Thanksgiving Smiles
>> Wednesday, November 23, 2011
This past Thanksgiving we did a little semi-impromptu family portrait session. It took some coaxing but we eventually got some great smiles out of little Jackson.
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SOOC Sunday #1
>> Sunday, November 20, 2011
Above is a screenshot from Bridge showing the before (the only thing done here is some slight cropping), the initial after and then a tri-tone image (it is this last image I am going to be focusing on below).
In the initial after image I have obviously done added a vignette and performed some sharpening but I have also removed some clutter in the background, softened her skin ever so slightly and cleaned up some rough edges of her hair. If memory serves, I added a little bit of contrast to her eyes (focusing on not changing the colour) as well.
In the tri-tone image I basically took the initial after image and performed a technique called Duotone in Photoshop. To start this process here is what to do:
1. With the image open in Photoshop select Image then Mode. The current selection will most likely be RGB mode. This is the typical mode that camera’s take images in – it is how my photos start out.
2. Select Grayscale. A couple of warnings will popup. The first is asking whether or not you want to merge your layers (if you had no layers then you will not have this warning). I typically do not merge them, however, it is best if you do. The second is asking whether or not you want to discard the colour information, click discard.
3. Once this is done, you can now go back into Image then Mode and select Duotone (it was grayed out before).
4. Up pops a dialog box – this is where the fun begins. The dialog box will bring up whatever Toning you last created/worked with. If you haven’t used this feature before, it will start in a Monotone setting (one colour to be used throughout the image). To change the number of colours used change Monotone to Duotone (2 colours), Tritone (3 colours) or Quadtone (4 colours). To change the colour click on the colour box and then select the one you want. You can either browse through the ‘swatches’ that are there or you can use the normal colour picker by hitting the Picker button on the right hand side of the newest dialog box.
5. The trickiest thing about this application are those little graphs beside the colour boxes. Essentially these are just like Curves boxes and show you the distribution of the colour throughout your image. On the Left are your highlight and the Right are you shadows. As you move the curve around you change how that specific colour acts in each of the areas. You can make the colour only show up in the highlights or switch it completely around and have it only in the shadows, or anything in between. It takes some time to get used to this and I would suggest not jumping right to Quad-tone when you are starting out.
Here’s a screen shot for the Tri-tone box I used for the above image.
As you can see, I used a fairly normal curve for my black and darker pink colour and then brought in a lighter pink in the highlights. The bottom colour bar shows the distribution of colours throughout the image. In a normal image, this bar would go from white to black.
Try it out sometime and let me know how it goes for you.
SOOC Sunday
Despite the current busy schedule that is my life, I have decided to start a new feature here called SOOC Sunday. I will show you the image as I took it (straight out of camera) and then the final image after any alterations I made to it in Photoshop. If the changes are extensive I will also do a quick how-to about the applications I used on the final product. Let me know what you think, the first one will be coming later today.
Read more...Two
>> Saturday, November 19, 2011
I did a pet photography session with my Chris’ new little kitten a couple of weeks ago. Her name is Two and she is adorable! She didn’t sit still for very long, but we managed to get some great shots of her anyway.
Read more...Daguerre's Birthday
>> Friday, November 18, 2011
Today is Louis Daguerre's 224th birthday!
In case you don't know who he is, here is a link to his wikipedia page. Essentially he was a photographic pioneer and invented the daguerreotype process of photography. He also captured the first photograph of a person entitled Boulevard du Temple in 1838. "The image shows a street, but because of the over ten minute exposure time the moving traffic does not appear. The exceptions are the man and shoe-shine boy at the bottom left, and two people sitting at a table nearby who stood still long enough to have their images captured." I personnally find all of this very interesting.
Jackson Robert BeachCanada Day Celebrations
>> Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Canada Day Fireworks shot from the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec overlooking the Ottawa River and downtown Ottawa in Ontario.
Read more...In Progress
>> Monday, June 13, 2011
I have been working hard on several projects over the last few weeks that I am eager to share with all of you...I just haven't had the time to sit down and get them on here for you to look at.
I have been working on some personal projects, like testing the limits of my new D3s camera to be able to give it a proper review for you to enjoy, as well as some works for new and returning clients. Hopefully this little update and the news that I have updated the photos on the official website (http://www.stephaniebeachphotography.com/) will give you something to look at and think of in the meantime.
Ottawa Tulip Festival 2011
>> Sunday, May 8, 2011
Ah the Tulip Festival. You all know how much I love it (and I know how much a certain one of you hates it). It is my favourite Ottawa Festival and it is finally here. The above image was taken earlier today at the Dows Lake Pavilion location. Dave and I toured the tulip beds for a couple of hours, had some yummy food and then went home. The tulips are a little late this year (as are the ones in my backyard) so there were a great deal of un-bloomed flowers around and empty looking flower beds, but all in all it was still very pretty and i enjoyed the nice walk and photography-filled afternoon.
Read more...Big Stuff
>> Saturday, April 23, 2011
Bear with me folks...I will be back I promise. We are currently working on some pretty big stuff in our lives right now that is taking up most of our time and energy.
Read more...A Pooh Update
>> Monday, March 7, 2011
So as you probably noticed, I didn’t complete the 100 Possibilities Project (aka Project 100) that I was working on. I had initially wanted to finish it before the end of 2010 and then gave myself another two months which would have resulted in completing it in about 1 year, but that didn’t happen either. As it is a personal project, it tends to get pushed back as other projects require my immediate attention. I have approximately 30 photos left in the series and I have ideas for the majority of them. I hope to get working on it again shortly and also to get caught up with posting them here on the blog but I believe they are up to date in the Flickr set if you want to take a look at where we are now.
Read more...Waiting…
>> Sunday, March 6, 2011
I have several ideas for what could be some really interesting portrait shoots. I have the gear to get the quality of shots I want. I have a repertoire of models to use. Unfortunately I do not have the weather I want. I don’t want my models to freeze to death in the coldness that is Ottawa winters so let’s all start thinking warm Spring-like thoughts so I can get moving with my ideas. Okay, we are all in agreement – Spring needs to come now!
Read more...Stephanie Beach Photography
>> Monday, February 21, 2011
I have incorporated a few changes in the last couple of days and will be continuing to do so over the next little while. The biggest change is the launching of my own website: http://www.stephaniebeachphotography.com/ This blog is linked to from the new site and the home link at the top of this page now links back to the site.
I will also be launching a Facebook page and will let you all know when that is set up and finalized.
And finally, I am in the process of officially starting my photography business. There are just a few final things I need to figure out before that is complete.
So all in all, big steps for me and my photography that I am pretty freaking excited about!
100 Possibilities: Hole-in-One Pooh
>> Thursday, January 27, 2011
In which Pooh learns about mini-putt.
Taken in the Apple-shaped and -themed golf course at the Big Apple in Colborne, Ontario, Canada.
Read more...100 Possibilities: Cast Pooh
>> Tuesday, January 25, 2011
In which Pooh becomes a cast member.
This was taken within the Magic Kingdom in Disney World (Florida). This was the Winnie-the-Pooh ride and I just had to take a photo of Pooh in a ride dedicated to himself!!
Read more...100 Possibilities: Fish Pooh
>> Sunday, January 23, 2011
In which Pooh finds a fishy friend.
Poor Fish Jenn has unfortunately passed away. She lived a happy life between the two human Jenns at Chris' work though.
Read more...100 Possibilities: TEM Pooh
>> Friday, January 21, 2011
In which Pooh tries to help me at work.
100 Possibilities: Green Pooh
>> Wednesday, January 19, 2011
In which Pooh celebrates Earth Day.
This photo was originally taken within Disney's Epcot centre and was supposed to be used for Earth day but I compeltely forgot about it until now.
Read more...Catch Up
>> Tuesday, January 18, 2011
As you might be able to tell, I have been playing catch up so far this year. I will likely be doing so for a couple more months as I have a large backlog of photos to finish editing and uploading.
I finished 71% of my 100 Possibilities project and am working on finishing blogging the completed photos and also getting the remaining 29% photographed and edited and hope to finish the project shortly.
The backlog of photos include photos from the Cottage trip and assignment, Quebec City, Florida (and Disney), Thanksgiving, Christmas, DST Christmas Party, Family Picnic, Dave’s Firefighter portraits, Toronto trips, Upper Canada Village Alight at Night trip, Chris’ tattoo photos, remaining portraits from various Algonquin College assignments, updated editing of 2008 England trip, and several walks around parks and greenbelts within Ottawa. I think that is everything though I could be wrong – the list is so long that I might have missed a few things, I am sure I will find them as I complete the list.
As you can see, there is lots to edit and lots to upload and blog --- so I should probably get back to that.
100 Possibilities: Chain Pooh
>> Monday, January 17, 2011
In which Pooh finds the chain.
Lean on Me
>> Sunday, January 16, 2011
I mentioned the other day that I had done a shoot with Dave and his sister Jessica – it was for their parent’s Christmas present and the above photo is possibly my favourite from the day. I am sure there will be more to come from this shoot.
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Wonderful Man
>> Friday, January 14, 2011
This is actually a shot of Dave from the recent shoot I did with him and his sister. Today is our 7 year anniversary and I just wanted to let the whole world know how much I love him.
Read more...Christmas Kisses
>> Thursday, January 13, 2011
A shot I stole while at the office Christmas party.
PHO5598: Final Assignment
The final assignment for my Lighting Techniques course was to produce a Magazine Cover. We were allowed to make any sort of magazine we wanted, from wildlife to animal based or even crafting or carpentry. I however, chose to do a Fashion Magazine and am so happy with how it came out. Chris was my model and I was able to use my Bowens 400/400 lighting kit for the first time. Chris and I took the photo using the Bowens kit and then I manipulated the background and text in Photoshop. Slap in a fake UPC and create some clever/interesting article titles (thanks to Chris and Dave for the help there) and you have yourself a magazine cover. This can be found on Flickr as well. 
PHO5598: Assignment 9
>> Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Assignment 9 was a little difficult for me to distinguish from my other photos as it was all about diffused or bounced flash. I say this because it is very rare that I use direct flash so almost any of my small flash portraits could have been used for this assignment. I ended up submitting the two below photos. The first was shot with the flash in an umbrella setup. The flash was bounced off the white umbrella and onto the subject. The second photo was shot using the small flash attached to the camera and using a diffuser on it while also bouncing it off of the white ceiling above the subject. Diffusing or bouncing the light often enables you to soften the light up which can be harsh and unflattering otherwise. As always, these photos can be found on Flickr as well.
PHO5598: Assignment 8
>> Sunday, January 9, 2011
Assignment 8 was another small flash assignment – specifically small flash while doing an environmental portrait. I like environmental portraits as it shows the subject in their surroundings (environment). These photos can be found on Flickr as well. 
PHO5598: Assignment 7
>> Friday, January 7, 2011
Fill Flash was used for most of the remaining assignments. In this assignment we were to use it as Fill Flash in an outdoor photo. Chris came down for a few days last month and stayed with Dave and I. On the first day she was hear we ploughed through my assignments and the majority of them turned out quite nicely. The first photo below is the traditional use of fill-flash where the lighting on background and the subject are balanced with the use of a small flash. The second photo shows the technique sometimes called day-to-night where the flash and background lighting are not balance producing a darker background and therefore giving the feeling of haven taken the shot at night. The photos can be found on Flickr as well. 
100 Possibilities: Culvert Pooh
>> Thursday, January 6, 2011
In which Pooh tries to climb out of a culvert.
PHO5598: Assignment 6
>> Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The sixth assignment for my now completed Lighting Techniques course was Night Lighting. We went, as a group, downtown and took shots of the night lights. We started at Nepean Point overlooking the Ottawa River and then walked down to the National Art Gallery and then towards the War Monument. It was a very cold, windy night so our equipment really got a hard test. Unfortunately some people learned that their cameras do not like the cold, one camera even shutdown on its owner. Fortunately for me though, my equipment did beautifully during its harsh test.
These are the two photos I submitted. I have uploaded them to Flickr as well so you can check them out there too.
Mirrored Beauty
>> Monday, January 3, 2011
Another image from the shoot with Jenn and Alli. I am so incredibly happy with how this photo came out. The idea was to have Jenn and Alli mimicking each other as if one was the mirror image of the other. I love it!!
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