That Glow

EDITOR'S NOTE: Brenda and Humberto are expecting their baby boy in August. They were referred to me by mutual friend Claudia who just had her baby girl Renata this past weekend. Brenda not only shimmered and shine at our sundown shoot Saturday, but her big brown eyes and flawless smile had that baby kickin' the whole time. Humberto and Brenda live in Reynosa, about 2 hours away, and I was overjoyed to be chosen to make their long weekend trip that much more special.

Teensy Splurge

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm so stoked to rock Mac eyeliner tomorrow. I'm totally heading to the restroom at noon just to check it's up to my standards.

Miss Independent

EDITOR'S NOTE:
Zully found DoublClik through a mutual friend, and all pictures were taken at her home. House visit photoshoots are risky since you don't know the area you will be working with, nor the light that will be available. Her room divider worked surprisingly well as a back drop, and her bedroom had beautiful 2 sided light!

Work Ready

EDITOR'S NOTE: I am headed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this summer to visit grandma and her incredible meatballs and the rest of the Capone family relatives. My sister Victoria lives there, and my mom flies in the same night as me!

Peas in a Pod

EDITOR'S NOTE:
No, they're definitely not brothers. Just close friends whose moms are even closer. These pictures were photographed at Danny's mother house. My curiosity was immediately heightened when I was asked at arrival "Would you like to take the elevator or stairs up?" A truly stunning estate.

Oldie but Goodies

I've come a long way as a self-proclaimed Photoshop junkie  artist. I'm opening the vault and showing my humble beginning as a photo editor. Pre-photoshop, pre-Mac interface, pre-photographer, pre-concept of what pixels are. These oldie but goodies are from my highschool days when I used a free trial (that never expired) of LivePix. I didn't take pictures, I just grabbed others' that were posted online and fiddled around on an old Dell computer. Digging through the archive that I had stored on an old Kodak Gallery album has made me cringe, laugh, and blush--but I also can see what I was thinking, and might just have some beginner tips if you are looking to crack into the world of photo enhancement. 
                                                                                                                                                                  



DO: Study fonts, layouts, and try to copy it as close as you can. (Down to the month abbreviation that should go under the title) Vogue covers like to use san seriffs in lots of different sizes in usually 2 contrasting colors. Even though I couldn't get the Vogue title font spot on (Now I would recommenda a condensed version of the font Modern No. 20) I still knew the Vogue title goes behind heads and needs to be a seriff font that takes up the whole width of the cover.
DON'T: If you can believe it, this is the full-res version. I had no concept of pixel count or image size. I just stretched and squooshed! I also excessively used psychedellic outerglow effects because choppy cut outs scared me, and for good reason! Quick selection tool was not a LivePix handy tool! There was a scissors icon, and it was 100% cursor control. 




In the picture: Allison Fors, my sister's college roomate who was leaning against the doorway in their apartment hallway.

 DO: Go to the brand website and see what they're latest sale slogan is. Using Gap's catchy "cozy zip ups" and "huggable knits" phrases gave the ad a more authentic feel.  

DON'T: If you can't get even a little close to the brand's font (which is called Spire Regular) don't try to just settle for a substitute! Yes, I appropriately spaced out the word "b a b y" above GAP, which I made sure was a seriff font, but why I didn't just cut out the logo and paste it I'll never know.

In the picture: Nephews, Evan and Bradley Ivie

 

DO: If you're going to play dress-up with yourself (which is the nicer way of saying cut off your head and put it on a supermodel) do it in B&W. Skin contrasts will not look as stark, and it's easier to, for lack of better word, blend bodies. 


DON'T:  In that case I tried to add Alessandra Ambrosio's hair with mine for more bod. Unfortunately, all VS online catalog shots are cut off above the hairline. Which is why I am sporting a flat sharp line right above my hair swoop. Hair should not be feathery or hazy. I just kept blending and blending, and it kept looking faker and faker. Tim Gunn's "monkey house syndrome" applies 100% especially in body manipulation. The longer you tweak, squoosh, paint, enhance, and cut, you're going to start thinking "Hey! This is looking great, I look goooood!" But after being at the zoo's monkey house for 10 minutes you're     thinking "Hey it doesn't smell bad in here at all anymore."


In the picture: Myself, on Alessandra Ambrosio's body. 

DO: I think I chose an appropriate picture for a perfume ad. I had an eye for the kind of sentimental, sensual look a perfume ad should have. I also knew a sales pitch like "introducing the new summer collection" should be some fine print included.

DON'T:  Tinting the entire ad green ages it and makes it smell like musk for senior citizens. Again, I did not think to just find and cut a real Dior Addict perfume bottle. Had I done that, writing DIOR ADDICT (in the same Charlemagne font as PRADA in my cameo above) wouldn't had been necessary. And on that note, don't think every high fashion brand should be written in Charlemagne! Yes, I indulge in caps lock poweful seriffs, but obviously I was in a rut. No comment on my bolded decorative "Summer Nights."

In the picture: Older sister, Victoria, self-taken with her point and shoot.

DO: Know brand colors; like AE's recognizable navy blue, Tiffany's calm teal, Juicy Couture's pale pink. I luckily had a good copy cat font in my Word library for the American Eagle Outfitters logo. Websites underneath logos up your real factor too.

DON'T:  Max out the glow-o-meter so your model's face is unrecognizable. This is pulling a Phantom of the Opera if you ask me.

In the picture: Older sister Julie.

DO: Play with saturation levels to meet your drop in background image.  You can get away with copying DKNY 's logo with any bold slightly wide san seriff font.

DON'T:  Well for starters, I think I left the half cut out couch in the picture because I was thinking "well we have to be sitting on something in the new picture" WRONG! Why are sitting on a couch in NYC? Like with ongoing traffic? Again with the insane pixelation, it's nauseating right? Are you finding yourself trying to refocus? Lean away from the screen and squint your eyes? Stop. It really is just that crappy of a composition. Don't use drop shadows on fine text. Ever.

In the picture: Myself and gal pal Lisette Oakey.

Hall of Shame: 

You're welcome. 

No, I will not post them at full-res. 

Berry Lovin'

EDITOR'S NOTE: By day, Jeannifer Burnes teaches 7th grade Language Arts and Social Studies at Colegio Inglés, by night she belts the best notes of the 90s. Her sheer talent was a very pleasant surprise!

The Proposal

\

EDITOR'S NOTE: I officially registered today and also signed up for a pre-conference workshop "Quality of Light in Depth"!(That one is coming out of my own pocket.)I'm rooming with Caryn for the week, and 17 other BYU-I students will be joining our group as well. Viva Las Vegas!