Making Photoshop Work For You

In a past blog I spoke of my distaste for over-photoshopped photos. I explained that changing a human being's skin to fake plastic-looking almost video game quality is just wrong. Of course I meant in a purely photographic way not in a "if you use Photoshop you suck" kind of way. Photoshop is a very useful tool that can transform an ordinary photo into a very striking image.

After I became an ordained minister I wanted one of those striking images for what I was doing at the time. I got dressed in my Sunday best (sorry, I couldn't resist), grabbed a few props, snapped a pick and then set about doctoring it up with Photoshop to create that perfect image! This is what I came up with and it was relatively easy.

The more you do to set your shot up with your gear means that much less photoshopping you have to do. Also, whatever you can't produce with your gear can be taken care of with some simple photoshopping. Using photographic techniques and Photoshop can help you create images that are both cool and easy to produce.


And sometimes you can just explore Photoshop for fun and find that there are some really neat things you can do with just a few mouse clicks!


The point here is that Photoshop isn't evil and I didn't mean to make it sound that way in my previous blog post. On the contrary, Photoshop is a wonderful tool that can help save you countless hours of set up for shots and can help you create wonderful images. I guess my warning is just don't make the model's skin look fake!

Until we meet again!

Female Allure

I've been shooting for almost 10 years. More than half of that has now been artistic nude and fetish photography. While I shoot just about anything including nature, animals, events, etc., my passion lies in the female form.

Every woman is different. Every shoot is different. Sometimes we shoot in the studio.

Sometimes we shoot outdoors.

Some like to dress up.

Some prefer not to dress at all.

Others prefer to draw the attention to what they feel are their better assets.



In the end, every woman has a different motivation for why they are shooting with me. Some are professional models and it's just what they do. Others are trying to build a portfolio as they enter the world of modeling. More often though I've found that many women I shoot are looking to capture how they look at that particular moment in life so one day they can look back at the pictures and remember how "hot" they were. Regardless of their motivation for shooting I love capturing their forms.

Until we meet again!

Photoshop - - - Use Only When Necessary!

I spend countless hours looking at pictures on more sites than I care to recall. I'm always studying the technical aspect of the shots. I look at the lighting and try to imagine what the photographer did to achieve the effects. I look at the models to see how they're posed and try to imagine what they're thinking. But mostly I'm looking to see if the photographer has over-photoshopped the image. Call it a personal pet peeve, but, I absolutely cannot stand to see over-processed pics! To me they are no longer photographs they are digital illustrations created by graphic artists not photographers! It just makes me lose a little of my soul when I see people swoon over a digital illustrator's pictures and laud them with praise of their photographic skills. I've personally witnessed one of these lauded "photographers" hold her point and shoot camera at arm's length and take a quick snap and then spend 3 hours photoshopping it until she was happy with it. After posting she got no less than 60+ comments praising her for her photo skills. Gah!

Now, don't get me wrong! Photoshopping your pics is a must. Fixing the levels, cropping, adjusting the color a tad, are all legitimate and sometimes necessary processes that every photographer has to perform. That is no different than a film photographer doing a little adjusting in the dark room. Blemish removal isn't even what I'm talking about either. I'm talking about complete and total image manipulation resulting in something that is hardly human in the end. Skin that looks porcelain and doll-like. 15 years of wrinkles and freckles painted away in minutes. I interviewed a model who clearly looked almost twice her age in person compared to the pics in her portfolio. That's just wrong! Do that if that's your thing but don't claim to be a photographer! You're a digital illustrator!

For instance, here is a picture straight out of the camera.


And here it is after I digitally manipulated it.

To me, this is how obvious some "photographer's" pictures are over-processed and still called photographs. They just aren't, anymore than this one is!

Here is another photograph almost straight out of the camera.


The only photoshopping done on this photograph was a desaturation (black and whited), a level adjustment, and some burning to blacken out the background. Still a photograph despite some photoshopping.

I would love to post some digital manipulations of things that were once women but aren't anymore. But I don't think they or their digital illustrators would appreciate it.

The bottom line here is photography. If you are going to call yourself a photographer then work to perfect your photography skills. If you are going to be a master photoshopper then call yourself a digital illustrator and stop claiming to be a photographer!

Until we meet again!

Self-Portraits . . . The Staple Of Learning.

It's great to have a lot of models at your disposal. Firing away at the drop of a hat anytime inspiration hits you. Different outfits, different settings, different hair styles, different moods . . . Unfortunately, sometimes the only model you have to work with is yourself. But that is a good thing!

You don't have to pay yourself. You can change outfits at your whim. You're available just about anytime you need yourself.

With some hats, some clothing and a different background you can look completely different.

You've got the lights, the backgrounds, the props all right there.

With lighting you can completely transform yourself into someone else.

And sometimes even into something else.

The point here being that you don't have to have lots of models to practice your craft. You don't even really have to have a lot of expensive gear to produce really awesome pics. What you really have to have is a desire to strive to always learn more. In the world of photography there is always something new to learn. The only way to learn is to do. You can set up 1 shot and try a different lens, different lighting, different backgrounds, even different angles. And take advantage of the best model who always works for free . . . yourself!

Until we meet again!

Friday Walkabout

I am in the habit of taking my camera with me everywhere I go so that just in case I happen upon a "Kodak moment" I'm prepared for it. The few times I didn't have my camera with me I missed some really amazing opportunities to capture some one of a kind pics! What I usually do is purposely grab my camera and just hit the streets and just shoot away. I call these "walkabouts."

That said, I had my camera with me today and was, as my wife put it, "snap happy!" Here are a few of the shots.

First, my lovely wife in her office at work right before we left to have lunch together. I used Urban Acid to process this pic.

Next, the rafters in the library. Used the Channel Mixer to black and white this one.

And lastly, the sunset from the top of a mountain of snow in the parking lot at the Starbucks I was at earlier. Other than cropping and some level adjustments this is straight out of the camera.


Given how crappy the weather has been and how brutally cold it's been I haven't done any walkabouts since October. I still froze my ass off but it was nice to hit the streets again. I can't wait until the weather gets better so I can get back to the regularity of my walkabouts. They're very therapeutic.

Until we meet again!

Sometimes People Suck!

So I turn to Mother Nature for inspiration!





And I can never get enough of our furry and feathery little friends.









Until we meet again!

Lighting Is a Bitch!

I've been trying to play with light lately. The easiest way for me to do that is with all of the little action figures/dolls that I have laying around the condo. I've been using LED flashlights, strobes, and even incense smoke to try to create moody shots.


I figure if I can't get models to actually show up I can at least practice with what I've got! I suppose I have to start doing more creative self portraits again. After all, we're our own best/cheapest models, right?!

Until we meet again!

The First Post

I've had this blog for awhile now. I erased all of the original posts and I'm starting fresh. I've decided to make this more of a photo blog of sorts since I'm a photographer and all. I'm going to post a variety of shots. I shoot everyday and while I try to produce top notch pics as often as possible sometimes all I end up with are shitty pics that look very amateur. I'll mask those ones as "art"! :-D

Some of the pics that I post will be artistic nude and/or fetish shots so if that isn't your thing just go ahead and move on to somewhere else. But, for the first post I will post a recent picture of me.

Until we meet again!