Photography Update

I have finally updated some of my most recent work. The final edits are located on my Facebook Page , follow my page as well if you'd like :)

A preview below. Enjoy!

sisters

Photo Retouching vs. Color Correcting

As of late I've been receiving a lot of inquiries as to whether my editing includes "photoshop work" or if I retouch all of my images. It is a great question because every photographer does their editing in a different manner.

To answer this I want to dispel my workflow. All of my work includes color correcting. What this means is that I never give a photo straight out of my camera. I consider that to be poor workmanship. No camera can expose every photo perfectly. In addition every camera changes the colors in between shots. So one shot could be warmer with more magentas and yellows while another could be colder with more blues and greens. Think fluorescent over incandescent lights. So what this includes is:

1. Color temperature adjustments
2. Brightness and darkness adjustments
3. Overall exposure corrections
4. Creative cropping

This is all done in Lightroom.

Photo retouching is Photoshop work and covers the gamut of types of corrections. This is great for wall art, professional portfolios, professional submissions, albums, etc. With great detail I correct the exposure of the image even further, on top of the previous Lightroom corrections. I actually go in and paint different areas to be brighter or darker. I then stylize the image according to the needs of the person or according to the medium that the photo will be showcased. It also includes:

1. Natural skin retouching (evening out skin tones, eye/teeth brightening, blemish removals, etc.)
2. Color enhancements
3. Removing distracting elements

If I am printing the image I apply the proper ICC profile according to the printing lab or my professional printer. Yes...more than you should want to know. Printing is an art. For wall art or albums I really go the extra mile. If the client is going to be doing their own printing or using the images for submissions I apply the basic sRGB color profile that will give a standard use for the different types of medias. 

Latina Beauty

An amazing sweetheart.

Beauty

Jen and Eddie - The Guest Book

I had the great honor to design the guest book for Jen and Eddie. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

No room for nerves; the photographer is the director

I have been a photographer for about three years or so. Self taught, there is a lot I've had to learn on my own. For some reason the concept of nerves during a photoshoot and how to deal with them came to mind. I would say 75% of the people that I have photographed have been nervous. I don't mean slight nerves, I mean the kind where they feel completely out of their element; fish out of water. Now thinking about my demographic; actors, models, couples that have a built in support, you would think that wouldn't exist. But the worst part is that 95% of the time, I'm nervous. Thoughts like, "will my equipment fail, will my ideas be horrible, will the shots be in focus, are they judging my non professional apartment 'studio' or my behind the scenes ghetto props, will they hate the photos I give them, did I get enough good shots, this lighting sucks." One time I was photographing a wedding and my flash fried. I was sitting in the bridal suite on the floor when I started to smell burnt batteries...."shit..." There are no other words than that. Actually there are but they're much worse. I didn't have a fast enough backup flash. Champagne glasses were toasting as I froze then slinked into my corner. My eyes probably the size of golf balls, while thoughts ran a million miles a minute. 

"Are you okay?"

"Absolutely, just organizing my equipment," something like that.

"Okay, higher the ISO, hope that daylight hours don't run out, utilize my very slow flash during the dance but make sure to have it on low power so that it won't lag too much in between shots, so that means I need a wider aperture, more possibilities of out of focus shots, PLEASE DON'T BE OUT OF FOCUS!" 

But there are no room for nerves. As a photographer you are the director. You are the inspiration. You are the leader. You can't show your nerves for one second. If anyone catches wind of it, they will absorb those nerves and multiply them. Or worse...have doubts in you! So you direct; you keep calm, chat about all sorts of random topics, ask a million questions. You heighten what works, you lessen what doesn't. Part of this is why I really, really, shall I add another really, want to become a film director. I live off of those 95% nerves. Taking those nerves and molding them into ideas that live and breathe in front of the camera.

So maybe there is room for nerves, just really well controlled ones. 

Yoga - Wesley

I have a huge love and passion for yoga. My goal is to take it three to five times a week preferably six. It's such a huge physical challenge, always something new. This photoshoot was a huge challenge for me being my first yogi photoshoot. You have to capture the full body, there is not a lot of room for cropping. I'm glad to say that I feel proud of my accomplishment. Wesley was great and patient and very willing to try new ideas.

Jen and Eddie Get Engaged

Jen and Eddie are so in love.

Photoshoot at the Farmhouse in Queens

Look at the kitty on the bottom left!!! She was adorable!!!

My fave of the set.

Wedding: Jamie+Joe

Jamie and Joe were such a fun couple to photograph. I had so much fun photographing this wedding. They are so in love!

Couple: AnnaMaria+Stephen

This is AnnaMaria + Stephen. They wanted a more editorial sexy look for their photoshoot so I catered it to that.

Couple: Melanie+Rick

This couple was adorable! This is Melanie and Rick. They are from Texas and have that southern sweetness. They have known each other for years but started dating a year and a half ago long distance. Rick just moved here so that he could be with her. :)