Lucy And The Lens

Tag: #photographer

  • 8 Photography Techniques To Try While In Isolation

    Today I’m going to talk about some effects I have tried during isolation and rate them in terms of level 0 being the easiest and 5 being the hardest.

    The first effect I tried was the twirl effect. This is where you turn the landscape or portrait into a twirl pattern. It’s a quick and not too difficult technique. I would give This a 2/5 rating.

    Next I tried the dispersion effect which took me hours. It’s where you warp part of a photo and turn it into particles. I would suggest you might struggle to attempt this if you have never used Photoshop before as for me it was 4.5/5 in difficulty.

    Thirdly was a shoot with the model over FaceTime. I’d seen a few photographers on Instagram doing a full model shoot over FaceTime, so I decided to try it. This works best on an iPhone as there is a special FaceTime photo button which will take you out of the equation and only show the model when the images are taken. After the shoot I did a few quick edits in Photoshop express to enhance the image using highlights, contrast, clarity and sharpen mostly. I’d give this 1/5 because I feel a beginner photographer could do this type of shoot even without using the photoshop to edit.

    My fourth effect was creating tiny planets. For this all you need is a 99p phone app called tiny planets and you can create them yourself out of any photo. Some photos work better than others like I recommend using landscapes and Street shots for this kind of technique. As this is easily accessible and you aren’t required to be a photographer, I would say in terms of level this is as zero out of five stars.

    Number 5 is the orb and has to be the easiest one I’ve done on photoshop with only 4 steps you only need to spend 2 minutes on it. So, this one gets another 1/5 for me.

    The next technique is the optical art face portrait which actually turns a face and pixels. A series of little geometric squares all the way across the image. As this one is a many stepped tutorials and I did end up re organising some of the layers to fit the overall look, that I wanted for the end results. I also decided to move the layers for side to side in the second image to see what would happen. I’d suggest that this should be a 4.5/5 stars in difficulty.

    The optical art text effect is by far the most difficult. It has 22 steps and it doesn’t always work. For example, you have to make a word cloud on the website it wants you to use to generate this isn’t compatible on every single computer. So, I had to traipse around the Internet to try and find another website that will allow me to create word clouds to the same effect which took a lot of time. Also following the 22-step process itself takes many hours And I feel you need to be a relatively avid Photoshop user to give this one a go. This one is getting 5/5 on the difficulty level.

    Lastly, I tried the double exposure technique which is where you merge a portrait with a landscape or seascape. This one should receive another 5/5 as I think its not easy to get it perfect.

    If you enjoyed seeing these effects why not subscribe to my blog and try some of your own.

  • Photo Challenge Friday Week 15: Be Gross

    It’s Friday and It’s time for this week’s photo challenge. For this week in week 15 I did another challenge from Be A Super Awesome Photographer by Henry Carroll. Week 15’s challenge is Be Gross. This means photographing things that you would normally find in the rubbish or picking up rocks or rotted wood in the garden and photographing the things that lie beneath.

    I photographed things in bins mostly and a little bit of the under rocks in the garden. Here are the photos:

    For week 16 I am doing another challenge from Be A Super Awesome Photographer by Henry Carroll which is Hard Light. This challenge is about photographing strong shadows that fall on subjects in hard light using only the windows in my house in strong sunlight as my light source.

    If you enjoyed this weeks challenge join in with next weeks Hard Light challenge and tweet or Instagram to @lucyandthelens and don’t forget to #hardlight.

  • Studio Lighting: Tips

    I have my own studio lights and also access to a studio at UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire) as I do my freelance work from there. So, I’ve been reading books, blogs and googling techniques on how to light a subject.

    Here are some tips I have acquired about studio lighting from the book lighting for portrait photography by Steve Bavister:

    1. Persuading you’re subject to face the window adds detail to the face and creates a strong profile. (Shoot this at a shutter speed of 1/250 and an aperture of f5.6).
    2. Placing your subject facing out of a doorway gives strong illumination.
    3. A reflector beneath a subject and a tilted camera angle adds impact to a simply lit but powerful portrait. (Shot at 1/125 shutter speed)
    4. The clam shell set-up: this is where a subject is seated, and you place the light above her and maybe a reflector below her.
    5. The typical studio set-up is when you place one light to one side of the subject and one light behind her.
    6. Using a light and a jumbo umbrella gives lots of lighting control (Shoot at a shutter speed of 1/400 and an aperture of f11.)
    7. The further you take a light to one side the more moody and dramatic it becomes.
    8. Photographing people wearing glasses requires a high lighting position.

    Below are a few more tips from DIY Photography:

    1. Beauty Dishes add a natural catch light to your images.
    2. For a two light set-up use an octobox and fill light with a colour gel: an orange or yellow gel will add a warmer tone to your portrait. Try this on f1.8.
    3. Old guys with beards photograph better with no soft boxes.

    Below is a video tutorial from DIY Photography: Lighting By Elaine Torres

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOYTtxzJWqo&feature=youtu.be

    I hope you’ve enjoyed this post let me know in the comments. Read more for more tips and tricks.

  • Photo Challenge Friday Week 14: Photo Message

    Hi it’s that time of the week again. For Week 14 I did a challenge from Photocrafty: 75 Creative Camera Projects For You And Your Digital SLR by Sue Venables. This weeks challenge was Photo Message which is to write photo messages on a whiteboard and share them with people which I did for 7 days over on my Instagram @lucyandthelens and I am going to share them on here along with a few responses.

    I decided to do this challenge for this week because I hoped to bring some positivity into the lockdown. I started and ended the week with the same message to say Stay Home, Stay Safe, Protect Your NHS as I wanted the message to be reiterated and people to bear it in mind.

    Here are the messages for the week:

    • Day One and Seven
    • Day Two
    • Day Three
    • Day Four
    • Day Five
    • Day 6

    Just a few responses to the questions too. For Day 3 creative I had experimenting with radial gradients, documenting the barren cityscapes and dancing in the park. For Day 5 teaching the best response of the week was I’m building a dark room, think I’ll get top marks for homeschooling my kids science.

    For next week for week 15 I am going to be doing another challenge from Be A Super Awesome Photographer by Henry Carroll. Week 15’s challenge is Be Gross. This means photographing things that you would normally find in the rubbish or picking up rocks or rotted wood in the garden and photographing the things that lie beneath.

    If you enjoyed this weeks challenge join in with next weeks Be Gross challenge and tweet or Instagram to @lucyandthelens and don’t forget to #begross.

  • Photo Challenge Friday Week 13: Make A Scene

    It’s Friday and You know what that means it’s photo challenge day.

    Last week I set my week 13 challenge which was another challenge from be a Super Awesome Photographer called Make A Scene. For this challenge I used toys and other objects as props to create a scene. Henry says to use a lamp to create dramatic lighting and experiment with backgrounds to make the scenes more theatrical.

    This week I took out a selection of Sylvanian Familiies And A 50mm Lens and some other objects to create my scenes.

    Here are this week’s results:

    • Lets Go On An adventure
    • Lets Go On An adventure
    • Lets Go On An adventure
    • Lets Go On An adventure
    • Stay Healthy Kids
    • Stay Healthy Kids
    • Lets Plant Kids
    • Lets Plant Kids
    • Lets Plant Kids
    • Lets Plant Kids
    • I Want To Ride A Unicorn
    • I Want To Ride A Unicorn
    • What Do We Read Next
    • Workout Time
    • Workout Time
    • Workout Time
    • Lets Play Chess
    • Read To Me
    • I Believe I Can Fly
    • I Believe I Can Fly

    For next week in Week 14 I am going to be doing a challenge from Photocrafty: 75 Creative Camera Projects For You And Your Digital SLR by Sue Venables. Week 14’s challenge is Photo Message which is to write photo messages on a whiteboard and share them with people which I will be doing for 7 days over on my Instagram @lucyandthelens and I will share them on here and maybe some of the ressponses to them next Friday.

    If you enjoyed this weeks challenge why not have a go at next weeks Photo Message challenge and tweet or Instagram to @lucyandthelens and don’t forget to #photomessage.

  • 5 Photography Blogs Every Photographer Must Read

    DIY Photography shows you have to do a variety of photography related projects. At the moment its highlighting people who are finding clever ways to photograph in Isolation.

    Digital Photography School

    This is the blog where you can guarantee to find anything you need. There’s Camera and photography product reviews, tutorials and tips for a variety of things, challenges that you can take part in. Just be sure to read this blog for any kind of Advice.

    Picture Correct is my go-to blog for lighting and editing tips and tricks. My favourite posts are related to lighting tutorials. I’ve learned so much more about lighting from watching people try it over video.

    Here is the home of the Sunday Shutter which highlights the best photos there have seen that week which I think is really cool and good to see what other people have photographed in the last week.

    For me this is another one like digital photography school that has been around for so many years, it’s hard not to find a variety of useful things on here.

    Please be sure to check these out and if you enjoyed this posted stay tuned for more.

  • Photoshop Quick Fixes for Beginners: Sharpening Images and Black And White Conversion

    Typically when taking photos on my mobile I use the mobile version of photoshop (photoshop express) when editing.

    The first thing I do when editing quickly is a quick 35% sharpen of my image as this amount is what I find pushes the image just enough. Then I auto expose my image but usually change the auto exposure to fit the mood I want the image to have. As sometimes I find auto exposure to be too bright or to dark for what I was going for when I took the image. For me these mobile quick fixes are easier for IPhone photography.

    Normally I shoot from a camera so when I first started I’d upload my images to my computer and import them into photoshop to do a more complex edit, without ever using lightroom, now that’s my go to. My processing started in a similar way to my IPhone photography as I started by sharpening the image. My sharpen is slightly different to on the phone as I start by duplicating the original layer and using an unsharp mask filter to sharpen my image to 35%, with a radius of 5.0 pixels and a threshold of 3 levels.

    Next I would duplicate my sharpen layer and then I adjust the levels so the light to dark ratio of my image is perfectly balanced. Then I’d use auto curves on my image to further improve the light to dark ratio.

    Finally, not all images lend themselves to colour and thanks to the Google Nik collection as there are now better ways to make an image black and white without using the standard photoshop desaturation or black and white filter. So, before Lightroom Pre-sets and still on occasion if I think an image shouldn’t be in colour, I use the silver efex pro filter from the Nik Collection as the tool which contains pre-sets. My favourite pre-set is high structure harsh because it makes the original boring background stand out against a subject and I typically used this for street photography and any portrait where I think the original background was dull.

    If you enjoyed this look out for more tips and tricks in further reading on my blog.

  • Photo Challenge Friday Week 11: See Things Differently

    It’s Friday and I’m back to show you how this weeks challenge went.

    So Last week I set my week 11 challenge which is See Things Differently from Be A Super Awesome Photographer by Henry Carroll. This challenge is about taking ordinary things and seeing them in a new light. For Example, a vacuum could be a twisting python or pancakes could be planets or you could find the alphabet in your photographs. Just use your imagination and see what you come up with.

    This week I really struggled with this challenge because I’m sure i was overthinking It. Then I started to relax a little and photograph objects In my house and garden and I noticed things I wouldn’t normally discover. This week I only used my 50mm Prime Lens and Apertures between F1.8 and F5.6. So here is how I saw things differently this week:

    • The Letter A
    • The Letter A
    • Cloud 9: Getting More Done In Isolation
    • Cupids Arrow
    • The Fan
    • Monkey In A Boat
    • The Chair With A Face
    • Patterns The Coffee Leaves Behind
    • Ladder Looks Like a Shelf or Rack
    • UFO Light
    • UFO Light
    • Lamp Becomes an ornament

    For next week in Week 12 I am going to be doing another challenge from be a Super Awesome Photographer called Use Colourful Language. This challenge Is about taking pictures using colour as the main element. Literally anthing that catches your eye because of is Colour. See what complimentary colours you can find in the confines of your own house and garden.

    If you enjoyed this weeks challenge why not have a go at next weeks Use Colourful Language challenge and tweet or Instagram to @lucyandthelens and don’t forget to #usecolourfullanguage.

  • Photo Challenge Friday: Week 9 and 10: Organic Shapes And Pretend You’re A Dog

    Welcome back to my first new post for the Photo Challenge Friday Segment.

    Today I’m bringing back Photo Challenge Friday where every Friday I will be setting myself a new photography challenge which I have a week to complete.

    You may or may not remember that my week 9 challenge was to photograph Organic Shapes, however, I got rather busy and didn’t post the results and forgot about the segment. So here are my images from that challenge where I decided to photograph Pumpkins:

    This week I decided to start up the challenges all over again after reading two books called Be A Super Awesome Photographer by Henry Carroll (Aimed at Kids but good for Adults too) and Photocrafty: 75 Creative Camera Projects For You And Your Digital SLR by Sue Venables.

    Over the coming weeks, I am going to be doing challenges you can do with just a short walk to the park or staying at home due to The Coronavirus.

    Week 10’s Challenge was to Pretend You’re a Dog. This is about taking images from a dog’s eye view so think low angle images and think about what a dog would do. What unusual angles would the dog shot from if the dog was a photographer. For this shoot, I decided to go to the park with only my 55-200 mm telephoto zoom lens because I wanted to be able to shoot from a distance so I didn’t trample on anything and stayed respectful of my surroundings. Most of the images here were shot at 200mm. Back in the house, I decided that dogs would jump on armchairs or lie on the floor so I photographed what would be seen if they did this with a 50mm Prime.

    For week 11 I am going to be doing another challenge from be a Super Awesome Photographer called See Things Differently. This challenge is about taking ordinary things and seeing them in a new light. For Example, a vacuum could be a twisting python or pancakes could be planets or you could find the alphabet in your photographs. Just use your imagination and see what you come up with.

    If you enjoyed this weeks challenge why not have a go at next weeks See Things Differently challenge and tweet or Instagram to @lucyandthelens and don’t forget to #seethingsdifferently.

  • Portrait Nights At PPS

    I think the first step to learn things you didn’t already know about photography is to join a society to meet other photographers like mine. It’s my fifth year at Preston Photographic society and I’d like to talk about one of the aspects of the society that I really enjoy which is the Portrait Nights.

    Originally you had to sign up to this and the coordinator booked a model for the evenings which is hosted once a month and invited 5 or 6 people on the list to join him or her on a rota system. Now you buy the £10 ticket in advance which is a system I much prefer, and these are allocated on a first come first served basis.

    Each evening starts with setting up the studio lights in a makeshift studio setting. Initially on the portrait nights I used them mostly to learn about how to light a subject as this wasn’t something, I knew much about until I started going to these evenings. In a later post I will discuss my tips on this. Since then I’ve done a master’s in photography, set up as a Freelance photographer and spent hours on end in the studio by myself with models and my own lighting set-ups.

    So, for me a lot has changed from my early natural light only portraits up until now with my studio and location work, but I think today could be very different if I didn’t step into these portrait nights.

    Portrait nights for me now are about meeting and interacting with brand new models that I haven’t previously encountered. Yes, I do have repeat work with models, but I feel that working with new models gives you challenges because its like starting all over again. What I mean by this is that every person reacts differently to the camera.

    I’ve been to early nights where the host did a 10 minute masterclass on shooting models and then we all shoot the models by ourselves in 10 minute slots in there first and second outfits, with our own ideas of poses and directions, based on what you want to get out of the shoot. Then the final setup was to create headshots in short 3-5-minute slots.

    Now instead of a master class you take your portraits where if needed you can have input from the other more experienced photographers than you, and the host.  I think this is great because I believe that you learn by doing sometimes rather than watching.

    I then go home and spend time editing my images in lightroom and some of these have gone fantastically in the internal portrait competitions that we have at Preston photographic society. Try and guess which images below are from my first ever portrait evening and which ones are from the newer ones and you should see a difference in the images. If you enjoy this post, please comment below.