How do I get this "quality?"

[kariann]

http://www.deidrelynnphotography.com/

 

How does she acheive this quality to all of her prints? All of them look as if

they belong in a magazine, IMO. Besides her stunning talent, what is your

advice on how to acheieve this "saturated, yet muted, artsy" feel her work has?

Thanks for the help. Kari

[ericf1]

Kari,

 

I once had an instructor in a beginning dark room class answer a similar question, "All your work is so good, how do you do it?" His response, " I Don't show people pics that aren't good." I suspect she has fewer duds than I do, but believe me, they do exist.

 

On top of only selecting the best images for her web site, she has a solid understanding of lighting, both artificial and natural, and composition.

 

To my eye, the pics don't look overly processed, just well exposed images.

 

Not sure that helps.

[ericf1]

Kari,

 

In taking a quick look at your portfolio, you have adopted a similar philosophy of not sharing the duds. Nice work.

 

Eric

[kariann]

Thanks, Eric. I appreciate the comment. You're right-I don't get to see her "duds", but I wish I could!:) It just seems that all her colors are perfectly saturated, and yet muted at the same time. I'm sure it is her lighting technique...darn it, I wish it were a plug-in I could buy!:) Darn lighting! :) Anyhow, I have alot of duds...but I've stopped giving anything but what I love to my clients. Funny thing is, alot of times, they like the ones that I would never choose. Oh well...I really need to take some classes...Maybe when my three kids are grown in 18 years, and I have some time and energy! :)

[kariann]

But, my question is not how to get all my pictures good, rather, how to acheieve this effect, if it is an effect...or is it really just a great photographer? What class can I take, then, to get my pictures to look like this? :)

[patricklavoie]

level, curve, mask, saturation, sharpen...basic tool, basic darkroom, good photography.

 

you could read REAL WORLD ADOBE PHOTOSHOP, REAL WORLD ADOBE CAMERA RAW, REAL WORLD COLOR MANAGEMENT.

[luminous world]

Kari,

 

As for some of the 'effects' like sepia toning, etc, check out the downloads available at adobe.com under "photoshop actions" .

 

But you can probably tell by the posts so far that in general, we're just not seeing anything remarkable in her portfolio. Good solid work, yes. But nothing extraordinary. Some pictures demonstrate a good use of flash in good ratios and angles to be sure. But frankly, I'd have processed a couple of her images a little more myself, minimizing the skin blemishes or evening out the skin tone on some of her subjects.

 

As to your comment "Funny thing is, alot of times, they like the ones that I would never choose." That's always a good lesson to learn and a struggle for any photographer. Whether assignment or my fine art portfolio I've finally learned to classify all images as throw aways, OK or great. The OK's and greats are just that, but images I at least would not be embarrassed to see. Because I've learned just as you that clients sometimes choose images using different criteria than I do, especially with emotional subjects like weddings, etc.

[dave_yuhas]

"saturated, yet muted, artsy"

 

Shoot in subdued light with a judicious use of artificial light.

[ellis_vener_photography]

She knows how to make and use light, she is avery good editor as well as photographer, and

she has figured out how to direct the people she photographs and to establish a rapport

between herself and them. It then helps that she has made the effort and taken the time to

really learn and use the digital darkroom skills includign color management, sharpening , etc.

 

All of these things can be learned and practiced. Maybe she's had good teachers.

[james_conway1]

Hey Kari

<br />

looking over her images here are some things I think make her images stand out - it's lots

of little things combined

<br />

1 - excellent timing and great cropping (whether in camera or PS)

<br />

2 - She follows all the rules of lighting really well: use natural light but not direct

whenever possible, reflectors are good, shallow depth of field is good, choose your

location well, use just enough fill flash when you have to

<br />

3 - Did you notice the dark corner vignette in many of the images? works well for her

images

<br />

4 - she's not afraid to let shadows go rich black, I like that - too often we think "oh, I want

to see that detail in the shadows" maybe not.

<br />

5 - she is pumping up the saturation and adding contrast - the trick is to do it JUST the

right amount then stop

<br />

6 - I see and suspect a little bit of photoshop treatment on many of her images but several

different <strong>types</strong> of post-processing treatment. The trick is to do just

the right treatment for

that image and subtly enough that it goes undetected. (there are a couple give aways

though: weddings, third image in first row - look closely at the bouquets, same technique

used in Engagements, third row, second image - halos around couple. in both instances I

suspect the background was modified and painted back in)

<br />

There is no single technique that gives "that" style, my own personal opinion is

photographers should build a wide collection of techniques then use the right

one on the right photo.

[kariann]

Thanks, everyone, good advice, good eyes! :) Too many of you are too brilliant for me! :) I guess her work just stuck out to my eye. Ah, there is so much to learn and not enough time! :) You all are great.

[wogears]

She's pretty good at posing and timing. A lot of the color shots are in bright, contrasty light and are exposed to retain the highlights. As previous posters mention, there are some PS tricks being used--softening and toning, desaturation, 'hand coloring' &c.

[anna_nielsen]

Hi - Not really any tricks - just good clean expoxed images and then KEVIN KUBOTAS actions - AND A LOT OF VIGNETTING. Thats it! Lot of other US wedding photographers have exactly the same Kevin kubota look - try ex. jessica clair. anna

[deidre_zuck]

I think pretty much her only steps are curves, selective lightening and darkening by layers, gaussian blur of skin, and sharpening of eyes. I bet she doesn't own Kevin Kubota's actions, although they are very nice. She shoots natural light quite often, avoids shooting in harsh sun, and always makes sure her clients are comfortable. She probably has Adobe Lightroom and does some vignetting in that program.

 

I'm sure she appreciates being a "critiqued example" and always is looking for inspiration from other photographers.

 

:)