Pelican Bay Photography Show and Competition

 Our blog followers all know that we offer photography classes at our studio under the name of "Understand Photography" here in Naples, Florida.   We've had tremendous success with our  photography workshops and now are offering them out in the community.  We have several workshops scheduled at the Pelican Bay Foundation and two workshops at the Naples Art Association this January/February.  Our workshops range from beginner to advanced, portraits to nature to artistic photography.  We now have six regular photography instructors!  

Check out our photography meetup site and join us - it's free to join!  www.meetup.com/understandphotography
Click on CALENDAR to see our selection of workshops. 

The Pelican Bay Foundation kicked off their season with a photography show and competition.  Peggy put together a team of judges with different specialties:
Sara Timmons - Portraits, Landscapes and Travel
Cathy Nocera - Digital Manipulation
Gordon Campbell - Nature and Travel
Erik Keller - Photojournalism and Editorial

and of course

Peggy Farren - Portraiture

The five of us (actually six since Devon the intern tagged along) had a wonderful time perusing all the photographs that the Pelican Bay residents submitted.  There are some incredible photographers in Pelican Bay!  It was tough, tough, tough to make the decisions but we chose winners in each category.  The next night Pelican Bay hosted a Photography Show and Peggy talked about the winning pictures and why they won.  

Pelican Bay Photography Show and Competition

It was a great experience and we are looking forward to spreading the fun of photography throughout the community!  Please think of us if your club would like to put together a fun photography excursion out into the Everglades or on a boat back into the 10,000 islands.  We can come to your country club for basic classes too! 

Feeling the LOVE!

Thanks Jerri Lynn Merritt, of www.photographybyjerrilynn.com for the super sweet blog post!!
http://photographybyjerrilynn.blogspot.com/2011/08/naples-wedding-photographer-weddings.html

We had so much fun with our "Weddings 101 with a real "fake" wedding"! This is the second time I've taught this class and it is so much fun! Yes, I'm giving away my "secrets" but I would much rather have great competitors who bring the value of photography up! We had a mix of seasoned pros in our class, along with some photographers just getting into wedding photography.
We were so lucky to have professional makeup artist, AlexAndrea for our rain date. We got rained out at the end of our fake wedding last week so we got together again on Sunday to take more pictures at sunset. We made it to sunset and then got rained on AGAIN! But it was so much fun! And we all got the chance to practice beautiful sunset portraiture!
As Jerri Lynn says in her post - even seasoned professional photographers need to get out, learn new things and practice! It's way better to try new things on models than on a real wedding day!

Show and Tell - Photoshop Actions and Layers

We host Studio Model Shoots twice a month through Photography Naples. If you have a DSLR - come on down! We will help you with your settings and it's only $19. You will have so much fun!! www.PhotographyNaples.com

We had a fabulous model last time, Jessica Stone, who is a teen singing sensation. Jessica loves to dress up and we love it to! http://jessvocalist.bandvista.com/bio/

In this post, I'm going to explain how I achieved this look. I will assume you have basic Photoshop or Elements knowledge.
Here is the retouched image:
Instructions:
1. Convert the RAW file to JPEG in Adobe Camera Raw.
2. Make a copy of the background layer.
3. Run “Portrait Pop” action. Paint eyes, lips, headress and armband with white brush.
Portrait Pop, Shannon Beauford, 9/28/08 from www.atncentral.com (This may or may not work with Elements - if not, you can skip this step).
4. Reduce top layer to 88% (portrait pop is a little intense).
5. CTL E to merge one layer down.
6. Make a new copy of that layer.
7. Use Quick Selection Tool to choose floor under model.
8. Use burn tool to darken floor.
9. Deselect and burn a bit around top of picture.
10. Make another copy of the layer.
11. Desaturate picture (SHFT – CTL – U).
12. Add a Layer mask to that layer (it's at the bottom of the Layers Palette - Elements didn't come up with this option until Version 9).
13. Paint the model with a black brush to bring the color back.
14. Paint with a white brush to fix any mistakes. I love layer masks because you can easily fix your mistakes!
15. SHFT-CTL-E to flatten layers (or go to Layers - Flatten Image)
16. Add contrast of +18.
17. Crop as a square.

Here is the original picture:
Stay tuned for more photography tips! Better yet, join our Meetup group: www.PhotographyNaples.com.

Chantal and Rob's Naples Beach Wedding

Chantal and Rob had a wonderful beach wedding! We started at Chantal's parents' home. I love the birdcage veil. Chantal was incredibly beautiful!

Chantal and her sisters! Pink was the theme!

Kelly Werder from No Worries Weddings made sure every detail was wonderful!

Chantal's parents walked her to the ceremony. We had fun using our digital infrared camera for a mix of traditional and artistic photographs!

These two were laughing so much! This was a fun wedding!

Kelly Werder from No Worries Events organized AND officiated at this fun wedding!

The guests blew bubbles at the end.

More laughing as Chantal and Rob got bubbled!

Infrared is so COOL!

The handsome groom wore raspberry!

I think Chantal is happy about being married!

More laughing!

Fun with the siblings!

Gazing out to the future!

Now the families are blended together!

And Naples gave us a beautiful sunset... as usual!

Posing Class coming up June 24!

I finally put together a workshop on posing! It will be held on June 24 from 6-9 p.m. Sign up soon as this will surely sell out! For more info, click http://www.photographynaples.com/events/15479888/

When I started my photography career, posing was an extremely important part of the education process. The the trend of "photojournalism" hit and posing became passe'. Well, things have come full circle and now clients want properly posed and composed images.

Here are some basic tips:
1. Eyes should be at the top line of the Rule of Thirds grid. You can crop someone's head off if their eyes are not too close to the top of the picture.
2. Never put a person straight square to the camera. Angle them slightly (also makes them look thinner).3. The masculine pose has the subject's head leaning toward the lower shoulder. This is a good pose for women too, especially business women since it is considered a "power" pose. Tilting the head to the right is considered a feminine pose and not as appealing on a man.
4. Hanging feet - cross at ankles for a more put together look.

5. With groups, heads should NOT be aligned horizontally or vertically.
6. Double chin - have the subject put their chin down and then stick their head out slightly. This will stretch the neck slightly and since a picture is two dimensional, you won't see it.
7. Move YOURSELF to get a better pose. You don't always have to move the subject.
8. Fingers should not be peaking around someone's waist or shoulder.

We'll have so much fun at the posing class. As always, our classes are HANDS-ON so you'll have the opportunity to practice! The class is limited to the first 15 who register. http://www.photographynaples.com/events/15479888/

Quick Photo Tip for Harsh Lighting and More...

Photography Naples and Avant-Garde Images, Inc.
Our March newsletter is out!!

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs022/1101885065385/archive/1104669764114.html

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Half Day Excursions in March - We have THREE scheduled!
Weddings, Family Portraits, Corporate and Social Events
Quick Bird Photo Tip
Studio Fashion Lighting Workshop
Poll: Are you interesting in Exhibiting your Photographic Art?
Poll: Are you interested in a Photo Contest?
Quick Portrait Tip for Harsh Lighting
Free Photography Advice
Tuesday Headshot Special
Schedule for Photography Naples classes and events
Quick Links

Poll: Photo Contest

Nature Excursions, Lighting and MORE!

We've been working on the Photography Naples schedule for March! Remember, most classes/workshops have an early registration price. Register as soon as you can!

• Two studio model shoots
• Two free Photowalks
• Photoshop Elements for beginners
• Basic Studio Lighting - how fun to learn about the studio lights!
  
• DSLR Operation and Exposure Basics (our most popular class)
• Speedlight Workshop - back by SUPER popular demand - the first one sold out very quickly!
  
• Sunset Portrait Workshop (our 2nd most popular class)
• Fashion Lighting and Posing with Fashion Photographer Gary Trantafil
• Nature Boat Cruise to Keewaydin Island at a very great price!
• and we are working on more!!!
  For detailed info go to our school page: www.PhotographyNaples.com
  

Photography Naples Model Shoot

I promise to blog about some of my "real" work with Avant-Garde Images soon! I photographed a wonderful wedding at the Ritz-Carlton Beach Resort this week - pictures coming soon!!

In the meantime - we had another model shoot with Photography Naples. Through our Naples photography school, we hold model shoots at least twice a month. We have so much excitement and growth in our photography group, that the top hair and makeup professionals are now helping us with our model shoots! Enjoy these few pictures from Wednesday:
Salon International: Hair by Elissa Karter, Makeup by Gabriella Verderamo
Model: Nicole Erickson


Join our club for free! www.PhotographyNaples.com "Photography Comes First".

Photography Naples Halloween Shoot

We are always trying to grow our photography club so we offered a FREE Halloween shoot for photographers tonight. The more members, the more photography classes and photography workshops we can offer!
I had fun putting together the set, and then members Christine, Holly, Caroline and Helen all tweaked it. And then the kids destroyed it! It was so much fun!!!

The volunteers!

Caroline is always such a fun model!

Melinda and crew checking out the pictures they took!

Cute as a bug!

Helen came in her Halloween garb!

Join our Photography Club for free!
www.PhotographyNaples.com
Photography Comes First!

Photographers - Model Shootout Oct 23!

If you heard anything about our last model shootout, you'll sign right up for this one! We are keeping the price low so that photographers can have a fun day AND build up their portfolios!

Our theme is Senior High School Portraits. We have the COOLEST location! You'll have the opportunity to photograph a minimum of six teen models, all with different looks and different backgrounds. You can build an entire Senior Portrait portfolio in just three hours! You'll stand out from all the other photographers with the standard beach photos.

We even commissioned a graffiti artist! We'll have trains, brick walls, bars, cars and an urban grunge look!

For more info and to register: www.photographynaples.com

Check out the slideshow from our last model shootout with a "Trash the Dress" theme:

Trash the Dress Model Shootout = Success!

We had the best time at the Trash the Dress model shootout!

Read about us in the Naples Daily News: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/aug/30/bride-wore-white-and-mud-trash-dress-photo-shoot-g/

And Florida Weekly: http://naples.floridaweekly.com//news/2010-09-02/Top_News/Here_come_the_brides_there_go_the_gowns.html

Photo Credit: Valarie Hoffman

Photo Credit: Mary Lina Ives

Photo Credit: Valarie Hoffman

We had to change locations and Unity of Naples came through for us with their beautiful grounds. We had 36 photographers and 15 models.

Here are my snapshots; I had no time for any "real" images:





We are already working on our next model shootout. It will be a Senior High School portrait theme in an urban environment. It's going to be even better than Trash the Dress!! What a fun way to build up your portfolio!
Sign up on our Photography Naples site -www.meetup.com/photography-naples to stay updated on photography classes in Naples, free walkabouts, model shootouts and photography excursions.
Or Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/photographynaples