Snap, Crackle and make it Pop

So the other day I was scrolling through my Facebook timeline just as I normally do seeing post after post and picture after picture. I thought to myself you know there are some really cool locations and amazing moments that people capture, but they were taken with their phone.  Now don't get me wrong this isn't a rant from a photographer chastising people for using their phones and Instagram filters to capture photos. This is about taking the photo you made, whether you used a DSLR, Point and Shoot or your camera phone and taking a bit of time to really make it shine.  I think we have all fallen into the trap of wanting to share it immediately and not caring about what it really looks like.  Trust me I do this myself and I understand, you are exited and you want people to feel the moment, but don't you think that if you just put in a bit more effort and did a little extra editing they would really feel what you felt when you were there? All of our cameras capture great pictures these days, they are pretty much fool proof, but does that mean you should be like every other fool?  Below I took a photo that I captured a while back with my iPhone 4s, yes thats right I said 4s (don't laugh to hard) and spent about 15 min editing it.  I won't say this is the worlds best photo, but I enjoyed the scene and it gave me a chance to show exactly what I am talking about.  If you look at the before and after you will see what I am talking about.  I brought out the colors, added clarity did a bit of dodging and burning and then to finish it off, removed some of the distracting elements like shadows, poles, trash cans and fire hydrant. Again this is just to give you an idea of what can be done even with a photo taken with a iPhone 4s. There are plenty of free photo editing applications out there, such as Picasa or even GIMP to name a couple. Again I am not trying to be preachy here, this is just something to think about the next time you take that long hike to the top of the mountain, to a waterfall, or Hawaiian vacation.  Just pick out a few of your favorites and add a little something extra to it and make it pop.

Photo taken at Olson Mansion in Maple Valley with iPhone 4s using panorama

One, Two, Three strikes you're out

This time around I got to work with Devin, who is preparing to enter his first year of High School. He was an absolute pleasure to work with and took direction really well.  We tried a few new things this time around and he was up for the challenge. He showed great poise and patience when we tried the same shot over and over from multiple angles.

I also played around quite a bit with different lighting styles, using more and less ambient light to create a more dramatic effect and mood. I really wanted to capture his personality (he's a smiler) but at the same time give the impression that he takes the game serious. 

Devin sounds like he is very excited about starting high school.  As he put it "I am nervous but super excited." If he continues to keep a good head on his shoulders I believe this kid has a bright future ahead of him.

Bases loaded - Portrait shoot with Mason

Just thought I would write up a quick post about my portrait session last week with 10 year old Mason at Petrovitsky Park in Renton. The theme for the shoot was Baseball as you can probably tell from the photos.  It was extremely hot early in the day, but as the sun got lower, it turned out to be a perfect day for shooting (which here means it didn't rain).  When Mason and his mother Trina showed up to the shoot, I could see that Mason was a bit nervous.  So I quickly introduced myself, cracked a few jokes and got him to smile after that he began to relax.  After about 10 minutes he started to really get into it and have fun. He was an absolute pleasure to work with and a great model. The photos came out great and now Mason has something he can be proud of and feel good about sharing and his mother can always look back on and smile.