SE April 2010
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online publication of seppa APRIL 2010 cover art “Got’ cha…!” Joe Campanellie Mary-Fisk Taylor Learning Lessons the Hard Way Victoria Kelly Yep, There’s an APP for That Jamie Hayes April Showers & Solutions SOUTHERN EXPOSURE SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
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Monthly Magazine
Transcript of SE April 2010
online publication of seppa
APRIL 2010
cover art“Got’ cha…!” Joe Campanellie
Mary-Fisk Taylor Learning Lessons the Hard Way
Victoria Kelly Yep, There’s an APP for That Jamie Hayes April Showers & Solutions
SOUTHERN EXPOSURESOUTHERN EXPOSURE
I hope you are ready to get your minds filled! The April issue is so full of information that I am sure you will want to print out the pages and keep them
stored for reference.
Are you planning on entering the affiliated print competition? There are four writers speaking spe-cifically about competition. I URGE you to com-pete. You will only become a better image maker. Ego, schmego. Leave it at the door and get four of your best images together and see what happens.
You may even surprise yourself.
Our good friend Jamie Hayes takes us on an out-door adventure that we can all relate to. What
would you do on a rainy day? All the answers are found in this incredible lighting
demonstration.
Mary Fisk-Taylor takes us all on a very important legal journey. Get out your pens and pads, you will
want to take notes.
Do you like those way cool grunge effects? Suzette Allen teaches us how to do it. I did a practice run
on it this morning, and even I can do it! You will love it.
One more thing, did you know “There is an APP for that?” Well, there is. Victoria Kelly shows you how to get your own studio APP. I’ve got one for
my studio. You will love it.
Have a great month!
Doug PeningerM. Photog., Cr., CPP, F. Ph.
EditorSEPPA 1st Vice-President
from the editor
the Pages SOUTHERN EXPOSURE April 2010
“Kylie” by Victoria KellyVictoria has used Photo Dudsto enhance this image.
Learn6 Cover Artist
Joe Campanellie
9 Melanie BurneyPrint Competition 101
12 Kevin NewsomeHumbug
13 Cheri MacCallumMy Take on the 12 Elements
16 Victoria KellyYep, there’s an APP for That
21 Jamie HayesApril Showers & Solutions
24 Janel PahlPart One: Giving theGift
27 Suzette AllenMaking a Grunge Brush
33 Mary Fisk-TaylorLearning Lessons the Hard Way
38 Janet BoschkerPrint competition & Children
Shop1 Showcase
11 Miller’s
12 Academy Productions
20 White House Custom Color
36 Pro Photo Imaging
40 Little Dreamers Designs
42 CCI Lab
Attend8 Georgia Convention
18 East Coast School
19 PPNC Eastern Guild
26 Mississippi/Alabama Convention
32 PPA - Imaging USA
37 Florida School
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Additional information of state events within the SEPPA District can be foundusing the state links below. Please view their websites by clicking on
the web address and you will be re-directed.
ebExecutive Board bogChairman of the Board Kevin Newsome
President Mary Alice [email protected]
1st Vice-President Doug [email protected]
2nd Vice-President George [email protected]
Secretary/Treasurer Anthony [email protected]
Print Exhibition Chair Randy McNeilly [email protected] Executive Director Thomas McCollum
Delaware *** Peggy Parkinson
District of Columbia Joe Tessmer
Florida ***Debbie AlcornTerri Crownover
Georgia ***LaRita HulseySherri Noftsinger
Maryland ***John SteinDavid Corry
Mississippi/Alabama ***Darrell IvyGill Brady
North Carolina ***Sherry WhittJanet Boschker
South Carolina ***Wilber JeffcoatJimmy Wood
Tennessee ***Kendall MathesJan Wilson
Virginia Robert Holman
***state presidentsrepresentative
As your state president and SEPPA representativechanges, please inform Tom McCollum, so
we may update our records.
Southern ExposureSouthern Exposure magazine is an online publication of
SEPPA and is published monthly.
EditorDoug Peninger
Ad Sales & Business ManagerThomas [email protected]
888-272=3711
Deadlines
Article & Ad Submission5th of each month
Proofs20th of each month
On-Line Publication1st of each month
SEPPA2712 Marcia Drive
Lawrenceville, GA 30044888-272-3711
www.4seppa.com
Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Opinions expressed by Southern Exposure or any of its
authors does not neccesarily reflect the positions of the Southeastern Professional Photographers Association.
4
Board of Governors
SEPPA state links
Additional information of state events within the SEPPA District can be foundusing the state links below. Please view their websites by clicking on
the web address and you will be re-directed.
DELAWAREwww.delawarephotographers.com
District of Columbiawww.ppsgw.org
georgiawww.gppa.com
Floridawww.fpponline.org
Marylandwww.marylandppa.com
mississippi/alabamawww.ppma.net
north carolinawww.ppofnc.com
tennesseewww.tnppa.com
south carolinawww.ppofsc.com
virginiawww.vppa.org
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For close to 25 years Joe Campanellie, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, F-ASP has forged a national reputation as a children portrait photogra-pher. It’s what he and his wife Mary Jean built their studio on. But a few years ago he started to feel that burning down deep
inside that a lot of us get for new creative challenges and direction. That urge brought him full circle and back to his original roots in photography. After attending a seminar by one of the world’s
foremost avian photographers, his new “passion” was born. What began as a series of trips to Florida and Alaska to decompress soon became a body of work that re-defined him as a nature photogra-
pher. And this new passion has reaped many rewards, both profes-sionally and artistically.
Joe was a very busy man at Imaging USA this past January, claiming some of the industry’s most prestigious honors, includ-
ing the American Society of Photographers’ Gold Medallion Award, a PPA Diamond Photographer of the Year Award, a PPA
Imaging Excellence Award and the attainment of his ASP Fel-lowship Degree. It was his new-found love of avian photography that motivated him to aspire to the ASP Fellowship Degree. He has also been awarded 25 Kodak Gallery Awards, including two
Gallery Elite Awards, and “Image Maker of the Year” for the past 5 years in both Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Quote: “I learned through my nature photography how impor-tant it is to give yourself permission to explore your own creative pursuits in order to avoid burnout. I feel very strongly that giving yourself permission and the time to “play” is such an important
part of the creative process.”
Cove
rArtistJoe Campanellie
Note: Images chosen for the cover of Southern Exposure are first place
or distinguished award winners from the annual affiliated judging.
“Got’cha” was photographed at one of my favorite tidal lagoons in Florida. If anything, my new interest in avian photography has taught me that patience is “the” key factor. Just when you are ready to leave is usually when the action starts to happen and you cre-
ate your best images. The lagoon was extremely quiet that morning until a few Great White Egrets showed up for their morning meal. Knowing that they can be extremely territorial I decided to wait for the action to start. It didn’t take long either. The egret portrayed in “Got’cha” had just caught a fish when another egret tried to steal it so he took off. I knew right away that this image was special. My
only hope was that I had him framed properly as well as in focus.
“Got’cha” Awards:
ASP Gold Medallion AwardASP Loan Collection Print
SEPPA Distinguished AwardKodak Gallery Award
Maryland and Pennsylvania Illustrative Photograph of the Year
Melanie Burney, assistant print salon chair
Print Competition 101Print Competition 101How to Register for 2010 SEPPA Affiliated Print Competition
All Rules are Online & Pre-Registration is OpenPrint Judging Dates are:
April 9 & 10
It is that time and many of you have already found the online registration forms and have registered your cases but this is a reminder
for the rest of you. Simply visit www.4seppa.com and click on thePrint Competition link and you will see the registration.
The Deadline for Online Registration is April 1, 2010. All cases registered after that date will incur a $50 late fee.
No cases will be accepted after April 6, 2010.
Three Canon “Par Excellence” Awards will be awarded again this year! This Award will be given for Photographic Open, Commercial &
Electronic Imaging. For More Information check the SEPPA website.
Numerous other Awards will also be given.
Remember the Buddy Stewart Scholarship is for a First Time Entrant that has the highest case average. You must enter 4 prints to be eligible.
Should you have any trouble or questions regarding the online registration please contact Melanie Burney at (912) 367-0369 or
[email protected]. All other questions should be directed to Randy McNeilly at (704) 482-0011 or [email protected].
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a Few Moments with…
Major news networks and magazines all have editorial features. SEPPA is lucky to have our very own Kevin Newsome.
Kevin is featured each month as he gives us his latest rant. Some things may hit home, some may be surprisingly poignant. When it’s all said and done, it’s just Kevin’s opinion and he thought he
should share it. We, at Southern Exposure, hope you will enjoy this month’s installment of“A Few Moments With...”. This month, HUMBUG.
(Click on the title, HUMBUG, and you will be linked to the video.)Do you compete in print competition? Think about it.
Kevin Newsome
HUMBUGHUMBUG
Cheri MacCallum
My Take on the
12 ElementsWhen I was asked about doing an article on print compe-tition, I was a little worried as there is no real recipe for a merit image except for a few guidelines which I’ll outline a little later below. I then decided that the best thing for
me to do is just to share my thoughts on the process.
I’ve been asked if I “shoot for competition” and the answer is no. I photograph what I love. If I see something that turns my head or I think is interesting…out comes
the camera. With that being said, I do however give myself assignments occasionally, but they are more for trying new things, learning and keeping the creativity
flowing rather than thinking “this will be a good compe-tition image”.
Print competition for me is the journey, not the destina-tion. Yes, I know that phrase is way overused but it’s true. The recognition when prints do well along with
the ribbons and awards are nice, but they mean nothing without all the education gained in the process. Print
competition will make you better, period. I know it’s hard to believe sometimes, but the “rules” of print competi-
tion were not invented by your state, regional or national associations and judges just to make your life miserable. All the elements that make up good art have been around and utilized for centuries. It all has to do with the human
brain and how we process visual information. I saw a post recently on a photographic forum about the poster’s view of print competition. I love it and I will quote it here
(with permission of course)
“Get better. Try new things. Enter print competi-tion and get your work trashed and decimated in a public forum, take notes and enter again. Bring to a boil, don’t reduce to a simmer, burn the pot and
grab a bigger one.”
Most judges don’t “trash” or decimate prints, but this quote says a lot about the learning process and how we feel when we hear the judges say things we really don’t want to hear, but need to hear to get better. The
quote speaks to the fact that print competition should be a constant learn-ing tool, pushing ourselves and raising the bar for ourselves with each com-petition. We need to be able to take criticism to learn and grow. If a judge
offers a criticism, don’t be offended and don’t be so emotionally attached to your image that you can’t listen to advice. I suggest going to see a state,
regional or national print competition to see what it’s all about.
Cheri MacCallum continues on Page 14
Get BetterTry New Things
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The 12 Elements of a Merit Image is what the judges use to score our prints and I’ve added my
thoughts on each.
1) IMPACT - Impact is the initial response when the print comes around on the turn table. This is the “wow” factor.
Does the print cause your heart to skip a beat, does it invoke an immediate emotional response? Your print title is also part of the initial impact. Does it make sense? Does it help tell the
story or could it be confusing? A good title can go a long way in helping your score, but by the same token a bad one, or one
that doesn’t make sense, could hurt your score.
2) CREATIVITY – Is your image, subject or treatment unique? Is it different than anything the judges have seen
before? Does your print have a new twist or a different view? Creativity is going beyond traditional ideas, coming up with
new ideas and new interpretations.
3) STYLE – Style is kind of a signature. It is a way of express-ing your thoughts in print in the way you use the 12 elements. There are always artists whose work we recognize because we
know their style. While we shouldn’t copy someone’s style exactly, we can be inspired and borrow style elements from
different artists, creating a hybrid of styles, making them our own.
4) COMPOSITION - Composition is the arrangement of elements within the image. Our use of composition by where we place the elements in the image will create feeling, motion
and rhythm. Composition is a powerful thing. We can use it to create a feeling of peace or tension just by moving our subject,
camera or crop around. For example, say we have a portrait of a high school senior cropped for a traditional portrait.
The result is a pleasing comfortable portrait. Take that same senior, tilt the image and place the subject way off to the edge and crop a little into the head and our traditional comfortable
portrait just became edgy and filled with tension.
5) PRESENTATION – Presentation is how you present your im-age to the judges. It can include cropping, the use of backgrounds
(under matts), borders and special effects applied to the image. Make sure if you use backgrounds or borders that it compliments the image and doesn’t distract from it. When if comes to special effects such as Lucis Art or other digital filters, make sure it is
appropriate for the image. For example, a harsh, grungy, contrasty texture overlay probably won’t work well with a soft portrait of a newborn. Just because we have all these cool filters to use, doesn’t
always mean we should.
6) COLOR BALANCE – Color balance is the use of color in your image and how they work together, or against each other. Is there harmony between the colors? Do the colors work with the subject
or do they overpower and compete for your attention? Using colors within the same half of the color wheel (adjacent colors) will create harmony and a comfortable feeling, while colors opposite the color wheel from each other (complimentary colors) create excitement
and drama. Make sure the dramatic use of colors works with your subject matter.
7) CENTER OF INTEREST – The use of certain elements such as composition, presentation, and lighting can draw the viewer’s
eye and keep it on your intended center of interest. The use of things like leading lines and arrangements of elements should take
the viewer on a journey around your image, but with the atten-tion ultimately resting back on the center of interest. The center of
interest should be clear.
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8) LIGHTING – Lighting goes a long way to create a mood and message, therefore the lighting we choose to use should be ap-
propriate for the subject and the story we want to tell. Lighting is part of the story and using a lighting technique inappropriately
will cause visual tension and confuse the viewer. For example, you wouldn’t want to use a more flat light where high drama is desired
or by the same token, use a really high ratio when we want to convey a soft feeling.
9) SUBJECT MATTER – Does the subject matter make sense? Does the subject fit into its surroundings? For example, a very
traditionally posed Grandma typically would not work in a grungy back street alley setting, but a biker guy with tattoos and a leather
jacket would.
10) PRINT QUALITY – How does your image look when print-ed? Do you have good density with good details in the highlights and shadows? If you are using a lab, make sure they know your
print is for competition. When under the lights for judging, prints printed normally will be too light and washed out. If you print
yourself, a trick I use is to take a test print outside in the sun. If it looks good there, not too light or washed out, you’ve got it. Avoid matte finishes. Matte finishes are flat because the ingredients in the lacquer or laminate disperse the reflections of light bouncing
off of the print. Prints with vibrant colors and rich blacks finished with a matte finish go flat under the lights. Gloss or luster finishes are better for print competition. They let the color and tonal values
come through un-hindered.
11) TECHNIQUE – Technique is the use of a skill or skills to achieve the final print. To me, it’s pretty much a combination of all
the elements.
12) STORY TELLING – Your image should tell a story. It can be obvious or a thought provoking abstract. Here again your title can
play a big part in the telling of your story.
So…If you don’t already enter print competition, I encourage you to do so. I want to thank Robert Symms for encouraging me years ago to enter my first competition back in the days before
digital when I retouched negatives and prints with brushes, dyes and airbrushes. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without that
encouragement and the learning process along the way.
Let me introduce you to ProPhotoApps.com.and to Joy Vertz of Shoot the Moon Photography in Me-
quon, Wisconsin. She’s the photographer behind much of the feature-rich design of an iPhone app that enables each studio to have its own custom branded presence as a free download for clients in the iTunes store. It should be noted that the ini-
tial idea for ProPhotoApps spent most of its first year kicking around on paper before being delivered to the tech side for
development. One of the first things you’ll discover about the app is that it has a real-time component allowing the studio owner to update news and other information which immedi-
ately shows up on the iPhone. (This piece of the design was a bit of a technological hurdle
and currently has a patent pending.)
The app itself is very easy to set up...the purchase price of $249 includes the initial
submission to Apple and the hosting of your individual web portal for one year. You’ll design your studio icon and decide
what to call your app...I settled on “VKPhotography”because it’s my Twitter name and Facebook page.
We’ve all seen the television commercials...the perky music starts playing, the hands
holding the iPhone start paging through the apps...and the voice says something like
this: “Let’s say you wanted to see the “who’s who” by check-ing out a new picture everyday...or wanted to keep up with all
the stuff that’s happening in your favorite photography studio...or maybe even wanted to book an ap-
pointment for your senior pics...let’s say you wanted to con-nect with us on Facebook or Twitter...well, there’s an app for
that!”
It’s time to face facts...the photography industry is more competitive than ever and to truly stand out we must market
smarter and more creatively. More importantly, we mustwork to give our clients the proper tools to market for us. One of the first lessonst in Marketing 101 is that word of mouth is the tried and true way of getting qualified new business.
When clients are talking with others the best thing we can do is arm them with a portable “tool” that encapsulates all of the
marketing we are already doing intosomething they always have with them--their phones.
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“There’s an APP for that”
Victoria Kelly
If you’re a Blackberry or Droid user, not to fret...plans are in place to deploy for those platforms sometime around late sum-
mer 2010.
I’m so sold on this little gem I’ve managed to snag a pretty sweet deal for you...enter “seppa” into the code box when
making your purchase and you’ll receive $30 off from April 1st through May 15th. Who loves ya, baby?
In the end, we are becoming a digital nation and the iPhone app will give your clients instant access to all of the marketing you’re currently doing in one handy little device. So the next time you hear that catchy little tune on your television, you
can smile to yourself and say, “yep, there IS an app for that”.
You’ll also need a short bio for your studio...this information is displayed in the iTunes store as the description for your app.
After filling in the other pertinent information likeyour website and contact info, you’re just about ready to press the button and submit to the support team at ProPhotoApps.
They’ll do a final check of everything you’ve included and then bundle your package off to Apple.
Now comes the fun part...one of the primary features is the “daily pic”...you can upload up to 90 images into your web
portal library that can be cycled randomly or with anassigned date to be displayed. I made a small template that in-cludes a clipping mask inside a deckle edged rectangle so that
each image looks like a vintage photograph andwrote an action that would do a “save for web” into a folder to
upload to my library.
It takes about 2 weeks for your app to be reviewed by Apple and loaded into the iTunes store. I took that time to build my
“news” stories so that I wouldn’t be rushed to getinformation about upcoming events and such ready when the
app went live.
Another feature that really got me excited is the booking re-quest. Your clients can request a session for a specific date and
time and an alert email comes to your inbox.After using your web portal to confirm the request an email is sent back to the client. Nice, eh? You can even tailor specific
content to each client by utilizing the “for you” feature.
Since your interaction with the app is done via the web portal, having your own iPhone isn’t a requirement. But I’m willing
to bet that a lot of your clients have iPhones, and ifthey don’t, they have an iTouch and will probably add an iPad to their collections. (And then there’s the reality that it totally
ups your “cool” factor...a “must have” if you’rephotographing tech-savvy seniors.)
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CONTACTcontactVictoria Kellyvkelly@victoriakellyphotography.comwww.victoriakellyphotography.com
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21
April Showers Well, Bring Lots of Problems
Jamie Hayes
Well here we are in the rainy month, as if the snow hasn’t been
bad enough! This month’s image is a
great example of addi-tive light, using strobe
outdoors in badlighting situations.
We create lots of portraits of siblings that need to match the first child’s portrait. Having to create the exact same lighting as a
portrait you created several years earlier is no easy task! Creat-ing the same lighting on a rainy day verses a sunny day is even more challenging, but not impossible for the photographer with the proper lighting skills. Understanding both additive (the use of strobe added to the subject) and subtractive (the use of diffu-sion panels or scrims to subtract light from the subject) lighting
techniques will equip you with all the tools that you need to work in ANY difficult lighting
condition.
Jamie Hayes continues on Page 22
original portrait
CONTACTcontactHayes & Fisk: The Art of Photography
(804) [email protected]
Thus we have our challenge for this month!
I created the first portrait for Jackie’s oldest daughter on a sunny day in the morning (Original Portrait). I knew that I would be creating a complementary portrait for each of her children at the same age, in the same dress and they would be displayed in Jackie’s home in the same room. This is usually
an easy task for me because I have used the same additive style of lighting for 16 years, deliberately! If I don’t change the style of lighting for an outdoor portrait ( we will go into great depth on this lighting technique next moth!) I will be
able to remember how I created any portrait anytime, right?!!
Fast forward to child number two on a misty, rainy morning who is about to pop out of the back of the dress that her sister
fit into perfectly. (Available Light Only Photo) At this point most photographers would have just rescheduled the
session, not me!!! Using a few strobes and one warming gel I have to “ make it work.” That’s what being “professional” is all about, using your knowledge to work in any situation,
right?!!!
First I must use the same main light that I used before. The same soft box and same strobe must be used to match the
contrast and shape of the subject’s face as close as possible. (Photo 2) (Photo3)
Next I placed a 3x4 soft box behind and slightly to the left of the subject at 1 ½ stops brighter than the main light to
create the highlight on the back wall of the gazebo and to give separation to the subject, matching the original light created by the natural sun light in the original portrait. I had to try different angles and zoom settings on the Profoto strobe to
achieve the same look as in the original image. (Photo 4) (Photo 5)
Now for the hair light. I used the zoom reflector on my Profoto 600R covered with a warm Amber Rosco gel over
the front of the reflector to add warmth and detail to the back of the girl’s hair and the plants and flowers in the gazebo. Profoto strobes allow for more precision “focusing” of any
light modifier attached to the front, even Soft boxes! Using a smaller more contrasty light again closely matches the sun
light in the original portrait. (Photo 6 & 7)
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Available Light Only
Photo 3 Main Light Only
Photo 5 Soft Box Added
Photo 2
Photo 4
Photo 8 shows the overall view with the accent light just outside of the frame to the right. Photo 9 shows the relative position of the 3x4 soft
box and the hair light strobe.
I used NIK White Neutralizer, Skylight and Viveza 2 to enhance the images and create the warmth that the sun provided in the original
portrait. I couldn’t live without NIK Filters, just buy them ALL OF THEM!!!!!
Having a repeatable additive lighting system for outdoor portraiture will allow you the comfort of knowing that whatever mother nature throws at you. you can handle. You can’t do that with a reflector!
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Photo 6
Photo 7
Photo 8
Photo 9 Final Image
new portrait
Janel Pahl
the
GIFT
*Janel Pahl has given permissionto the editor to re-produce her thesis.Please see previous issues to review
part one: Receiving the Gift.
Part one of:
Giving the Gift May 1st was always a special
day of the year for my mother and me. She taught me the tradition of May Day
at a very early age. “You make the baskets with the construc-tion paper and I’ll go clip some flowers,” she would instruct me. Sometimes I would weave different colored papers together for
one basket, or simply fold the paper corner to corner. We would fill the baskets with fragrant roses, purple iris, white spiarhea and smiling yellow daffodils. “Remember,” my mother would
say, “be very quiet, ring the doorbell and then RUN”! My heart would beast fast as I crept up to our neighbor’s door. I would reach out, push the doorbell and run like I’ve never run before. I never got caught. I loved that feeling of leaving a gift anony-mously. Today, after teaching my children the same tradition
and watching them run up the street with baskets full of flowers, I think of my mother and what she taught
me about generosity filled with love.
This is the first installment of the second section of a thesis from Janel Pahl, as she takes you on her life-long journey. Janel will be the opening day speaker for the 2011 convention in Athens.
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Eventually with much diligence, I “saw the light”. That was a turning point for my photography. Not only did I learn to place my subjects in beautiful portrait light in the studio as well as outdoors, but I also saw the light in my purpose as a
photographer. Pulling together all that I had learned from so many people over the years made my life and my art richer. Each person that touched my life contributed to my style. Each positive and supportive word from those people lives within me and contributes to each image that I create. My images transformed from stiff and plain to ones with beauty
and emotion. For my clients, the images brought tears, smiles, hugs, and thank yous. For myself, I received a deep sense of
satisfaction knowing that I had touched them in a special way. How wonderful to create a gift for others that will truly be
cherished and enjoyed for many years to come.
Knowing the importance of where my art had taken me didn’t really dawn on me until I met a most courageous woman named Cynthia Dickerson. I had photographed she and her daughter in my garden, knowing that she had cancer. After a year and a half never coming in to see the proofs a friend of hers called and asked me to make up a 30x40 canvas for her quickly because she was dying. Through the un-derstanding and compassion of the people at my lab, I had a finished portrait within a week. Cynthia called me the next day and told me how much she and her husband loved it. In fact her husband came home twice within the day just to sit and stare at it. At that time I realized that there were many other beautiful images so I quickly put together a small album of twenty prints. I went to her house, fully expecting that I would simply leave it on the front porch. When I arrived, the front door was wide open and Cynthia was sitting on the sofa. She motioned me to come in and I gave her the album. Very slowly and carefully she looked at each page touching each photograph. When she finished she quietly closed the book and looked directly into my eyes. The expression on her face was peaceful and serene. Her words came out slowly but with incredible strength. “Janel, you have given me life.”
Janel Pahl will continue in May,with Part Two of “Giving the Gift.”
grunge brush Making aGrunge Brush
and clean up with profits!This month we will make a great Grunge Brush from a simple photo of cement, and then use it for distressing, creating edges and all sorts of fun things! You will be amazed at the many uses
you will find for a simple grungy distresser brush! It’s not just for Seniors anymore!
Step One:Start with a simple shot of cement or rocks or grass or dirt or
anything with a bit of texture, but not too much. Color doesn’t matter. (See Photo 01) If you want to download this photo, feel
free to log into www.ShopSuzette.com and download it for FREE! (visit the Free Downloads Section).
Step Two:Go to Image>Adjustments>Threshold (See Photo 02) and
adjust the slider to get a variable tone of B&Ws that makes a nice texture. (See Photo 03) This may take a bit of experimentation
to know where to stop. Click ok. Now you have the start of a good brush, but remember the portion that makes the brush must be
black, not white. So you may need to inverse the image to get the desired area in black. In this case, I needed to, so I pressed
Ctrl/Cmd+I. (See Photo 04)
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 4
Photo 3
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Suzette Allen
Step Three:Before you can make a brush, you need to be sure your image is SMALLER than 2500 pixels on the longest side, so go to
Image>Image Size to make sure it is—if not, change it to be 2500 or less. Otherwise, the brush preset creator will be unavailable.
Maximum size for a brush is 2500 pixels.(See Photo 05)
Step Four:Once your image is the right size, either draw a marquee around the area you wish to use, or press Ctrl/Cmd+A to select all, then
go to Edit> Define Brush Preset. (See Photo 06) Ta-Da—you just created a rough distresser brush! (See Photo 07) Odds are, it needs to be refined, though, so the next
part shows you how to do that.
Step Five:Now I want you to minimize your rock document, (you might want to further modify or try again, so don’t close it yet), and create a new document that is 10x10 at 300 dpi. Then choose the brush tool, scroll to the last brush in the list (the one you just made) and select it. Set
black for your foreground color at 100% opacity and stamp that brush right in the middle of the page. (See Photo 08) If you used my rock im-age, you probably have a straight edge and a couple nice ragged edges.
We need to rough up ALL the edges!
Step Six:Using the same brush you just made, switch to white at 100% opacity and use the brush to paint over the edges of the black brush mark to rough up the edges that are straight. Just dab
on white to make the top and side edges ragged. (See Photo 09)
Photo 6
Photo 5
Photo 7
Photo 8
Photo 9
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You may need to rotate your brush to avoid using the straight side, so go to the brush palette (window>brushes) and click on
Brush Tip Shape. (See Photo 10) Rotate the little bulls-eye on the right side to roll over the brush to further soften edges.
(See Photo 11)
Step Seven:Once you are satisfied with the shape of your grunge brush,
make a marquee around it and go again to Edit>Define Brush Preset to make a new brush.
(See Photo 12) (you will probably throw away the first one) (to do so: on the brush menu or palette: flyout>delete brush)
Step Eight:But wait, there’s still more to do! Now I want you to go to the brush tool and choose the new brush you just made and then
use white again and distress THAT brush even more! This one should be more faint and loose. (See Photo 13) When it looks
good, go again to Edit>Define Brush and make a third distresser brush. (See Photo 14) You will probably use this one most.
Step Nine:Ok, now is the refining process. Start fresh with a new 10x10
(or fill the one you have been using with white again for a fresh drawing board). If you choose the last brush you just made and
swipe it on the palette, you will probably get something that looks like this: (See Photo 15) Not that great, huh?—you can
really see a repeating pattern, even though it is a random design. No sweat—we will fix it right now!
Step Ten:Now you can open up the Brush palette again (window>brushes) and let’s get creative. The problem is the brush needs to
rotate and scatter a bit so we don’t see the repeat. So check the first box, and click on the WORD, “Shape Dynamics” and set the top slider, “Size Jitter”, to “0” and control to “OFF” (no size jitter) then move the “Angle Jitter” over until your brush
rolls over a little. I did 40% , but do whatever looks good. Set the Control for the Angle Jitter to “OFF” so it rolls over consistently. Try a new swipe and see the difference! (See Photo 16)
Photo 15
Photo 14
Photo 13
Photo 12
Photo 11
Photo 10
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Step Twelve:Now this looks great, but the brush will not stay that way unless you save it! So go to the flyout on the Brush Palette to “define brush preset” and name your new brush: “grunge scatter” (See Photo 18) The brush will look identical to the plain one in the brush menu, so go ahead and throw away the plain one now.
(flyout>delete brush).
Wow—You just created an awesome distresser brush that is great for all kinds of things! Here are a few samples of images I have made with this exact brush and others that are very similar: It
works great for a spongy color effect around the edges of compos-ites, and for texturizing backgrounds for added dimension too.
(See Photo 19, 20, 21)
Step Eleven:Now you could go one step further and let it scatter a bit. For
that, click the next menu down “Scattering” (click the word! Not just the box!). I added about 63% scatter (just a teeny bit) and the control is “off”. Do whatever looks good and try another swipe to
test it. This is what I got: (See Photo 17)
Photo 17
Photo 16
Photo 18
Photo 19
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Editor’s Note:
Suzette Allen has graciously given permission to the editor of Southern
Exposure to publish portions of her Suzette’s Smart Series. This and
other articles are re-printed with permission from the author.
I have also used it to take other brushes and distress them to get a more stylized look and create even more variety in my brush options! Don’t forget to create a new brush after you distress them.
(See Photo 22, 23)Once you have given some of your brushes a new look, remember the only place you can organize and group your
brushes is in Edit>Preset Manager.
Have fun getting grungy and creative at the same time!
Photo 21
Photo 22
Photo 23
Photo 20
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CONTACTcontactYou may contact Suzette Allen at:
[email protected] orvisit her website,
www.suzetteallen.com
Learning Lessonsthe
Hard WayThis month I want to
take a minute and talk to you about something I
know a lot about, MAKING MISTAKES. I can spend time sharing
marketing ideas, sales plans and even discuss
posing and lighting, but the thing that I feel very confident discussing is the mistakes that I have
made along the way.I have co-owned a photography studio for over 15 years and
recently opened a new studio with my family, but that is not the mistake I am talking about!
Several weeks ago I received a summons from the county sheriff and much to my shock a client was suing me in small claims court. I was shocked and needless to say very upset by this
situation. I reviewed the claim and remembered this client, her session and her complaint but never thought she would have the
nerve to sue me.
We had photographed the plaintiff’s daughter’s senior portraits back in the summer and from the very beginning they were diffi-cult clients. However, in an effort to satisfy the client we worked
through broken sales appointments, a grumpy teen-ager and even a re-shoot for the yearbook photo due to a hair malfunction. I really thought we had handled this with the utmost customer care and service. After all, we had truly bent over backwards, even honored a last minute and suspiciously bogus gift certifi-
cate just to get through this session.
When the client finally ordered the portraits we all walked away from the studio that day pleased. They finally agreed with each
other on the order, finally approved the teen-ager’s hairstyle, picked their portrait sizes and paid their money. Great! Home
stretch now I thought, just get the artwork finished, get the portraits printed and deliver this order. No problem, right?
Wrong.
Mary Fisk-Taylor continues on Page 34.
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Mary Fisk-Taylor
At our new studio we include the image on a DVD with print-ing rights, so when we delivered the portrait order three weeks later, we also delivered a DVD to the client. She picked them up, looked them over, shook our hands and drove away. But then, two weeks later comes the irate phone call. The client
called and wanted us to reprint all of her portraits. Of course I was surprised and wanted to know why, what was wrong, what mistakes had I made? Color, artwork, mounting, what could it
be? Well, it turns out that this client loved the portraits and the only thing that was “wrong” with them is that I had cheapened the work with my logo/copyright in the right hand corner of the
portraits.
I was speechless. After 16 years in business I had never had this complaint and quite frankly did not even know what to say. I proceeded to explain to the client that this was our logo, our
copyright and just like every portrait on display in our studio, every image in our mall displays, every image I had ever printed for a client we always included this signature. I told her that if there were any defects or flaws with the prints I would be happy to make new portraits for her but I was not willing to print any
portraits without this logo. She hung up on me.
So, a client who wanted me to print portraits without a logo/copyright on them sued me. When the summons arrived I imme-diately contacted PPA (Professional Photographers of America)
and worked via telephone and email with the Indemnification Trust program. The attorney, Mr. Stephen Morris and a parale-gal I worked with were amazing. I cannot say enough wonderful things about them. They sent me great information and ideas, a complete guide regarding this case and how to handle a small-claims-court claim. They were my biggest cheerleader through
this catastrophe.
The day I arrived in court I felt very confident, I had all of my information from the Indemnification Trust attorney, I had a let-ter from my lab that explained the necessity of printing portraits
with the logo/copyright on them, I had pictures of my entire studio with portraits all over the walls displaying our logo and I had my entire family by my side. I could not possibly lose this
case, right? Wrong. I lost, plain and simple I lost the case.
Now, in my opinion the judge was very grumpy and kind of mean but she made things very personal in court, which I found
alarming and defeating. She actually said to me at one point that she has great pictures of her kids from Portrait Innovations
and they do not have tacky logos on them. TACKY, she used the word TACKY! Seriously she actually said that! She also told me that she would never buy pictures with logos on them
because it is not her job to advertise for me. Regardless of all of this opinion she told me that unless I had my client sign some-thing that explained to her in black and white that she would be receiving portraits with a logo/copyright on it then I was wrong
in the eyes of the court.
CONTACTcontactMary Fisk Taylor
Twitter @maryfisktaylor facebook - maryfisktaylor
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Obviously I did not have any such wording in my invoice, model release or sales contract that my client had signed. Never occurred to me in a million years that I needed such a thing. As-suming that this was my right as a business owner or even that
it was implied by the multiple samples displayed in our place of business it was still not enough. So, I had a choice to make, reprint everything without our name on it or pay the plaintiff a full refund, including the full cost of the bogus gift certificate
and her stylist’s charges. I chose to pay the money because there was no way I was going to print portraits without our logo/
copyright.
I wrote the check and walked out of the courthouse so defeated. I could not understand how I even ended up defending what I
felt was so right. I emailed the Indemnification Trust attorney’s office through PPA and Mr. Morris immediately responded with shock and disappointment. His support and follow up was really important and it did make me feel better. I felt even better when he told me that through my PPA membership and the Indemni-fication Trust I would be reimbursed for what it cost me minus my deductible. That was a great surprise and it made me feel
somewhat better about the whole terrible situation
Mr. Morris also sent me some quick notes and suggested that I add the following to all of my invoices, sales contracts, etc. to
avoid something like this in the future:
“Client understands and expressly agrees that the Studio (your name here) places its logo on the front of all final photographic
prints it produces for its clients.”
We now have this on all of our paperwork and even though I may not run into this problem ever again, our studio is at least
covered on this issue.
Maria Matthews, the PPA Copyright & Government Affairs Manager, also con-
tacted me. She sent me a very supportive email and wanted to offer the following
reminders:
On Contracts It is extremely important to make sure everything about your
studio procedures/policies, and the nature of the assignment gets recorded. Establishing a paper trail is one of the best ways to ensure that both photographer and client are on the same page
and have a successful relationship.
On the Trust PPA members should know the Trust is here to help when
incidents arise. Since it’s not insurance, there is no need to fear being dropped or experiencing a sudden rate change. Unless a member tells us they are experiencing difficulties with a client (whether or not the client has threatened or filed a lawsuit) we
cannot ensure they have the protection they need. The sooner an issue is brought to the Indemnification Trust attorney’s (Stephen Morris) attention, there’s a better likelihood of a happy ending. Similarly, it is extremely important to ensure PPA members
maintain their membership (i.e. stay current on dues) so there’s never a moment they are without coverage.”
Lesson learned, the hard way, but learned. Now I can look at this situation and understand why and how it happened and
know that I am wiser because of it. I think that one of the best things that I got from this was a brand new appreciation for
PPA and what my membership truly means to our studio and me. So, thanks PPA for your assistance and guidance through
this journey of professional photography.
Working with
Children… Print Competition…
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Well, ‘tis the season for entering prints,
Janet Boschker
• The skintones on the face were washed out compared to her chest and arm – there was no distinct transition between nose and cheek – no evidence of specular highlights – ear on the highlight side was as bright as the face, giving a feeling of flatness.
• Obvious burning in of the corners with a loss of detail in the hair on the highlight side and heaviness on the shadow side bottom corner. (those actions can get you in trouble!)
• The keyline is way too bright and heavy becoming a distraction from the expression, and compositionally there is no real reason to push the image high and to the left – also a distraction.
so thought I would take a break from my usual topic and expound on my recent experience helping a friend of mine get
ready for North Carolina’s annual print competition. My friend Debbie DeVita called and asked me if I would help her
make her prints. We have been good friends for about 15 years and while she has taken a break from competing, I have become
more active as the years have gone by. “Sure, come on down (she lives 2 hours away in the mountains, I am in Charlotte), but bring what you think is ready to print, and also bring the raw files in case we decide to do something else”, I said. The image I was most drawn to was the black and white of this
beautiful little girl – we’ll call her Gretchen. Her expression was so wistful and compelling…….. I just knew it would tug
at the heartstrings of the judges, and the composition was interesting. BUT……. after making a test print and viewing
it under judging lights (f16 @ 1 second @ iso 100) we saw that the quality of the image she
brought as her finished version had issues.
CONTACTcontactJanet [email protected]
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I pointed these things out to my friend and asked her what she thought we should do to correct any or all of these things. Her solution: print it darker and all things would right themselves.
So we did. Twenty percent darker overall. This was a light bulb moment for my friend! The image was not at all saved, it got muddy, lost detail in the shadow areas and was obviously not the way to go. I think this happens a lot - you send your image off to the lab and instruct them to “print for competi-
tion” but there is only so much a lab can do with a jpeg. So the blacks get blocked up and you get a 78 or a 76 instead of the
merit you are working so hard for.
So. Back to the raw file we went. When processing an image for competition, I have always found that I do better when the image I begin to work on
has detail throughout. The lighting has to be good, with nice highlight and shadow detail – yes, there are many things that
can be done now in photoshop to “correct” image quality problems……. But it is very hard to get by with under the
judging lights. If ever you look at an image, see flaws, and say to yourself “maybe the judges won’t notice”…. GET AN-
OTHER IMAGE to work on. Yes, you may get by one or two judges, but SIX? Probably not. Start with a well exposed, in focus image and you will have much more chance of success.
Now back to our image of Gretchen. Hopefully you can see the difference in image quality in the first and final image….. nice detail, gorgeous specular highlights (which we have enhanced
a bit) on the nose, lips and angel kiss. We have taken down the ear on the highlight side, just enough to make it recede, but
not enough to make it look muddy. The corners are burned in ever so slightly to keep you in the frame, but not enough to
lose detail in the hair. For me, if you can see the burn, it is too much. Last, we have stroked the image with about a 4 pixel
midtone gray – it’s there, but it’s not distracting. And we let the original composition of the image remain with an equally weighted mat – the original composition is strong enough –
the leading lines of the hair and shoulders bring you right into the child’s expression which is where you ultimately want to
be drawn. To me, Debbie had a strong merit image and the final score in North Carolina’s print competition was 81.
Janet is continued on page... 41
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Now let’s look at a not so successful image that she entered – another beautiful little girl, great expression, pleasing pose, good lighting. It scored 75. Why? This is so perplexing for
many that are new to competition or those that are struggling to get over the hump of 78-79. So, as we look at the second
image critically, let’s admit that it’s a little confusing to have clothing that is the brightest part of the image – it takes your
eye away from the face. The high contrast of the smocking adds to the confusion. The background is kind of a mid-tone, which doesn’t particularly lend itself to a feeling of depth. And the composition is, well, kind of ordinary…. The dreaded “aver-
age” word comes to mind.
It all comes down to impact - which is achieved many times through good composition and design. And let’s be honest,
most of our everyday work is average, or if we really work at it, above average. So how do we get to the merit image?
HARD WORK…… I just hate it when that is the answer. Every time you compose an image, ask yourself, what could make this better, more compelling. We all get caught up in the everyday grind of making a living, but we can improve our everyday work simply by critiquing our sessions on a
regular basis. I’m not talking about beating yourself up, I’m talking about really looking at your work and applying the 12 Elements (find these on the PPA website). Identify your
weaknesses and work to strengthen them. Get a book on basic design elements and learn how you can control the viewer’s
eye – study color harmony and come to understand how color affects our emotions. Experiment and play – get out of your
rut! At the end of the year, you will have images that you love - that speak to you, that you feel good about. You will grow by competing in ways that you never imagined – and along with it, you will have established your own style. It won’t happen
overnight, it is a journey… but rest assured….
IT WILL HAPPEN!
