Before and after: Wenatchee portrait

Another before and after of a shot I made last night. Like always for portraits, I capture in RAW. This was aperture priority at f/5.6, 1/40, ISO 250, auto white balance. Important to note the +2 exposure compensation to help the matrix metering better account for the bright sky. Could have also used spot or center-weighted metering on his skin. Always more than one way to skin a cat, as the (oddly gross) saying goes.

In Adobe Camera RAW I cropped and straightened just a bit, adjusted the white balance for warmth (5550, -10) and to remove some of that redness Nikon seems prone to, took the exposure down 1/3 stop, recovered some of the highlights (53) and bumped up the contrast (+48).

Once in Photoshop I did a little standard noise reduction using Topaz DeNoise from within Topaz Adjust and added a bit more contrast and saturation. I ran three ColorShift (Jesh de Rox) actions: Color of summer (50%), Memory of a Friend (40%) and Rainforest (40%) which I then masked, leaving the warm tones on his skin and the cooler rainforest tone everywhere else. Sharpened to taste for screen presentation. Took about 5 minutes total. Not a huge transformation but a nice one I think.

 

Wenatchee couple portrait: stephanie + eric

Sneak peek of a couples session I did tonight. Have to admit I was worried it would be too hot to enjoy (was supposed to still be over 100 at 8 pm) but it wasn’t as bad as I feared. So I had to settle for how HOT these two were. More sizzlin’ portraits of them to come.

Portrait of Wenatchee summer or "ain't no cure for the summertime blues."

Lovin' the summer blues right now. Speaking about the color, of course. Those skies, fresh blueberries, cool mountain streams. So much blue -- there's practically no way you can get "the blues" this time of year.

U-pick: Fresh food photography

I found the coolest nursery. Called the Sleepy Hollow nursery, between Wenatchee and Cashmere, WA, and they have amazingly beautiful plants, yes, but the entire grounds are set up with bright, colorful adirondack chairs, little tables, potting sheds, etc. It looks so peaceful I can't wait to go back and sit, and enjoy, the space. Today's visit was for a different purpose however. They have rows and rows of blueberry bushes and you can pick your own for $3/pint. Dusky, sweet blues, warm from the sun, bursting with flavor. The proprietors even said the way to know if you're in a good spot is to pop one in your mouth. Well, okay, if you insist. Suffice it to say, I found myself in the right spot many, many times. What a treat to find so close to home. I'm sure I'll go back once more while the berries are in season and am sure it will become a new summer tradition.

Food photography

Food photography is a whole different thing in the photographic world. There are even food stylists, whose job is to make the food look delicious. The funny thing is, often the food is inedible after being made so perfect looking. Elmer's glue used as milk for cereal, strawberries painted with nail polish, things sprayed with water just before the shot. I don't get into it that far, but I always enjoy snapping a photo of a meal that has some feeling for me. At our house, I make pancakes almost every Sunday and it's become a family tradition. And I can never make plain old pancakes. I have to add something, usually fruit or nuts, to fancy them up. This weekend I added fresh raspberries and a sprinkle of sugar on the wet side. When I flipped them, the sugar kind of camelized on the grill, which was my intent, but I will say it made the grill a bit sticky. Then, when some concoction I've put together actually works (this isn't as often as I'd hope as I'm not the best cook), I'll put off eating it long enough to try and get a good photo. Part of the appeal is the food looks good, yes, but there is always some emotional connection. My Sunday morning pancakes. Burgers grilled at my inlaws on warm summer evenings. Love the food/family connection.

A few pointers on food photography:

1) Turn off your flash. Natural light is the most appealing and helps your food look the right color. Try placing your dish near a window so the light hitting the food is soft and diffused. Harsh sunlight is not a camera's friend. Open shade is good too.

2) Pay attention to the background. Shoot so you can't see the dirty dishes in the background.

3) If you have a macro mode on your point and shoot camera, use it. It creates a shallow depth of field that lends great atmosphere to your photo -- and throws the background out of focus, keeping the food as the main subject.

4) Shoot from low down. Everyone looks down on their plate, so shooting level with your food can give it a unique look.