of our favorite photos from Jacob’s senior photo session. Are you looking for a photographer for your beach senior portraits? We are Virginia Beach senior portrait photographers. We also serve high school seniors and more, all of Virginia and beyond. Contact us today for more information. To see more of our portfolio, visit our full website.
Norfolk Senior Photos – Sydney
Norfolk Senior Photos Are you looking for a photographer for your senior portraits? Contact us today! Sport Senior Portraits Meet Sydney. She is an uprising senior and came to us for her senior pictures. She was looking for something different then the traditional senior pictures. She was really looking for unique senior photos. Sydney has known many of our clients from the past few years. Her family had been waiting for her to have her turn having us capture her portraits. She is a rockstar softball pitcher for Kings Fork High School. She has secured a scholarship and is looking forward to attending UMass next fall. We wanted to capture some fun senior pictures showing off her love of softball. (click on image to enlarge) Senior Portraits We love to start our senior portrait sessions at the studio. There we are able to create beautiful photos. With a balance of studio lighting and natural light we are able to create a variety of images. (click on image to enlarge) Urban Senior Pictures Our studio is located in the beautiful historic district of downtown Norfolk. There we are surrounded by a lot of history. When your building is in a historic area often you will find beautiful textures and backgrounds for photographing. We are also blocks away for an urban area that helps us create unique portraits. (click on image to enlarge) Outdoor Senior Portraits Our studio is just a couple of blocks away for a beautiful park. Often we will use this area to photograph our clients. We are also close to many gorgeous outdoor locations. We are always able to find the perfect fit for our clients and their photo session. Senior Yearbook Photo Last, but not least, we are able to create stunning senior yearbook photos. Every senior wants to look their very best as they are documented in their yearbook. Check out Sydney’s beautiful yearbook picture. Are you looking for a photographer for your Norfolk senior photos? We are Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Virginia Senior Photographers. We would love to create unique senior portraits for you! Contact us today for more details.
Destination Wedding – Ashley and Chris Got Married
Destination Wedding – Ashley and Chris Got Married Are you looking for a destination wedding photographer? We would love to talk to you. Contact us today! Indiana Wedding Photography As a wedding photographer, we love photographing in different locations. For most photographers this may be a challenge but for us, we thrive on it. We love the idea of being in a location that is unique to us. Indiana was one of those places. What seems so common for Indiana natives, is unique to others. Barns, prairies and cornfields really got us excited about Chris and Ashley’s wedding photography. Bride Getting Ready Photos We cherish the time that we get to spend photographing a bride getting ready. When we have mom involved in the process we love it even more. The time spent with a mom and daughter on a wedding day is valuable. Being chosen to be the wedding photographer is priceless. First Look Wedding Pictures Who doesn’t love a first look? Well, I can tell you as a wedding photographer we love it. We find that if a bride and groom decide to do a first look we get real emotion. The wedding day is a buzz and a first look seems to calm the soul. We find that during a first look a bride and groom get to really enjoy their time together, cherish each other and take a deep breath. While we are photographing the first look we stay rather stealthy so that we don’t interfere with the emotion. We position the groom facing away from where the bride will enter. We always choose an area where the groom will hear the bride approaching. The bride then will give the groom a little tap and when he turns around, the magic happens. We then are able to capture some private portraits of the bride a groom. Here are just a few of our favorites from the wedding. (click on image to enlarge) Wedding Ceremony Photos Here are a few of our favorite wedding ceremony pictures. (click on image to enlarge) Bridal Party Photos We love the time we have with our bridal party taking their photos. (click on image to enlarge) Wedding Day Photos We have so many favorite wedding day photos from this wedding, but we can’t post them all. We will leave you with a few more here. (click on image to enlarge) We are Virginia wedding photographers serving Virginia and beyond. Contact us today regarding your upcoming wedding! Learn more about all of our photography services.
Virginia Beach Senior Portraits Trash the Dress
Virginia Beach Senior Portraits Trash the Dress! (click on image to enlarge) Are you looking for a someone for your senior portrait session? Contact us today! Senior Portraits We are senior portrait photographers and we love creating a variety of styles of senior pictures. We think that senior portraits should be fun, unique and have a balance of style. In our senior photo sessions we love to bring a little bit of all styles. We blend traditional portraits with more modern portraiture. We are able to change the style of our photography by changing our lenses, lighting and locations. In a normal senior portrait session we will photograph one to two hours. If our high school seniors opt for a one hour photo session we generally will stay close to our studio. With our photography studio being located in the historic area of downtown Norfolk we are able to incorporate texture, parks and an urban feel to our backgrounds. In a two hour senior portrait photo shoot, we generally incorporate an additional location. Most of the time seniors want to be photographed at the beach. Sometimes our high school seniors want to do a Trash the Dress Session. (click on image to enlarge) Trash the Dress Photo Sessions Trash the dress sessions started for brides that wanted to do fun portraits in their wedding gowns. This has been a huge movement because Trash the Dress sessions are so much fun. I believe that the fun comes from doing something in a beautiful gown that you are not suppose to. Some examples would be, getting in the ocean in your gown, or maybe running through the alleyways of downtown. When we photograph Trash the Dress sessions, we are able to create one of a kind portraits. We have had so much fun photographing Trash the Dress sessions with our brides that we decided that we would offer Trash the Dress sessions with our high school seniors! It has been a blast! (click on image to enlarge) Are you ready to schedule your Trash the Dress session? Contact us today! We are Virginia Beach Senior Portrait Photographers serving all of Tidewater. If you are located out of our area, please inquire about our destination photography services. Check out all of our photography services including weddings, family portraits, newborn photography sessions, commercial photography and more!
Sports Photography | NASCAR The Brickyard
Sports Photography If you are looking for a sports photographer, contact us today! NASCAR The Brickyard Sports Photos In sports photography, there is no greater sports event to photograph then NASCAR. I am sure that everyone would have their own opinion, so this one is definitely mine. Scott and I have been avid fans of NASCAR for the 27 years that we have been married. My love for the sport began as a small child. My dad would pack us up in the Winnabego and off we would go to the races. We would always arrive days before the NASCAR race to get the full experience of the track. Practice, meet and greets with the NASCAR drivers, you name it, we did it. Now as adults and still loving the sport, being a sport photographer for a NASCAR race is thrilling for us. To be so close to the action is exhilarating. We traveled to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to view and capture all the sports events for the day. NASCAR Inspection Pictures Here are just a few photos from the Brickyard Inspection area. NASCAR Driver Introduction Photos from the Brickyard We loved using the equipment that we did for photographing this race. As you can see from these images, it brought us very close to each of these drivers. NASCAR Flagmen Photos NASCAR flagmen are always hard at work from start to finish. Photographing them is always exciting capturing their constant duties. Pit Road at the Brickyard Photos Some of the most exciting shots during a race can be all the pit road action. All the action that happens during a single photo makes sports photography so much fun. Check out a few of our favorite pit stop photos from the Brickyard. Jeff Gordon Wins At the Brickyard Photos If you are interested in our sports photography and would like us to be your sports photographer, contact us today!
Virginia Beach Newborn Photographer – Adam
Virginia Beach Newborn Photographer Are you pregnant and looking for creative newborn pictures? Contact us today. Adam’s Newborn Photography Session As a newborn photographer, we are always excited to meet these precious babies. Newborn photos are so fun for us. All our babies that we photograph as so snuggly. We love the time we have during our newborn photography sessions because we really get to share the joy of a brand new baby with their parents and we get to document it! It doesn’t get much better then that. Newborn Portrait While we get so excited about every newborn session, we were especially excited about this one. The reason why this photo shoot was so special is that we photographed Adam’s mom and dad’s wedding just a few years ago. We always strive to be our clients photographer for life and this newborn session is an example of that. Meet Mary and Patrick. Take a minute and check out Mary and Patrick’s beautiful wedding at the Homestead Resort. Newborn Photography Sessions We love to photograph our newborns when they are 5-8 days old. That seems to be the perfect time for them. They are still very sleepy so we are able to capture those adorable newborn sleeping shots. We love the fact that newborns are still so mold able at this age. We are able to position them in precious newborn poses and they don’t mind at all! Here are a few more of our favorite photos from Adam’s newborn photography session. Family and Newborn Portraits At every newborn photography session we always encourage family portraits. Sometimes parents of newborns are exhausted but they never regret doing a family portrait during the session. We are able to capture such beautiful newborn family photos at this time. Find out more information to schedule your own newborn portrait session. Contact us today to schedule us to be your Virginia Beach newborn photographer.
Virginia Wedding Photographer – Sacred Heart Church – Chrysler Museum Wedding
Virginia Wedding Photographer – Sacred Heart Church – Chrysler Museum Wedding Are you looking for a Virginia wedding photographer and destination wedding photographers? Contact us today! Sacred Heart Church and Chrysler Museum Wedding Theresa and Victor were married at two of the most beautiful venues in Norfolk. Sacred Heart Church and the Chrysler Museum of Art. When you look at these stunning wedding pictures you may think to yourself, “Who couldn’t have a stunning wedding at those two venues?”. If you are thinking that, you would be wrong. A gorgeous flawless wedding like Theresa’s and Victor’s only comes under the direction of an excellent wedding planner. Ted Martinez of Ted Martinez Event Management was the key. Theresa and Victor gave Ted their perfect wedding vision and Ted and his team made it a reality. He not only made it a reality, he went over and beyond. The day started at the Norfolk Marriott. The hotel room was a buzz with the excitement of the wedding day. There we found the bridesmaids, the bride, the parents of the brides and some very special vendors. Sarah Rillon was a very busy make up artist creating flawless makeup and Pin Up Doll Hair Design was working her magic on the bridal party. The video team from Light Works Films was also capturing all the excitement on film. In the picture above you will see all the beautiful wedding details. With the unique wedding invitation being created by Kat Blu Studios, Day of Stationery created by Paper Stylist. They set the tone for the elegant wedding day. Sacred Heart Catholic Church Wedding Ceremony Loading up the bridal party in style they were transported by the Truffle Shuffle. Now it was time for the Filipino wedding ceremony of Theresa and Victor. (click on an image to enlarge) Theresa and Victor exited their wedding ceremony in style. What a fun balloon send off for the bride and groom. The wedding balloons were from Hi5Balloons. It was so much fun! Bride and Groom | Bridal Party Portraits After the wedding ceremony we headed out to the beautiful gardens of downtown Norfolk. The bride and groom arrived in style in a gorgeous vintage Rolls Royce from Royal Coach Limousine. (click on an image to enlarge) Chrysler Museum Wedding Reception Once we arrived at the Chrysler Museum of Art it was obviously that this wedding reception was going to be the pinnacle of the day. For a bride and groom the wedding day can become a blur so that is why it is so important to have great wedding photography to capture all the details of the day. Theresa and Victor’s wedding reception was full of amazing details. We love when our wedding day is surrounded by vendors that are truly the A-Team. Blue Steel Lighting set the tone for the entire reception. They made the ambiance of the room stunning. With the Florals and Designs by Ivie Joy Flowers & Events they made the room breathtaking. That was not where it stopped. The catering was by Cuisine and Company, the talented Jamestown Quartet, the gorgeous cake by Shockley’s Sweet Shoppe and caricature drawings by talented caricature artists for the guests. As the wedding reception processed, we were entertained by the sounds of the A-Town A-List. I have to tell you, hands down, one of the best bands I have ever heard. Now, here are some of the amazing wedding reception details. If you are looking for Virginia wedding photographer, we would love to talk to you. You can read more on all of our photography services. Learn more about our destination wedding photography services. Contact us today! Meet Scott and Adina Hayne of Hayne Photographers
Virginia Beach Senior Pictures – Kirsten
Virginia Beach Senior Pictures – Kirsten Are you looking for unique Virginia Beach senior pictures? Then contact us today! Studio Senior Portraits We love creating senior portraits in multiple locations. We always start our senior photo sessions at our studio. There we are able to create stunning portraits of our seniors. With a balance of fashion portraits, traditional and modern portraiture we can create a huge selection of images for our clients to choose from. (click on the image to enlarge) Unique Senior Portraits We pride ourselves at bringing a balance of tradition senior portraits and unique senior portraits. Creating a unique senior photo is easy when you incorporate a different location and lighting. When a senior calls our studio to book their portrait session, we always ask many questions. We really try to get to know our seniors. From their answers we recommend locations that may match the personality of our senior client. This is Kirsten. Kirsten came to us for her senior photos. She drove many hours just to be able to have unique senior pictures. She was looking for something different so that she would stand out among her other senior friends. We really wanted to create one of a kind photos and a one of a kind experience. Kirsten’s dad has been a pilot for many years and owns his on airplane. While gathering this information we immediately thought about this vintage air museum. What a perfect fit it would be for her senior portrait session! (click on the image to enlarge) Senior Pictures at the Beach Our seniors love have their portrait session end up on the beach. We love taking beach photos too, so it is a winning combination. Sunset is always the time that we schedule our beach photo shoots. Having the right light is the key to having successful beach photos. We love having fun at the beach with our photo sessions. (click on the image to enlarge) Isn’t Kirsten adorable? Here are a few more of our favorite beach photos. (click on the image to enlarge) We would love to photograph your Virginia Beach senior portraits! Here you can find out more about our senior picture sessions. If you are a photographer and looking for help with creative senior portraits, this information may help! Contact us today about your Virginia Beach senior portraits.
Photoshop Digital Compositing
Photoshop Digital Compositing If you are a photographer, check out some of our photographer’s tools. Check out this video from our music photography shoot. What is Photoshop Compositing? Digital compositing in Photoshop is a creative way to create scenes and place subjects in them digitally. This technique can provide your clients with literally an unlimited section of backgrounds or environments. Photoshop has many features that make compositing less of a chore and more of a creative collaboration between the client, photographer and software. While the idea in your head may be clear and the vision is sharp, getting that idea to translate in a believable way into a composite is tricky proposition. In this brief tutorial I will explain my process that works well for my style but feel free to develop your own techniques that work best for you – keeping the principles I lay out here in mind. Step 1: Choosing a Scene Selecting the scene you would like use as your background is important since your subject will need to be photographed in a similar way that the scene is shot. Many times I use a photograph that I have shot as a scene so that I know the exact position and settings of the camera. Stock footage of scenes can be a valuable resource as well. Stock images present a challenge since usually you cannot determine the precise camera location, lens or settings used. Step 2: Photograph your Subject When photographing your subject, if possible utilize the same settings and lens that was used to photograph the scene you will be placing them on. If you can place the camera in the exact location as the scene then your perspectives will line up very well. Be aware of the lighting used in your scene and light your subject in a similar manner. Getting the angle, color and strength of light correct makes for a very convincing composite. I prefer to photograph my subjects on a white or gray background. Using a neutral background prevents your subject from getting any kind of color bleed from the background. Step 3: Extract Subject from Background Removing your subject from the background has become much easier with the advent of the “refine edge” tool in Photoshop. Using my “lasso” tool I draw a rough outline around the subject. After doing so, the “refine edge” button appears on the top menu bar. The Refine Edge tool gives us sliders to control how sensitive Photoshop will be in detecting the edges of your subject. My sliders stay at 0 except for the “contrast” slider at 25%. I like viewing my selection on black, use “smart radius” at 4 pixels. This is just my base setting and each image is different so I usually adjust as needed. Use your brush to paint areas that need further refining. When I am satisfied with the selection I output it to a new layer that can be placed on top of my background scene. Step 4: Place Subject in Scene Most of the scenes that I prefer are shot with a wide angle lens. As with all wide angles the center of the frame results in the least distortion. Placing your subject in the center prevents having to alter your perspective to match the distortions on the edge of the frame. The size of your subject is especially critical if the subject is a full length shot. If you photograph your own scenes, placing a reference item of a known size in the scene can be a big help. As long as you photograph your subject with that same reference item you can simply match up the sizes (and even perspectives) of the item when placing the subject in the scene. Step 5: Blend Subject & Scene Together I believe blending the subject and scene together is the most important part of the composite process. Adding shadows below your subject takes a keen awareness of the direction and intensity of the light source. Some of the tedious work of adding shadows can be eliminated by only placing a tighter crop of your subject into the scene. I use an exposure adjustment layer clipping mask above a copy of the scene where I decrease the exposure (decrease gamma also) of the entire layer, mask it, then paint it in the desired areas. After the shadows there may be a need to darken the lower half of the subject showing some light fall-off. A curves layer in “color” mode clipped to the subject allows us to change just the tone of the subject to match the scene. I may also overlay a texture (in soft light mode) to further blend the images together. As with any photograph, adding elements to the foreground may increase the believability of the composite as well. I trust that this brief tutorial gets you excited to try out some Photoshop digital compositing! As with all things photographic, trial and error is a great learning tool. As you do more composites you will refine or even develop your own techniques. Always keep layered files since as your technique improves you can further tweak past attempts! Good luck and happy compositing! Check out more of our digital photography tips. If you are a just beginning in photography, we can help!
Virginia Wedding Photography | Norfolk Town Point Club
Virginia Wedding Photography | Norfolk Town Point Club If you want to learn more about our wedding photography, contact us today. Jessica and David had an amazing wedding day celebration. Their wedding day started out at the Norfolk Downtown Marriott. That is where all the preparation photos were taken for their wedding day. From there we headed out to the Norfolk Town Point Club. Have a look at an overview of their amazing wedding day in this wedding day slideshow. Wedding Day Photography In case you missed their first blog post, check out more about Jessica and David’s wedding. There you will find out all the details of how this day came to be such a success. As wedding photographers we love it when our clients choose a beautiful setting for their wedding. Jessica and David did exactly that. Having beautiful people with beautiful details in a beautiful setting makes our wedding photography an easy job. We strive to capture every detail possible on a wedding day. We begin our day photographing details. The wedding dress, the wedding shoes, we photograph it all. Next we move onto the preparation shots of the bride and groom. Here are a few more of our favorite wedding day preparation and detail photos. (click on image to enlarge) Bride and Groom Wedding Photography We are always excited about photographing a wedding. There is a very special time of the day that we get really excited about. That is the time that we get to spend privately with the bride and groom. We always recommend that the bride and groom set aside 30-45 minutes for creative bride and groom photos. That way we are able to create one of a kind wedding portraits. Here are a few more of our favorite wedding day photos. We are Virginia wedding photographers based in Norfolk, Virginia. We are Virginia Beach and Norfolk wedding photographers serving Tidewater and beyond. To learn more about all of our photography services click here. If you are ready to schedule your own portrait session or book us for your wedding, contact us today!
Norfolk Christian Uprising Senior | Yearbook Formal Pictures
Yearbook Formal Pictures Norfolk Christian Uprising Seniors…have you scheduled your yearbook formal pictures? Senior week is fast approaching and we wanted to remind you that if you have not scheduled for your free yearbook session, now is the time. Senior Week is August 11th – 15th. Schedule My Free Yearbook Session. Formal Yearbook Photo Preparation At Hayne Photographers we have your drape and tuxedo for you. Girls, please bring a cami top to wear under your drape. Boys, please bring a white t-shirt to wear under our tuxedo shirt. Girls, please remember your jewelry. With a beautiful pair of earrings and necklace really set the tone for a stunning formal yearbook photo. Guys, please make sure that you are clean shaven as things are magnified in photos, meaning that the stubble will show! Please avoid tan lines! Tan lines will show up in your formal yearbook picture. Our Photography Studio We have recently moved our photography studio. We are now located in the historic district of downtown Norfolk. Our address is 300 W. Freemason Street, Norfolk, 23510. Our studio number is 757-201-7973. There is street parking available as well as parking in the back of the building. When parking in the rear of the building, please use the curb marked “Hayne Photo”. We are located on the 2nd floor. (click on image to enlarge) Casual Senior Portraits Are you looking for unique casual senior portraits? At Hayne Photographers we try to create one of a kind portraits that capture who your senior really is! Maybe you would like urban senior portraits. Maybe your would like beach senior portraits? Maybe you would like rural senior portraits? Whatever it is, we can do that for you. View Karlie’s senior portrait session to get an idea of our causal senior photos. For Norfolk Christian uprising seniors we are offering 1/2 off your session fee. To get more information regarding our senior portrait sessions, click here. To view our current pricing view the paragraph “Learn more about our senior portrait sessions”. Just click on the image Senior 411 and read the details. Booking your senior portrait session is easy! Just contact us today.