Steve asked a question about yesterdays post, "I am wondering do you use this technique often? If so what kind of images do you mainly use it on?"
The answer is "only occasionally", it's a nice way to bring focus to your subject without using a vignette or edges. The best images to use them on (in my humble opinion) are "portraits".
I am a fairly recent convert to textures, it was after seeing Jed and Vicki Taufer at WPPI Boston and in Vermont, seeing how they used them - in a very subtle way that enhances the photo (not over power it).
Let me share three images from Vicki that made me a texture convert.
(Click on any image to view larger & see more detail. They'll open in new window.)
Textures are like spices, when used correctly they really enhance the food, but too much (or used incorrectly) then it just doesn't work.
That being said, I really like textures and have accumulated a long list of sites that offer high quality, high resolution textures for free.
Here's part of my list:
1.CGTextures has some of the best (and most) textures I have seen offered by one site. They have both a free and a paid service. The free service allows you to download 15mb of textures every 24 hours.
2.TextureZ.com also offers a large variety of textures and does take donations that will help support their efforts.
3.Mayang's Free Textures has listed over 3,800 free high res, well categorized textures.
4.Texturise not only offers a large variety (and number) of free textures, but it is also one of the few sites I know of the allow you to use them for commercial purposes.
6.The Roxor has over 80 high res paper textures. They also offer free fonts, brushes, icons, and more.
Below is a video tutorial on how to apply textures using Photoshop, as there is more than one way to do it, you will find other (really well done) video tutorials here, here, here, and here.
I wanted to follow-up on yesterdays review of Rosco Cinefoil with another way we used it.
We were shooting some product shots for a local company, Mad Gab's, that would be used for their catalog.
The shoot was done on white seamless as all of the images would be cut out, and using the lighter color paper would make that process easier.
A problem arose when we were shooting some boxes that had a highly reflective finish. The side of the box was reflecting back the white paper (see image #1).
Se we slid a small piece of Cinifoil under the offending side of the box and it killed the reflection allowing the vibrant color of the box to come through (see image #2).
The image was then cutout in Photoshop and it was ready for the catalog (see image #3).
You may want to seriously consider adding Cinefoil to your arsenal of light modifying tools.
(click on any image to view larger and in a new window)
FÊTE is a dynamic New York City event planning and design production firm led by Jung Lee and her husband Josh Brooks. Their website is filled to the brim with inspiration and eye candy of the most opulent and over-the-top events (you could really get lost oohing and ahhing for hours).
Jung Lee and her team design weddings that seem bigger than life, but are thoughtfully produced down to the smallest detail.
In her book FÊTE THE WEDDING EXPERIENCE, Jung Lee uses 9 very different weddings as examples of how you too can plan a truly unforgettable wedding. Follow her advice and your wedding will have the energy, soul, and authenticity that makes a wedding truly fantastic.
Every year the Kindergarten class at Berry College’s Elementary School (in Mount Berry Georgia) puts on a Kindergarten Wedding. They study a letter a week. For M they study marriage and have a wedding. It’s the highlight of the year and it’s exciting to have your name drawn as the bride and groom.
They learn about loving one another and take vows to be friends forever. It’s simply adorable. It includes a first dance, cake, and bouquet/garter toss. It’s just like a real wedding... only miniature. Each child brings in a picture of their parents at their wedding. They learn about commitment and the love their parents share. Each child has a role. Whether it’s a reading, a song, bridesmaid, minister, or ring bearer. Everyone is involved.
This wedding feels like it’s in fast forward speed. From getting ready to the end of the reception, it all happens in about two and a half hours so we were running around as fast as we could to capture the day.
For more pictures of this adorable kindergarten wedding check out 6 of Four's blog
Here's #3 - (as told by photographer Mike Allebach)
I'm rarely ever nervous as a photographer. I can't remember the last time I felt nervous before a shoot but this past Friday I was nervous. Dan and I stood outside the Phoenix in Center City by Love Park waiting for Jackie to make her appearance. She had no clue what was about to take place.
Jackie came out of the Phoenix from a spa visit that Dan had secretly scheduled for her and she walked across 16th street towards Love Park. At the corner stood Dan smiling, knowing full well what the next 10 minutes would hold. I stood in the bushes, more nervous than Dan, snapping photos at machine gun speed playing paparazzi.
For more pictures of this surprise proposal check out Allebach
Here's #2 - (as told by photographer Laurel McConnell)
Lets set the scene: Nick is an illustrator for a hot gaming company. Danni has a huge following on her design blog, Oh Hello Friend (it’s yummy, check it out!). They met at art school 4 years ago. His plan: surprise Danni with a flight from their sunny and “everyday-is-70-degree” Orange County home to the rainy “every-day-is-a-crap-shoot” Seattle getaway.
The other day, some pictures of a very special nature arrived in my inbox: I was to magically get these to appear on the back of my camera (you’ll see, just wait for it!).
Now, cue the actress, Seattle’s own Darrah Parker (wild applause emanates from the audience). At 1pm today, Darrah and I boarded a ferry to Bainbridge Island, and found ourselves snapping pictures of each other on the windy deck while crossing Puget Sound. Okay, Fib #1…. I was REALLY snapping pics of Danni and Nick, acting all cute-like in the background. Nick not only woke up his sleepy girlfriend from her short snooze on the relaxing ferry, but dragged her out to the violently blustery (um, understatement of the year) deck to watch the silly girls shooting pictures and take in the sea air. He gets an A+ for his mad setup skills- he kept pulling her into ideal spots for us to snag some shots no matter what her agenda was!
Nearly an hour later, we found ourselves in the gorgeous Bloedel Reserve, a historic, well kept, private park on the island. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I kept saying to Darrah, “What if he changed his mind and he’s not coming? What if they got lost in the 150 acres? What if we are at the WRONG “Waterfall Lookout By The Historic House?” Sure enough, here they come, meandering down the path. Seriously, Danni, could you walk any slower? Didn’t you know there were three people screaming silently in their minds with excitement with what was about to happen? Of course not. She was sightseeing and leading their self-guided tour, map in hand, having a grand ol’ time, mostly oblivious to Nick’s scheming.
Enter Darrah, stage left. Laurel wanders off to check her cell phone and “look busy with something else,” while actually getting into position. Mini-fib #2.
“Oh my gosh! Hey! Weren’t you the guys on the ferry?” chimes Darrah. Luckily, Danni totally remembered us as being the silly tourist girls on the deck getting blown over by the wind, and being all smiles, greeted us like old friends as Nick gave “The Look” to mean it’s “Go Time.”
“I saw you guys, and I took some really cute pictures of you. Wanna see?” Fib #3. Danni and Nick agree in unison. Nick reaches into his pocket. Here it comes. Darrah flips through some of the cute (stalker-like!) images we snuck of them on the ferry. Then she gets to the REAL images.
She turns around, and Nick is on his knee, holding the sweetest ring I ever saw, barely able to hold those four words in his mouth before they gushed out in the most beautiful sentence a girl ever wants to hear.
For more pictures of this surprise proposal check out Laurel McConnell
