I am a member of a couple of photography forums (which I adore!) as well as photography communities online. I get asked questions pretty often about technique, work flow, lighting and much more. I am a firm believer that you can never learn if no one is willing to share. I, personally, am very comfortable and secure with where my photography is, so I have no problem answering questions from other photographers, or even admirers. It has taken me many years of practice to learn what I know now, and I am nowhere near knowing everything. In fact, I learn something new every week, and go back to find older photos to apply my new skill to. I am a firm believer that the photo comes from the photographer, not the camera, Photoshop actions, lighting or anything else. This is why I have no problem sharing what I know – because even if I were to tell someone step by step how I got a certain photo to look the way it does, theirs will never look exactly like mine. It may be better, it may not – but I’m always more than happy to answer questions about something I love.
With that said, if you have a question that you don’t see here, please feel free to leave it in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer it in my next FAQ!
Restomage wanted to know; Stacey I really like your portraits! My goal is to get mine as good as yours! What kind of lighting setup are you using?
I use natural light on 98% of my photos. Besides a flash (sb-600) that I will bounce occasionally when shooting inside ONLY, I honestly never use flash in my portraits. Especially when outside! I have practiced with and learned how to manipulate natural light since I began, over 5 years ago. It’s all around, it’s free, and if you’re patient, it will be that perfect addition to your shoot. I love it because it IS real and natural, and it looks so. While not always possible, I find the best times to shoot are in the early morning or late evening, about an hour before the sun sets. There is a warm glow, less shadows and the light is not as harsh! I know a lot of people can use lights and strobes like nobodies business, and with an amazing finished product. I don’t, though, and I always say – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Jeff wanted to know; I really love the shots you took of Kari. Your photos really inspire me to be a more creative photographer. In this series I especially like your post processing technique. Any information on your technique or info on the actions you mentioned would be greatly appreciated.
I LOVE Photoshop actions! They are quick and easy and make your work flow so much more simple. Some people see it as cheating, but I see it as making a great photo perfect! You can’t always control every condition of your camera at a shoot, so why not take advantage of the tools that are out there to help you post process?
Some of my favorite actions come from a blog I love, The Pioneer Woman. She has a photography section on her blog that teaches many different tecniques, but she also made up a sample of her own actions to use on photos! They are free, and you can download them here. She also has another, earlier set available you can find via the previous link.
I love to mix a lot of actions together, play around with the opacity and see what magical thing can happen to my photos! Sometimes you just want your photo to have a completely different feel than what is possible to do in-camera (like vintage, for example!), so these actions are perfect for that! Go grab the samples, play around with them and see what you can come up with! You can also do a search online and find other free actions, or even larger packs that you can pay for and download that are great as well.
Dex wanted to know; I absolutely love the photos of Kari and you did an amazing job editing them. I’ve seen photos edited that way before and I’ve always wondered how to edit them that way. Do you mind sharing the steps or if you can send me a link on how to do it? I deeply appreciate it if you do.
I apply almost the same technique to all of my images. I work in Photoshop CS 3 and I have lots of actions. I open my image, do an unsharp mask (at about 40%) and a general curves to boost the contrast. I usually make my curve a slight “S” shape, to bring out the highlights and shadows. I then used the ‘Seventies’ Action from the action set listed above at 30%. I did another sharpen, brought out the eyes and tree a bit and viola! Really not much at all, but it makes the colors more surreal and makes the image a little sharper.
A before and after.
Matt wanted to know; Hello stacey, just a couple of questions for you. What lens do you like to use the most for shoots like these? Second question is on the border you used on pics, is it a plug-in for photoshop? I switched from Adobe photoshop 7.0 to CS3 and lost all of my plug-ins. Is there a good place to find some?
My all time favorite lens (that I own) is my 50mm, f/1.8. I LOVE this lens! I cannot tell you how much. More than I love chocolate and coffee for a snack. More than I love newborn kittens. More than I love fried okra. Did I ever tell you that when I get married, all I want at my wedding is cake and fried okra? THAT’S how much I LOVE fried okra. And I love this lens more! It’s small, it’s SUPER sharp and of course I love the 1.8 DOF I can get with it. Now, once I get my 85mm, f/1.4, all of this might change. But until then and probably still, this will remain one of my favorite lenses, if not my absolute favorite. I’m really wanting fried okra, now.
As far as my border, I created an action in Photoshop to make it easier to run on my images, since I used it on all of them. I got tired of trying to get every image border the same size, so I just made an action and now I run that on all of my images. I’m going to be putting together an action set of my own soon, and I’ll probably include this border, so keep your eyes out for that. As far as plug-ins, I have no idea. Besides Photoshop actions, I don’t really use plug-ins, but I’m sure you’ll find plenty of what you need with a good Google search!
Kurt wanted to know; I’ve followed your work since you started posting in this forum and I have to say I’m just amazed by your talent. I really enjoy viewing your work. What I’m always amazed at is your lighting. What is your secret? Are you using a diffuser panel or umbrellas? It doesn’t look like there are shadows from a light, but I can never get that even studio look in shade without using some form of light. Any tips? If you don’t want to share, that is fine, just let me say that I love your work and you are quite inspirational.
Ahh, I LOVE my people from the forum. MY people. I love them all, and they’re mine! I have used a reflector before when shooting outside and I had no choice but to shoot in mid-day while the sun was at it’s brightest. It worked OK, but 1) It’s an extra thing to carry around, 2) You usually have to have someone with you to hold it and 3) I kind of like the extra shadows that happen in photos. I like dimension and I like depth to my photos, where they’re almost 3D. I have never used a diffuser or umbrella, though. I might try them one day, just to see what happens when I do! By biggest secret is to shoot in the shade. I always shoot on the opposite side of the sun, behind a building, train, tree, what have you. Just hike up the ISO a bit and you’re good to go!
Did I mention I love my forum people? We won’t get into equations about them and fried okra, though. Things might get ugly.
That was fun! Like I said before, I don’t claim to know everything about photography, but if you have a question that hasn’t been answered here, just ask away in the comments!
I leave you with a sneak peek from my rockin’ shoot with Sarah Belle yesterday! More to come from this shoot tomorrow!
