comissioned baby photoshoot - the first try

back in november, a fellow mommy blogger who also happens to be my neighbour, Didee, asked if i'd like the opportunity to take photos of her newborn because she liked arwen's photos. i was honoured and nervous at the same time, because arwen's photos? that's not all my doing. they're all collective force of all the people in the house who knows how to operate the DSLRs. but i decided, it's now or never. i mean, how would i know if i'd suck at it if i didn't try it first, right? so i accepted the challenge. but when the day came and Didee delivered baby muhsein, i was busy with the new job and couldnt make time. she went back to her kampung for confinement and we had to postpone until she comes back to KL.

so, during the thaipusam holiday a couple of weeks back, i went to Didee's place and shot whatever i could do within the hour. man! taking of photos of new babies are tough! it's not like they can understand what you want them to do, right? i don't know how you guys (who takes photos of other people's babies professionally) do it, seriously. i seriously don't know what Didee expects and i told her not to expect awesomeness because what i can do is far from it.

i've done my best and here's the result. you be the judge of it. can i turn this into a living, possibly? or just forget about it?



i also made a slideshow as a surprise for the mom. (ok fine. this is not part of the package. it was sort of an afterthought because i couldnt find a blank CD laying around and had to ask my brother for a DVD and there were too much space and i didnt wanna waste it so i made a slideshow).

Thank you Didee, for the opportunity. i had a fun time. hope you like what i did.

reblogged from my original blog

poloraid for the cheapskates

if you're working on a Mac, and you love poloroid like my friend zana, you're gonna love this. they have something like this for iPhone which got me really impressed (and a tad bit envious because i do not own an iPhone (yet)) because when you snap, it sounds like a real poloroid camera and then you have to physically shake it like a poloroid picture, in the wise words of Outkast to see the picture develop.



now comes the free desktop version which does the same thing. you have to shake the photo for it to develop. ok, maybe not. you can wait for it to develop but where's the fun in that right? unfortunately, this application was designed for Mac platforms only for now. you're gonna have to wait a while more for the Win version. or get yourself a Mac or an iPhone whatever floats your boat.

you can download from here.

verdict : free, easy and pretty? what's not to love?

photo trick : i stand corrected. THIS is the bestest digital concealer

ok, nevermind my post about the stamp tool earlier. i just learned a neater, much more seamless, time-saving way to correct flaws from my photographer friend today. yay!

and because i'm generally a nice person, i'm imparting this useful knowledge to you because i know, you're gonna need this trick when you child is bitten on the face by annoying mosquitoes and monster kids. otherwise, it's a perfect picture you'd want to frame of keep in the album but you can't because .. urrgh that pesky bites!

ok, so we begin with opening the file.

i'm using a photo of arwen i took recently. she has some nasty mozzie bites on her cheeks that she loves to scratch. so they've become red and are starting to scar. and i needed to make a thank you card for someone for giving arwen a dress. and i wanted to put in her picture in that card but i can't simply leave her face flawed like that now can i? no. i need to do something about it. i know, i know, i'm photoshopping a 1 year old's face. blah blah blah.




moving on.
ok now, pick the Patch tool from your toolbox.



and then go to your photo. select the area that you want to correct by 'drawing' around that area. just like you'd do with a lasso tool.



ok now, that you've selected the area, drag it to the outer area that has a tone and colour closely resembling the area that you want to correct. very subtle tones ok, don't over do it. preferably the area closest to the problem area.



and then release your mouse.

magic!

free & easy editing tools roundup

i have posted a few photoshop tutorials in this blog and i've got complaints, that's because that's all the software i need. but if you're not so photoshop savvy and need an easier fix for your photos, i have round up some online/free software for your convenience. you can find them on my sidebar.

i have only tried picasa, so i don't know if these work okay. you can try them and let me know.

photo trick : movievize your photo.

hello there. thanks for being patient with me (in other words, not bugging and pestering me to update this page with more tutorials. thank you! either that or no one is following this page and i'm just doing this syok-sendiri).

but if for some miracle that you are following this blog, i am terribly sorry. i know i havent been such an awesome info-dumper. forgive my lack of commitment. i have been lazy, i mean procrastinating, you know, taking my own sweet time scouring the Internet for more tips and tricks for you guys.

which brings me to this one particular photoshop tutorial that gets me all feeling funny inside. i just learnt this neat trick today when i came across this. so i looked around in my flickr to find a just the right photo that needs to be re-treated. i had to look far because it's been a while since i last taken any urban/street photos. i used to love doing urban/street photography but my lazyness and big-ass has gotten the best of me.

this tutorial that i found teaches how to give a cinematic effect on photographs. i followed and altered the steps a bit and i got this photo :




turned into this :



this was how i changed it. (i'm too lazy to print screen. and you guys are too manja. i hope you understand enough English to follow these simple steps)

1. open your file.
2. adjust saturation (Menu>Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation) and make the colours muted a bit by moving the saturation pointer to the left to the left
3. duplicate layer (layer>duplicate layer)
4. Add lens blur on the background copy (Filter>Blur>Lens Blur) and adjust according to your liking.
5. Still editing your background copy, select the Eraser tool from your toolbox. Make sure your master diameter is big and hardness at 0 so you'll achieve and smoother depth of field. Erase your selected point of focus.
   
6. Add a new layer (Layer>New)
7. Fill it with black. (Edit>Fill)
8. Adjust the opacity (go to your layer window, find 'opacity' at the top of the window and then move the curser to the left to the left)
9. Select 'Multiply' at your layer window (the one that says 'normal'? yeah, click that and it will open a list of technical shit. but you just need to select 'multiply') this will make your photo darker. don't fret. it's suppose to look that way.
   
10. Still editing your black layer, add some TV noise on in. (Filter>Noise>Add Noise) adjust it according to your liking.
    
11. Flatten your image (layer>flatten image)
12. Add cinemascope by adding black bars at the top and bottom of your photo (this is optional but it completes the look). first select your foreground colour to black and then select the rectangle tool at your toolbox.
    
13. taddaaaaa! you're not only a photographer, you're a cinematographer!
    

photo trick : stamp tool (i call it the digital concealer)

ok, this is one of the best photo cheat there is. the stamp tool on photoshop is used to eliminate or hide away blemishes and make people look well, flawless. whether you want to take out that pesky zit out from your portrait, or annoying mole, or taik mata or whatever (this is also the magic tool people use to 'take out' watermarks you have on your photos that you think make your photos safe - once it's on the net, it's never totally fool-proof)

ok. for this tutorial, i will use one of the photos of the baby i have to make a poster of for my poster business. sorry, mom (ezan) for using your photo without permission. it's just that i was editing this photo just now and thought i might as well update a tutorial on this blog. sorry again. i hope you don't mind.

ok, ready?

1. open the photo you want to correct on photoshop. and then, look at your toolbox (the box of magic tools at the left hand side of your window) and find the stamp tool.




2. next, adjust the Master Diameter by moving the curser left and right, to find the diameter of the stamp suitable for the area you want to correct. the larger the curser, the larger the area they copy and paste. (it's trial and error so make sure that you open your 'history' panel because with photoshop, you can only undo once (Window>History))



3. this is where the magic happens. you have already selected the diameter, now press on Alt to and click your mouse simultaneously on the area that is free of blemish. this is to copy that area. this acts as the 'ink pad' when you want to stamp (make sure the skin tone / shadow is about the same as the area the surrounds the blemish).

4. ok, now that you have copied, release the Alt button and move your mouse on the blemish. click your mouse on that area and you'll see the blemish disappear. try it a few times until all blemishes are seemingly, magically gone. if you find that the skin tone is a mismatch, then go to your history window and click the previous actions you've taken before the mistake happens. and then try again by stamping on a more suitable area.

* useful tip. designers live on keyboard shortcuts. they use it like a lifeline because it makes the job easier and faster. you can learn it too. useful shortcuts for this trick is Ctrl++ and Ctrl+- (for pc) or (for Mac) Apple/Command++ and Apple/Command+- to zoom in and out faster so you can get to the details or see the bigger picture easier. also, use the spacebar for the grab tool so you can move about around your picture at ease.

5. finally, adjust your photo according to your liking. add contrast, adjust levels, sharpen, whatever. and then save.

here's the before and after picture if you can spot the difference.

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photo tip : taking photos of kids and babies

it's been a while, i know. excuse my hiatus. it was on purpose as i had run out of ideas for more photo tips and tricks to share. i think i have probably gotten my objectives jaded and i just realized that i started this because i want to share with you all, my friends who are mostly mommies, my ideas of making your photo skills better so you can take better pictures of your precious.

thus, making up for lost times, this post is dedicated on how to can take batter photos of your kids and babies. i don't know a whole lot but i'll lay down whatever i know and can gather from the internet for you guys.

there are a lot of sites that'll give you the blow by blow (just google them because i'll too lazy for link dumping. ok, fine, i'll give you one. or two. or three. or four. there, happy?) what you'll find is that all of them will give you the same points. and i will repeat those points for you in my own words and using my own photos.

ONE : DON'T MISS A MOMENT. TAKE CANDID.



for god's sake, quit trying to get them to look at the camera and tell them to smile. because one, kids don't listen. two, it's annoying for the people around you. and three, you'll miss out on the moments because sometimes, photography is about spontaneity. you just look through your viewfinder / screen / whatever, look out for that moment and just click. forget the rules - photoshop can fix most of it later. besides, candid shots look more natural and you'll capture them in the most raw emotion and expression. but if they just so happen to be looking straight at the camera (because kids are curious creatures) then by all means .. just shoot it already.



if it's possible and your camera is equipped with such a thing, shoot in continuous burst mode. or sports mode (the icon that looks like a guy running? yeah that one). especially if you're taking pictures outdoors. because that way, you wont miss a beat in getting that candid shots and you'll also have more shots to choose the best from. you'll never know what you're gonna get, your camera (and your subject) may surprise you.


TWO : GET DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL



squat down, get to the ground, lay on your stomach if you have to. this is how you'll able to get up-close to them. if you have a camera like my now obsolete Eos 400D where there's no life viewing on the screen, then just shoot like crazy, don't bother looking through the viewfinder.


THREE : BUT, YOU CAN ALSO TRY AT DIFFERENT ANGLES.





creativity is about knowing all the rules and then break them. so get creative, try shooting at different angles - from the bottom, from above, from the side, from where ever. kids look cute at any angles and they don't care if they have double chins or if their cute little tummy is sticking out.


FOUR : GET THE DETAILS



zoom on onto the details on your kids, especially babies. get a close up of their face, their feet, their eyes. if you have a zoom lens on your DSLR, use it. if you don't, use your standard lens and put your camera on macro mode (the icon with the flower). compact camera (even handphones) are equipped with a macro mode too. don't be afraid to use it.


FIVE : GET THE REAL DEAL. CAPTURE EMOTIONS AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS





the best way to do this is to shoot discreetly. in other means, candid. kids are best at being kids. they don't hide their feelings. they wear it proudly on their faces. freeze that in photographs and your photos will 'talk' to the audience.


SIX: JUST SHOOT

just grab that camera and go crazy.

photo trick : action

i'm one of those lazy ones. if there's a shorter way to somewhere, i'll take it. i'm not the road less travelled kinda person. it's highway all the way. so, photoshop action is my highway when it comes to getting outstanding photo effects. i just have to click 'play' and i'm all set. it's like watching a dvd! and it saves a lot of time.

you can achieve the cross-processed, lomo, black and white, vintage, polaroid, colour boost, colour adjustment, high dynamic range (HDR), infrared (IR), smooth skin and buttloads more. more than you thought possible to manipulate an image. which is why i don't worry much about the technical aspect of taking a photography. ask me about aperture, shutter speed and lighting and you'll see me draw a blank face. if my photo is noisy, i can turn it into a pretty vintage or b&w picture. if my photo's too dull and underexposed, i can adjust the level and exposure in photoshop. there's really nothing to it. and for me, photoshop actions is the best thing ever since the invention of wings on sanitary pads.

i have a slew of collection of actions. my favourite place to get the free action would be from here, and here. the actions that i would highly recommend for you to have in your set would probably be Aly's Vintage and Lomo. but you can download a few and try them out, see what you like. most importantly, have fun. oh, and always REMEMBER to save as a new file because you don't want to regret losing your original one later, believe you me, i have been there countless of times.

here are some samples which i've tried out.

photo trick : reflection

you know how much i love to have reflection on my mastheads. i usually have it done using photoshop. but for images, i just found a great, much more simpler way to create reflections. this is my new favourite site! because i can do these the lazy way :

photo tip : silhouettes

there was a time i that i loved, loved, LOVED taking silhouettes. that time was BB (before baby) because AB (after baby), i only want to take gratuitous amount of photos of her cute face before it changes and pretty much nothing else, as you'll see in my flickr page (you're gonna have to go like way back to the dawn of time before you see photos of other things than my baby - because i'm obsessed by my own creation like that).

but let me tell you about that time when i took a lot of silhouettes because essentially that's what this blog is about. photos. wanna go read about the baby, go to the other blog, thank you.

where was i? oh, yes. silhouettes.

silhouettes, for those who's scrunching their faces now trying to figure it out what it means, is a picture of the outline/shape of the subject, normally black, taken against the light source. you know how you'd usually try to locate where the sun/light is and will move about so that your back is against the light when taking a photo so that your subject is well lighted? yeah, so silhouette is the opposite of that.

sometimes, when all you can make out is just the shape of the subject, the effect can be pretty dramatic, mysterious, creative and emotive at the same time. it's up to the audience to translate what you're trying to convey. when the background is nice, a silhouette photo really pops.

it can be a photo of landscape, a person or a few people, object, whatever. the trick is, a bright coloured background that is simple and uncluttered. because the silhouette already draws so much of the attention and takes up most of the focus of the composition, so you'd want a background that doesnt need to say that much. works really well for sunset/sunrise pictures.

it's really simple. get your subject to stand / pose in front of the light, blocking directly the light source (i.e the sun if you're taking a sunset/sunrise photo) and just snap. i don't know how to explain it technically (you can go here for tips). but somehow, someway, i manage to capture some silhouettes moments.




















and some which my brothers have taken :















try it out the next time you're at the beach. it's a different idea than just your typical sunset/sunrise picture. oh, and after that, of course, do some post editing. adjusting the contrast would do the trick.