Photo makeover

My cousin posted on Facebook a photograph she had taken of a rose. With her permission, I offered some suggestions on how the image could be improved. I thought this might be helpful to others too, so am posting it here. Here's Tracey's original rose photo.

My initial observations: First, the rose is too centered, like a bullseye, which is a static composition. You want to lead the eye thru the image, coming to rest upon the subject of interest. Imagine your canvas divided in thirds, horizontally and vertically. Where the lines intersect is where to place the subject. Since we read from left to right, ideally you want to place the subject to the right, so the eye travels thru the image and stops there.

Introducing diagonals into the image creates leading lines and adds energy to the image. Tracey had a bit of a diagonal in the stem of the rose, but she can go further by tilting the camera when shooting, so the stem emerges from the bottom corner of the image.

The background is very busy, since all the leaves are in focus. Emphasize the center of interest by shooting with a wider open aperture and/or a longer lens, which will defocus the background.

I'd pump up the saturation and contrast to make the image really pop.

Compositional rule of thirds diagram for subject placement:Here's the image after saturation and contrast adjustments and some retouching. I found the highlights on the leaves to be distracting. Any lighter areas of an image will draw the eye. So I toned those down by cloning a darker green over those spots. There was a withered petal and other browned spots on the rose and foliage that I cleaned up because they were also distracting.

Here's the image with some blur added to the background to make the rose a more prominent center of interest. Ideally, this is better achieved by shooting with a shallow depth of field and/or longer focal length lens.

Here's the final image, cropped for closer, diagonal composition, and with a darker edge vignette added. Keep in mind that the image isn't as sharp here as it normally would be, since I was working from a low res image lifted from the web, then re-uploaded to blogger.

Cute hats

While in Lynden last weekend for my nephew's graduation, I stopped by the Heritage Festival. Jo Kaseter of Me and Mom's Hats had a booth crammed full of the cutest hats in many styles and colors. These would be perfect for baby and childrens's portraits. You can visit her store at Pike Place Market or order online at her website http://www.seattlehats.com/

Maternity wrap up

Becca and Chris welcomed baby Preston a bit early, and I'm looking forward to photographing his newborn session next week. Here's a couple from their maternity session. Becca has the best cheekbones! She's wearing one of my wrap tops, which took a couple tries to achieve the right look with the wrapping, but we got it done and she looks beautiful.

Memorial Day!

Remembering those who have served our country, and thanks to all who continue to do so. Have a great memorial day!

New Logo

After many years of the old logo, it was time for a makeover. I love what the designer came up with, but have been waiting to deplete my stock of materials before I started using the new one. What do you think?

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother, mom, mommy, momma, mama, ma, mammy, mummy, mum, mumsy, madre, mater, mutter, mere, makuahine. Blessings to all mom's out there for the love, time, energy and sacrifices bestowed upon us.

HS Senior Graduation announcements

Evergreen Lutheran High School Senior Portraits

I've got exciting new backgrounds and I'm looking forward to the creative possibilities with them. I was anxiously awaiting one to arrive for Garrett's senior portrait session with his guitar, but it didn't show up until 8pm that night. The background I used instead worked really well for the look I envisioned. Here's a sneak peak of one of the images that I tweaked with some extra artistic techniques.

Happy Easter!

Senior Feedback

I love creating beautiful portraits for my clients, and I so appreciate it when they take the time to send a note about how much they love theirs. I'll be the first to tell you that my portraits aren't the cheapest available out there. Quality custom portraiture is not cheap, and it's nice when people "get it".

Thanks to Lauren G for the feedback:

Why did you choose Colleen for your senior portraits?
I was dissatisfied with the photographers all of the girls in my school chose. So, I decided to research a couple of seattle & regional photographers. I immediately fell in love with Colleen's style. Her pictures were flawless and exactly what I was looking for.
What did you like about Colleen’s photography that you didn’t see in portraits done elsewhere?
Other than being flawless in lighting, composition, and final touch ups, they are sophisticated, classic, & a touch edgy.
What did you like about your session with Colleen?
Colleen had pictures in her head before you stood in front of the camera. She knew great poses, lighting, and props. Though most importantly, she made me feel at home and relaxed.
Anything you would do differently?
Order more!
What you like best about your portraits:
They're beautiful and original. I have received so many compliments, especially from my crush! ;) Thanks Colleen!
Friends and family reaction:
They are in awe!
Advice for upcoming seniors about their portraits:
Relax! Photographs are art!
Thoughts on the entire experience of working with Colleen:
It was fantastic and I am so pleased with the pictures I have.

First Day of Spring!

Yay, spring is here! All the rain we've been having should encourage the garden to reawaken. I'm anxious to see what plants survived the winter we had, and am so ready for sunshine and warmth.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

An Old Irish Blessing
May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!

Newborn announcement and gallery

This is the birth announcement I created from the previously posted newborn session. Also, their selected favorites are now available to view in the Featured Sessions of my website Image Gallery. Shaelyn

Award winning images

I have some great news about my entries in SPPA's (Seattle Professional Photographers Association) February print competition. All four entries received merits, and two images received highest scores in their division!

A portrait of a newborn baby, titled "Presenting Ethan", was awarded Best Child's Portrait.

A portrait of a high school senior, titled "The Cellist", was awarded Best Portrait of a Woman.

A portrait of a father and newborn baby, titled "Her Hero".

And just for fun, a pictorial of a blossom taken in Hawaii, titled "Bird of Paradise".

Now for a bit more info about print competition.

Why do we enter print competition? To increase skill in our craft, show dedication to our art, and earn merits towards professional organization degrees.

How are prints judged? Images must receive a score of 76 points to receive a merit. Highest score in each category receives an additional two merits and a plaque. Entries must meet specific size and mounting requirements, and are judged on the following 12 elements, in order of importance: impact, creativity, technical excellence, composition, lighting, style, print presentation, center of interest, subject matter, color balance, technique, and story telling. More details on this can be found on PPA's (Professional Photographers of America) website.

SPPA is an affiliate of PPA, and holds monthly print competitions, with a yearly competition adhering to PPA rules.

Man's best friend

Chris called me last Saturday in urgent need of a business portrait for an ad for his appliance repair business. He had previously gone to a mall photo studio, but wasn't happy with what they provided. I was able to get him in that day, photograph, retouch and file prep, and he walked out the door an hour later a happy man with CD in hand. A mall shop may be cheaper, but can't provide the personal service and attention that you receive when working with a professional photographer. Thanks for stopping by Chris, it was fun photographing you and Emma.

Valentines Roses

Pretties from my sweetie.

Behind the scenes

Some pictures taken by daddy with his cool little Iphone during their newborn session.

Here's one of the images I was photographing at the time.

Little rosebud.

Since Shaelyn was born close to Valentine's Day, I thought the bed of roses would be sweet, then I added a vintage look to this one. A portrait like this reaches it's full potential when displayed as a large wall portrait for maximum impact.I love capturing the intimate connection between parents and their new baby.I wanted to try a new pose using a sling, mom and dad were up for it, and baby slept nicely.

Custom Collages

I've updated my website with a new gallery of some of the many different custom design options available for your portraits. There are examples of special treatments such as Vintage Hand Tinted and Spot Color, plus lots of wall collages. The Tiny Treasures 8x16 is one of my popular collages that parents really love. Check out all the ideas in the Image Gallery.

Maternity clothing

I just received some great new maternity wrap tops and I'm excited to try them out on my next maternity client. They are similar to the wrap around top designed by Isabella Oliver. Check out their website for beautiful and stylish maternity clothing. Or buy the less expensive reproduction like I did from Mystic Clothing.