Well HELLO  Prop insanityiers (yep i made up a word! lol) 

I’m Tisha, and this is my first official post 

im SUPER DUPER excited to be a part of this amazing team of ladies, and to get a chance to work with such Wonderful talent! 

So for my first OFFICIAL post i will be sharing with you all my Sunset/Sunflare Tutorial! 

I have had  ALOT of emails lately asking me how do i achieve MY sunset shots… 

now i don’t claim MY way is the RIGHT way, but it is the way that has worked for me! 

all the pictures below are taken at about 7:45pm (just before sunset) 

Taken with my D300s/50mm 1.4 

F Stop -9      Shutter Speed – 1/400      ISO 320 

and edited with TRA ACTIONS  &  FLORABELLA ACTIONS 

OK so, first thing with this picture is i wanted to make it a little more UHMPHHHIER (yes another made up word!!) 

so following the RULE OF THIRDS i cropped it! 

and then edited it using this recipe…. 

Warm It Up Kris @ 55% 

Clarify @ 60% 

Oh Snap! @ 50% 

and then i used FLORABELLA’S 

Milk and Honey II @ 15% (just to give it a soft wash look) 

These next two sets of photos are both edited the same way! 

The first one, you can see that i cloned out the very distracting blades of grass! (yes you can call me a perfectionist!) 

and then the recipes for these ones are….. 

Warm it Up Kris @ 65% 

Lights Out @ 100% 

Punch Out @ 75% 

Wish You Where Here @ 100% 

Warm it Up Kris (again) @ 35% 

So i challenge you to get out there and shoot INTO the sunset! 

you will be AMAZED with what you come up with and have soooo much fun doing it!! 

Oh and don’t forget to check out these awesome action sites!! 

TRA ACTIONS              FLORABELLA ACTIONS 

TRA ACTIONS   has a couple of actions for you to TRY OUT  for free all you have to do is sign up for there email!!  Totally worth it!

There has been a TON of talk these days regarding newborn portraits, taking it to the max and keeping safety first. Although there are many awesome photogs out there that can capture amazing newborn portraits of babies in what are considered “wild” setups or unique poses  without composite shooting, there are many things to remember! Many (if not all) of these shooters have assistants and will sometimes even ask for a hand from mom and/or dad.

We need to remeber that in every session, whether it be a newborn or child, or even a senior hanging out on the railroad tracks, safety is the most important part of a shot. We never want to put a subject in harms way and sometimes, not always, we need to work a composite shot to get what our creative minds are thinking onto film.

Many have asked “What exactly is a comp shot”? It simple terms it is taking two pictures of one setup and combining the two to look like one.

Today we will walk you through a basic comp shot and how it can be perfected after captured in camera. (P.S.- this is the same technique that I use when I need a head swap, or two, something we should all get ready for with the big holiday/family season right in front of us!)

99% of the time I can get this shot in camera with the help of an assistant waiting only inches away from my perfectly balanced babe. But this little booger wasn’t having it..she would fall to her right EVERY time we CAREFULLY pulled away and would drop her head like it weighed 200 bs. So we resorted to a comp shot.

Step 1: Setup the shot. You will need to keep in mind that you will be combining the shots so make sure you do a true 50/50 split in your mind when snapping the two pictures. I knew my assistant would have to keep her hands on the babe in both shots and I need to make sure there was a center portion of the babe without any assistant interference or this wont work.

Step 2: Snap your two shots. Here are the two shots I took side by side.

Step 3: Drag one of the shot over and ontop of the other. (Just drag that layer over).

Step 4: Lower the opacity of your top layer so that you can see what lies underneath. When taking a comp you may not get back into the exact spot you were in for the first, maybe a hair further away, etc. I always find a focal point that I want to match, and I almost ALWAYS use the eyes of my subject. With the opacity lowered I can cake sure my eyes in each picture are exactly overlaying each other. I have to to tilt my top shot just a bit to make sure the eyes line up and when they look perfect I can move on.

Step 5: Add a layer mask to your top layer (see pic below on where to click to add a quick layer mask) You will want to use a mask not just your eraser tool to ensure the ability to go back and paint on minor mistakes.

Step 6: Bring back the opacity of your top layer. Make sure your layer mask is selected and grab a black, soft airbrush at 100% opacity and start removing the assistant interference in your photo.

You will end up with something like this.

Step 7:  Edit away. This is where I put the finishing touches and final edits on my photo…POOF ready for print!

Go. Shoot. Be Safe.

(P.S. – this is of course just how I have come to do my comp shots, if you have tips and tricks, please share them here!)

Do you LOVE AWB (auto white balance) as much as I do? I NEVER change that setting in my camera (I lied, only when I shoot with studio lights do I ever even touch that dial and when I do, it goes from flash to auto and back again). I have never used any other of those pretty little symbols before and custom, yikes that sounds kinda scary!

Although Photoshop and Lightroom, even Elements, are great tools for correcting white balance, I am continuing my mission to make life easy (or easIER). I had tossed around the idea of using a gray card, or some sort of custom white balance tool, for a while. I would edit in PS and get what I thought was the perfect “balance” but would always question how accurate it really was. So I bit the $40 bullet and purchased this.

There are a couple ways you can use this little tool of goodness.

Here’s how!

My first set of shots looked like this (these are all SOOC) and shot with AWB (auto white balance)

VERY cool! (and I don’t mean awesome, or cold) Easily fixable? Sure. Messing with some sliders in LR and I would be good to go and would get pretty close.

Instead I used my gray card. I took this shot of the card itself.

There is a super cool WB tool in Lightroom (and ACR) and here is how it works.

When you click on this dropper tool in either of these programs, you use a  perfectly 18% gray piece of goodness that, when clicked, will change everything about your pictures white balance. Now, there is not always something perfectly gray in your shot, enter the gray card.

When I pull up my gray card shot and click right there in the center, my picture changes in an instant! I copy the settings I have just applied and paste them (to these three pictures in particular) and check out the difference with once click of a button.

Cool right? Well warm and White Balance perfect.

Now there is another way you can use this tool, in a way that eleviates the whole copy paste functions.

Let’s check it out!

I snapped this picture.

Again easily fixable but I want to eleviate steps so I break out the gray card.

Here is where you need to pay attention. Don’t get intimidated. I am going to make you use the CUSTOM function but its ok, I promise!

All you have to do is quick take a picture of your gray card (like this).

Now, go into your cameras functions (this is how it looks on my Canon 5D Mark II) and select Custom White Balance.

Your camera will automatically take you into your picture previews. Select the picture of your gray card and click ok. Go back into your functions and make sure you change your white balance selection from auto to custom, and your done. And SHOOT!

(she just LOVES when Momma pics up a new gadget…bwwwaaahh)

Every shot that follows will use those tiny bits of white balance information. You don’t need to do the process again until you change to a new location with different lighting conditions.

Get to working out your gray matters!

With the summer here I am itching to get some newborns outside but I don’t always have the chance. I shoot most of my newborn session in my studio and after 6 p.m. Although it is still light out, by the time we get babe to sleep and comfortable I tend to miss the window of opportunity.

I have made it my mission to bring the outside to me! I started with one setup that was SUPER easy and cost very little mulla!

I purchased two rolls of dried moss from Michaels craft store. Be warned, it stinks like nothing else, but once I laid this beauty down, wrapped in a gorgeous cocoon (handcrafted by the lovely and fabulous Heather of Joco Couture), I knew I would have to suck it up because I loved the outcome.

Of course this has all been done before. From the hanging branch shot to tree bark laying babes, it has become something I am trying to add to every session. It’s cheap and just takes some thought and it sure helps to change up a session from time to time.

Hmmmm…maybe some hanging ivy, or some fresh flowers.

How do you bring the outside in!? Show us!

Do you offer custom cards to your clients? Whether it be a birth announcement or a cute little birthday thank you? We KNOW you spend most of the fall creating holiday cards! I do and I know how time consuming it can be! I cut my time in half by purchased some super cool templates from places like Uniquely You Designs, Album Cafe, and more BUT I was spending WAY too much time proofing for customers.

Design the card. Resize, drag and drop onto a blank page in PS type out all the obvious crop marks, fold lines, etc. It takes just as much time to proof the darn thing than it does to create it. And during the holidays…FORGET about it! SO much wasted time!

Not any more. We have created a Prop Insanity Time EZ Card Proofing Action for all you card creators.

In just seconds, you can take those individual files and make one easy to read client proof with all the fixin’s. The action will take care of all the text, gridlines in watermarking. You push play, select your files and PRESTO!

Action set includes:

4×6/5×7 Flat Card Proofing

5×5 Flat Card Proofing

4×6/5×7 Folded Card Proofing (both Horizontal and Vertical Layouts)

5×5 Folded Card Proofing (both Horizontal and Vertical Layouts)

5×5 Trifold Proofing Layout

Of course we will be giving away one free set!!! Just leave us a comment telling us what you PERFECT action would be. Is there something you would love to speed up with an action? Let us know!

Can’t Wait and want to start saving time right away?! Click here to purchase the PI – EZ Proofing Action Set for only $15! (Buy it now and if you are the winner we will refund your purchase!)

(Actions will be delivered within 24 hours of purchase. Actions are created to work in conjunction with WHCC print specifications, guides have not yet been tested with additional printers. Action uses Front, Back and Inside Spread layouts.)

With the new studio space up and running, I decided to do an entire overhaul. Logo change, new blogsite look (by the wonderfully talented Genevive of Lilac Creative). With all this going on, from reworking all my marketing material, getting galleries and sessions done, and trying to keep the beds made, I realized I needed to get more organized.

I needed HELP!! And I found at least one tool that has been such a savings grace for me in staying on top of things!

Let me introduce you to Studio Cloud. StudioCloud is a FREE, easy-to-use, business management software that works on both Mac and PC.

Studio Cloud is more than just a piece of accounting software, although it is my favorite part of this little machine. From keeping Pricelists updated, to calculating tax information as well as expenses to keeping your client session schedules at a clicks reach and project development a breeze!

I spent a day loading in all of my offered products and services, with a backend cost, so at any given moment I can see exactly where I stand, how much I am making and where I need to make changes.

It keeps me organized and keeps my business running in the right direction. It generates invoices and keeps track of payments and its ALL free! Yup, Free!

If you want to get even more out of Studio Cloud, for a small fee you can enable email options, for session reminders to clients, the ability to email invoices, collect payment and setup up multiple users to access your Studio from various computers.

Check it out! You wont regret it!

What exactly IS the golden hour? Soemtimes called the “magic hour”, is the first and last hour of sunlight when a specific photographic effect is achieved with the quality of light.  In other words, this is when light is its softess and warmest and is just DIVINE!

Of course the golden “hour” is not just one hour. You can usually bask in this golden time for at least 2 hours, depending on where you are located.

Now that we have turned those clocks ahead, find YOUR golden hour. Click here, an jot down your prime time!!

Ever heard the saying “If you haven’t been kicked out of somewhere while you are on session, then your not trying hard enough”. I took that motto this weekend when I headed out to do a commercial shoot for some SUPER duper cute and girlie headbands and head pieces (keep an eye on the blog, we will be featuring these jems very soon!)

I headed out to wine country with no specific location in mind. I first started out at the home of two of the models. I looked out a bay window to see a sea of tall reeds and basically a big ‘ole MESS of trees and twigs about a half mile out, at the end of the property. Of course I had to ask. “Can we get back there?” A year or so ago, I probably would have thought, “Eww, probably alot of bugs back there, lets head somewhere else!” I hardly waited for the ok, and headed back to make a path for the girls to get back there in their stilettos. I stomped some twigs done to make way and pushed back some tree limbs and PRESTO!

you would never know that about 3 feet to my left is just plush green grass and a backyard full of people and about 2 feet to her left were those tall fields of gorgeous honey colored reeds

We found a funky old tree that was just perfect for a romantic shot. I had to ask if she was willing and she was. Again, two years ago I would have said “Oh no, that looks a little scary.” or I might have never asked at all thinking “This girl would think I was completely NUTS if I asked her to get in a tree while wearing a mini dress and a pair of red heels”. But I have long since learned my lesson!

Of course it helps to have willing subjects, so when I do, I go full steam ahead. We packed up some clothing changes and hit the road, stopping at any and every spot that caught my eye.

Very cliche, I know, but boy do they just WORK!

We were quickly asked to leave this spot after only a couple of shots. Apparently there were some duck hunters far back behind the tracks but out of concern for our safety they asked us to leave or to come back in about an hour. Hey we tried, we got the shot, we move on!

The East End of Long Island is FULL of wineries and planting fields, all of which I imagine are privately owned. But some much to beautiful and full of open sun to pass on!

So we pulled over and started shooting. I didn’t see a no trespassing sign so we went for it!

So really what is the point of all this!? Location is so important for a photograph. If you find a spot that you adore, don’t be afraid to use it. Don’t be afraid of that inner creative voice. It’s empowering! What’s the worst thing that could happen? They ask you to leave and you move on! (Of course if there are obvious no trespassing markings and you happen to have a run in with the law as a result, do not tell the officer Prop Insanity told you you could go in! I am not sure it will help your case much!) Many property owners may surprise you! They may take it as a very large compliment that you want to use their run down, grungy barn that they plan on ripping down come summer.

Follow your creativity, let it take control. Have fun, be safe, try something new. Don’t hold back! Get out there and try out that location you have scouting. Knock on doors if you have to. You just might find this summers senior “spot” or your 2010 holiday session location.

Today we visit the last tip of the exposure triangle. ISO.  The noise maker.

What is ISO? ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor, the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain and vice versa.

Depending on your camera’s make and model will play a HUGE roll in how high you can go and still remain “safe”. When I started out with my Canon Digital Rebel, I couldn’t even think about going over 400ISO without grain. My 40D worked well up to about 600ISO, and my 5D Mark II rocks ISO safely at 1200 ISO and I can sometimes (with the right combination of my 3 points of the exposure triangle) push it to 3200 ISO and still have very little grain (small enough that a noiseware program can easily fix).

Play with your camera and find your “max”.

There are of course instances when you will have no choice but to go above what you are happy with. Indoor sporting events, a wedding perhaps, maybe even a dim clients home.

Because ISO is part of that little triangle of light, changing your ISO greatly effects the two other key points, as will adjusting any or all of the points Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO.

Let’s setup a mental situation with poor light. Your local high school has asked you to shoot the Championship Basketball  game Friday night. You know that the lighting is pretty poor and there is going to be a ton of quick moving action. Let’s determine which point of the triangle will be most important to us. I’m going to go with shutter speed. We are not going to want Jim Three Pointers to be blurry as he take that game winning shot. We want to capture that moment in time. Freeze it to be remembered for always. Let’s bump the shutter speed to 1/500, maybe even 1/1000. You haven’t touched your aperture yet, it’s set at f/7 and your ISO is at 100 (haven’t touch that yet either). Shoot. WAY to underexposed. Remember that we want to leave ISO as our last ditch ever, so lets bump the Aperture down a whole lot. We can take that down to f/4 or even f/2.8 Wow! What a difference. MUCH more light coming in to the camera but still not perfectly exposed. Last resort, ISO…bump the ISO from 100 to 400. HUGE difference. Now shoot away!!

If you are in a low light situation that does not require a super fast shutter speed, get yourself a tripod! I know, its yet ANOTHER piece of equipment that you just don’t feel like lugging around, but you will be so thankful you did! Situation: Maternity session, clients home little light coming through the small itty bitty windows on a dark, stormy day. Mom is laying on a gorgeous, green velour couch (I have been dreaming of one of those). That small bit of light is hitting mom’s belly just right. Camera settings: Shutter Speed: 1/125 Aperture: f2.8 ISO: 200. You need just a bit more light coming into your camera. First thought, bump the ISO to 400 or higher, say a prayer and hope for no noise. IF you had your trusty tripod, you could easily break the hand held shutter speed rule (remember never put your shutter speed less than your aperture length or you risk some nasty shake blur).  Hook that bad boy up to your tripod and you can drop the shutter speed down to 1/30 without any shake (as long as mom-to-be is a good listener and can sit still) ISO remains at a safe no-noise level.

The only way to get the hang of these tips and tricks is to get out the camera and play. Eat, Sleep, Breathe the triangle. When you get on location, take a big deep breath, review your surroundings, set your camera settings, check your settings, check ‘em again and start shooting, making adjustments as you go.

Aperture, Shutter Speed ISO. Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO. Just keep saying it, out loud if you have to. You’ll be shooting manual in no time…with PERFECT exposure!

Next week we will visit a couple of other adjustments you may not of know you could control when working in manual mode. Take this week to practice your manual shooting and nail that exposure!

Now that we have Aperture all covered (big number, big focus/little number, little focus) lets move onto Shutter Speed.

This one is a little more obvious and not as tricky on the brainy as understanding aperture, but there are a couple tips and tricks you should know BEFORE setting that shutter speed.

Shutter Speed is the amount of time the shutter is open. Duh , right? You may be thinking, “K, I want that baby to stay open for a whole lot of time, I’ll dial to a big giant number”. Not so easy. Your shutter measures in seconds so when you dial to 125 you are setting your shutter to 1/125 of a second versus 50, or 1/50 of a second, the latter being a longer amount of time. The higher your number the faster your shutter. To make things easier, forget the whole parts of a second and just think…125 is faster then 20 (1/20) and so on.

You will probably adjust your Shutter Speed based on the subject you are trying to capture. If you are shooting a grown adult who understands the words “Stay still” you can go with a smaller Shutter Speed number. A running tot will require a much higher speed. Jumping kids, racing bikes, birds in flight will require even higher speeds (unless of course you are going for the look of moving subjects and moving light).

As with all other points of the Exposure triangle, each of these, whether it be Aperture, ISO or Shutter Speed measure light. The wider or longer open the more light will come in. There may be times when you have to lower that Shutter Speed just for better lighting, not necessarily to “freeze” your subject.

Example: Your shooting a little tot in a house with bad natural light. You want some blur to keep your focus on the child and not on the pile of laundry behind him. You set your Aperture to 2.8. Your already at 600 ISO and your shuttering (no pun intended) at that thought of going higher and getting nothing but LOUD noise and your shutter speed is set to 400. Many would be quick to up that ISO and hope for the best. Set your Shutter Speed to 125. You might even be able to lower that ISO now that you are letting in some more light by way of your shutter staying open longer.

There are a couple rules to live by when playing with Shutter Speed:

1. Do you want to “freeze” your subject? The higher you go, the better freeze. But you don’t necessarily have to be at 1/1000 to get them frozen. Test it out…You may find that you are “assuming” your shutter has to be as high as you have it, but in fact you may be able to dial down a bit and lower that ISO.

2. Camera Shake. Did you just take a picture of a still object and its still looks like it is on the move? It is way too blurry and you just don’t know why? Meet camera shake. We are all human. We need to breathe. Breathing will cause blur. How you hold your camera, if not steady, will cause blur. The general rule is this. Your Shutter Speed should not be less than your focal length. Example: Your shooting with your nifty 50, your shutter speed should not be less than 1/50. You change over to your 135mm, get that shutter speed up to 1/135 or higher. When using low Shutter Speeds. Take a big old deep breath, bring your elbows in close to your body, hold still and snap. Then breathe. Please remember to go back to breathing.

Of course lenses with Image Stabilization will handle much better than those without, keep that in mind when purchasing your next piece of glass.

3. Get out the tripod! Or at least place your camera on something steady. It is sometimes inevitable and something we can not avoid at times. Try it out at the next birthday party. Just as little Johnny is blowing out those candles. You’ll be glad you did!

4. Find a stable focus point and get creative. When photographing water or even a bicycle, heck any moving object. Set your focal point on a “still” object in frame. Set that shutter speed down low and click away. There is nothing like being able to capture movement, being able to almost feel the movement in a still photograph.

5. Use BULB mode and have some fun. What is BULB? The bulb function on your camera allows YOU to open and close the shutter at your liking. You can leave that bad boy open for 10 minutes if you would like. Check it out and see what happens.

I apologize fr the lack of photo examples in this post. We are getting ready for some new things coming to PI and there just wasn’t enough time! Head over the the PI group and share your Shutter Speed examples, whether they are high or low. As always, if you have some good tips and tricks on using and Shutter Speed, share them here…you might be helping someone just “get it”.