illustrative feel

Saturday, 6 December 2008

I set up this shot today at a recommitment ceremony (it was a lot of fun) and recently I've been playing around with this illustrative kinda look. I know it's not for everyone and it rarely works with anything to do with a wedding but I thought it looks pretty good for this particular shot. All a bit of fun for myself really, don't think clients will ever want this sort of post processing =)

Labels: photography

Wow!Wow!Wow! Nice shot & great post processing, please show us more natt! (09 December 2008 18:35)

Yeah. Great PP. Show us more. (10 December 2008 13:41)

image retouching

Sunday, 2 November 2008

Yes I'm still processing the last wedding. I'm processing an entire wedding instead of the usual fav 30 odd images so it is taking a bit longer than my normal speedy posting.

Thought I'd show a before and after post processing images. I'm not sure how far people go in terms of retouching but I really can't stand distracting bits and pieces in the image. Not talking about the usual touch ups of baggy eyes here but I have done things like removing distracting spotlights from the ceiling (obviously they weren't on) and even a whole pram from the background of a shot. It is time consuming but I can't help it as I prefer clean images the way I like it.

I saw the kids playing by the fence and so I ran up to them to get a quick snap. I asked the kids to move along the fence a little bit as they were standing in front of distracting background. I didn't pose them but I love how the little boy just refused to stand with the girls =)

Because this was done pretty quickly, I didn't notice the barb wire running across one of the girl's face. It really didn't look right at all but I didn't want to throw this image away so along with the normal processing to make it a bright and happy snap, I had the annoying barb wire removed. Here is the RAW shot:

I know the wire does add to the framing of the subjects and I do like it but I guess I'm weighing it up against having it cutting across her face which doens't feel so pleasant. What do you think? Prefer the wire gone or not?

Labels: photography

Nice shot Natt ! (04 November 2008 16:34)

That's great retouching skills you got there!! :D But that's also such a Nattnee shot too! (04 November 2008 19:43)

Gone baby gone! I like your retouching work, I know where to find you if I need you! (07 November 2008 23:28)

adventure of a noobie strobist

Saturday, 11 October 2008

"I specialise in daylight photography". I used to always say that 'cos other than sticking the speedlite on my camera when I needed to, I didn't wanna think about it. I'm shooting "school portraits" for students of a ballet concert soon and while I'd love to shoot in natural light, that might not be possible and so I thought I'd dabble into off camera lighting. I have also been blog stalking Laurence Kim a bit and his wonderful work really inspires me to experiment as well.

So a quick visit Strobist and I got my shopping list. First and easiest thing to get was a light stand. I decided on the Manfrotto 001B for its compactness. Quality Camera Sales Australia had the best price that I found and gosh it was such a speedy delivery!

Next was clamp and umbrella. For this particular Manfrotto lightstand, the 43" Westcott was recommended. I mailed around a few local stores and nobody stocks them. B&H had them and for the Photoflex Multiclamp and a 43" WestCott umbrella (mine doubles as reflective soft silver and shoot through) the cost was just over $50USD. That sounds ok except shipping was $60USD!!! Whaaaat?! The shipping costs more than the goods? Plus the AUD has been tanking and that really sucks!

"What triggering system are you going with?", a friend asked. I opted for the Elinchrom Skyport which I also got on B&H. The shipping was the same so now I'm err spending more to save. (BTW it's actually cheaper to buy them here which I forgot to check 'cos I was so fixated on the freakin shipping cost - always check StaticICE people!)

I was constantly checking my order status on UPS website (sad I know). The package came on Friday and straight away I unpacked the box and started putting it all together.

Uh oh, my speedlite 580EX doesn't have a pc socket. Serious?! Quick googling led me to believe I needed a hot shoe that has a pc outlet. I looked around and Digital Camera Warehouse had one. I called up the store and asked for the Hama hot shoe adapter. The sales person asked if it was "Adapter 1" or "Adapter 2". I told him Adapter 1. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Yeah yeah I'm sure and I'm coming to the store NOW".

It was 45 mins before the store closed but I was so excited that I had to go get it. I drove like a maniac down to the store and was freaking out the whole way through as the petrol indicator thingy (I'm real techincal) was dangerously close to "E". I made it to the last 5 mins of the store opening hours.

Guess what? It was the wrong hot shoe *sigh*. The dude was right, I needed the Adapter 2. Back to the store I went this morning to get it along with a Pocket Wiard female pc to mini plug (that tiny tiny thing is $29!). The store only had ONE of each of those items as well so that was lucky!

I was sooo happy when I fired off the flash on the lighstand. Woohoo! Mission accomplished.

Haven't played around with the umbrella and all that too much yet but here's some shots of this little paper Japanese boy.

Nothing exciting right now but that'll come later.

Labels: photography, strobist

This is all so exciting to hear. I really want to get a lighting rig set up sometime... Still thinking of what to get... Thanks for sharing!!! (12 October 2008 17:23)

You are seriously hilarious! I need to get something like this too, but it's all seems so hard! Maybe I'll just copy you. Oh, and isn't Stu and QCS the BEST! Talk about fast service, I have bought everything in my kit from him ;) (14 October 2008 17:44)

hey nattnee, congrats and welcome to the world of off-camera flash! looks like you're off to a great start. (23 November 2008 16:17)

it just wasn't me

Thursday, 11 September 2008

So lately I've been experimenting with post processing a lot. There were two completely different styles that I was attracted to (story of my life). One is a really fresh, vibrant, clean and crisp. The other is more glamourous with lots of dodging and burning, vignetting, glowing whites etc.

Since I couldn't decide what I really wanted, I thought why can't I offer both? Or mesh them together somehow. So I tried the meshing and the result turned out like the images this post. Then I went further down the glowy, dodging and burning track and ended up with images in the last post.

Right after I finished the last post, I realised that it wasn't me. All that heavy post processing and dark looking images. It's not the photography that I love.

What do I love? I love what I actually started with a long time ago. The colourful, bright, cheery and happy photos. Someone once looked at my website (which is getting revamped at the moment) and commented that "your photos are too happy"...well I want that back!

So I'm going back to making images the way I used to. The images that made me fall in love with photographing people in the first place. The kind that makes your heart happy =)

I'm glad I finally worked out the style dilemma. Big yey to another self discovery as a photographer =)

Oh as for this cute little blondie, more of her photos are coming up soon.

Labels: photography

from the pros

Thursday, 10 July 2008

I caught up with Gordon Jovic yesterday to show him some of my latest work. I got some really good feedback and I've asked to tag along to shoot with him again next Saturday. After this one I think I'm ready to try shooting as the main photographer. Just gotta get out there and have the confidence to go for it.

Picked up Capture magazine today (wedding special issue) and as I was reading "best & worst business decisions" from the top photographers, some stuff struck a chord with me.

Marcus Bell: Believing in myself was the catalyst for helping make my business a success. It gave me confidence to be the photographer and business person that I wanted to be. I believe that the decision to be more confident underlies everything.

Graham Monro: Don't try to formulate what the client wants, but rather always stick to the style you shoot.

Rocco Ancora: As you grow, understand that establishing a style is not a destination, but a journey. Understand what sorts of imges you want to create and be very open-minded.

The article also mentioned "shoot and burn" photographers. They are the ones that shoot a lot of weddings just to make a bit of cash and just give RAW files out to clients. I didn't eve know people do that. Give RAW files and straight out of the camera shots to clients???

Back to reading...

Labels: photography

Hey Natnee, dropped by your blog linked from Jenny and love your work. I too can't believe the one you shot with Jenny was just your third wedding, and having scrolled through the posts below this, I can see your heart is well and truly in the realm of this amazing photo world. Keep up the lovely work and have an awesome time shooting with Gordon Jovic - his work is awesome :) (15 July 2008 19:25)

just a bunch of stuff

Sunday, 29 June 2008

Hmm can't really think of a proper title today 'cos well I'm blogging about a mish mash of stuff.

Eric and I went to see our new apartment at Breakfast Point today. There has been progress on the landscaping around the building and I'm hoping they get it done soon as I cannot wait to move in. Our building is part of what the developers call the Vineyards precinct and so I am expecting grapes and vines. So far there has been just regular plants but today I see posts being put around the place so I'm thinking they are going to plant some vines! Also I'm not a 100% sure but I think I see olive trees as well. We're very excited and seriously can't wait to move in.

Took the 85mm f/1.8 along today just to do some testing to make sure it's a good copy. Eric is going to hate this 'cos he's not a fan of having his face displayed anywhere online but here is a photo of him. This was shot wide open and the photo is straight out of the camera with no sharpening and any other post processing applied.

It's pretty sharp hey? I hear people say how "buttery" and "creamy" this lens is and I must agree. When I was doing my test shots and viewing on the LCD of the camera, I kept thinking it wasn't sharp and there was something wrong because I was only focusing on the eyes and everything that wasn't in focus was just so smooth that I thought the whole image was soft. One thing I don't like about this lens is the purple fringing at the wide end =(

Some other random shots from today:

Last thing I wanted to mention was my second time experience shooting a wedding. This was about a week ago with Gordon Jovic. He invited me along to shoot the bridal prep and the ceremony with him.

I really loved the experience and went home extremely happy that day. Gordon was very kind and was always teaching and pointing things out to me. I felt like I learnt so much and really can't wait to shoot the next wedding and apply the things I learnt and improve myself.

I'm still in the middle of processing the photos from that wedding but who knows if it will appear on this blog as I have to ask for permission first =)

Labels: life, photography

How exciting. Can't wait to see the photos ;)

But hey, I quite like random detail shots of the plants... :D (30 June 2008 20:13)

new toy

Friday, 27 June 2008

I drove to North Sydney to grab some lunch wtih hubbie today. We bought two boxes of pasta, a coke zero and for dessert we (well me) bought a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8.

My new toy:

I am totally not in a position to be buying new toys but this had to be done. After a wedding shoot with Gordon last week (I'll be blogging about it later) I came to realise that the 70-200 f/4 is extremely difficult to use in such a low light situation like a ceremony in church.

I think a lot of people have the 70-200 f/2.8 but unless Canon is going to donate me one, I really cannot afford that right now and so this is my best bet. It's affordable (ahem coughs hubbie), has max aperture of f/1.8 which is a HUGE difference compared to the f/4 and very sharp. It won't reach as far as the 200mm but well I still got my legs. The whole world says it's a great portrait lens so I shall test that out tomorrow.

I am feeling a little guilty about this so I really shouldn't call it a new toy. It's more like a new necessity =)

Labels: photography

YAY! You got the 85mm!! :D I hope you really make the most of it, so your hubby doesn't feel so meh, about it... (28 June 2008 11:02)

yay! Just sent you an email :) (28 June 2008 12:30)

actions and cards

Thursday, 26 June 2008

My business card arrived today and just in time for the deadline I had set myself.
Like this blog and most my other design things, it's clean and simple and did I say clean? So clean in fact I think I probably should have put some blurbs on the card such as what kind of photography I do. Too late now =p

Next on the agenda of today's post is Photoshop actions. I have been struggling with the idea of buying actions for a while now. I have always wanted to do everything on my own. I wanted to say all my end product is 100% Nattnee made. It's some sort of artistic integrity issue whatever thing that got suck in my head.

Over a long period of time (I hear someone says six months?), family and friends have been telling me over and over that at the end of the day it is about working smarter. It's about the end result and do I want to be limited by my own knowledge of Photoshop and maybe figure out all this stuff some years down the track or do I want better images TODAY. A friend equates the thinking of this is artistically cheating to the invention of autofocus. He says it's just a tool like anything else.

So far I have been proud of what I can produce on my own but if you look at the end result of the likes of Jasmine Star, who is my idol btw, will I ever get that kind of end result on what I know? Maybe but probably not.

Anyway long story short, I bought TRA2 and Essential Color Pop actions to try them out. I had a look at the steps involved in the actions themselves and OMG there was no way on this planet I would have thought to do all that stuff. No freaking way.

In terms of artistic integrity, theses are not things you can use to get desired result in one click. I don't mean they're not good. These actions will certainly make your photos look better if you just use them straight on the rocks but in terms of knowing what to use and in what combination to get what you want, it's not one click of a button. You still need to develop your own style and have a vision of what you want as the end result. Just because they are available does not mean you will get great photos and believe me I have seen overprocessed (in a bad way) photos. Also let's not forget the fundamental things about photography that Photoshop will never fix!

All in all, I am glad I bought them. I have been an idiot all this time and now I know I was never going to be able to figure half that stuff out. I am satisfy with the artistic integrity issue 'cos I know for myself now that I have them doesn't mean my photos are suddenly better.

What I have to do now is spend some time working all these actions out and see how I can best use them to achieve what I want. In the meantime, check out this sample of my bro. It's got some Grandma's Tap Shoes from TRA2 applied to it.

That was a long rant but an important one for me.

Esmond, if you have read this far, stop rolling your eyes and dude you can't give up on your friends! Next time I'll try to listen about three months sooner =)

Labels: photography

from what I know, jasmine star uses the colour pop actions from the boutwell's TRA1, and some from the Kubota Volumes :) I've seen her post some of her tutorials on some forums and thats what she shared with us. Jessica claire uses the same method ;) I've found that the Nichole V ones too saturated at times, while great for travel photography, a little too time consuming for wedding photos where u need to edit hundreds/thousands at once :) Just my 2 cents :) (27 June 2008 11:22)

you can only achieve what you dream of doing...dream big and the end result will surprise no one more than yourself! :) (29 June 2008 06:58)

weekend at the willow glen

Tuesday, 10 June 2008

Last weekend was just lovely. Mary invited Eric and I to come up and spend some time at Willow Glen - the farm that Mary and her fiance, Craig, bought about a year ago.

The place is about 4 hours from Sydney and is in a town called Trunkey Creek (which I keep thinking it's turn-key-creek for some reason) nearish to Bathurst. I was really worried about the weather as it had been raining all week but luckyily it was sunny most of the time.

Mary was already in Bathurst running some errands when we got there. We picked her up and had lunch at Ellies Cafe (good food btw), walked around town and picked up some groceries for the weekend.

The drive from Bathurst to Willow Glen is really really beautiful. I wish I could have stopped along the way and took pictures but I didn't want to delay us getting there. The only stop we made was at Trunkey Creek.

Trunkey Creek is a tiny town with about 50 people. Lots of old broken down sheds and stuff which are all very cool for photos but we were only there for a toilet break. Mary called me a princess for squirming at the rusty loo (I probably wouldn't have gone at all had it not been for my near busting bladder).

We had to drive through other farms to get to Willow Glen. The road was filled with rocks and quartz and we didn't have a 4WD so Eric had to drive in full granny mode. We finally arrived some long time later and I was simply just amazed at the vastness of their farm.

As soon as I got out of the car, I grabbed my camera. There was not much time before the sun sets and I wanted to wander around taking pics. Something totally surprising happened. The crazy cows ran up to the car, mooing very loudly. I was like what is this a stampede?? I mean this can't be normal cow behaviour!

I was totally freaking out. Cows are huge and there were so many of them, all surrounding us! If they had guns they'd probabaly point them at us and say "put your hands up and give us some hay!" Mary dispersed them and reassured us that there was nothing to be afraid of. We, ok me, looked like such a clueless city slicker. How embarrassing! =p

This guy (or gal - i have no idea) is the loudest mooer of the lot.

Thistles can be found everywhere on the property. Most of them are dead but if you look around you can find purple ones here and there.

The sun soon disappeared. We sat around the fireplace, chatting and nibbling on cheese and pate. Mary and Craig's place is just so cosy. I can see why they hike up there so often.

This lamp, its twin in the other corner of the room, combined with the fireplace really provides a nice cosy atmostphere. Aren't those moose candle holders cute?

Craig finally arrived at around 9pm. We had lamb and roast vegies for dinner - thank you Mary.
We talked a bit about the photo session tomorrow and Craig didn't seem so keen hahaha. He is a blokey bloke who can spend his time doing more productive things than posing for photos haha. We did get engagement photos though - watch the next post =)

Yes this weekend was not just about visiting Willow Glen. I have offered to do wedding photography for Mary and Craig and took this opportunity to do an e-session. Stay tuned for those photos but here is a shot of Mary's Canadian diamond engagement ring.

The next morning, Mary and Craig took us for a drive around their property. As soon as Craig took the 4WD out of their shed, the crazy cows came running down the hill! They stopped in front of us and mooed!

Everyone getting ready to go for a drive. Check Mary out. Isn't she so cute? She is a Canadian who has totally embraced the Aussie culture in every way including the outback jacket and hat and all =)

The crazy cows.

Didn't get to shoot at this spot but look how awesome it is. Craig has tied a tyre swing on the tree branch.

If you know the Aussie history you'd know that Bathurst is where the gold rush took place. So? We went gold panning on the farm! Apparently the previous owner did find some gold and Mary and Craig's very cool plan is to find some gold on their very own farm to make their wedding bands!

Eric and I also joined in the gold panning fun. I was really hoping Eric would find something. That would have been very exciting. Nobody found any gold but I hope Mary and Craig will keep digging and hope they will find something.

Now here is probably one of the most exciting part of the entire weekend for me. Near the gold panning spot was this old rusty bed frame and wooden bits of what used to be a room. A long time ago the previous owner and his kid used to camp out in this shed or room when they did their own gold panning. We spent heaps of time and had so much fun shooting in this spot. Now this is gold!!!

While the boys were still panning, I got Mary to do some poses around the bed.

The sun was so strong at the time as can be seen in the above few photos. Turning Mary to one side meant half her face weren't lit. Reflector would be awesome here but I didn't have any. Mary and I left the boys to go find some a reflector of some sort and to prepare some lunch.

Mary prepared lightly toasted ham and chili brie sandwiches.

Lots of stuff in the shed but nothing was really an ideal reflector then I remembered that Eric has a sunshade for the car.

After lunch, we took up shooting at the rusty bed again. Eric was my lovely assistant holding the "reflector". I really love this pic of Mary. She's so cute in this shot!

Of course, after going to all the trouble of find some sort of a reflector. The clouds came over and I didn't need it anymore. I think Eric was thankful for that hehehe.

I did some shots of Mary and Craig here at the rusty bed (see next post). I think it had been only 10 minutes and Craig was already in pain. "Surely we must be done already?" he said hahah.

We eventually let Craig go and have his own fun. Mary offered to take a pic of me and Eric in the same spot which is nice 'cos we don't always get a pic of us! (Yep, sneak peek to the e-session)

My assistant in his Where's Wally jumper.

Then they both took up the cameras and I was put in front of the lens! Now that's not right! While the three of us were having fun with the cameras, you'll never guess what Craig was up to. Remember I said we left him to his own fun? He was testing out his brand new rifle!

One of the hardest thing about taking photos at this place was the fact that you can't just kneel or lie down anywhere. There are things to look out for on the ground everywhere. We're talking kangaroo droppings, cow dungs and thistles! The thistles hurt!

Mary and Craig drove us back to the house where we did some more e-session (and this will be awesome) before Eric and I start heading back home.

Some random stuff along the way out of Willow Glen.

Thank you Mary and Craig for inviting us up to visit your farm. Eric and I had a very enjoyable time and we'll see you up there again in Ocotober for your wedding!!!

Lastly, this is another sneak peek of the engagement session. Mary took this pic for us after I was done photographing them with the cows.

Stay tuned for the engagement shoot!

Labels: life, photography

anything will do

Thursday, 29 May 2008

It's been a while since I picked up the camera and my hands were really itching today. I just wanted to take photos of something...anything! Looking around the kitchen while I was making a cup of tea, I spotted some garlic. Well why not garlic?

After a couple of shots, I thought hey my macro lens has been lonely for quite some time now. Let's get it out and give it some exercise.

I grabbed the macro and a jar of spice found in the pantry and went about setting up my shot. The jar of whatever spice (somebody tell me what it is please) was placed on a stool in front of a large window. I pulled the thin white curtain across to diffuse the sunlight a little. I kneeled, I squatted, ok this is not comfie so I pulled up a lower chair and placed it in front of the stool. Perfect, I can lean on the stool so I didn't even need a tripod hehe.

Anyway, these ain't earth shattering photos but I just wanted to shoot something ok? =)

p.s. The logo poll ain't helping at all. Everybody likes totally different logos and the most annoying thing is may liked #1 which is my original logo!

Labels: photography

wonderful set , beutiful like you your blog. its glad to have you , and you are shearing as very nice and informational photos . thanks alot , i saw your photos on fliker then i come to meet your blog.
if you like to see my photos
www.fliker.com/photos/basirseerat
or
www.basirseerat.blogspot.com (01 June 2008 22:58)

a meeting with gordon

Thursday, 22 May 2008

I have a bit of happy news to share...ok two bits to be precised.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with Gordon Jovic, one of Australian Top 10 Wedding Photographer 2008 (Capture Magazine) at his studio in Rozelle.

As soon as I was invited to sit down, I wasted no time and started pulling out my laptop to show him some of my work. Gordon gave me several kind words about my photos and knowing someone as accomplished as him thinks I have potential really means a lot.

He asked if I love doing photograpy, I said yes I really love it and he said he could tell =)
He also said that he thought I was too young when he first saw me which was quite funny as I was standing at the door before going in thinking about how I was dressed. (Note to self - lose the white puffy jacket and get some grown up clothes!)

I told Eric about this and he cracked up laughing. He said on the training that morning, he was looking at me and thinking how he ended up with such a kiddo =p

After about an hour of chatting with Gordon he mentioned that I can come to the next wedding and shoot the bridal prep with him and that he'd be in touch. I really do hope this happens. I'm really excited about it. Most of all I feel like I am progressing somewhere with my dream.

Now for the second bit...Julie, the beautiful bride from the wedding I assisted in, somehow found my blog and left me a comment saying that she likes the photos. Yey!! =)

I know a lot of people jump right into the wedding photography thing and they get gigs. I wish I was going so slow but oh well progress is progress =)

Labels: photography

Freaky Friday... I was coached by the same dude who coached Gordon ... and I helped coach you in the early days and now it's kinda going round in circles... (05 July 2008 23:34)

photo retouching

Monday, 14 April 2008

"THREE BOOKS HAVE ARRIVED!!!" - my email screamed at me. The books Eric ordered for my b'day finally arrived:

Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing and
Retouching Faces and Bodies
Commercial Photoshop Retouching: In The Studio
Digital Retouching and Compositing: Photographers' Guide (Power!)

Ok I didn't need all three and I doubt I'll get through them all but buying from Amazon is quite cheap so why not?

I am pretty interested in photo retouching and I'm not talking about colour boosting a landscape or softening "pockets" (what I use to call baggy eyes, a.k.a panda eyes) in my portraits etc. I'm talking commercial type photo retouching for magazines and advertisements.

My interest sparked when I was looking for a job and Judith Caingat (site under construction at the moment) advertised a free training program. I checked out her work and thought they were fantastic. She also won a lot of awards. I unfortunately couldn't take it up as the hours were not flexible for me (then again who's to know if she would've hired me in the first place). I really would've loved to be trained by such a talented person but oh well...I got the books instead to play around with.

I also watch a lot of ANTM (that's America's Next Top Model) and no not 'cos I want to be a model but the photography is what interests me (ok the rest of the show too!). The photos always turn out very glam compared to the what you see happening in the shoot and guess what, it's the work of the photo retoucher. Funny how retouchers never get a mention, only photographers do. That's a little unfair isn't it? Those photos only look that awesome 'cos of the combined effort of the photographer and the retoucher. Judith told me that in America (and I don't know how true this is) retouchers often get booked before photographers. Interesting.

Anyway, if I ever get through the books and learn something new and interesting, I'll be sure to put it up =)

Labels: photography