Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Family :: Jennifer, Vishal & Little Miss Aria
I recently mentioned how much I enjoy being able to shoot for clients through out the years. Jennifer and Vishal (and little miss Aria) are undoubtedly one of those families that bring me joy every time we get together. I met them five years ago, one wintery day, for their maternity session. Over the years that passed I have had the pleasure of shooting for them and watching their daughter grow through my lens. It boggles my mind to see the sweet little baby I knew becoming a smart, stunning, kind, gracious little girl.
Little Gryffindor
Being the mother of a Gryffindor is not for the faint-hearted. Every day is an adventure. Just thought I'd share this shot that I took to celebrate the release of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child.
Happy birthday Baby K
One of my favourite things about being a life photographer is that I get to see people at different stages in their lives. If I'm really lucky, I get to see them repeatedly at different stages.
I haven't seen Tracy and Rakesh in a year, since their maternity session. They were beaming with that eager but nervous anticipation that first time parents-to-be do. It was impossible not to be excited for them, the same way it was impossible not to be happy for them when I saw how well parenthood and life with their handsome little boy suits them. Congratulations to sweet Baby K who will be celebrating his first birthday soon!
So excited!
Getting clean post cake smash!
Eeee! Says Baby K.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Mother's Day Mini Sessions
The smell of lilacs in the air, the feeling of warm sun and the breeze in the air all make for a nice time outside to snap some Mother's Day photos...
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Understanding Gray Cards
(This entry deals with gray cards and their use in digital photography. In order to get the most out of this post, you'll want to have a working understanding of white balance. If you need to brush up on white balance, read my previous entry.)
A gray card is a handy piece of paper or cardboard that serves as a reference middle point for cameras. The meter system in either a camera or editing program, recognizes the gray and understands what it should look like, despite it's surroundings. For example, yellow lighting indoors that makes the people in your photo appear like they've got a bad case of jaundice.
But maybe you don't run into that problem often. Maybe you're wondering, do I really need to use a gray card for photography?
No, you don't need one. You can work without one. I've shot with a lot of professional photographers and only a handful of them have whipped out a gray card. Most cameras have impressive auto white balance settings nowadays and what can't be perfected in camera can often be fixed in a post processing/editing program like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom... But a gray card is a quick and reliable method of having consistent image exposure.
Your camera probably has auto white balance presets for various lighting conditions but technology will sometimes disappoint you. It won't always provide the consistency you might be expecting from photo to photo.
Gray cards can be used two ways. The first is using your internal camera system to create your own settings so that your camera recognizes the gray card neutrality and shoots every photo accordingly. Tthe second is to simply edit in a post processing program, like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.
Essentially how it works is when your system (camera or program) recognizes the gray card, no matter the variables of your photo, it will understand that the gray card is a neutral gray and work to tweak your white balance for you.
Gray Cards and Post Processing:
The easiest way to play with a gray card involves using a post processing program of some sort. This requires shooting in RAW format in order to customize your white balance in a "photoshop" program.
1. Set up your photo, including lighting.
2. Take a shot, including your gray card. (It sometimes helps to de-focus your camera when you take this photo, that way you're shooting the colour of the card and not the texture of it.)
3. Remove your gray card and take your photos as usual. Every time you change lighting, (for example going from being under a bridge to being in direct sunlight) go back to step one and repeat.
4. When you're importing your photos, use the gray card in your initial photo for a "sample" to set a custom white balance. Take note of the white balance settings it recommends after sampling so that you can alter all of the other photos to those specifications. Or if your program is capable of it, you should be able to highlight all of the photos you want to edit and customize the white balance all at once.
Gray Cards and Cameras AKA direct measurement:
The important thing to understand if you want to use a gray card with your camera, is that every camera is different. Each camera usually has a slightly different way of achieving the same action.
For example, on my Nikon D7000 these are the steps I would take to customize a white balance setting with direct measurement.
1. Set the exposure mode to a mode that offers WB customization, like P,S, A or M.
2. Frame your shot so that your gray card completely fills the viewfinder
3. Check the exposure and adjust your settings if need be.
4. Press the WB button while rotating the main command dial so you select PRE (Preset Manual) White Balance Setting.
5. Release the button and then press and hold it again until PRE begins to flash in the control panel and viewfinder.
6. Release the WB button and take a picture of the gray card before the PRE warning stops flashing.
7. Save your WB setting so that you can then select it from your WB options.
You can usually find step by step instructions that apply to your camera in your user manual. However, youtube has a plethora of tutorials that are just as simple. Typing in "-insert camera model here- gray card" into a search engine will probably come up with a handful of helping demonstrations.
A gray card is a handy piece of paper or cardboard that serves as a reference middle point for cameras. The meter system in either a camera or editing program, recognizes the gray and understands what it should look like, despite it's surroundings. For example, yellow lighting indoors that makes the people in your photo appear like they've got a bad case of jaundice.
But maybe you don't run into that problem often. Maybe you're wondering, do I really need to use a gray card for photography?
No, you don't need one. You can work without one. I've shot with a lot of professional photographers and only a handful of them have whipped out a gray card. Most cameras have impressive auto white balance settings nowadays and what can't be perfected in camera can often be fixed in a post processing/editing program like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom... But a gray card is a quick and reliable method of having consistent image exposure.
Your camera probably has auto white balance presets for various lighting conditions but technology will sometimes disappoint you. It won't always provide the consistency you might be expecting from photo to photo.
Gray cards can be used two ways. The first is using your internal camera system to create your own settings so that your camera recognizes the gray card neutrality and shoots every photo accordingly. Tthe second is to simply edit in a post processing program, like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.
Essentially how it works is when your system (camera or program) recognizes the gray card, no matter the variables of your photo, it will understand that the gray card is a neutral gray and work to tweak your white balance for you.
Gray Cards and Post Processing:
The easiest way to play with a gray card involves using a post processing program of some sort. This requires shooting in RAW format in order to customize your white balance in a "photoshop" program.
1. Set up your photo, including lighting.
2. Take a shot, including your gray card. (It sometimes helps to de-focus your camera when you take this photo, that way you're shooting the colour of the card and not the texture of it.)
3. Remove your gray card and take your photos as usual. Every time you change lighting, (for example going from being under a bridge to being in direct sunlight) go back to step one and repeat.
4. When you're importing your photos, use the gray card in your initial photo for a "sample" to set a custom white balance. Take note of the white balance settings it recommends after sampling so that you can alter all of the other photos to those specifications. Or if your program is capable of it, you should be able to highlight all of the photos you want to edit and customize the white balance all at once.
Gray Cards and Cameras AKA direct measurement:
The important thing to understand if you want to use a gray card with your camera, is that every camera is different. Each camera usually has a slightly different way of achieving the same action.
For example, on my Nikon D7000 these are the steps I would take to customize a white balance setting with direct measurement.
1. Set the exposure mode to a mode that offers WB customization, like P,S, A or M.
2. Frame your shot so that your gray card completely fills the viewfinder
3. Check the exposure and adjust your settings if need be.
4. Press the WB button while rotating the main command dial so you select PRE (Preset Manual) White Balance Setting.
5. Release the button and then press and hold it again until PRE begins to flash in the control panel and viewfinder.
6. Release the WB button and take a picture of the gray card before the PRE warning stops flashing.
7. Save your WB setting so that you can then select it from your WB options.
You can usually find step by step instructions that apply to your camera in your user manual. However, youtube has a plethora of tutorials that are just as simple. Typing in "-insert camera model here- gray card" into a search engine will probably come up with a handful of helping demonstrations.
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Understanding White Balance
One of the most common questions I get asked as a photographer is about White Balance. Usually the question is somewhere along the lines of "Hey Chels, can you fix this photo I took?" Although you may not recognize the term White Balance, chances are that at one point or another you have noticed a white balance problem before.
Have you ever looked at a photo and thought, hmm... that picture just has too much of a blue (green/ yellow/ pink) tinge to it. Maybe you took a photo indoors and the canned light made your picture look overly yellow? Or you were outside and you notice that the skin tones in a picture look overly blueish, making the subjects look cold despite the fact it was a warm day? Either way, it just doesn't look quite how it did when you saw the real thing with your own eyes.
Well, that my friends, is a white balance problem! Thanks to amazing advancements in technology, most digital cameras have great auto white balance settings. They come with not only a basic auto white balance but more customizable settings too. Unfortunately, technology sometimes falls short.
Take this photo of my favourite little bunny- Uh, I mean model. For now, ignore the tool bar on the right side. This is a screenshot of what this RAW photo looks like when I pull it up in photoshop for editing.
Nice, right? Everything looks normal. Not to yellow, not to blue... Just normal.
Here's another screenshot of the same photo. The only thing that's different is the white balance settings, which is also sometimes known as the Temperature and Tint of a photo. This time the picture looks much more yellow, almost too yellow. If this photo is ever printed, the whites of my little munchkin's eyes are going to look downright jaundiced.
When it comes to playing around with white balance you can customize it either in your camera before shooting or afterwards in a post processing program of some sort, like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. Keep in mind that if you opt for the latter, you will want to shoot in RAW format.
Some folks believe that you should get your photo as close to perfect when you're taking it so that you don't need to tweak photos in editing program...and some folks prefer the post processing route. There is no right or wrong, just personal preference.
White Balance via in Camera:
In order to edit your white balance on your camera before shooting, you will need to be in a mode that permits WB customization, like manual, aperture priority, etc. Pop your camera into manual and find your white balance setting. (If you can't find it on your camera, try typing in "white balance for -insert camera model here-" into a web search engine and I'm sure someone has created a tutorial for your camera.)
When you open the white balance settings you will see a list similar to this:
Auto
Incandescent
Fluorescent
Direct sunlight
Flash
Cloudy
Shade
(Choose colour temp...)
From here you simply select the setting that is most fitting for your situation.
So remember that photo from before? If I didn't like the results that "auto" provided I might try selecting "cloudy" or "shady." Or even "direct sunlight."
If I were using a gray card or other white balancing tool, I would select the "choose colour temperature" setting. (More on this in another post.)
Whatever setting you choose, a handy tip to remember is that your camera may try to retain your white balance settings that you last used, even after you've turned off your camera and forgotten all about the photos you've taken. So it's always a good idea to get in the habit of putting your settings back into auto when you are done.
White Balance via Post Processing:
If you're happy with the white balance in a photo you've taken, obviously you wouldn't touch that aspect of your photo in editing. But for the sake of this discussion, we're going to assume I'm unhappy with the white balance. Let's say that when I opened up my photo for the first time, I had one similar to that overly yellow screenshot. The photo was taken outdoors, in the semi shade of the bushes on a sunny afternoon so it's easy to understand why my camera may have gotten confused as far as temperature or tint of the photo goes.
Up close on the right hand side, we can have a look at the white balance settings in editing a RAW photo. If you're not comfortable with jumping into the deep end by playing with the temperature and tint dials, then the auto white balance presets from the drop down menu are a great way to get started.
In this case, I might try selecting the "daylight" preset since the picture was taken in the daylight. If I don't like the way that looks I might try the "shade" or "auto" and see what sort of results I get. If none of the presets seem quite right then that's when it's time to pick the lesser of the evils and then play with the temperature and tint dials!
Have you ever looked at a photo and thought, hmm... that picture just has too much of a blue (green/ yellow/ pink) tinge to it. Maybe you took a photo indoors and the canned light made your picture look overly yellow? Or you were outside and you notice that the skin tones in a picture look overly blueish, making the subjects look cold despite the fact it was a warm day? Either way, it just doesn't look quite how it did when you saw the real thing with your own eyes.
Well, that my friends, is a white balance problem! Thanks to amazing advancements in technology, most digital cameras have great auto white balance settings. They come with not only a basic auto white balance but more customizable settings too. Unfortunately, technology sometimes falls short.
Take this photo of my favourite little bunny- Uh, I mean model. For now, ignore the tool bar on the right side. This is a screenshot of what this RAW photo looks like when I pull it up in photoshop for editing.
Nice, right? Everything looks normal. Not to yellow, not to blue... Just normal.
Here's another screenshot of the same photo. The only thing that's different is the white balance settings, which is also sometimes known as the Temperature and Tint of a photo. This time the picture looks much more yellow, almost too yellow. If this photo is ever printed, the whites of my little munchkin's eyes are going to look downright jaundiced.
When it comes to playing around with white balance you can customize it either in your camera before shooting or afterwards in a post processing program of some sort, like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. Keep in mind that if you opt for the latter, you will want to shoot in RAW format.
Some folks believe that you should get your photo as close to perfect when you're taking it so that you don't need to tweak photos in editing program...and some folks prefer the post processing route. There is no right or wrong, just personal preference.
White Balance via in Camera:
In order to edit your white balance on your camera before shooting, you will need to be in a mode that permits WB customization, like manual, aperture priority, etc. Pop your camera into manual and find your white balance setting. (If you can't find it on your camera, try typing in "white balance for -insert camera model here-" into a web search engine and I'm sure someone has created a tutorial for your camera.)
When you open the white balance settings you will see a list similar to this:
Auto
Incandescent
Fluorescent
Direct sunlight
Flash
Cloudy
Shade
(Choose colour temp...)
From here you simply select the setting that is most fitting for your situation.
So remember that photo from before? If I didn't like the results that "auto" provided I might try selecting "cloudy" or "shady." Or even "direct sunlight."
If I were using a gray card or other white balancing tool, I would select the "choose colour temperature" setting. (More on this in another post.)
Whatever setting you choose, a handy tip to remember is that your camera may try to retain your white balance settings that you last used, even after you've turned off your camera and forgotten all about the photos you've taken. So it's always a good idea to get in the habit of putting your settings back into auto when you are done.
White Balance via Post Processing:
If you're happy with the white balance in a photo you've taken, obviously you wouldn't touch that aspect of your photo in editing. But for the sake of this discussion, we're going to assume I'm unhappy with the white balance. Let's say that when I opened up my photo for the first time, I had one similar to that overly yellow screenshot. The photo was taken outdoors, in the semi shade of the bushes on a sunny afternoon so it's easy to understand why my camera may have gotten confused as far as temperature or tint of the photo goes.
Up close on the right hand side, we can have a look at the white balance settings in editing a RAW photo. If you're not comfortable with jumping into the deep end by playing with the temperature and tint dials, then the auto white balance presets from the drop down menu are a great way to get started.
In this case, I might try selecting the "daylight" preset since the picture was taken in the daylight. If I don't like the way that looks I might try the "shade" or "auto" and see what sort of results I get. If none of the presets seem quite right then that's when it's time to pick the lesser of the evils and then play with the temperature and tint dials!
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Contest Expanded
Due to numerous requests, the free maternity photo session contest has been opened to any pregnant women who are due in either July or August 2016!
I specialize in life photography and am giving away one free maternity photo session. ...Oh an a random surprise prize too!
How it works:
If you are or know someone who is due this summer, email the nominee/applicant's name, a photo and a small introduction of who they are or why you think they should win a free photo shoot.
It's as easy as saying "Hi, my name is Chelsey and I'm due with a boy/girl/mystery baby on August 14th. It's my first/second/sixteenth child and I would love to win the session to commemorate this special time!"
(Emails go to thewishingstargallery@gmail.com)
The entrants will all be posted on my photography facebook page (www.facebook.com/wishingstargallery) and then it's up to anyone and everyone to vote for who they would like to see win.
Entry deadline is April 22nd.
Voting closes April 30th.
Good luck!
I specialize in life photography and am giving away one free maternity photo session. ...Oh an a random surprise prize too!
How it works:
If you are or know someone who is due this summer, email the nominee/applicant's name, a photo and a small introduction of who they are or why you think they should win a free photo shoot.
It's as easy as saying "Hi, my name is Chelsey and I'm due with a boy/girl/mystery baby on August 14th. It's my first/second/sixteenth child and I would love to win the session to commemorate this special time!"
(Emails go to thewishingstargallery@gmail.com)
The entrants will all be posted on my photography facebook page (www.facebook.com/wishingstargallery) and then it's up to anyone and everyone to vote for who they would like to see win.
Entry deadline is April 22nd.
Voting closes April 30th.
Good luck!
Thursday, March 31, 2016
It's Contest time!
That's right, kids! It's contest time at the Wishing Star Gallery! So here's the deal...
This contest is open to residents of Kamloops, BC and area.
Contest applicants should be due in the July.
Maternity session will be held in May, June or early July, depending on schedules.
Applicants or nominations are asked to email their name, a photo and a small write up about themselves and their pregnancy to thewishingstargallery@gmail.com
Entries are due April 22.
The applicants will then be posted online for voting until April 30.
The contest will run until April 30th, 2016.
Good luck!
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Baby :: Isla
I was visited this week by the oh so sweet little Miss Isla. The girl has eyelashes for days and one heck of an infectious smile. This is a very quick sneak from her mini session.
Family :: Tengum Family
One of the most rewarding aspects of being a life photographer is that for some families, I become their go-to-photographer. I am fortunate to watch their families change, grow and celebrate. It is a true honour to be able to photograph for these folks, and the Tengums are one of those families.
Over the years I have had the privilege of photographing their wedding, their daughter's newborn session, family photos and even a boudoir session. They are more then clients, they are friends and I was more than happy to spend an afternoon with them.
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day from the Wishing Star Gallery! I have the sweetest Valentine of all!
Baby:: Early acceptance to Hogwarts
Picking a theme for your session?
When you book a photo session with the Wishing Star Gallery you're getting something special. Sure, the custom, unlimited, edited photos on a disc is great but you're also being given the opportunity to make your session uniquely yours. Whether it's one person or a family, you should always give thought to the theme you might like to have for your shoot.
But Chelsey, you're the photographer! You should be able to give me beautiful and carefully thought out photos, that's what I'm paying you for.
Ah, that may be partly true my dear client... but I don't know you. And I want your session to be about you. I not only want you to be proud of your photos, I want you to feel like they suit you.
Here's an example of what I mean. Here you have a cute photo of my son, Wyatt. (Yes, this is a shameless excuse to show off my ridiculously adorable little boy, but it has a purpose)
It's a nice enough photo. I like it. It's cute. Nothing wrong with it. The crocheted owl hat, the super cute sleeping baby, it's all very adorable. But that's not the photo I get printed. That's not the photo I use for my facebook profile. That's not even my wallpaper on my cellphone.
Now here's a photo that came from a shoot that I crafted specifically for me. I'll give you a little back story: I love to travel. I grew up travelling. I also grew up with aviation. It's safe to say that both themes are cornerstones of my family. My grandfather is even a pilot. While some eight year olds wore jackets with Barbie emblazoned on them, I has a brown pilot's jacket. I spent a year travelling all over North America and even went to South America AND Australia. Before going on maternity leave, I worked for one of Canada's major airlines.
But Chelsey, you're the photographer! You should be able to give me beautiful and carefully thought out photos, that's what I'm paying you for.
Ah, that may be partly true my dear client... but I don't know you. And I want your session to be about you. I not only want you to be proud of your photos, I want you to feel like they suit you.
Here's an example of what I mean. Here you have a cute photo of my son, Wyatt. (Yes, this is a shameless excuse to show off my ridiculously adorable little boy, but it has a purpose)
It's a nice enough photo. I like it. It's cute. Nothing wrong with it. The crocheted owl hat, the super cute sleeping baby, it's all very adorable. But that's not the photo I get printed. That's not the photo I use for my facebook profile. That's not even my wallpaper on my cellphone.
Now here's a photo that came from a shoot that I crafted specifically for me. I'll give you a little back story: I love to travel. I grew up travelling. I also grew up with aviation. It's safe to say that both themes are cornerstones of my family. My grandfather is even a pilot. While some eight year olds wore jackets with Barbie emblazoned on them, I has a brown pilot's jacket. I spent a year travelling all over North America and even went to South America AND Australia. Before going on maternity leave, I worked for one of Canada's major airlines.
See the difference? If you don't know, they're just a cute pilot baby. But if you know me, you'd known this is right up my alley. And if you were to judge the photos on their base merits in a quick glance, chances are you're going to think the aviation photos are more fun. Why? Because they're unique.
I will talk with you at length about any theme you want to incorporate into your photo session and do my best to come up with ideas or props. I probably won't go out and buy a bunch of props specifically for your one shoot because, to be perfectly honest, from a business stand point that just doesn't work for me, but I do know various artisans that might be able to help us craft our vision if you don't have the items you want. And if you pay for it, you keep the prop when you're done. (Duh!)
Gabby loved taking home her plush wolf from her Little Red Riding hood shoot. Her mom even emailed me to tell how she insisted on sleeping with him that night!
And I know one little pixie girl who was giddy to take home her stash of sweets from her candy shoot with her family...
So when you're thinking of booking a photo session and I ask you if you have a theme in mind, don't be surprised if I refer to you this blog post. Let's work together to make your photo session extra special!
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