RAW // VSCO Film 01 // White Balance Fix // Creamy Highlights
RAW // VSCO Film 01 // White Balance Fix // Creamy Highlights
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what direction I want to go with my photography. I’m really enamored with the idea of visual storytelling — using photos to create a narrative. I thought it might be fun to start a new series here on the blog called “Short Story” which will consist of little photo vignettes. Here’s the first one.
RAW // VSCO Film 01 // Kodak Portra 160++ // Creamy Highlights // + Exposure
“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”
Lillia: As I was attempting to finish this post, you were having an epic meltdown about your sneakers. Your unbridled passion is both your biggest strength and your biggest weakness. What drives you to master the things you love, like drawing, is also the thing that causes you to fall apart at the seams. Your biggest challenge in life is going to be learning when to freak out, and when to keep your cool.
Zane: I can tell that you have cabin fever. It has been so cold around here that we haven’t been able to go outside much. I try to keep you busy, but there’s only so many “jobs” I can create for you in a day! Your need to be physically active is difficult to meet indoors. I’m seriously considering installing a jungle gym in the basement.
After my grandfather passed away in January, my brothers and I decided that it was time to make family a priority. It’s just way too easy to let months go by without seeing each other. Because I’m kind of centrally located, it made sense to meet at my house. Last night was our second “sibling dinner” and it was a lot of fun! The kids love seeing their uncles and aunt, and I love our new ritual. I hope it sticks.
RAW // VSCO Film 01 // BW Darker Skies
Almost every video geared toward beginning photographers urges them to shoot in JPEG rather than RAW. While I get what they’re saying, I think this is misguided advice. First of all, the software necessary to process RAW images isn’t that expensive these days. Adobe Creative Cloud offers Photoshop for $9.99 a month. Most people pay ten times that amount (or more!) for cable TV without batting an eye. Second, Adobe Camera Raw (which is the extension of Photoshop that allows one to tweak the RAW images) is not that hard to use. It’s actually really straightforward and because it doesn’t alter the original file, you can practice to your heart’s content without worrying about destroying your pictures. So, my advice? Buy the Photoshop subscription, and play around. If you want, you can shoot in RAW+JPEG, so you can have easy access to photos, but still have the ability to make them incredible if you so desire.
The following is an example of how, even with GOOD equipment, photos can still come out, well…crappy. My cat is not blue in real life!
This is a white balance problem that I most likely could have corrected on the camera at the time I shot the photo, but didn’t for whatever reason (read: I still have a lot to learn). Now, if this was a JPEG I would have to find a way to correct that after the fact. Photoshop could do it, but it would require doing all kinds of color adjustments — probably no problem for a “pro” but overwhelming for a beginner.
Here is the photo after Adobe Camera RAW.
I adjusted the white balance (I selected “Shade”), added some vibrance, and finished it off with a bit of a vignette. It really brings out my little Olliebear’s “expression,” which is obviously the best part of the photo! ACR gives you so much creative control, and allows you to take your crappy photos and make them awesome! Don’t let your camera make all the decisions because sometimes your camera is wrong.