Technique Tuesday: Top 10 Posts – Part 1

Good Morning Everybody,

I can’t believe this is day 4 of the Imaging USA Convention. My program is later this afternoon at three o'clock so I hope to see you there. Animoto threw a wonderful party at a dude ranch last night and it was great fun. You had an opportunity to target practice with an authentic western six shooter.  That’s my buddy, Bruce Hudson, shooting a few bad guys ;~)

Heck, you could even ride the “bull”.  Yep, that’s me in the saddle.  Like I said, everybody had a great time. We got in a little late last night and I’ve got to get moving - so let's get right to the today’s post.

Technique Tuesday: Top Ten Posts Of 2010 – Part 1

We've been so busy for the last couple weeks, I haven't had the opportunity to put together my top 10 postings for 2010.  I’ve been working on it for the last couple of days so look forward to those top 10 lists to be posted over the next few days.

Today I'm posting the first five posts from Technique Tuesdays 2010. These posts were the most popular according to the number of viewings each received when I reviewed the 50+ videos I posted from last year.

Here you have 5 of the Top 10 Technique Tuesday posts:

6. My 5+ Favorite Bridal Poses [link]:  This 21 minute video tutorial discusses my favorite “must do” bridal photographs you must take on a wedding.

7. You Look Marvelous [link]: A 12 Minute video tutorial on how to use Lightroom 3 for quick retouching – very cool.

8.  Time To Light Up Your Life [link]: A 28 minute video tutorial on lighting with reflectors outdoors.

9. Wedding Day Daydreams [link]: A 20 minute video tutorial on creating beautiful outdoor bridal portraits.

10. I Can See For Miles [link]: A 22 minute video tutorial on how to get great bridal portraits with long lenses.

When you can find a few minutes in your day, take some time and enjoy them for a second time.
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A gang that's it for me today, we've got a be hitting the road real soon. The tradeshow opens in just a few minutes and I still have a lot of work to do, vendors to visit, new products to explore before the trade show wraps up at 1:30. Thanks to all who came up and said HI over the last few days. It has been a blessing to meet so many old and new friends while visiting San Antonio.

Anyway, have a great one and I'll see you soon.

Adios, David

Technique Tuesday: “LIVE” Print Review; & Wedding Day Daydreams

Good Morning Everybody,

First off, sorry for the late post today.  We’ve got a lot of things going on at the studio that took precedence over the DPT blog today. But I finally found some time to get today’s post up and running.

Before we get to today’s lesson, I want to mention something coming up this weekend that I think you will find quite interesting. Why not give it a read below and then on to today’s video. Enjoy!

You’re Invited To A “LIVE” Print Review This Sunday

That’s right,  this Sunday from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST, our Kentucky Professional Photographers Association is conducting their Fall print review.  Photographers from all around the state will be submitting their images to be reviewed by three qualified judges.

Since I’m the VP of our association, we got together and thought it would be a cool idea to “broadcast” the print review “LIVE” via a webcast. It’s FREE and you can register RIGHT HERE!

This webcast is for anyone wanting to learn how to make their images more exciting, more dramatic and technically more sound. You cannot afford to miss the opportunity. Its really cool to see what goes through the judges mind as they review the images submitted. Once again, you can register right here.

Technique Tuesday:  Wedding Day Daydreams

Yesterday’s “Image Of The Day” post entitled, “Wedding Day Daydreams” [link] yielded some very nice comments, emails, and Facebook comments so I thought I would make it the center of attention in today’s lesson.

The image is the lucky result of decent weather, a cool fall sky, and random geese flying by that allowed me to capture this great image of the bride on her wedding day.  That was only half the story though.  Judicious use of Adobe’s ACR sliders and a Photoshop trick or two gave me the finished result.

This tutorial will walk you through all the steps I took to first capture the image and then properly compose and light it.  Then I’ll walk you thru how I reviewed the images on the computer until I eventually chose the images to use in creating this bridal portrait. 

Also, I don’t use ACR very often, but I’ll show you the steps I took to get the image mostly where I wanted it before heading into Photoshop for a few final adjustments and additions.

There’s lots of good information in this tutorial so I hope you enjoy it. Hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show!

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  Boy, the day sure has gotten away from me, I’ve got to back to my real job.  I’ll plan to see everyone right here again tomorrow with another episode of “The One That Got Away.” And, this time, it’s one of my images ;~)

See ya’ then,  David

"Wedding Day Daydreams"

 

"Wedding Day Daydreams"
©David A. Ziser

This is an image I captured at Saturday’s wedding.  The forecast was for rain later in the day with temperatures hovering in the low sixties.  Fortunately the bride and groom had scheduled photographs to be taken before the wedding.  We began the portrait session earlier in the day just as the clouds began rolling in.  I thought if I could just get a few outdoor images with the sky looking this good, I would have a great start on the wedding coverage.

The wedding and reception were taking place at the country club so it was an easy walk to the first tee to capture this image. I love how the image came together. I had my assistant positioned about 120 degrees from my position, camera right.  With the bride in a profile view the light came in perfectly on the bride.

Golfers had just started to tee off on #18, the green to my right and caused the geese resting around the pond to take flight. All elements came together for a very nice bridal portrait on Saturday afternoon.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with Sigma 8-16mm lens at 16mm, F11 @ 1/125 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David