Tom, Caitlin and a Motorcyclist

Just a few images that we created up at NECCC...

We always love photographing Tom!!

I applied a Topaz plugin to this image that I took of Tom Tomlin. It adds a little bit more character to this wonderful character.



I decided to attempt this image because we have never had a motorcycle in our Studio and I thought that it would be a fun shot! I like the hot fudge with a cherry on top version on the right.




Tom took this next image with his 70-200 f2.8. She was standing up and he tilted the camera to make it look like she was lying down. She has beautiful eyes!

Tom and Lisa receive their MNEC honors

We received MNEC honors!

Master Member, New England Camera Club Council = MNEC

MNEC is awarded to those who have performed exceptional service for the Council during a period of not less than five years, and/or have substantially advanced photography in the New England area through lecturing, teaching, judging, and through other administrative activities in photographic organizations for the same period. This honor is limited to a maximum of five each year.

The New England Camera Club Council (NECCC) is a non-profit umbrella group for about 80 camera clubs in the New England states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont). The Council was established in 1937 and incorporated in 1963.

The Council sponsors a variety of events and services for the photographers of New England including an annual three-day photography conference each July at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, which is one of the largest in the United States. Over 1200 photographers from the U.S. and other countries attend our conference. Attendees range from beginner to professional photographer.

This year we presented a basic Photoshop preconference workshop at NECCC, plus we gave a program entitled "Fixing Your Friends and Family with Photoshop" three times during the conference.

Tom & Lisa present at NECCC

We just got back from presenting a program entitled "Fixing Your Friends and Family with Photoshop" this weekend at the New England Camera Club Council (NECCC) photography conference . We were asked to present a program at this annual (the 65th annual!) conference this past winter and we had a lot of fun putting it together. I changed the program slightly each of the three times that I gave it and we had a handful of people that came and watched the program TWICE! Hats off to them for being active learners!

We also gave a preconference hands on (or should that be laptops on?) workshop on Basic Photoshop that was completely booked.

The conference attendance was 1127 people this year and it was an awesome conference! Lots of networking, idea exchanges, photo ops, showcase presentations, teaching programs, etc.

Lisa & Tom present program at NECCC

We just recently presented at NECCC's extensive three-day photography conference held each July at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. Click here to view the 2009 Conference Detail & Program Schedule. or here to download the 2009 Program Schedule as an Excel file (a PDF version is also available on the Next Conference page.). About 1200 attendees were at this conference and we gave this talk three times over the course of the weekend.

The program that we presented was entitled: Basic Photoshop: Where Do I Begin? by Lisa and Tom Cuchara (CT)

Lisa and Tom will discuss the use of Photoshop as a tool in the ‘digital darkroom’. In this basic Photoshop program they will demonstrate (and take the mystery out of) ‘non-destructive’ editing techniques. They will walk you thru adjustment layers, show you some of the most often used filters (Sharpen, Blur, Artistic) and demonstrate some popular editing tools (Crop, Clone, Patch, Heal, Dodge, Burn). In addition, they will show you how to apply an effect to a selected area of your photograph. This introductory program is designed for people who are computer literate but new to Photoshop.

If you have any questions or want us to put on a program for your group please email us. We have posted some notes to our program here on my Blog http://lifethrulisaslens.blogspot.com/ which you can even subscribe to (no charge) for almost daily photography advice, information, phot0 ops, etc. If you attended NECCC and would like the exe to view at your leisure please sign up for our blog and then email us that you have subscribed and we will email you a file that you can open and view at your own speed.

We had a great time at the conference, teaching, learning, the comradery with fellow photographers, etc., etc. Everyone leaves feeling very motivated and pumped about photography. We have been attending this conference (the 64th annual) for the past ten years and this will be the third time that we presented a program there. Last Year we presented "Layers and Masks: White Reveals, Black conceals" and three years ago we presented "Digital Workflow: in the field and at the computer".

Lisa's Osprey receives a perfect score NECCC Nature Competition

NECCC Electronic Interclub Pictorial and Nature Competitions
One of Lisa's photographs was one of four photographs used to represent the New Haven Camera Club in the Spring 2009 NECCC Electronic Interclub Pictorial and Nature Competitions.

Cuchara, Lisa-Osprey with flounder for dinner-30-1st
Special congratulations to Lisa who received a perfect 30 points and first place in the nature competition for her photograph "Osprey with flounder for dinner."
Lisa Cuchara's photograph is eligible for the Nature Photograph of the Year. The photographs of the year will be chosen by a judge from outside New England and will be announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday morning at the NECCC conference this summer.

In the nature competition the New Haven Camera Club was in first place overall again this year with 294 points.

Models

Here are a few of my (Lisa) photographs of three different models ...



The Eddie Tapp Dream Glow Effect



cropped slightly and B&W



Another pose...



cropped and chocolate, this is my favorite of this bunch. I just love her eyes!



another Model

one more Model -- a cowgirl

A black and white version...



In case you could not tell, this chocolate effect is becoming a favorite of mine!



The Scott Kelby Hollywood Effect, matted



Prefer the color or the B&W Hollywood effect ??

A few photos from NECCC

Here are a few photographs that we took up at the NECCC conference this weekend. The weather was great, but the photography and the comrade were excellent!

In the warm glow of the evening light on the way to the George Lepp keynote speaker.



Tom was walking ahead of me so I photographed him while he was photographing the tower. I kept my aperture open to keep him sharp and the background soft.



At the fine arts center I just liked the way that this sculpture frame the flag.



The brick building made a pleasing background against the petunias. That evening light was just wonderful!



OK, I just had to play around with black and white and color...
same photo, cropped and then a B&W adjustment layer and then a mask painting back in the colors of the flowers.



I just love the color of this flower.



I had to try it with black and white and color as well, here are two variations, one painting with black and the second with 50% gray.





Sunday morning the horses were very handsome. There were lots of people around so I tried to create some tight images.




converted to B&W




This young lady was with her father and the Caballos de Paso.

The "Caballos de Paso" is a group of Paso Fino horses that travel all over New England giving
demonstrations and parades. The Paso Fino horse is a Spanish breed known as the
"smoothest riding horse in the world" due to their unique four-beat gait.
http://www.pasofinos.com/ has further breed information if you are interested.








She needs a red flower in her hair to balance this image, but I love her dress.



We have lots more and will post some more horses later this week. Tom got some good ones of the horses galloping towards him.

Did you see our "White Reveals, Black Conceals" at NECCC?

Did you see us present "White Reveals, Black Conceals" at NECCC?

If so please leave a comment (please include the program that you saw: Friday at 2:30 pm in Th 102, Saturday at 10am in CC Auditorium or Saturday at 2:00 pm in Th 102. email us your comments and feedback on our program and we will send you a free action that will enable you to "Paint in your photos".

This technique reminded me of when I was a kid where you would color using red, gree, blue, etc. crayons and then cover everything with the BLACK crayon and then take a paper clip and remove the black from certain areas to uncover what was underneath and make a colorful picture as the end result. Except it is easier and quicker (I make an action that has one Black layer and one white layer so I can choose which to paint in from) with photoshop.

Tulips in the morning light -- Painting "in" your photos

You can do this with layers and masks

This is the original photo...



painting over the mask that is on top of the photograph with a white layer underneath



painting over the mask that is on top of the photograph with a Black layer undrerneath

Lisa & Tom present: White Reveals, Black Conceals

Lisa & Tom Cuchara presented “White Reveals, Black Conceals: Masking Your Way to Better Photography” to 1220 attendees at the New England Camera Club Council Conference in Amherst MA on July 11, 12, 13th .

The New England Camera Club Council (NECCC) is a non-profit umbrella group for about 80 camera clubs in the New England states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont). The Council was established in 1937 and incorporated in 1963. The Council sponsors a variety of events and services for the photographers of New England including: an annual three-day photography conference each July at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, which is one of the largest in the United States. Over 1200 photographers from the U.S. and other countries attend our conference. Attendees range from beginner to professional photographer. http://www.neccc.org/Index.htm

White Reveals, Black Conceals: Masking Your Way to Better Photography by Lisa and Tom Cuchara (CT)

Masking is extremely simple; this one mantra “white reveals, black hides” will work for almost all of your Photoshop editing. From exposure to contrast, dodging and burning, blurring the background, selective coloring, selective focus, etc., Lisa and Tom will demonstrate “non-destructive” editing in Photoshop. They will show you how to use layers and masks to enhance your images. Adjustment layers and filters can be applied to an entire image, but sometimes you just want to tweak part of an image, which is where masks come in. The advantage of using layer masks is that you can refine both the effect and the area being changed at any point, even after you save and re-open an image. White reveals, black hides and shades of gray provide a variety of opacities – this one simple concept is essential for anyone using the digital darkroom to enhance their images.

For those of you who missed their program they will be presenting it again on Dec. 3rd at the Great Bridgeport Camera Club.

The NOTES for our program are posted on the Lisa's Photo Blog http://lifethrulisaslens.blogspot.com/2008/07/nhcc-members-lisa-tom-cuchara-present.html

For those of your looking for joining NAPP and helping to send me to Photoshop World...
http://www.photoshopuser.com/?aid=wjqany

National Association of Photoshop Professionals: Every day, we teach creative minds from around the world how to turn ordinary into extraordinary. Whether you are a professional or hobbyist, photographer or graphic designer, or, motion graphic artist or animator, NAPP is your ultimate Photoshop training, educational and news resource.

The monthly magazine, the information, the books and the seminars are great (and discounted for members) but the software (and hardware) discounts are well worth the membership fee. Free shipping from B&H, discounted car rentals, Dell & Apple computers, Office Depot purchases, discounted prices on a lot of software (Adobe, Photodex, Graphic Authority, Twisting Pixels, OnOne Software, Nik software, etc), discounted prices on hardware (I saved hundreds on my DROBO by being a NAPP member!). Also discounts on online training, in person seminars and workshops such as Lepp and Stephen Johnson in Zion National Park. Read the full post here http://nhccphotoblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/napp-or-please-send-me-to-photoshop.html

Examples of Black conceals from our talk...





For those of you looking for the iPeople article look here:
http://tlcphoto.blogspot.com/2008/04/ipod-people.html
and remeber if you sign up for our Blog and then send us an email telling us that you saw us at NECCC we will email you our iPeople template layered TIFF file.



For those of you that purchased our "basic layers and masks" 15 action set we will be selling some creative actions soon. To load your actions just open the "TLC Photo layers & masks.atn" file on the CD and drag it into the actions palette in Photoshop. If you purchased our action pack and want to be notified of more actions (and templates) as they become available please sign up for our Blog.




perhaps the "un-suck" filter will appear in CS57, but for now we are best getting it right in the camera and then developing it in Photoshop.
Tom just happened to get a photograph of this very articulate and charasmatic woman reading our program notes. :-

iPod People

I know that you have seen them -- the iPod Ads in magazines, in TV commercials, etc. Well now your kid, your friend, or even you can be in an iPod ad - it's easy!

Find or take a photograph of a person doing something (doing an action, doing something iPod-ish, etc). Yes, a lot of people stand around waiting with theur iPod and listen to their music but how many iPod ads have you seen depicting a silhouetted persom just standing around looking down the road for the 3 o'clock bus to downtown? Create a fun dynamic image (karate moves, a "Charlie's Angels" pose, etc.)

The funny thing is the photo does not even have to be in focus or well exposed because we are going to make the person into a silhouette.

Select your person in the photograph and then Edit --> Fill --> with Black to get your silhouetted iPerson (or iDog for that matter). You could also create a 'solid color' adjustment layer by clicking the adjustment layers icon at the bottom of your layers palette.

Later you can go back in and fill in a few details...put a layer mask on the silhouette and at 30% opacity bring the iPod color into the black area for some detail.

From http://www.macmerc.com/

One of the most common mistakes I've seen in tutorials showing how to replicate the iPod ad style is that they make the silhouette a true silhouette when, if you look at the ads, the people actually do show detail...not a lot...it's really dark...but it's there. So if you've attempted to simplify the process by shooting a silhouette that shows only a hard outline of your subject with a solid black fill within, you've probably gone too far.

Next --> Create a new layer

By clicking layer --> new fill layer--> solid color or by creating a 'solid color' adjustment layer by clicking the adjustment layers icon at the bottom of your layers palette.

Play around with the colors for hours until you find one that you like -- just kidding, don't go nuts chossing different bizarre bright colors; here are the actual iPod ad colors: Blue #1379F9, Purple #9369BF, Orange #F59110, Green #9FCC39, Pink #EB5297.

Which one should you use ? Try them all -- its easy to create all of the layers and then just save the file for the next iPerson...

Now you have the basic iPerson, but to make it more itneresting put a shadow there to make the person more dynamic.

http://www.photoshoplab.com/make-your-own-ipod-style-photo.html

Jagged Edges — If you find your selection and cutout has left you with some jagged edges, try deselecting the cutout and applying a Gaussian Blur (Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur) set at a very low Radius of 0.2 pixels. This can help soften the edges.

From http://www.macmerc.com/

There are other more up to date variations of this

iPod Graffiti Blue http://dr-photoshop.com/tutorials/index.php?id=59

and iPod grunge http://dr-photoshop.com/tutorials/index.php?id=57