My brother Grant and his Wife Aimee has a some a few days ago. Sadly, due to a rare umbilical problem at birth he passed away.
In memory of Grant IV and to help my brother and his wife with medical expenses I’ve made a special collection. These are never before released Lightroom and Photoshop effects, as well other goodies including a new HDR training video. 100% of from this profits go to help out. It’s a good cause, and a great deal that will not stay this price. More details and video here.
I appreciate all the kind words people have been sending in. I’ve also set up a special address for condolences. For those who wish to send them they can be direct to grantseim4@gmail.com and I’ll forward them along.
by Gavin Seim: It’s amazing how much information is in files coming from today’s cameras. I do a lot of HDR photography, but I’ve also been working to bring out dynamic range on single files. I can actually pull out more tones using LR than I can in Photoshop.
Today I recorded a quick video to look at brushes masking and Luminance tools to control tones. There’s an HQ download version on Seim Effects. I’ll also be speaking on LR at the PPW Fall Conference so if you’re in the region stop by. Why am I still typing? The video explains it all.
by Gavin Seim: I recently joined David and Kerry over on the Camera Dojo podcast to talk about making and selling large wall portraits and canvas pieces. I’ve been chatting about this quite a lot these days because it’s become so relevant to my business. Large prints sell and they look spectacular doing it.
Head over to Dojo and check it out. I apologize for in advance my hyperactivity. It was not coffee. I’ve just been very excited about large prints. Once you make and sell a few you’ll probably understand. Also take a peek at my recent article on large prints. Be prepared however. This has been the most hotly discussed topic ever on Pro Photo Show. I’m sticking to my guns because I know from recent experience that large prints sell and make sense. That said there’s no law against disagreeing with me. Enjoy… Gav
I want to take a moment to plug a few new products over at my Seim Effects store, since these are what help keep this all going. I just released Hollywood Effects 2, the follow up to my first special effects actions for Photoshop. Also in a separate collection a brand new set of cool actions called Portraitist.
HE2 is filled with some pretty amazing effects. I love Lightroom, but it’s not a solo runner. These are the effects that simply can’t be done in LR and really make my best images shine. When you get HE2, it includes the Portraitist actions, which are my new skin retouching tools that perform tasks similar to expensive plugins, but right from an action and for a lot less money. They even include skin smoothing that retains detail in critical areas like eyes.
Anyways I’m stoked about how good they work. It’s the best actions I’ve ever made and has been a very successful release thanks to many of you. Of course I still love Lightroom. You can find my presets there as well. If you want to learn more head over to Seim Effects. Other than that, have a great weekend… Gavin Seim
by Gavin Seim: Today I’m going to kick off the new analyze inspiration series I promised a few weeks ago. In a nutshell, I take an image that get’s me thinking in some way. I talk about what I see (or don’t see) in it and invite readers to chime in with their own ideas and inspiration.
Pretty straightforward random thoughts about what was done and why it’s good, or bad. Here’s today’s photograph. Let’s start by just looking at it…
I was experimenting with composition and lighting yesterday in the park when I took this. I actually had my face and camera down in the grass giving me this soft foreground perspective that covered a big area of the frame. I shot it on my 5D MK2 at 1/125, f11, ISO400, 58mm and I think I had a little off camera flash on the foreground grass. I did some quick post in Lightroom using the Nature Boy preset from my PW2 collection and darkened the foreground a little using a gradient.
Good: The composition is different which draws in my eye.
Bad: There’s no main focal point. The grass may lead me in but then I don’t know which element I’m supposed to be seeing.
Good: It feel like there’s something hidden here. My eye scans wanting to solve the mystery.
Bad: It feels a bit crooked which annoys me.
Good: I like the bold greens.
Bad: I don’t want it on my wall.
In my opinion this shot only gets 64/100. That’s a FAIL and I would not hang it on my wall. The fact that it lacks a MAIN subject pretty much kills it. That doesn’t mean it’s useless however. The reality is that I was not expecting a great shot. I was exercising my skills by trying things.
Below I approached it differently. Same image, but in LR I applied a warm infrared from Monochromatix. This changes the whole mood. I also like it this way. In many ways it’s more simple, but the key problem remains. I don’t have a main subject and without one, this shot does not fulfill my eye’s desires to fin something amazing at it scans.
Thinking out loud. I got something from this shot even though it’s not great. It has me thiking about perspective, lighting and patterns. What if there was a HUGE bull Elk in walking between those two tree’s just right of center. That would change everything. If I’m ever laying in the grass watching a huge elf, you can bet this exercise will come to mind.
This was fun. I’ve got myself thinking about new ideas by looking close at this image and talking about it. I think I’m going to like this series. This is the kind of thing KungFu Photo is all about. Now I’m ready for your thoughts and ideas.
