Vintage/Retro Photo Post Processing Tutorial
I recently went down to Jacksonville, FL for a trip to house hunt because I will be moving there with my family mid September this year. While I was there I had the pleasure to meet up with a buddy of mine in Sebastian, Brian Storey (please check his work out; I can’t say enough about his skills). He made a few phone calls and was able to line up two models for both us to shoot, Taylor and Emily. I had a lot of fun and can't wait till I move in down there.
After posting some of Emily's photos, I was getting a lot of people asking me how I processed the photos. Although, not every one of her photos was processed like this exact tutorial. I will help explain how I did two of my favorite images from her session. I like to process a lot of my photos with a vintage/retro/old poloraid feel to them. I enjoy that style, and I feel it helps convey certain moods in photographs. Without this type of processing there would of been nothing exciting about the image. The original image is fine SOOC (straight out of camera), but the mood is created by the tones and final post-processing I did to it. Not every photo will come out like the end result in this tutorial. A lot of factors depend on how the end result will look. For example how well the original image was strobed, your scene, and original tones in the image.
You need a well lit image to begin with. It doesn't matter how good your post-processing skills are, you will need a good SOOC shot to begin this process. A lot of people don't understand the importance of lighting in your image (this is whole other topic). If your image isn't well lit, your image is broken. Always think ahead when you are on a shoot for how you think you will be processing the photo. This will help with model placement, poses, lighting, and other things to make your post-process (PP) easier and quicker. My workflow is always Camera>Lightroom>Photoshop. I split my editing almost equally between lightroom and photoshop now, but that also depends on the type of photo concept I am working on.
Here is my original image. It is a good exposure and I'm happy with it, but the mood just isn't complete.
Interview with Photographer Brian Storey
Brian Storey, is not your average professional. As a young photographer with a creative mind, Brian is making some great progress in his career of taking pictures. He resides in Sebastian, Florida.
Brian was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for us to enjoy. Please feel free to check out some of his work below in the gallery and visit his links under the interview.
Interview with Designer and Photographer Jason Morrison
Jason Morrison, currently resides in McDonough, Georgia. Jason has had a successful career in photography and graphic design. Most recently, he has partnered with his brother-in-law and started the photography firm, JayMar Photography. Jason has this true passion for his work, and loves to share his knowledge with other creatives. He has been published in a number of magazines and has been awarded a few awards for his work.
Jason was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for us to enjoy.
Jason Morrison (dubtastic)
Interview with the Creative Josh Sommers
Let me introduce you to Josh Sommers, who currently resides in California. Josh is a photo illustrator, photographer, graphic designer, and software developer. I have personally been watching Josh’s work for 17 months from his flickr account, where he continually inspires individuals and has built up a hefty list of followers.
Josh was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for us to enjoy.
Canon 5dmk2 EG-S Focusing Screen Review
I recently bought the EG-S Super Precision Matte Focusing Screen for my 5dmk2. I love to shoot wide open on my lenses, and currently I own all primes that come in lower than recommended f/stop range for this screen. The 50mm f/1.4 and the 85L f/1.2 MK2. If this is your first time hearing of this focusing screen I will go through a brief description of it below.
What is the EG-S screen?
(as Ken Rockwell explains)
These precision surfaces simulate ground glass and greatly increase brightness for f/2.8 and slower zoom lenses so popular today. They are designed to be bright and contrasty with these slow lenses.
Oddly, these modern screens get no brighter when you're using a lens faster than f/2.8. Try it: put on an f/1.8 or other fast fixed lens and flick the depth of field button. You'll see no change in anything until you stop down to about f/2.5!
Case Study of the Trevor Stinson Firefighter Photo
Below is a small case study put together to show the process of how I came about the firefighter photo of Trevor Stinson.
This was shot for the Monticello (Indiana) Fire Department Calendar that I am currently finishing up. It was originally scheduled as a 2010 calendar, but I think it might end up being their 2011 version.
Case Study
Final Image
Trevor Stinson: Monticello Fire Department
My New Business Cards
Received my new business cards today.
Uprinting.com was kind enough to send me 250 free business cards of my choice. Huge thanks goes out to Rachel in the customer service department that put up with my multiple emails, letting me have the 250 free prints, and getting the job paid for me. Much love.
I choose the uv-gloss and rounded die-cut corners. Came out perfect and printed exactly how i proofed them. Took a little while to get here because the proofs were approved just before Thanksgiving, but all in all Uprinting.com gets a big thumbs up from me! Will do business with in the future.
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- Print of the business cards
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- Finished Business Cards
Devising your own Freelance Contracts
Recently I read the article posted by the graphic designer Brian Hoff, “What to Include In Your Design Contracts”. He has some excellent information and I highly recommend you stop by for a visit and read through the article (and subscribe to his RSS feed if you haven’t). I am going to expand on his article a little bit, and his will set the base for what I am about to touch on below.
I would like to give some insight on how I devise my contracts. This will probably be more catered to the photography side, but you can take this and twist this to other areas of the design world. We will be putting together a basic contract for a photo shoot. Now I must use this time to make my disclaimer, as I am not a lawyer and I have limited legal knowledge when it comes to offering advice about contracts. I have read books, I have hundreds of copies of different kinds of contracts saved on CDs, and even took a law class last year, but that still does not make me an expert on the subject. Everyone should seek proper legal advice about his or her contracts if you plan to get serious about freelancing, and you cannot hold me liable if you plan to use anything in this article for a contract. I have pieced together my contracts from numerous sources of information and advice given to me from other individuals.
This contract contains everything in a single form from the description of the assignment with an estimate of the photographer’s fees, terms and conditions, and defined terms. Below each section contains a sample in .pdf form that you can click on and download.
Welcome Everyone!
Welcome to my new blog!
My name is Ryan O. Hicks and I am a creative graphic designer and photographer based out of West Lafayette, Indiana.
This blog will be a source of inspiration for some, a source of tutorials, a place for designers to gather and exchange information, and a place for photographers to explore different ideas and techniques. I will do my best to keep this blog updated as my time allows. If this expands beyond my control I will look to the community for support in putting a staff together to run the site for me when I can not be of service.
I'm currently still getting all my quirks worked out on this blog, so if something does not work or does not seem right do not fret I will get it fixed ASAP. However if you see something and I am not getting it fixed or it bugs you feel free to drop the admin an e-mail about the problem.
Please feel free to subscribe to our feed to stay updated about what is going on.
Thanks.
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Shared 2 photos.
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BOOM! Finally received my OTA Android 2.2 update this morning on the DI. Thanks VZW. [rohixx]
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Designers, what's more logical to you. Using your logo wrapped N a <H1> tag or using the H1 tag as intended as headline content 4 each page? [rohixx]
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Tweets 2000 Free Photoshop Patterns http://bit.ly/cu0rfw [rohixx]
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I want to date a girl just so I can break up with her and get practice. [rohixx]
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For all my tweeps http://bit.ly/dDc2fW [rohixx]
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