Image Info

For this HDR “making of”, 5 exposures were taken with a Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4 G ED VR with the following settings:

exposure time: 0.6s (0EV), 1/6s (-2EV), 0.3s (-1EV), 1.3s (+1EV), 2.5s (+2EV)
focal length: 16.0 mm
aperture: F10.0
ISO: 200

Before taking the shot (see location), I waited for a bus to come into the frame for the longest exposure. Fortunately, the Lexus was parked and wasn’t moving in any of the frames, making the contrast between the car/bus trails and the motionless car more striking.

RAW exposures

HDR Exposure (realistic version) processed in Oloneo PhotoEngine

HDR Exposure (extreme version) processed in Oloneo PhotoEngine

The Final Result (full HD wallpaper)

Workshop Announcement

There are still a few places available for Paris HDR workshop on May 21-22nd. If you wish to learn what you’ll see on this video, make sure to make your reservation now!

A workshop will take place on May 28-29 in Nice, France. Official announcement of the workshop in Montreal will be done in June 2011.

The Making Of

The Video

The steps

For this making of, the following steps were undertaken.

1. Image alignment: it so happens from time to time that the tripod is moved slightly in between exposures. To fix this, I used the “load files into stack” script in Photoshop and repasted the corrected TIF into its original file.
2. dual HDR processing in Oloneo PhotoEngine (if you haven’t checked the review, it’s here): The first tonemapping was fairly realistic and would be used as a basis for the image, then a second tonemapping was applied and would be used for certain parts of the image.
3. manual blending of the two HDR generated
4. semi-automatic blending of the sky of one of the exposures using selections composites.
5. manual blending of the bus/car trails and hot spots
6. local contrast adjustments using blending modes such as soft light and normal blending modes
7. sharpening and edge sharpening using low and high radius high pass sharpening
8. special effects

The mini PSD

Want to see how it’s done in Photoshop, email me and I will send you a mini PSD containing all the layers.

Full length video

This full length video of 35+ minutes will be available with text commentary and explanations on the DVD of the HDR workshop. It may be available for individuals, message me for more information and prices.

Agrandir le plan

As usual, pictures were taken with a Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4 G ED VR and HDR were processed in Oloneo PhotoEngine and minor adjustments in Photoshop.

• beautiful sculpture and mural at the entrance of the Rockefeller Center, NYC

• Center alley and stores of Rockefeller building at dusk, NYC

• Teuscher Chocolatier, rockefeller center store, NYC

• the flags of Rockefeller center, NYC

• another view of the rock, rockefeller Center, NYC

• yellow cab in front of Rockefeller Center, NYC

Thanks for viewing!

I just had time for a quick series of pictures.

All pictures were taken with a Nikon D700 + Nikkor 16-35MM VR F/4.0 and edited in Oloneo PhotoEngine Beta version (standalone HDR application available on PC) with the following settings:

Lors de mon dernier séjour dans la ville de Québec pour un workshop Photoshop, nous avions planifié une session à l’heure bleue avec le club photo dimension et la soirée était parfaite.

J’en ai profité pour faire une petite séries de photos  entre la rue Saint-Louis et la Rue des Jardins.

Tous les photos ont été prises avec un Nikon D700 + Nikkor 16-35MM VR F/4.0 et éditées dans Oloneo PhotoEngine (application HDR disponible en version beta sur PC) avec les réglages suivants:

• Quebec City, Epicerie fine Richard et Edifice price, rue des Jardins

• Quebec City, Epicerie fine Richard et Edifice price, rue des Jardins

Quebec City, Restaurant Café de la Paix et Epicerie fine Richard et Edifice price, rue des Jardins

• Quebec City, Restaurant “aux Anciens Canadiens”, Rue Saint-Louis

• Quebec City, Restaurant “aux Anciens Canadiens”, Rue Saint-Louis

Curious about creating great pîctures at the blue hour? I would strongly suggest to check this post too!

Before reading the next paragraph, STOP for a moment think if you’re willing to INVEST time doing this.

You WILL get results if you put the time and effort and focus on following those 5 rules.

Tip number 1: Read Dale Carnegie!

Dale Carnegie? Who’s that guy? He has written the number 1 self-help book of all times;  “How to win Friends and Influence People” (published in 1937). Oh I hear you… you don’t need friends… well you’re wrong… A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet.  It’s much easier to take photos of friends, even if they were strangers 5min ago. Your ability to put someone comfortable is a THE skill you need to be an efficient portrait photographer.

So if you on how to interact with people and/or strangers and if you wish you knew what’s missing in your social skills to be a great portrait photographer, then go ahead and read this book and follow those simple rules:

• Become genuinely interested in other people : To create great portraits, you have to be in the moment, not think about yourself but about the person who is in front of you. Be curious, ask questions about them, tell some jokes and it’ll be a walk in the park to photograph them.

• Smile: This one is number one in my book! It helps get rid of negative thoughts and will attract you happy and receptive people to photograph.

• Be a good listener: It helps making someone comfortable, happy, confident and more relaxed. Being a good conversationalist is a great skill to have and it starts by … listening.

• Talk in the terms of the other person’s interest: One way to succeed in portraiture is asking what other person wants. For that reason I always ask clients what’s his/her intent for their pictures and what they wish to project.

• Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely: Your model has to feel important and comfortable, it is the center of attention and it should retain all your focus. When you shoot a portrait the world outside just disappears, it’s like a communion between you and your subject.

This is GOLD, it’s so easy to implement you’ll be wondering why you never tried it before. Stick this on your wall, on your IPhone and let the magic work. Use your camera to give you confidence and look at people straight in the eyes and SMILE! Reading this book has been a transforming experience for me and it could be the same for you if you take the time to go through the each tip diligently.

Tip Number 2: Shoot strangers, lots of strangers

First, you’ll learn to deal with rejection. You will also learn all the possible responses to “Hi, would you mind if I took a picture of you?”. Second, remember that

strangers are friends you haven’t met YET!

People who accept to have their pictures taken by smiling photographers are usually great people and you’ll make friends with a lots of them. It’s also a great way to adapt to different types of personalities and face types.

When I started shooting portraits, I went 6 weeks shooting people EVERY single day (for an hour) in the streets with just a D200+85mm F/1.8 and a SB800 with a diffuser (as a fill). I would walk to someone, smile and ask “Hi, would you mind if I took a few pictures of you?”. If the response was yes, I would snap no more than 15-20 pictures (2-5 minutes), take the person’s email and send them the picture once it’s edited. In that 6 week span, I approached close to 300 people in old Montreal, photographed close to 150. What the most important is that I met a LOT of amazing people, I learned how to work through the approach anxiety, how to get good shots within 2-3 minutes, how to adapt to people’s energy. After a while, you know who’ll say yes and who to avoid. By being courteous, smiling and even a little bit quirky, everything goes well 99% of the time. I also got really more confident along the way. Now, I do it from time to time when I see someone who’s

Remember to check your camera settings before approaching someone. Feel free to give them advices on how to pose (like tilting the head down… nooo… not that much… just a tiny bit… see, that’s much better!)

Tip Number 3: Value feedback

Honestly, unless you’re good at evaluating your pictures without judgment and with accuracy, post your pictures online, ask for honest feedback and criticism for professionnals but also from non-professionnals (remember that clients are non professionals, technical perfection is meaningless if the client does not like the picture). Failure does not exist and even behind a negative critic there is a lesson to learn.

Remember that when they will review the pictures, they will see it from their perspective, take their comments as feedback. Some (very very few) people just might never LOVE their pictures. This is fine as long as you feel you gave all you had into those shots.

Tip Number 4: Shoot events and/or do portraits marathons

The upgraded version of shooting strangers is shooting a LOT of strangers at the SAME time!

Yes sure what events? I can’t shoot portraits… now how do you think I’ll get hired for that! Here are a few options: Photograph people in a parade, people are happy to be there and will be more inclined to say yes. . Another option is to go to clubs and shoot all evening and post pictures online, it’s a great way to make yourself known and to get a lot of practice and once you’re good you’ll be able to get paid for it.

However, my personal preference to develop a portrait portfolio is doing portraits marathons. Shoot a group of persons one after the other during a whole day or an afternoon. My most memorable experience in that aspect was shooting headshots of a whole class (27 students) of 2nd year acting students in barely 4h less than 3 months after having started shooting portraits. Shooting a different stranger ever 5-10 minutes was like being on a rollercoaster and going in a trance, there is no room for over-thinking things in that situation. That experience was amazing and a stepping stone to more amazing experiences later.

Repeat this section several times during 6 months and your skills will increase so dramatically people will think you’ve been doing that for a long time.

Tip Number 5: Attends photography workshops

Now you’ve gone through the first 4 tips, it’s time to confront yourself to the reality and get feedback from professional photographers. First you will learn valuable advices about learning how to light and uses strobes and flashs. Second, you will see them work with models and you’ll be able to check how different your process is compared to theirs. You will also notice what’s missing in your workflow. I attended a Learning to Light workshop 5 months after starting doing portraiture and I got: great pictures from my portfolios, great advices from an amazing photographer and teacher with 40 years of experience, new photographer friends and a bunch of easy techniques and tips on how to light your subjects.

There are other workshops around, you’re welcomed to share them in your comments and share what you’ve learned from them.

Tip number 6: the usual …

Sorry I lied about the 5 tips.

The usual advices are to check websites such as:

• Lighting Essentials: Great tips about lighting and pro photography business.
• strobist: Great tips on lighting. I hear good things about their workshops.
• Model Mayhem: Great place to find models, a good starting point too.

Thanks for viewing!

Note: all photos presented here were taken in the context of this post.

Before we start, if you’d like to get the chance to win a print of those photos of Paris, I would highly suggest to sign-up on the website before it’s too late. There is a monthly print giveaway!

Now back to Paris, let’s start the countdown to the top 10 postcard views of Paris and of the reasons to love them:

Number 10: The golden fountain of Place de la Concorde (check google map location of where the picture was taken)

This picture shows what happens when the sun is hidden behind the Place de La Concorde Fountain , it’s a golden moment.

Number 09: A Magical fall Afternoon over Paris (google maps location)

The clouds on this photos are truly spectacular and the light of the end of the afternoon makes for amazing contrasts.

Number 08: Rush Hour on Rue Royale (google maps location)

This picture was taken from Place de la Concorde and show an interesting perspective of Rue Royale towards Place de la Madeleine. A 13 seconds exposure was enough to capture the car trails.

Number 07: Dreamy Afternoon at the Square René Viviani (google maps location)

This one is one of the most romantic place and has seen a lot of lovers announcing their engagement their, just a few hundreds meters from Notre Dame De Paris.

Number 06: The Grand Boulevards of Paris City (google maps location)

This is an unusual view of Paris, taken with a wide angle lens from the last floor of the Printemps store. The beautiful cloudy sky makes for a really interesting shot!

Number 05: Stormy Sunset over Paris (google maps location)

Taken at the same moment as photo number 02, this is what happens when the sun sets after a storm in Paris. The mix of dark grey and the golden roofs of Paris make for a wonderful contrast!

Oh, I almost forgot: First time buyers receive an automatic 15% discount (use FIRSTBUY11) on their first prints so sign up (minimum of 70$)!

Number 04: A Painter’s Perfect Afternoon (google maps location)

This one is particular because of the human dimension to this photo. The lighting of this beautiful afternoon of October was both soft and dramatic, perfect for a postcard of Paris.

Number 03: Traffic on La Défense Skyline (google maps location)

This is one of my most recent pictures of Paris, it was taken a clear and crisp evening of March at rush hour. My favorite details about this photo are the rays of lights and the reflections between buildings.

Number 02:  The Last breath of a Fading Sun Over Paris (google maps location)

This photo features one of the most beautiful golden sunsets. It was taken an evening of December, during a stormy afternoon from the top of Arc de Triomphe!

Number 01: Sunset on The Seine River (google maps location)

Some may prefer the previous one however this photo is still my favourite photo and postcard view of Paris. It shows an amazing sunset light over La Seine and beautiful purple tones throughout the picture.

Thanks for viewing!

While a lot of people are in their offices working or barely out in the metro or the subway, most people don’t see that special moment of the day where the sun goes down in December and that the sky becomes electric blue or purple if it snowing. The reflections of light on the snow gives it some pink to violet accents which are magical.

Properly covered and even wearing gloves, going out and capturing the life of a neighborhood is always fascinating and nice adventure close to home. Let’s start this week with Masson Street, located in Rosemont District in Montreal.

Masson Street is the heart of Old Rosemont and bears some of the most noticeables landmarks of this neighbourhood. It starts from Papineau Street and fisnishes up at Pie IX Boulevard and the Botanical Garden. It was the main commercial artery since 1905. Since a few years ago, the artery has become more vibrant and dynamic.

Here is some photos captured an evening of December. Enjoy the walk!

• nice neons of Tabagie Imperiale

• Facade of Bistro bar les Gemeaux

• some christmas decoration hanging on the street

• the colourful and cute facade of Fruiterie Premier Choix

• another angle of the colourful and cute facade of Fruiterie Premier Choix

• The Trinity United Church

• Man walking on the street

• People preparing for supper time at M sur Masson restaurant, one of the street most prized restaurant

• Woman reading at Brulerie Saint-Denis on a beautiful cold evening

• Entrance of Cafe Lezard, one of the most popular bars on Masson.

• Poivre et Sel grocery store

• People waiting to cross at the corner of Saint-Michel and Masson.

• Shell Station at dusk

• The local post office

• Cute Christmas decoration on a balcony of Masson Street

• Photos of a classic food joint of Masson Hotdogs

Thanks for viewing!

Equipment used for the shoot

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G

Default ISO settings : 800

Aperture: between F/1.4 and F/2.0

The 50mm is my favorite lens to capture streetscapes and scenes and its low light ability allows for great documentary styles images.

hardware used for the editing

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bits

Core 2 Duo E6750 + 4GB memory

Samsung 275T 27″ monitor + Samsung 244T 24″ monitor

Wacom Intuos 3 tablet

The Wacom tablet is always a must have tool for editing. It allows for pressure sensitive adjustments and it will speed up your workflow once you get used to using it.

Software used for the editing

Photoshop Cs5

Thanks for viewing!

The Location

Located at the end of Colorado Street, Santa Monica Pier is the city’s most prized and one of the oldest landmarks of the City.

Agrandir le plan

In the city for a business trip in November 2010 and staying in Santa Monica, I had to capture the beauty of this place at the best time of day: the blue hour! I was surprised and lucky because it was a quiet night and contrary to my last trip in the summer, it was not overly crowded. After parking at the entrance, the first building to photograph was the Bubba Gimp Shrimp Co Restaurant.

Then going up on the Pier, I was fascinated by the scene of the Surf View Cafe  and for a more dynamic scene, I let a few people walk into the frame. The result is amazing!

The view towards the end of the pier shows beautiful colours against the blue sky.

Then you get to the amazing entrance of Pacific Park where you’ll see a big octopus dominating the scene.

A few dozen meters further, on the left part of the Pier, you get this wonderful view.

And walking a bit further you get these two amazing scenes. I especially  love how the HDR brings out the texture of the weathered wooden floor of the pier and how the 2 shops light up the scene against the blue skyline. The colours balance is nearly perfect.

Order an exclusive limited edition print!

Thanks for viewing!

Equipment used for the shoot

Nikon D700

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4 G ED VR

Gitzo Leveling 6X tripod GT2540LVL

Default ISO settings : 200

Using the 16-35mm was the best way to capture the place “landscape” style and shoot for HDR. What’s really important when shooting for HDR at night it’s to capture all the details of the highlights and have a base exposure with sufficient shadow details. When choosing focal lengths, staying away from 16-20mm helps avoiding distortion and stretching. Contrary to the 14-24mm from Nikon, this lens allows for the use of filters (77mm diameter).

hardware used for the editing

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bits

Core 2 Duo E6750 + 4GB memory

Samsung 275T 27″ monitor + Samsung 244T 24″ monitor

Wacom Intuos 3 tablet

The Wacom tablet is always a must have tool for editing. It allows for pressure sensitive adjustments and it will speed up your workflow once you get used to using it.

Software used for the editing

Photoshop Cs5

32-Float Plugin from Unified Colours – HDR Experts

This was my first series of tests done using this new application from Unified Colours | The HDR Experts. Contrary to other tools like Photomatix, it’s much more easier to set the black point and once you find the right “recipe”, it’s pretty straighforward to use. Colour rendition is way superior to Photomatix and overall result is more realistic. Check for yourself and use coupon code “dgphotohdr” for a get 20% off any of the products.

Contact me for questions or if you’d like to see some topics discussed in more details here!

Thanks for viewing.

Creating  a striking portrait is teamwork. It’s about mastering the lighting, having a talent who’s able to convey your vision and the ability to put the talent in the right mind state.Finally, using the right editing techniques is key to achieve the result that you want in the end.

1. Light Setup

This light setup is pretty straightforward. It combines traditional butterfly lighting with the beauty dish just overhead of the model and two back lights very close for more contrast that will be used as hair light and to highlight the jaw line symmetrically. Having the main light around 1 feet from the model makes for a more contrast yet a very soft look. The diffusion sock on the  beauty dish makes it like a round softbox.

If you are curious about this lighting, please go and check Joel Grimes tutorial here. Joel is an amazing commercial photographer from  Arizona who creates stunning portraits using cutting edge techniques.

2. the shoot

Once the lighting is ready, time to bring the model. In that particular example, it wasn’t really a planned portrait session. Brent happened to drop by the studio. We chatted a little bit and I asked him if he’d like me to take a few shots of him. Brent is a unique character and I wanted to bring the intensity he had in him in the photo. As it happens sometimes, the first photo taken was the best one and the photoshoot lasted barely 5min! Having rapport with the model and making him/her extremely comfortable quickly is a key aspect of a successful portrait.

3. the editing

For that particular photo, I wanted to create an edgy look with contrast that matched the lighting.

So before going into details, here is the accelerated video of how I did this portrait in Photoshop. In real-time, getting this result took 37 minutes.

Just before I explain more into depth, I’d like to mention that all my editing is done using a Wacom Tablet (Intuos 3 – 9×12″ around 500$ or Intuos 4 – 4×6″ around 200$). If you think you’ll spend a lot of time editing, get one. Some models from Wacom are really cheap. Tthe tablet gives you the ability to map the opacity or thickness of the brush depending on the pressure and/or the angle of the pen. It’s really really powerful!

Now, the workflow I use is pretty straightforward

Step 1 – Removal of skin blemishes (done in Adobe Camera Raw – not shown here)

Step 2 -Removal of skin imperfections, small hair, red veins in the eyes. I use a lot the healing brush and the clone stamp (mostly in lighten mode to soften shadows).

Step 3 – Eye editing. I like to add a bit more light and contrast, the amount depending on the type of portrait done. It’s done using curves adjustment layers and using screen bending mode to lighten and soft light to add contrast.

Step 4 – Contouring. Contouring is a form of dodging and burning to create shape and highlight face features in a portrait. It’s done using curves adjustments layers and switching blending modes to screen (to lighten) and multiply (to darken).

Step 5 – General curves adjustments. I use levels and curves adjustment layers and a mask based on channels luminosities to affect mostly shadows and midtones and not highlights.

Step 6 – Tonal contrast adjustment. In this example, it’s done using a black and white adjustment layer and using the soft light blending mode. Using high pass sharpening helps also bring more contrast.

Step 7 – Sharpening. In this example, high pass sharpening was used.

The core of the workflow does not change. It’s pretty straightforward.

4. the final result

Here is the final image, with a few corrections compared to the end image of the video.

Thanks for viewing!

Case 1:  cloudy day, natural light, indoor

Melissa and I had scheduled that shoot in Malibu a while back and even though sun was expected (well, it’s California after all, isn’t it supposed to be sunny?!?), it barely showed up so after we tried to use umbrellas and speed-lights indoor, we chose to use only natural light, so I asked her to sit in front of the window. The result is nothing short of spectacular, the clouds and windows acted as a giant softbox and gave the most flattering light, softening the skin perfectly.

Case 2: Sunny day, natural light, outdoor:

After we were done shooting inside the studio, we decided to head out and take photos of JP with just natural light.  It was a beautiful day and there were just a few clouds in the sky, but there were enough of them so when one of the clouds covered the sun, I took this photo. The difference with previous case is that there is a bit more contrast and saturation due to the fact that it was a brighter day.

Case 3: cloudy day, natural light bounced off building, outdoor

As we were going down the stairs, I just noticed the pattern of light on Olivier’s face and asked him to sit down. That Rembrandt lighting was remarkable. Light was bounced from the nearby wall of a building. Light falloff was pretty quick due to the fact we were in the stairways. This made for a great headshot!

Case 4: Sunny day, natural light + fill flash, outdoor

One of the setup I like to use when I want to travel light is a single flash on-camera with a Gary Fong diffuser. Most of the time, I use the sun as a hairlight/backlight and I use the flash with a diffuser as a fill to take care of shadows. Most of the time, it gives a really interesting result and it’s easy to work with like here with Andrea. I love the expression of happiness and spitiruality and how the light falls on the left side of her face. The flash here barely lits this photo as the light is diffused also through the leaves of the nearby trees.

Case 5 Golden hour, natural light: At sunset, there are two ways of handling the light, using it as a backlight or use it as a main light. In that example, Haylie is in front of the setting sun, which also lits the grass perfectly. There is a reason why this moment of the day is referred as the golden hour. This light is magical, especially during fall season, like on this example.

Case 6: Studio, one beauty dish, butterfly lighting

In some situations, there is no need for complex light setups. One light can be more than enough. Butterfly setup is one of the lighting I prefer and to take advantage of it, using a boom is mandatory so that the light is in front of the subject, slightly over outside of the image. In that example, the light also reaches the background and allows for separation between the subject and the background to create a strong portrait of Victoria.

Case 7: Studio, one beauty dish, Rembrandt lighting

Another type of simple lighting is Rembrandt lighting, with the flash mounted with a beauty dish to camera right and up. There is some feathering here to lit the background. The proximity of the light allowed for a strong contrast and made it a really strong portrait of Olivier.

Case 8: Studio, one softbox + golden reflector

For this portrait of Scott James, DJ, the main light is a softbox at camera right and the light is bounced back on the other side of the face using a golden reflector (which gives a warm tone to the skin).

Case 9: Studio, 3 lights with grids

For this particular portrait, I used 3 lights with 3 grids (10, 20 and 30 degrees) to recreate lighting from the 1940s and 50s. Even if the sources of lights are not especially soft, the fact that all the face is lit from all angle gives a soft look to this portrait of Robyn.

Case 10: Studio, 3 lights (2 softboxes and 1 beauty dish)

For that last example, two softboxes were used to the left and right of the subject, slightly behind and a beauty dish in front and slightly above camera was used as a main light. This lighting gives a 3 dimensional aspect to this portrait of Ze’ev.

Thanks for viewing!

I met Haylie during Don Giannatti Lighting Essentials workshop in November 2009. She is a cheerleader for the Toronto Argonauts CFL football team and it was a great experience shooting with her.

First series of photos were taken inside the studio (William Ainsley Photography Studio in Bowmanville, Ontario in the GTA area)  and we used an orange background and single flash equiped with a Speedlight Pro Kit softbox diffuser.

It was a beautiful afternoon of November, the day had been overcast for most of the day, but as the sun was about to set, the sky cleared and the light was nothing short of amazing. Taking advantage of the studio surroundings was easy and matching the colour of Haylie’s hair with the background made for stunning images.

Finally, using the last bit of light available, we went on the nearby street and shot some photos using the vanishing point. We asked her to walk away and turn back as she would be leaving.

Thanks for viewing.