Today’s stock is dirt and tree roots. HA! You may wonder why in the world anybody would need these stock photos, but these elements of nature can be metaphors for SO many things. Have you ever seen images that display not only what is on top of the earth but under the earth as well? Have you … Continue reading Free Stock Saturday! Finding your roots…
If you are new to compositing, how objects and light interact may not be something you have stopped to think about. Yesterday, my goal was to demonstrate the first two basic principles of how objects and light interact… Light always runs in a straight line (therefore the absence of light also runs in a straight line) AND The higher the light, … Continue reading When you hit a brick wall…
Over the next few posts I want to cover what I consider to be the key to believable compositions and that is creating shadows. If the shadow an object casts looks off to the viewer’s eye, then the image will scream composited. If you introduce an object into a scene, then that object should be lit from the same … Continue reading It’s in the Shadows…
Cheat Sheets Hot Keys. For years I used the drop down menus and interfaces in PhotoShop. When I started using hotkeys my workflow was cut in HALF. Yes, I’m serious. I became twice as fast at editing when I learned them. At first hotkeys are a pain in the ARSE. You have to stop, pull out your … Continue reading Feelin’ hot hot hot…
Every now and then I will be asking some of my artistic tribe (or someone from this Sharing It Forward community) to guest blog and share forward their tips, tricks and experiences in the world of conceptual portrait. Today’s post is by the talented and knowledgable Jenna Martin. She has written the best, most complete composition of info regarding selling … Continue reading Selling Art in Galleries – Everything You Need to Know (by Jenna Martin)
I firmly believe the support of fellow artists and photographers is priceless. It is the theme song I sing in every blog post. It is amazing what you can learn just browsing other artist’s and photographer’s websites and blogs. I was chatting with another amazing member of my artistic tribe and when I found out what she was … Continue reading Stock Saturday! Free stock courtesy of Tara Denny Images…
One of the biggest reasons I felt a tug to create the “Sharing It Forward” campaign was support and camaraderie. The biggest gift this conceptual journey has afforded me is interacting and getting to know some amazing, talented, brilliant, jaw-dropping artists. The support and confidence they have gifted me has been priceless. Show me one successful, … Continue reading My Artistic Tribe…
Some of you may have seen this at one of my speaking engagements or mini-clinics. I wanted to post it here because it is a great overview of how I plan and execute a conceptual portrait. First, I want to remind you that PhotoShop does not make you a conceptual portrait artist. This particular image … Continue reading The Making of “The Princess and the Dragon” from The Magic of Literacy Series…
It’s Free Stock Saturday! I am always looking for truly FREE stock I can use in my conceptual portraits. There are just some things you can’t shoot yourself because you don’t have access to them. Every Saturday is now officially known around here as “Free Stock Saturday”. I go through my personal stock library and try to … Continue reading Free Stock Saturday!
The topic of conceptual portrait is HUGE. As you get into learning techniques it will almost feel like you have come over the hill and before you spreads the Grand Canyon. It looks GINORMOUS when you are standing on the edge of it. The more you learn the more you want to learn. Before you jump in, I … Continue reading Three steps. Lights, Camera, and Action … in that order…
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