Joel and Carissa live in Arizona – which of course I equate to desert. And since time is a valuable commodity and we didn’t have the chance to drive to the desert we brought it all together in Photoshop.

Joel and Carissa in Namibia's Death Valley

I need to figure out how to price this kind of work. It is cheaper than flying or driving to Death Valley – yet it does take a lot of work and skill to get this to look real. Hopefully more brides want this kind of artwork for themselves – I am having a blast creating this kind of artwork and I want to print images like these out on huge canvas.

For a photograph like this there is planning and attention to detail. And of course – if a client wants a certain location I will of course do all I can to use that location. If someone wants Paris, New York, Asia or other locations that shouldn’t be a problem.

One of the first things that a bride and groom will ask about are cool locations for their bridals, formals and maybe even wedding photography. The old adage of “location, location, location” will always be important.

When we were planning for the formals for Kelli Jo and Jonathan we had discussed the Bonneville Salt Flats. Unfortunately, the Bonneville Salt Flats are only dry and available for photography from August – October. What do we do? I photographed them in studio and then used Photoshop to add them onto the Salt Flats.

The first photograph here is the final result. Truth be told this photograph comes from 3 different photos. I photographed the Salt Flats in August, The sky is from the Great Salt Lake in October, and then they were photographed in studio in November. It all came together and it is one of my favorite photographs to date.

Kelli Jo and Jonathan on the Bonneville Salt Flats

Here is the studio photograph. We spent the first part of the formals wedding photography at the Salt Lake Temple. We wanted “real” photographs first and then we shot in studio. I will be blogging more photos later.

They were originally photographed in studio - with the idea of using Photoshop

Here are a few more photographs that were shot in studio and then added to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The other advantage of Photoshop is we can use photographs from Stock photography websites and that will be cheaper than flying out to New York, Chicago, Europe or other locations.

Bridal portraits - anywhere and at anytime

Shooting on location will usually always be ideal. I can create a few hundred photographs easily on the Salt Flats or wherever we have the portrait session. If I am compositing – it takes a lot more work in Photoshop – and so a portrait session may result in 4-5 shots. Right now it takes about an hour per photograph to add people to a different location.

If you want to see some of the possibilities – check out this family photo shoot that I did – it is on my other website. This kind of photography is definitely different – and hopefully makes my photography a little bit more unique.

So with a bit of planning we can do almost anything. The fashion world is using these techniques on a regular basis. They will photograph a model in studio and then put them into different locations around the world. It saves them travel costs. And since I like the idea of putting fashion and wedding photography together I am definitely breaking some new ground here.

Where would you want your photographs?

Fake, fake, fake, fake!

Last night I finally joined the ranks of photographers that own and use light meters. Anyone reading this blog will be wondering what the heck is a light meter. In the days of film, photographers would use a device to measure how much light was going to be in a photograph. Today’s modern digital cameras have light metering systems built into the camera. And we can use the LCD display on the back of the camera to make sure everything is perfect.

Sekonic Light Meter L-358

Well, cameras can be fooled by what they see. If you photograph a black cow on a black background the camera is going to make a wrong decision and over expose the photograph. Much like when a white cow on a white background will be underexposed by today’s modern cameras.

Well, I bought the Sekonic L-358 to help remedy these situations. Granted I am very good and fixing what a camera thinks is right. I have been photographing in manual mode for several years now and I can compensated the exposure. Well, when I photograph in studio, or I am going to photograph with a film camera I will now have a light meter to verify that my exposures are correct. It is just good to get as much right in camera before I click the shutter and not have to fix things in Photoshop. I would rather spend my time in Photoshop being creative and not fixing exposure, color, and white balance.

It is just another way I am stepping up my game in 2011.

I spent several minutes trying to capture a reflection of the bridesmaid eye in the reflection of the mirror. I was being the fly on the wall and not interfere – last thing I want to do is cause the bridemaid to get distracted and the makeup brush goes into the eyeball.

This photograph is me waiting for the eye to appear – it is a natural shot where the bridesmaid is working on her makeup. But the reflection in the small mirror is of her fingers.

Lights, Camera, Makeup

So I posed the shot and had the bridesmaid look at me in the mirror while she worked on her makeup. Unfortunately with this shot she is no longer working on the makeup – but just holding the compact. What do to do?

Posing the shot so I can get the eye in the tiny mirror

Hooray for Photoshop – it makes good photos great. I took the eye in the compact’s mirror and place it into the first photograph. So we get the best of both photos. And we get the original idea I had for a photo. Yay!

Hooray for Photoshop!

The flower girl walks in sunlight and caught in sunbeams

I love this photograph of the flower girl walking down the lane after the wedding. The sunlight was rather harsh but I was able to work a bit in Photoshop and create a nice golden light that was helped by the sunbeams that fell on her head.

A photograph isn’t ready the moment the camera clicks the shutter – I believe you have to fancy them up and give them more color and feeling.

One of my favorite Photoshop techniques is dodging and burning. Thank god for a Wacom tablet – I use to do this editing all with a mouse and that is just crazy talk. I am glad I discovered the tablet. And I love to dodge and burn the eyes. It makes a big difference.