Messing Around in Photoshop CS 5 Tonight

Messing around with a tutorial I found tonight.  This is REALLY rough, but was fun! :)  Here is the link to the tutorial.

Fog at Sundial Bridge and My Settings Used Along with Photoshop CS5 Edits

Thought I would share my settings for this shot.  Shot in manual mode, ISO at 200, used Matrix Metering, f/7.1, Shutter Speed 1.3 seconds, Auto White Balance since I shoot in RAW and can change up temperature in ACR.  I also did not use a tripod for this shot, instead I sat the camera on the bridge floor and hoped it didn't move too much, which if there are lots of people on this bridge...it does shake!

Post editing was done in Photoshop CS5 and ACR.  In ACR, I didn't change much, just moved the black slider a bit to the right, and the clarity slider to the right also.  In Photoshop I used a soft light blending mode at 25% opacity.  Merged the two layers together and then sharpened using Totally Rads Sharpen Like a Ninja (free) photoshop action.

First Newborn Session....

Here are my favorites from a shoot I did last weekend with my friend and her family.  Thanks you guys for letting me practice on you!  I can't wait until spring when that little guy gets some chub on him...might have to get together again for some more pictures.

Things I learned from this session.  Might be helpful to have a couple of really cute baby yarn hats, a pad of some sort to sit baby in, and more time spent researching different ways to pose a newborn!

Photoshop CS5 Image File Says "Image Name.JPEG @ 25% rgb/8"

Okay, I gave myself a mini heart attack tonight.  I was noticing when I was opening up my images in photoshop to put my watermark on the web sized photographs that my image name would say something like "Kids Playing Ball.jpeg @ 25% rgb/8".  I hadn't ever noticed this "@ 25% rgb/8" before and thought that maybe these files were only 25% of the rgb color, so they would be less rich when printed.  Or something horrible of course!  To the net I went..researching...and getting sorta ticked since I wasn't able to find anything quickly that gave me my answer and to stop making me think that I wasted a couple of hours editing.

Well, I decided to open up some older pictures that I had edited and noticed that they would say "Image Name.jpeg @ 50% rgb/8"...hmmm.  Then I noticed at the bottom left side of my workspace a little 50% next to the ruler.  So, I opened up the 25% files that I was working on tonight.  Asked my husband who was busy killing these awful looking dead skeleton zombie things on his warped game of mass killing if he could possibly pause his killing spree and check out my computer.  He looked at it for less than half a second and says, "try zooming your photo in"...so I do, and that stupid 25% changes to 33.3% as the image gets larger before my eyes.  So, why did I freak out?  No good reason, photoshop was just letting me know that I was viewing my image at 25%. 

Dork!  What else can I say about myself?  Big Time Dork!  Why am I even posting this...well, it might happen to some other poor sap one day and thought that I could share my experience with them.  Yes, if you have this problem as well...I hate to say it, but you might be a big dork too! ;)

On a different note, this picture is of my three year old daughter looking out our front window.  I love this picture, her hair was a mess, she was wearing a big pink fluffy dress that a friend gave us for dress up, and I am sure there is food smeared across her adorable little face.  This is why I love photography so much, you can capture such true moments in life.  When I see this picture, it just makes me want to pick her up and hug her.

Finished with Crystal and Michelle's Shoot Continued

I want to tell all of you how thankful I am that you guys let me practice on you.  It was fun to have such pretty girls to model for me and see what troopers you guys were.  These girls were all glamed up to go to a wedding and allowed me to photograph them in some interesting places in HEELS! Troopers I tell ya!  To the guys, a very special thank you to the both of you.  Most guys hate to have their pictures taken and you both were so friendly and helpful.  I can not say enough what an attractive bunch you all are and how happy I am with some of these photos!  Several of them will make the cut to be in my portfolio one day when I know what the heck I am doing and become a professional photographer! :)  Thanks again!                                                

Done with another shoot...

All done with another shoot.  Here are a couple of the shots all grouped together in a collage.

Thank you again Rebecca!  I would love to go out again with you and the baby and see if we could get some more smiley pictures! :)

Boring....

Boring...that is what my husband says about my blog! :)  He thinks I should start posting a shot a day again, and I have to say that I do agree with him...this time.  So, starting tonight I am going to try and post a photograph each and every day.  Maybe I should post this great shot my sister took of my cutie pie husband with his shorts rolled up to his mid-thighs on the beach.  Pretty hot!  :) 

A shot a day is a great idea for several reasons:

1. blogs are more interesting if update on a regular basis
2. it is crazy good for me to practice, practice, practice
3. makes my hubby happy
4. why not
5. hopefully my friend Lisa will join me
6. hmmm, having a hard time finding really astounding reasons of why!

This photo of me was taken by my very beautiful, talented, and crazy sister Erin.  This weekend my family and hers went to the coast for a day and had an absolute blast.  She was having fun playing around with my camera and this is one of the many images she took that I liked.  Thanks Erin!!!

Photographer in the making in Redding, California...

Okay, I am shocked by how many of my friends like my photography, that or they are good liars!!!!  Anyhow, I am doing it for free for experience, but am getting pretty busy with shoots and editing.  So, I am going to have to limit the number of sessions each week to just one. So, it is a win win situation...I get  you to model for me and you get some nice shots together. Yeah!  Super exciting for me!!!

Later this week I am going to add some more info to my blog via the blog buttons under my header.  I am thinking of doing a "What to Expect from a Photography Session from Jamie Solorio" type of thing.  There I will list ideas of what to wear, how long the session takes, how long before you get your CD or prints, locations, and whatever else pops into my head.

And if I get a little more time, I want to research another topic on Natural Lighting in Photography.