Showing posts with label layers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label layers. Show all posts

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Creating Portrait Artistry One Pixel at a Time

In this day of turbo charged cell phones and an abundant means of sharing images on social media, standing out in the photography field is a new challenge for photographers. 



The typical criteria that customers use for selecting one photographer over another 
(location, experience, talent, personality & reputation) still have value, but today, 
many clients make their choice based upon a photographer's style or a specific 
artistry that they want to achieve with their  own portrait/photos. 

It is a wonderful opportunity for photographers to find their uniqueness and 
to express the talents that make their photography special...their brand.

For me, I approach photography with an extra creative eye, looking at lighting, 
the blur of colors, the patterns or shapes created in posing, striving to 
create MORE than a photo, something I refer to as portrait artistry.




Sometimes the opportunity just happens, when light falls magically upon the 
subject creating an image that looks more like a painting than a photograph, 
but other times I choose to create the magic through digital means. 

How is this done, you might wonder? Through advanced programs 
such as Lightroom and Photoshop, photographers get the opportunity to 
shine like artists and bring their vision to life through blending layers, 
masks, textures, the merging of multiple images, etc

Below is an example of an impromptu photo I took of my daughter Ashley 
with her puppy, Zoey. You can see how the before image is super sweet and 
evokes an emotional response, however I saw the potential to take that to a higher 
level and create real portrait artistry, as shown in the after result below. For me, 
creating portrait imagery that takes whoever is viewing it on an emotional 
journey is the ultimate goal. Leave them breathless and wanting more. 



Make your portraiture a priceless treasure that each customer wants 
to repeat and can't resist sharing with the world.

For more examples of my photography, click here 
to visit my website or facebook page.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Using the Hottest Colors in your Card Creations

Yesterday I picked up an issue of In Style magazine and my eyes settled on a page featuring shades of watermelon pink as one of the latest, hot colors to wear. Maybe I am a bit psychic when it comes to picking in colors, LOL, but I just created two cards last week featuring that color. In the first card I have paired it up with a hot coral color and used the technique I shared in my last post for handcoloring your stamp with markers, only I did not spritz this one, I let the markers blend the colors on the stamp.

Another fun thing to try is stamping a verse and cropping it with a punch so it is still readable, yet it works with diecut frame. I used varying circle punches on this example with a diecut frame by Stampin’ Up!®. The result is a clean, simple, yet cheerful birthday card.

Mum’s Birthday


The textured watermelon cardstock used on this card, below, was embossed with a texture. I added interest to my punched scalloped circle by doing the repetitive stamping technique to create light and dark values of ink using this beautiful stem from the Watercolor Trio set from SU. The loopy border punch is from the Martha Stewart Collection. I used multiple embossing folders & punches on this card to create interest and texture, especially on the petals which were created using the 5 petal punch, embossing then cutting them in 2 or 3 petal sections to create leaves. The scalloped circle was raised up using dimensional foam, also allowing the sheer ribbon and petals to be placed underneath.

Strawberry Floral


So before you start your next card creation, take a peek online or in the fashion and home magazines to see what the latest, hottest colors are. It may just give you the creative spark you need to...