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Archive for the ‘WPPI’ Category

COMPLEX MASKING MADE REALLY, REALLY EASY

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

About a week ago I posted this image on Facebook, along with a link to my web site, where my clients along with their friends & family could view some of their wedding images. Emails poured in from photographers asking how this capture was made and enhanced. In this post I am going to share the extraordinary technique, that when coupled with an exceptional software product, enables you to EASILY create dramatic images involving intricate masking.

I captured this image on my Nikon D3 camera equipped with an AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8G ED lens. My assistant was positioned behind the couple with a radio fired Nikon SB 900 Speedlight. Looking at the before and after versions of this image side-by-side will help you visualize just how exacting the masking had to be in order to achieve the final result. Simply burning down the sky in Photoshop was not an option. To do so would have taken all the detail out of the tops of the trees that lined the path and put them totally into silhouette. I wanted to hold all of the detail in those trees while allowing a magnificent sunset to show through all the openings around the individual leaves.

The first step in creating this image was to darken the sky in Photoshop to create the breathtaking sunset. Simply making a levels adjustment of the RGB channels (Image>Adjustments>Levels) and lowering the mid range slider yielded this image. The sky is amazing…the rest of the image is useless. Save this image under a different file name. It will look something like this:

Now comes the fun part which has been made ever so easy by the folks at Vertustech and their unbelievable software offering “Fluid Mask 3“. I first met Mornee and the crew from Vertus at WPPI in 2008. Fluid Mask Version 2 was being shown at the trade show and was thrilling everyone that witnessed their incredible demos. I purchased this software on the spot. As good as it was then, Version 3 blows it away. I encourage you to visit the Vertustech web site, download a trial version of the software and experiment with a few images. There are extensive video tutorials on their web site showing how to use this product. I’m going to give you a short description of the steps involved but I’ll refer any specific questions on use back to the good folks at Vertus.

Open your original image in Photoshop and choose the Fluid Mask 3 filter from your filter menu (Filter>Vertus>Fluid Mask 3). Your Photoshop window will close to conserve RAM and a dedicated Fluid Mask workspace will open. You will not believe how easy and automatic this software works. Choose the local delete brush and paint a swatch across the sky and Fluid Mask intuitively chooses the areas of the sky that you wish to mask out. Any small spots it misses can be selected by clicking on those areas with smaller sized local delete brush. The image now looks something like this:

Next you will Autofill the areas of the image that you wish to keep by choosing Image>Auto-Fill with Keep. Your workspace will now look something like this:

You must now fine tune your selection mask by using the Blend Exact brush. Your workspace will now look something like this:

Finally, you’ll tweak the most exacting selection masking choices using the patch tool:

When you are happy with your selection mask click to create your cutout and Fluid Mask generates the most precise automatic mask you’ve ever seen. This one looked like this:

Copy this cutout to your clipboard, reopen the image you created with the deep sunset and paste the cutout on top of it. Voila! An amazing composite with awesome detail in the shadows and a saturated deep rich sunset.

The entire process took me about five or six minutes and I don’t use this software very often. The pros at Vertus could probably have effected this composite in under two minutes. With practice you and I could too.

Detailed tutorials on the use of this software product are available on Vertus’ web site. Any technical questions should be directed to the folks at Vertus. Give this great product a try and check out the galleries on the Vertus web site to see how other creative imaging professionals are using this product to handle challenging masking projects.

Posted in Camera Techniques, Compositing Techniques, Lighting Techniques, Masking Techniques, Nikon, Photoshop, Remote Speedlights, Retouching and Image Enhancement, WPPI, Workflow | 1 Comment »

GREAT NEW WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Hot off the press is another great new book from Author, Bill Hurter and publisher, Amherst Media, Inc. The book is entitled “Wedding Photography: Advanced Techniques for Digital Photographers”. For those of you that don’t know Bill Hurter here is a small portion of his impressive biography:

“Bill Hurter has been involved in the photographic industry for the past thirty years. He is the former editor of Petersen’s PhotoGraphic magazine and currently the editor of both Rangefinder and After Capture magazines. He has authored over thirty books on photography and hundreds of articles on photography and photographic technique. He is a graduate of American University and Brooks Institute of Photography, from which he holds a BFA and Honorary Masters of Science and Masters of Fine Arts degrees”.

Bill has once again used his incredible editorial and authoring skills to compile a book that is a must-have for every wedding photographer. The book is filled with extraordinary images from some of the most highly regarded wedding photographers working today. The list includes Marcus Bell, Joe Buissink, Mike Colón, Jesh de Rox, Dan Doke, Bruce Dorn, Jerry Ghionis, Greg Gibson, Kevin Jairaj, Charles & Jennifer Maring, JB & DeEtte Sallee, Ken Sklute and Yervant Zanazanian. I am truly honored to have my photographic work and techniques showcased in this book alongside some of the finest photographers in the world.

The book is already available on Amazon.com, Amherst Media’s site, Camerabooks.com. and in the online store on the WPPI web site. Be sure to check the archives of my blog for information on other great books from Bill Hurter and Amherst Media. (Search Word: “Book”)

Posted in Books and Publications, Camera Techniques, Customer Relations, Guest Posts and Features, Nikon, Photoshop, Phtographic Education, Sales and Merchandising, WPPI, Workflow | No Comments »

FIRST IMPRESSIONS • PART 2

Monday, March 15th, 2010

First off let’s get some news out of the way…

I returned last week from WPPI 2010. What an extraordinary event this was. This is the definitive conference and trade show for every one in our industry. Mark your calendars and save the dates for WPPI 2011: February 17 – 24, 2011 at The MGM Grand Hotel and Conference Center in Las Vegas. I am proud to report that I returned from WPPI with five Accolades of Excellence in the 16″ X 20″ print competition. You can check out my award-winning prints on my blog.

A quick update on your mentorship requests. I have read all of your emails, visited your web sites and have sent out the first set of invitations to some lucky individuals. I wish I could work with all of you but unfortunately I must limit these on-the-job mentorships to about a dozen wedding events in 2010. I look forward to meeting all of you and working with you in the very near future.

Now onto today’s feature with some more insight into the initial sales consultation with a prospective bridal client. This feature started a few weeks back with the post “First Impressions”. You may want to give that feature a read first. Click here and it will open in a new window.

After my clients have relaxed and viewed my samples at their pace I return to the room and get them to start talking about the subject they are so excited about…their wedding. Keep your mouth shut and your ears open. Resist any urge to start telling them what you do…you’ll get to that soon enough. I ask them questions that will keep them excited and talking about their wedding, but also ask questions that reveal to me a lot about their personalities, their friends, their families and their budget. Spend a few minutes finding out how many people are in their bridal party, who is important in their formal family photographs, how many guests are going to attend the reception, who the other vendors are, etc? My clients are all unique and I can’t see them that way until I know some of the little details that make up who they are. I try to bring something unique to each and every wedding I’m given the privilege of photographing. The only way to do this is by finding out what your clients are all about.

I then spend a little time educating my clients on a number of subjects relating to their wedding photography. I talk to them about off camera lighting and the role my photographic assistants play in creating dramatic, detailed images for them. I talk about Photoshop and how it is a tool used to enhance fine photography. I have an album of “before and after” images that I display showing beautiful complexion enhancements and dramatic image effects. I talk about the importance of proper archiving of my clients images, telling them about our in-house RAID storage system and offline backup on a server at a remote location. I talk about the importance of doing their engagement session…to get to know them better and to build their confidence for the wedding day. I talk about how all of my image editing and finished album design is done in-house and how they will have a real influence in the theme of their finished album presentation. What it really comes down to is I talk about ALL of the things that I offer that set me apart from my competition.

Only at this point do I start to discuss pricing. There is basic pricing information on my web site that has already told my prospective clients that my average couple invests between $5,000.00 and $6,000.00 on their wedding photography. Don’t be put off if the only question your client asks is “How much”? Remember…you’ve done this before, they haven’t. They don’t know what else to ask. Address the subject with confidence and professionalism…you know what your services are worth.

I give my prospective clients the information they will need regarding my payment schedule, acceptable methods of payment, my retainer of the copyright to all of my images, etc. I finish my presentation by thanking the couple for the opportunity to discuss their wedding plans with them and encourage them to call me with any other questions that might come up as they continue to shop. A great deal of the time my clients confess that after sitting down with me they didn’t feel the need to shop anywhere else and retain my services within a day or two of our initial meeting.

So there you have it. An accurate description of the manner in which I handle the initial sales consultation with my brides and grooms. Take the ideas that work for you and incorporate them into your efforts. Remember: differentiate yourself from your competition and always remember that it is your client’s wishes and desires that must be met. If you’re the right man or woman for the job you will be granted the privilege of capturing that special couple’s memories for a lifetime.

Posted in Customer Relations, Sales and Merchandising, WPPI | 1 Comment »

UPDATE ON MENTORSHIPS WITH MICHAEL ONEILL

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Let me start by thanking all of you for your interest in the post on The Pro Spot offering mentorships here in New York. I received more than 100 emails from around the world in response to that offer. I was overwhelmed that some of you pledged to come from as far away as California, Canada and The United Kingdom for the opportunity to study with me. I am truly honored.

I must also apologize. As much as I would love to work with all of you I will be unable to accommodate everyone. I will only be photographing about 45 weddings in 2010. I have read all of your emails and visited each and every one of your web sites. I was truly impressed by the quality of the photography I viewed, again feeling honored that you think enough of my artistry to make the commitment to come to New York to study with me. I have decided that the only right thing for me to do is choose my pupils randomly so that no one feels that they were not chosen because of any shortcomings. That is not the case. I will be collaborating and sharing with photographers on all levels.

I will be contacting all of you within the next two weeks. I will be arriving this Friday afternoon in Las Vegas for WPPI 2010. Those of you that are attending should look me up when you are there. I will be tied up all day Saturday and Sunday judging the Accolades of Excellence 16 X 20 Print Competition. I’ll be on the “Wedding 2″ judging panel in room 302 of the conference center. (Read more about that here). Stop by and say “Hello” or look for me at many of the events, platform programs or on the trade show floor. I would love to meet each and every one of you in person.

Thanks again for all of your enthusiasm. I look forward to sharing with you.

Posted in Events, Phtographic Education, WPPI | 2 Comments »

FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MENTORSHIPS WITH MICHAEL ONEILL

Monday, February 15th, 2010

The 2010 WPPI convention and trade show is just about two weeks away now. Last year I had the honor and privilege of presenting my platform program “FUNdamentals” to some of the more than 12,000 photographers who attended WPPI 2009. As a speaker you get to look out at your audience and see the desire to learn in their attentive faces. As rewarding as the speaking experience is, I was overwhelmed by what transpired after I wrapped up my presentation. Members of the audience rushed to the podium after I concluded my presentation to ask more questions and seek more answers to their particular challenges. A few offered to come to New York for the opportunity to assist me and learn from me on actual wedding assignments. I accepted some of those offers and they turned into the catalyst for some great 2009 wedding experiences. Photographers came in from all over the United States…Illinois, Mississippi, Massachusetts, California…to accompany myself and my team on a number of wedding assignments here in New York.

This year I’ll be returning to WPPI 2010 as a judge in the Accolades of Excellence 16 X 20 print competition. Though I won’t be speaking at this year’s convention I do have quite an eager audience nonetheless…more than 2,400 subscriptions to The Pro Spot and more than 4,000 friends on Facebook. So using this, The Pro Spot, as my podium I am extending an offer to any photographer who wishes to learn from me…on the job…on an actual wedding assignment here in the New York area…to contact me. Send me an email with a link to your web site and a brief statement of why you would like to work with me. I will choose a number of you and arrange a mutually convenient time for you to come to New York and work with my team. I seek no compensation from you for this experience. I just ask that you pay your own travel expenses and bring your camera gear, your enthusiasm and an open mind towards learning while creating some new and exciting images. (Stick around an extra day after the wedding assignment and you’ll witness my two hour editing workflow to finish 1,000 images and learn some of the Photoshop enhancement techniques I employ to create award-winning images). This is a win-win scenario for everyone involved. You will learn, firsthand, the posing, camera and lighting techniques I employ and will go home with some great images for your own personal portfolios. I get the benefit of having a second creative professional on my assignments; not only enhancing my client’s product, but also challenging me to perform at the top of my game.

The team at Michael ONeill Fine Art photographed 54 weddings in 2009 and will photograph a similar amount in 2010. Opportunities will be very limited so I encourage you to contact me as soon as possible if you are sincerely interested in spending some quality time in New York with myself and my crew. I expect the response to this post to be staggering and I apologize in advance as I certainly won’t be able to accommodate all of you. I look forward to creating some spectacular wedding imagery with some of you and to helping you grow your businesses in 2010 and beyond.

Posted in Camera Techniques, Customer Relations, Lighting Techniques, Photoshop, Phtographic Education, Posing, WPPI, Workflow | 8 Comments »

FIRST AND FOREMOST WE SELL IMAGES

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

In today’s feature I have chosen to talk about a subject that I addressed during my 2009 WPPI platform program “FUNdamentals”. This traditional sales philosophy generated a lot of discussion during my program and I feel it is worth talking about here on this forum. Application of the principle I am about to discuss will certainly add to your profitability as a professional photographer.

We are professional photographers and the number one item we sell are our images. Seems simple enough, but in this digital age the marketing line sometimes seems to get blurred between our artistic efforts and our merchandising schemes. Today’s digital world has opened up a whole new arena for marketing add on items to the initial fee we charge for our photographic services. In the past we offered the bride an album, the parents an album of their own, and the occasional large wall portrait, often sold in conjunction with exquisite custom picture framing. Today there are literally countless new products borne of the digital age: press-printed albums and fine art cards, canvas gallery wraps, purse-sized companion albums and brag books, etc., etc. Yes, I offer these exciting new products to my clients but I maintain that the number one product I have to offer my clients is still my photographic work.

Back in the dark ages of film photography we used to produce 120-150 images on an entire wedding. Today I routinely shoot twice that amount during the bride’s preparations. On an average wedding assignment these days I’ll capture 800-1000 images per day or more. In the “good ol’ days” a finished album of 60 or more images was a big sale. Today I see some photographers offering starting packages that contain 100 or more images. This is a short sighted practice that undermines your profitability and dilutes the industry as a whole. Remember…we SELL images. My wedding photography packages start with a bridal album that contains 50 pictures…30 choice pictures plus a 20 picture/2 page candid composite panorama. Each additional picture a bride adds to her album costs $40.00 which may not seem like a large amount until you realize that the finished wedding albums that leave my studio average around 150 images. Do the math and you’ll see that selling (not giving away) your images is a lot more profitable than any add-on novelty.

Industry icon, Jim Garner, adopts a similar approach in his sales. His masterful “Story Shooting” lends itself to selling additional two page spreads in his award-winning albums. At his appearance at Skip’s Summer School in August 2009 Jim stated that “People want to spend. They just need to be led there. Show it…They’ll want it”. After the wedding Jim shows his clients mockups of two page spreads that he creates with his personal choices from the amazing images he captures. His clients want them and purchase them.

Here’s an album we recently completed for a client. I trust all of my finished bound albums to the artisans at Leather Craftsmen, Inc. As always they did a masterful job of binding this client’s book. Some add-on merchandising was done upgrading the client’s album from the 10″ X 10″ size they had contracted for to the 11″ X 14″ size they fell in love with. They then added a Euro Leather cover upgrade, imprinting on the spine, four pictures inset into the cover, copper page gilding and an Asian Rice Paper end lining treatment.

The biggest upgrade to the album, however, was the number of my images that they chose for the finished presentation. Here’s a short video slide show of the finished 255 picture album!

Resist any inclination to engage your competition on a price level. They know what their product is worth. Believe in your mastery and be compensated accordingly as an artist and a professional. I’ve had clients tell me that they would rather have 50 of my images than 100 of my competitor’s. Renowned photographer, Jerry Ghionis, said it best at Skip’s Summer School: “What is priceless tomorrow has to be expensive today”. Make your images the best that they can possibly be and sell them first.

Posted in Bookbinding, Customer Relations, Events, Leathercraftsmen, Sales and Merchandising, WPPI | 12 Comments »

WHAT MAKES A GREAT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

For the first guest post on this forum I have called upon Bill Hurter to share his thoughts with us. Bill Hurter has been involved in the photographic industry for the past thirty years. He is the former editor of Petersen’s PhotoGraphic magazine and currently the editor of both Rangefinder and After Capture magazines. He has authored over thirty books on photography and hundreds of articles on photography and photographic technique. He is a graduate of American University and Brooks Institute of Photography, from which he holds a BFA and Honorary Masters of Science and Masters of Fine Arts degrees. With Bill’s kind permission I am reprinting, in part, the introduction to his fine book “100 Techniques for Professional Wedding Photographers”. When this book first came on the market in early 2009 I suggested that “What Makes a Great Wedding Photographer” should be required reading, not only for everyone who calls them self a professional wedding photographer, but also for every single bride-to-be.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER?

CONSISTENCY. Those photographers that produce splendid albums each time out are well on their way to greatness.

LIKABILITY. A common thread among the really good photographers is affability and likability. They are fully at ease with other people and they have a sense of personal confidence that inspires trust. Maximizing these personal interactions allows the best wedding photographers to create animated, filled-with-life portraits…images that bring out the real personality and vitality of the subject.

COOL UNDER PRESSURE. To be successful, wedding photographers must not only master a variety of types of photography but also perform them in a very limited time frame. This means that, aside from technical skills, achieving success requires calm nerves and the ability to perform at the highest levels under stress.

UP TO DATE. To stay on the cutting edge, the leading wedding photographers also scour bridal magazines, studying the latest looks in editorial and advertising photography. These magazines are what prospective brides look at and want to see in their own wedding images.

A GREAT OBSERVER. The truly gifted wedding photographer is also a great observer. He or she sees and captures the myriad of special, fleeting moments that often go unrecorded. The great wedding photographer develops the knack of predicting what will happen next and making sure he or she is ready to capture it.

THE ABILITY TO IDEALIZE. The exceptional photographer produces images in which the people look great. Through careful choice of camera angles, poses, and lighting many “imperfections” can be made unnoticeable.

CREATIVE VISION. Australian wedding and portrait photographer, David Anthony Williams describes this perfectly by saying “Good wedding photography is not about complicated posing, painted backdrops, sumptuous backgrounds or five lights used brilliantly. It is about expression, interaction and life! The rest is important, but secondary.

IMMERSION. Great wedding photographers involve themselves in the event and with the people. It’s interaction and communication, but also a little magic.

There you have it. The short version of the introduction to this great book….a book that is a must-have for every wedding photographer working in today’s fast-paced digital world. The book is filled with extraordinary images from some of the most highly regarded wedding photographers working in the world today. The list includes Marcus Bell, Joe Buissink, Cherie Steinberg Coté, Mike Colón, Jesh de Rox, Dan Doke, Bruce Dorn, Jerry Ghionis, Greg Gibson, Kevin Jairaj, Claude Jodoin, Kevin Kubota, Charles & Jennifer Maring, JB & DeEtte Sallee, Ken Sklute and Yervant Zanazanian. I was truly honored to have my photographic work, techniques and philosophy featured in this book alongside some of the finest photographers in this industry. Bill’s book is available at Amazon.com, Amherst Media’s web site, Camerabooks.com and at the WPPI online store

Posted in Books and Publications, Customer Relations, Guest Posts and Features, WPPI | 49 Comments »