Bad Speaker Placement!

Something I am asked routinely is “why is retouching important”? Many people think of retouching as removing blemishes and imperfections, which is part of it of course…but that’s just the beginning.

Retouching is a painstaking and very time consuming process, but one that must not be overlooked when preserving family memories. Taking photos that avoid “background clutter” is the job of your photographer. When doing a photo session the entire frame has to be considered, not just the subject. Backgrounds should enhance the beauty and concentrate focus on the subject, not be distracting.

In reality “retouching” is something you really shouldn’t even think about, and certainly not SEE in your finished images.  That’s your photographer’s job.  So, how do you find a photographer that will do this masterfully for you?

• First you need to find someone who is able to find the annoying background items that many people will miss.  You’d be surprised how many people overlook the “rest of the picture”, focusing only on the subject.  Find someone very detail oriented.
• Most software packages provide tools for removing background items through “cloning”.  Some are automatic, but they never work as well as hand manipulation.  You have to find someone who is talented at using their tools to their fullest extent.
• Aside from software and technology…look for an artist.  Again, software can help you remove background items, but only someone with an artistic eye will make things dissappear like they were never there.

Along with the example at the top of this post here is an additional image from a recent wedding I shot.  As you’ll see there was very little I could have done about the background…but providing images with the “eyesores” wasn’t even a consideration.

Security Cameras shouldn't grow out of the Bride's head

As you can see in the above images the background may not “ruin” the images, but there are distracting elements that shouldn’t be there. These are just two images out of about 30 that required painstaking work to prepare from this particular shoot, which represents hours of work most people don’t realize.

Shadow Play...removed additional shadows as well as vollyball net.

The shot above is from a recent family shoot I did.  I loved the shadow from the little boy on the sand, but there were other kids playing in the background, and the volleyball net.  Instead of abandoning the idea of the shot I took it and worked on it in post-processing.

Again, ultimately you shouldn’t even see anything was done.  You should just concentrate on the beauty of the image, and remember the moment.

So whether you’re booking a large wedding, a family shoot, or any commercial session, look for an artist.  Find someone completely dedicated to their craft and you’ll get what you’re truly looking for!

When I’m working with an agency I almost always tell them to take me somewhere unique, local.  Alright, so there’s the occasion that I’m in a small town who finally got a Chili’s in their town (no more driving to the big city to eat!) where I give in and go to a chain, but usually there’s something better out there. Besides, they are convinced their Chili’s is better than the one by my house and there’s just no arguing with a cop.

Smokin' Joe's BBQ, Lithia Florida

Yesterday I was working with the Crisis Negotiation Team for Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office out at their firing range.  South of Tampa in Lithia, Florida (a loooong way South).  The only thing I really knew was out there was a dirty old Circle K, an elementary school, a few houses and miles and miles of orange groves.  Being out in the middle of nowhere (which I don’t mind in the slightest, by the way) I was surprised when they said there was a BBQ place called “Smokin’ Joes” nearby.  They haven’t steered me wrong before, so I gladly followed behind them.

OK, so we go past the old Circle K, and the road I normally turn on and guess what?  There was stuff I hadn’t seen there before…Smokin’ Joes BBQ being one of them.  Amazing what you can find when you go down those back roads, isn’t it?

This place looked promising right off the bat.  From the hand drawn sign, to the fact the whole thing was run out of a self-contained trailer with adjacent covered picnic tables, to the smell of quality BBQ that was hitting me square in the nose, this was promising.

Smokin Joe's BBQ, Lithia, Florida

Evidently the smell that had put my salivary glands on overdrive was pouring forth out of a very large smoker aptly named “Big Stinky”.   I didn’t know just how much I was going to love that big smoker until after I ate my lunch.

Big Stinky

I walked up the trailer and the first thing I noticed was just how clean everything was.  Yes, this is outside dining…the Florida version of street food, but very carefully maintained and cared for (and I’ve seen the places that aren’t).

I looked down the hand written menu on the sandwich board and was having difficulty picking out what I wanted.  Boneless Country Ribs?  Spare Ribs? Chicken? Pulled Pork?  Sausage?  Damn, this was going to be tough.

I settled on the pork plate and got one step closer to the window to order.  Things got more difficult when the Deputy in front of me ordered the Boneless Country Rib Sandwich, which was basically a huge pile of smoked boneless rib meat on top of a couple pieces of bread.  Oh man.

I walked up to the window and saw a hand written sheet of paper with “Starr Special, with Sweet Tea $6.99″  What’s the Starr Special?  It’s chopped BBQ pork on top of a pile of rocket hot crispy french fries.  Oh yeah, that’s for me.  I got my food and chose the sweet BBQ sauce from the selection by the window and poured it over my pork and fries.

So we all sat down with our styrofoam containers full of smokey goodness and had a fantastic lunch together.  The picnic area is covered and has fans on all four corners, keeping the area as cool as can be expected.  Big Stinky is about 20 feet away, silently puffing away, filling the air and scenting our clothes with the unmistakable aroma of smoldering hardwood.

The food was spectacular.  I looked at everyone’s plates and each one looked amazing.  My Starr Special was just incredible, each fork of mixed pork / sauce / french fries pure heaven.  The pork by itself was perfectly cooked.  Moist and flavorful, with a perfect crisp smoked edge on the outer pieces.  The sauce was very good, balanced effortlessly between sweet and spicy, and providing the connection between the pork and fries.  The fries were very hot, and crisp enough not to give up their crunch under the sauce and meat.  It was a great flavor / texture combo.

Smokin' Joe's Starr Special

So if you’re up for a bit of a road trip from Tampa, head down to Lithia on Hwy 39 and check out Smokin’ Joe’s.  I know I’ll be back the next time I go to the range.  Oh, and thanks again to the HCSO CNT, who introduced me to this great place!

Space Shuttle Discovery, STS 128 Docked with ISS by Damgaard Photography

We almost missed the flyover thanks to fast moving clouds.  It was 70 degrees up from the horizon, traveling Southwest to Northeast.  We got a short glimpse of it as it streaked by a hole in the clouds.  I can’t believe I got it…made a quick adjustment to my tripod and got the shot.  It was really pure luck, but I’ll take it.

I’d like to run over and catch it land when it comes back to Kennedy, that would bring the whole thing  full circle.  We’ll see!

A tender moment with a great couple.

Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of working for Christina & Fred for an engagement session.  Christina found my site searching for a photographer on Google, and I was fortunate to have her select me as their photographer of choice after an afternoon meeting last month. (click here for rates & services)

Personality? Yep!

The first time I met Christina & Fred they were in uniform…they are both enlisted in the Air Force and assigned to MacDill AFB here in Tampa.  The uniforms weren’t enough to hold back their personality.  These two are funny! It was obvious right away we would work together really well.  As I’ve said on my site, having a good relationship between photographer and subject(s) has a tremendous impact on the finished product.

The most important thing to Christina and Fred was capturing their personality.  Fortunately one of the things I’m best at is bringing people out of their shell.  Once the ice is broken people can relax and be themselves…and that makes it easier to get those smiles.

We met in Tampa’s Ybor City, an area rich with beautiful photo backdrops.  The old brick, the rich doorways, tilework, balconies, wrought iron gates, and even the graffiti all add depth and interest to photos.  These places tell a story, and they can be adapted to many individual styles.  It wasn’t very long after we met in Ybor we were shooting, laughing, and feeding off of each others ideas.  It was a blast.

Love Crosses All Boundaries

After an hour of shooting in Ybor we changed locations to the University of Tampa, across the river from the city.  We shot there for almost an hour and got some beautiful night shots.  When we were parting ways Christina and Fred asked to schedule an additional hour for the next day, which I was happy to do.  We set the time and I sped off to start working on the shots.

One of the funniest things in recent memory happened on this shoot. While we were in Ybor City I knew I wanted to get a picture of Christina and Fred standing on opposite sides of a doorway looking at each other.  Fred had the idea to add a prop into the picture, having both of them reading a paper.  We grabbed a couple of free copies of the “Tampa Bay Times” and started shooting some test shots in the first doorway we found.  Instantly it was obvious this was a great idea.  Christina’s eyes peeking over the top of the newspaper sneaking a look at Fred across the doorway was priceless.  I showed them the shot on my camera and we continued on.

Flash forward several hours, I’m behind my computer processing photos.  I get to the “newspaper photos” considering some crops and my eye is drawn to the headline of the photo.  Ice water bloomed from my heart and started to spread.  There it was, emblazoned in bright red on the cover is the word “DOOMED”. How could this be? How could I have missed that at the time?  More importantly, how was I going to fix it? I was mortified.

"DOOMED"

So…we meet at our scheduled time the next day.  I had already posted several of the shots from the day prior in their private gallery (with exception of the “DOOMED” photo, of course).  They were very happy with what we had shot so far, so far so good.  I sheepishly told them we were going to have to re-shoot the newspaper photos.  They were curious why and I reluctantly told them why.  Their reaction was surprising to me.  They laughed.  Hard.  I told them I would try and fix it or we would re-shoot it that day.  They refused…and told me it was perfect just the way it was.  Amazing.  Funny.  Wonderful.  What a sense of humor!

We shot for an hour at the University of Tampa and got more beautiful shots.  I’m really fortunate to have met these two.  We had a wonderful time together and they were great models.  I have no doubt their love will last a lifetime!

Cheers to Christina & Fred!