Photoshop tutorial for portrait photography

Rob & Lauren over at Photography Concentrate have done it again. Those two are seriously the photography tutorial ninjas, and they have finally provided an incredible Photoshop tutorial. (Where was this two years ago when I first started learning Photoshop?!!).

You've heard me talk about Extremely Essential Camera Skills, Super Photo Editing Skills, and Incredibly Important Composition Skills. The first two were a huge part of my education before I started up my business, and I thank goodness for those and the way they helped me learn my camera and Lightroom so quickly and so easily. LIFE (and money) SAVER.

I went through their newest tutorial, Really Easy Retouching with Adobe Photoshop, and even though I've been using Photoshop retouching techniques for two years now, I still learned so much I didn't know before. For example, HEAD SWAPPING. When you're photographing families with young children, it is damn near impossible to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time. One of the videos in this tutorial explains how to seamlessly bring a head over from one photo to another, to complete that happy, smiling picture where all family members at least APPEAR to have been fully cooperating. ;) No more throwing out otherwise perfectly good shots because I don't know how to head swap!

Other techniques addressed in the tutorial are as follows:
+ Photoshop skin retouching such as brightening undereye circles and smoothing skin/removing blemishes & shine
+ Brightening eyes and whitening teeth
+ Removing distracting elements in your background
+ Slim down chins, arms, waistlines, etc
+ Composite images (head swaps!)
+ Photoshop shortcuts and other tips on layers, masks, and panels

This tutorial is worth every penny and absolutely perfect for the new portrait photographer looking to save time and money on their photography education. Check out all Photography Concentrate tutorials here, and go here for more info on Really Easy Retouching.  It is currently 30% off through June 30th only (this coming Monday), which makes IT UNDER TWENTY DOLLARS! That is insane, you guys.

GOOD LUCK! :)

PS - Did you know you can download a free 30 day trial of the latest version of Photoshop HERE? (top right, blue button!)

You can also download a free 30 day trial of Lightroom HERE (again, top right, blue button!) My favorite editing software is Lightroom, and I use it for about 90% of my editing, however, Photoshop IS necessary for certain types of retouching, unfortunately!

Lifestyle Revolution

I have been quiet lately. In some ways I’ve been aching to get back to this space and express again, and yet there is so much keeping me busy and fulfilled in the other parts of my life, that I don’t need it here like I used to.  There are seaons and this is just one of mine.

In this particular season I am undergoing a strange transformation and I think it’s called maturing into full adulthood. Maturing into full adulthood for me, though, has had interesting side effects, and I can honestly say that I am happier in this time of my life than I’ve ever been before. So much of it has to do with opening my eyes and educating myself about nutrition and health, oddly enough, and I’ve hesitated to really express it here lest this blog turn into post after post about, well, FOOD.

I’m not really sure how it happend. I guess it all started with some food documentaries we watched several months back. One was about Veganism (called Vegucated), and I can’t remember the other one but it was about farming and the importance of supporting local farms and really getting aquainted with your food - making it personal. Now, I don’t really have plans to go Vegan, but YOU GUYS. I beg you to educate yourself, TODAY, THIS WEEK about the common factory-farming meat practices in this country and our world. Ignorance of it is not OK and it’s not an excuse. It is absolutely discpicable what we do to animals raised for food, and I was forever changed after aquiring this knowledge. After watching Vegucated, I cried. Hard. And didn't sleep well for days. I was devastated by what I learned, because my heart is for animals. I was sickened and horrified and so sad that I’d been ignorantly buying in to this system my whole life - as are so many others of us who simply don’t want to know. It’s a system that will only be perpetuated unless as many of us as possible do what we can to make a difference (and the simplest, easiest way is with our dollars - the products we buy at the grocery store).

Yes, this maturing into adulthood I mentioned has had a great deal to do with opening my eyes to the world I live in and not simply being a blind consumer. As I’ve inched away from my old, disengaged way of being, it’s as if blinders have come off and I can suddenly see the way I used to fumble around in the dark along with most other Americans, feeding my body absolute shit that contributed to my terrible PMS and bad skin, as well as supported a system that tortures animals and treats them like machines that feel no pain, suffering, or fear. There are tears rolling down my cheeks as I write this, because that’s how passionately I feel about it and that’s how glad I am to no longer be feeding my body with FEAR.

Besides what I’ve learned about animal cruelty in food production, I’ve learned other interesting and helpful things, about gardening and farmer’s markets and bees and healthy, whole foods straight from the Earth. We’ve had decent luck with our first organic backyard garden, and food has become so much more personal to me, versus this soul-less thing you buy at the grocery store and often let go to rot in your veggie drawer because there’s just no connection there. We waste so much less now because A) we can’t afford it due to the new way we grocery-shop, B) we’ve developed a taste for fresh, healthy food, and C) much of it is coming from our own garden and that’s just cool.

I’d like to talk more about all of this - I have so much to say about it, but I felt like I needed to generally introduce this topic first, then tackle smaller topics down the road. Basically, when something changes my life in such a positve way, I want to spread the word! I want you to experience this too!  But obviously I can’t force anyone to care, I can’t make it be magically the time in your life when you’re open and available for this information and the eventual lifestyle change that follows. But I can plant the seed, and I can tell you it’s really nice on the other side. I’m nowhere near where I want to be in my knowledge of living a healthy life and supporting humane practices, but it’s this thing I’m pursuing every day and learning a little more and a little more about.

I encourage you to watch documentaries like Vegucated, Earthlings, and Food Inc. I haven’t seen the latter two yet, but I’ve heard they are very compelling. Those will give you a push in the right direction. Just watching THIS TRAILER might be all you need to make a serious change.  Like us, you may not be willing to go full vegan or even vegetarian, but rest assured there ARE ways to remain a meat-eater but not buy into cruelty that exists in the meat industry. I’m compiling a list of things I’m now doing to help make a difference, and will post about it ASAP.  Stay tuned…

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Summer Orzo Salad AKA An Explosion of Delicious

Every now and then I make a really share-worthy meal, and this is one of them. I wanted to find a yummy, cold summer salad, and this is an adaptation of one I found and changed around a bit. Matthew and I are completely obsessed with it. It may look un-assuming, but believe me it's not. One bite, and you'll get it.

This recipe can be served as a side dish or a complete meal. We like it as a complete meal, and leftovers for lunch the next day are just as delicious. Hope you try it! :)

Summer Orzo Salad

Ingredients for the dressing:

1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar

2 TBS Fresh Lemon Juice

1 tsp Honey

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper

Ingredients for the salad:

12 oz Orzo Pasta

6 cups Chicken Broth

3-4 medium chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper (may be omitted)

1 TBS Olive Oil

2 cups Grape or Cherry Tomatoes, halved

3 TBS Chopped Fresh Basil

1 cup Baby Spinach or Arugula, chopped

1 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

1/2 cup Pine Nuts, toasted in a dry skillet (toss often, they burn quickly!)

Directions:

- Cook the orzo in chicken broth until tender, according to package directions (I don't add any extra salt).

- Dice your uncooked chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, and sauté on medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil.

- While orzo and chicken cooks, dice up your tomatoes, basil, and spinach or arugula. Set aside. 

- Toast your pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, watching them carefully and tossing often. Set aside to cool.

- Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside. 

- When orzo is done cooking, drain it and allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick together - this is important!

- When orzo and chicken has cooled, you may mix everything up, but wait until just before serving to add the pine nuts.  

-May be served at room temperature or cold

Enjoy!

Serves about 8 as a side dish or 4 as an entree 

Then & Now

This morning I decided to do a little "then & now" exercise in regard to my photography, just kind of for the heck of it and to see how far I've come. Even I was a little surprised - it's been so long since I revisited my very first photo shoots.  I was surprised, and then I was humbled.

I SUCKED. The composition was bad, the editing was bad effing horrible, I was shooting in an automatic mode with a crappy kit lens, and I basically just had no clue whatsoever what I was doing. And this was just two and a half years ago!

Exhibit A:



I know. The "then" is pretty ghastly (not the adorable family - just my terrible photograph!). The funny thing, though, is that I received SO much praise and encouragement from family on those first photos. I remember setting up a slideshow to show off my first photo shoot (the session in the "then" photo above, which was with gracious family members, thank God!), and my family ooh-ed and ahh-ed and told me how beautiful the photos were and how much potential I had. I was absolutely beaming and so proud of myself.

And now I look back at those photos and basically want to scratch my eyeballs out.

But like I said, it's so, so humbling. It's easy to forget our beginnings. It's easy to forget that we ALL start somewhere, and it's not at a place of perfection. It's a place of amateur fumbling, guessing, making all the wrong choices, making mistakes, displaying our weaknesses. And constantly pushing to learn, grow, and get better. That's the key.

Exhibit B:



I am so guilty of judging beginners too harshly, and this morning's little "exercise" pushed me right back in my place. If friends and family had been completely honest with me instead of so damn encouraging, I would probably not be where I am today. I would have shriveled up into a little ball of shame and embarrassment and lack of confidence in my amateur abilities, and I never would have grown. But the wonderful, kind, uplifting people in my life saw a glimmer of talent in me, and more importantly passion for the work, and they grasped on to that and propelled me forward with their kindness and words of affirmation.

And we all need to do the same. When someone in our life is just beginning something, even if we know better and know they suck right now, it's our job to lift them up, not tear them down. Because everyone starts somewhere, and it's not always very pretty.



In two more years, I bet I'll look back at my work now and notice all the flaws. The things I hadn't learned yet, the things I could have done better. But right now, wherever we are in our journey, it's important to be proud of what we're doing, how far we've come, and how much we've learned. Your only real competitor is the person you used to be.

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Very Best Wearable Technology In 2014

An advanced internet user, you'd probably surely have found the term wearable technology. Wearable units refer to electronics that you can don. While wearable technology possesses advanced across the years, several still think wearable technology as a strategy has to nonetheless go a long way. Nonetheless, there are a number of products that you should recognize about wearable technology. Typically, wearable technology refers to applying technologies inside innovative techniques. For example, the particular calculator timepiece of way back when was a wearable device. Even though it could not previous in the market for prolonged, it is true that folks always adored wearable devices. Right now though, the thought of wearable technology has taken a fresh turn. Currently, new aspects and technological innovation are being made solely while using intention for making people have on these devices and not merely be a different gadget.

What are the new wearable units in 2014?

Which are the most well-known this sort of technologies available in the market today? Consider a look.

1. Google Wine glass

Google Wine glass is essentially any wearable computer. It can be to be used like specs, and looks similar to rimless glasses. The nation's ability to just click photos good quality (currently, it comes with a 5 Megapixel camera), history video, be a phone screen and use a variety of application including Google Globe and Yahoo; among others. Only told, it does not take hot brand-new commodity out there.

2. Clever shirt

An intelligent shirt is a new shirt that will monitor these vital figures of the individual wearing. It makes doable remote bodily monitoring. The principle purpose of your shirt is to generate health care much easier. Though known as the smart 'shirt', it seems more like some sort of vest over a shirt, and is worn underneath normal outfits. It monitors heart rate, soufflé rate, heat range, activity along with posture.

3. Cuff that will a bit more as compared to being simply a wearable

We all know that your cuff is an addition. As the label suggests, it's supposed to be donned as a cuff about the arm. Conditions cuff, however, shines as it means to do not just being a wearable. Every time theindividual wearing of the cuff is danger, they will press some sort of button-like thing within the cuff and the one that is listed because emergency get hold of shall be informed on their cell phone. The location of the cuff-wearer will likely be transmitted to your emergency get hold of via Navigation. This can be useful when you are the case of girls and youngsters.

4. Intelligent watch

A brilliant watch looks like a smartphone on the wrist. It could receive words commands, employ applications and also perform some other functions. Though there are plenty of clever watches out there one of the new ones will be the Moto 360.

5. Navigation watch

Some sort of GPS observe is not really a close look, but a new GPS individual that is funds onto the hand in the way a wristwatch is. That receives Gps device signals and works as a lightweight GPS and never having to rely on a computer such as a phone. They are primarily used for athletics or health purposes.

If you're looking to buy any wearable device for yourself, get one that you need. Don't just go in and buying any product or service but purchase something that is beneficial. After all, it's not necessarily about proudly owning any wearable device although about buying something useful.

Explore Best Range of LED TV with Panasonic

Panasonic is a reputable Japanese brand that has built a name for itself in the electrical appliances industry. Among all the various manufacturers, it is the longest standing television maker, and has been in businesses since 1918. Famously known for the production of high quality plasma TVs, Panasonic recently announced a cessation of plasma screens and instead shifted its focus towards smart TVs with better screen technology such OLED, 4k as well as LED TV sets. Let's look at the top range LED TVs from Panasonic.

3D LED TVs

LED Panasonic TVs are capable of displaying 3D images in the highest quality that you can ask for. The process in which images reach the right and left eye is what determines the picture quality of these TVs. With inspiration from Hollywood 3D movie theatre systems, Panasonic createdLED 3D televisions that have Frame Sequential capabilities. This technology sends the highest image quality to both eyes while at the same time ensuring that pictures remain in their original form.

Panasonic 3D TVs come either with passive or active glasses. With passive 3D technology, the glasses use two polarizing techniques where the right eye blocks images from the left side, while the left eye blocks pictures projected to the right eye. On the other hand, active 3D glasses do not split pixels into two. Instead, the lenses refresh at a significant rate using a shutter system to display the left and right images alternatively. Of the two technologies, active 3D is more superior in terms of image quality, but passive 3D glasses are catching up.

Smart TV

Panasonic's smart television, commonly known as the Smart Viera, is arguably the best LED TV among all of the various Panasonic TV appliances. This TV set is Wi-Fi enabled. This offers you web browsing functionality. You can also use apps such as Facebook, Skype, and many others.

‘My Home Screen' feature allows individual household members to personalize the home screen of the TV while the ‘Swipe & Share' feature facilitates transfer of content from a smart phone to the television and vice versa.

Other LED Panasonic Models

All the various LED Panasonic models feature state of the art technology, making it difficult to determine the best TV amongthemall. With various technologies such as backlight scanning, V Real Pro 5 technology, and HD technology, these televisions will ensure that you have the best viewing experience. Depending on the chosen model, you can expect to enjoy features such as crystal-clear images, great contrast, high quality audio, enhanced depth, motion quality, and adjustment functions.

Other features include a multitude of multimedia options at your disposal, modern output and input connections, user-friendly interfaces, and some models like the TX-L32D26B coming with free digital satellite services. The LED Panasonic models come in different sizes ranging from a 24 inch one to a 32 inch LED TV, with the largest one being 55 inches. With all the amazing features of these televisions, you can even find one in a color that suits the natural décor of your living room.

Points To Consider When Buying A Laptop / Desktop Computer Products Online

As most of us know, laptops are convenient devices that can be taken along with us wherever we go and this is why people are opting for these alternatives as against desktop computers. Even though, laptops are convenient alternatives, they have their own cons and it is nothing, but upgrades and maintenance. Even though, the main components in these systems are similar to that of desktop systems, the parts in laptops are generally crammed into a smaller space and so you should be highly cautious when you engage in the task of replacing any parts. However, buying the appropriate part is not an easy task. You will have to get in and get out of many stores to find the appropriate parts. But, nowadays this worry can be avoided as there are computer products online outlets that deals with parts for both desktop and laptop computers.

As a number of products are available under this category, it will be difficult for you to identify the right piece that can get back your laptop to working condition. This is why, online purchase can be the best idea. Generally, these stores would have clearly specified the specifications of each and every product available with them and so the purchase can be done right at your convenience that too at any time. However, when you decide to buy computer products online, you should be careful about certain things and they are discussed below:

Compatibility: This is an important thing to be checked. Once you purchase a wrong item that is not compatible with your system. Even though, it is true that the best computer products online outlets have the return policy, wherein you can return the product for purchasing the right one within 30 days from the date of purchase, these are unnecessary hassles as you will have to find a shipping company for returning the item on your own, which will also cost you as well.

Return policy: Like the compatibility, you should also check the shipping policy of the website with whom you are placing your order. They would have clearly specified about their shipping and return policy on their website and it is advisable to select a company with clear information in this respect.

Different product options: You might be interested to buy gaming keyboards or any other computer or laptop related products and the online outlet should provide you complete liberty in the selection of the required products from different brands. For instance, when you wish to buy gaming keyboards, they should have this product under different brands.

If you are looking to buy computer products online outlets, then Computersonlineoutlet.comis is the best halt for you. We provide best quality products at an affordable price with secure online shopping and customer satisfaction. To explore more, please Click Here.