Well It's Not All About The Cake

It's All About the Cake!

A DIY Spot Grid

Here is one for the DIY types. It's a quickand cheap spot grid. Take the jump over to the good people at the Strobist for instructions http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/10/free-and-so-easy-diy-grid-spots-for.html

Two Little Love Birds Sitting In a Tree........

Another Revelation Card's Product Shot

Another Photoshop Retouching Video

Product Shot For Revelation Cards

Did some product shots for Revelation cards. We did a complete series of "propped" shots for their line of gargoyle greeting cards. The owner asked for shots of the cards together with "props" to give a feel for how the cards could be used. Not your typical "product" shot with neutral lighting on flat white background.

In the end the owner and I decided to keep the shots on a white background, but unlike the hero shots already in use, a textured background. You can check out Revelation cards website www.revelationcards.com.

Trevor Brucki Interviewed at F-Stop Beyond

Hit the jump to hear the interview at F-Stop Beyond http://fstopbeyond.tv/?p=409

Class of 2010 Senior Ambassador Program

C2 Photography is starting the selection process for Senior Ambassadors for the class of 2010. We will be selecting a maximum of three students for each of the following schools: North Eugene, South Eugene, Sheldon, Willamette, and Churchill

Qualifications to be a Senior Ambassador:

1. A full time student in high school, graduating in 2010

2. Extremely active with activities at school.

3. Extremely social and outgoing personality.

4. Confident person who is willing to share information about things they are excited about.

5. Permission from parent(s) to participate.

6. Willing to meet with us periodically throughout the year, at convenient times for all those involved, of course.

Our ambassadors will receive a 2-3 hour photo session at multiple locations of their choice. In addition they will receive the following:

1. 1 12x18 print

2. 5 8x10 or 8x12 prints

3. 10 5x7 prints

4. 16 wallets

5. 15 images resized for FaceBook & MySpace

6. Dvd slide show with music built from session images

7. Master image disk with personal use copyright release of completed images

8. Online gallery to share with friends and family

9. Online version of dvd slideshow to share with friends and family

10. Discount promotional cards to give away

The ambassador’s will only pay $300 for the entire package (that’s a $295 discount) In addition each ambassador will receive $25 cash for every referral that books a session with us.

The senior will receive an additional one hour fall session to refresh their images. Interested students should contact us to complete an application. chris@c2-photo.com 541-915-3410

Another Photoshop Eye Tutorial

Save The Pets Fund Raiser

Help support a great local non-profit. This is pretty easy, simply click on the flyer to bring it to full size, print it out, and take it to Papa's Pizza tonight! 1/2 of the dollars you spend on food go directly to the Save The Pets group. This flyer is only valid at the Coburg road location.

One More Of The Puppy

K9 Portrait

Lacrosse Player Portrait

Top Of The City

Leason Learned

I got this GREAT shot of Malia right before the Railroad Police showed up. Yep, they have their very own armed police force. Needless to say, this was the last shot we got on the tracks.

Gerlinger Hall At The University Of Oregon

Selective Eye Color

Boys: Getting The Most Out Of Your Senior Portraits

Colors:
Solid colors photograph best. Solid white or light pastels for a high key portrait and solid black for a black on black look great. Earth tones are perfect for outdoor portraits. Avoid large prints, stripes, plaids and patterns as they distract from your face. Shirts with logo’s or text are also distracting. Bring a variety of colors too.

Outfits:
Bring a selection of formal and casual outfits for a variety of looks. Keep in mind that we will be doing some full-length shots, so consider shoes and socks when putting your outfits together. Remember that some outfits that look cool today are going to look dated tomorrow, so bring some classic styles as well as trendy ones. Bring a few that your mom likes as well as your favorite outfit.

You can bring as many outfits as you want and we will suggest the ones which will photograph the best. Please group the outfits you are going to wear together on hangers. Make sure they are properly pressed as wrinkled garments do not photograph well and are not retouchable. Outfits shoved into a bag generally do not come out looking as good.

Sports uniforms and letterman’s jackets are also great choices to highlight your activities. Be sure to bring along any props that go with your outfit.
Remember to bring black or dark tshirts to wear under dark shirts, white or light to wear under light shirts.

Hair:
Avoid a new cut, style or color right before your portrait. Make sure to have a clean shave before you arrive. Stubble is very difficult to retouch and does not look as good as a clean shave.

Props:
You can bring whatever props you would like to include in your portraits. These include things like a car or motorcycle, sports equipment, instruments, skis, trophies, or theatrical costumes. You can also bring a friend along to include in several shots. Pets are welcome too, so long as they are housetrained if they are going to be in the studio. Having another person along to care for the pet when they are not in pictures is an absolute must. Bringing a carrier for small pets is recommended

.
Bringing Your Ideas:
If you have seen poses or shots that you really like, bring them along. These can be shots that you have seen of other seniors that you know, on websites, or even in magazines. You can always email ahead of time any websites that contain poses or looks that you like and we will work to recreate the look for you.

Retouching:
Normal retouching is included with all your finished portraits so don’t worry if you have a breakout before your session. Most tattoos can be removed from your pictures. Please tell us if you want your tattoos retouched or not. Sunburn and tan lines do not look good in portraits and are extremely difficult to retouch. Just be careful of your sun exposure and tanning in the weeks before your portrait.

Arriving for your portrait:
Our studio works by appointment only. We allow up to 2 hours for your senior portrait so you have our entire attention for you scheduled time. Please plan to arrive no more than 10 minutes early for your portrait. A very early arrival may overlap with a previous client leaving or we may be returning from a location shoot and not at the studio to receive you. A late arrival will shorten your shoot and you may not get as many outfits or clothing changes as usual. Keep in mind that while you can do as many outfit changes as you wish, taking a long time to change clothing and/or hairstyles will cut down on your shooting time.

Viewing and ordering your portraits:
Your portraits will be ready for viewing in 2-3 weeks, or sooner if we are close to your yearbook deadline. We post your portraits to our online gallery. You can review them and place your order online or directly with the studio depending on the package you choose. High quality digital files are also available, as are DVD slide shows

Father Daughter Moment

Team Photos and Team Building

Photography can also serve as a team building exercise for the athletes involved. This shot was done at a team "photo night". The girls got together as a "team" and after a team dinner had a slew of photos taken. They got flat silly! Making jokes and dogging whatever girl was in front of the camera. They had a blast teasing each other and at points seeing who could strike the best "America's Next Top Model" pose.

As a team your imagination is the limit when designing something like this. Likewise it could also be done as a destination type shoot as well. A road trip to some dramatic backdrop (Silver Falls, University of Oregon Campus, Skinners Butte, the Oregon Coast, etc.). They key is to keep it a team experience (just the team & the photographer).

Personal Touch To Sports Photos

We produced a series of magazine covers for this girls soccer team. There are some other studios that have templates for covers similar to this one. We like to take it a step further. The typical cover template just changes the name of the athlete and has pretty generic text in the body of the image. When I designed these covers, I asked the parents to give us three of four short blurbs about each of the girls. The result, is while the covers are all similar, they each speak to the individuality of each athlete. Again, just that little something extra that transforms it from a novelty, to a treasured keepsake.

Team Sports Photography

With spring soccer fast approaching I thought I put up an example of an individual player portrait we did for a girls soccer team in the fall. I really have never been a big fan of the chain studio team pictures. I have bad memories of the annual cattle call, production line photography I was subjected to in my youth. Not to mention the totally generic look of the pictures. We spent a little extra time with this team and created images the kids actually liked, and enjoyed posing for. With a 15 girl roster, the cost for a team session including 8x10 prints and MySpace and FaceBook ready jpeg files would be $20 per player. That is actually less than the comparable league photo package would be.

Photojournalism With An Oregon Connection

An Inhouse Set Of Actions For Photoshop

Purple Haze

Family Moment

Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider

I get a lot of questions about Photoshop processing and digital effects that I use in my projects. I get a lot of "where did you learn that". Inevitably I say either Scott Kelby or Kevin Kubota. So here is a link to Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider blog http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/.

Team Photo Options

Had another email asking if C2 did sports photography so I thought I would put up a team video we did for North Eugene Soccer Club.

Edge Treatment Process

Highpass Treatment Filter

Ineffectuals drummer Kris

Ineffectuals Lead Singer Wesley Curtis

Derek of the Eugene Band The Ineffectuals

The Ineffectuals CD Release Party @ The Wandering Goat

Quin on the guitar. The CD release party for the Origins album was great. The venue was quite small and provided limited sight lines for shooting.

Photoshop Retouching Makeup

Photoshop On Eyes

Little Ms. Blue Eyes

Soft Focus

Chase Jarvis Photo Shoot

Light Cage Shows You The Light

http://www.photoworkshop.com/static/lightcage/index.html will show you how moving your main light will effect you photo.

Baby Bump

From Alton Baker Park

Another Look At The Studio Cat

Looking A Little Gangster

A Quick Look At Our Basic Service For Realtors

This video is from a recent project we did for a a local realtor. We did the basic photo shoot of the property and then built the slideshow as an alternative to the virtual tour.

Great Twilight Inspired Christmas Card By Zack Hodges

Check out the awesome twilight inspired Christmas card by Zack Hodges! Want to see how he did it? Follow the link on over to his blog http://zachhodges.com/blog/twilight-christmas-how-we-did-it/

The Studio Cat

Planning For Your Maternity Photo Shoot

Sheduling:

If you are having a maternity portrait session then I advise you to book about your session for about 8 weeks (32 weeks) before your due date.

If you have decided to do this last minute and you are already past that date then please contact me I will make every effort to fit you into any openings I have.


Shot preparations:

On the day of the shoot make sure you have something to eat and try to avoid tight clothing that may leave elastic marks on your skin. If it is not too uncomfortable then I recommend you leave your bra off for at lease an hour before we start. If this is too uncomfortable then I can airbrush out any strap marks during processing; your comfort is the most important thing.


Clothing:

I recommend plain clothing with no logos. We want to emphasize your beautiful shape and busy clothes can be distracting. Bring several outfits both light and dark. I recommend a couple of tank tops one white one black. You should also plan on some casual pants that show off your wonderful baby-belly. A pair of non-panel jeans also makes for some great shots.

I always take the time before each session to discuss the sort of portrait that you want to have before we start. Some mums-to-be want to celebrate their bump fully clothed and others are happy to go for a more "Demi Moore" type session.

However you chose to be photographed, the end result will be a beautiful piece of art that will celebrate the wonderful nine month journey that you are going through.

Getting The Most From Your Senior Portrait Session

Here are some suggestions to make your senior portraits the best possible…

Clothing
Colors:
Solid colors photograph best. Solid white or light pastels for a high key portrait and solid black for a black on black look great. Earth tones are perfect for outdoor portraits. Avoid large prints, stripes, plaids and patterns as they distract from your face. Shirts with logo’s or text are also distracting. Bring a variety of colors too.

Outfits:
Bring a selection of formal and casual outfits for a variety of looks. Keep in mind that we will be doing some full-length shots, so consider shoes and socks when putting your outfits together. Remember that some outfits that look cool today are going to look dated tomorrow, so bring some classic styles as well as trendy ones. Bring a few that your mom likes as well as your favorite outfit.

You can bring as many outfits as you want and we will suggest the ones which will photograph the best. Please group the outfits you are going to wear together on hangers. Make sure they are properly pressed as wrinkled garments do not photograph well and are not retouchable. Outfits shoved into a bag generally do not come out looking as good.

Sports uniforms, dance outfits, and letterman’s jackets are also great choices to highlight your activates. Be sure to bring along any props that go with your outfit.

Flattering Garments:
If you feel your arms are at all heavy, avoid tank tops, spaghetti straps, sleeveless and cap sleeve outfits. Long sleeves tend to look better than short sleeves and will slenderize your arms. Dark colors minimize, light colors maximize. Baggy clothes can make even the slenderest person appear heavier. Make an honest assessment of or get a second opinion on very tight clothes to make sure they flatter your figure.

Consider what undergarments you are going to wear with each outfit also. Patterned panties may be cute, but if they show through your white pants or dress they don’t look too good. You also need a bra or bras that work with each of your outfits. Nude tone works well for most clothing or white with light colors, black with dark colors. The clear strap bras work great too. Bring a strapless if you need it. Tucking straps never look good in photographs.

Hair & Makeup:
Wear your hair however you normally would. Girls can put their hair up or down for different shots. Avoid a new cut, style or color right before your portrait. Bring whatever hair styling tools you need, including hairspray and any other styling products. While we do our best to make your hair look great in pictures, it is hard for us to know what it is “supposed to look like”. Having mom or a friend there to check your style is often very helpful.

Makeup can either be natural or a little heavier as you would apply for evening wear. Try to avoid sparkles, especially the kind with big pieces of glitter as they catch the light and show up as white dots on your face. A little extra mascara can really make your eyes stand out, just make sure your mascara is fresh not clumpy. Pressed powder is great for controlling shine, especially when it is hot.

Your hands are often in the close-up pictures, so make sure your nails are nicely manicured, as chipped polish will show. We sometimes do barefoot shots too, so a pedicure is also recommended. With nail color, we suggest natural or neutral, something that will go with all of your outfits. Bright orange or blue will draw your eye to your nails in a portrait and not to your face. French is fabulous!

Props:
You can bring whatever props you would like to include in your portraits. These include things like a car or motorcycle, sports equipment, instruments, skis, trophies, or theatrical costumes. You can also bring a friend along to include in several shots. Pets are welcome too, so long as they are housetrained if they are going to be in the studio. Having another person along to care for the pet when they are not in pictures is an absolute must. Bringing a carrier for small pets is recommended.

Bringing Your Ideas:
If you have seen poses or shots that you really like, bring them along. These can be shots that you have seen of other seniors that you know, on websites, or even in magazines. You can always email ahead of time any websites that contain poses or looks that you like and we will work to recreate the look for you.

Retouching:
Normal retouching is included with all your finished portraits so don’t worry if you have a breakout before your session.

Most tattoos can be removed from your pictures. Please tell us if you want your tattoos retouched or not.

Sunburn and tan lines do not look good in portraits and are extremely difficult to retouch. Just be careful of your sun exposure and tanning in the weeks before your portrait.

Arriving for your portrait:
Our studio works by appointment only. We allow up to 2 hours for your senior portrait so you have our entire attention for you scheduled time. Please plan to arrive no more than 10 minutes early for your portrait. A very early arrival may overlap with a previous client leaving or we may be returning from a location shoot and not at the studio to receive you. A late arrival will shorten your shoot and you may not get as many outfits or clothing changes as usual. Keep in mind that while you can do as many outfit changes as you wish, taking a long time to change clothing and/or hairstyles will cut down on your shooting time.

Viewing and ordering your portraits:
Your portraits will be ready for viewing in 2-3 weeks, or sooner if we are close to your yearbook deadline. We post your portraits to our online gallery. You can review them and place your order online or directly with the studio depending on the package you choose. High quality digital files are also available, as are DVD slide shows.

Interesting City Shot

From The Stage

Chrisy From Just Teasin Hair Salon

Just For Fun

A Little Edge Treatment

Some great Work With The Wee Ones

Nice Lighting Tutorial

Nice photographic lighting tutorial based on one light shooting.

Classic Maternity Pose

One For Fun

A little impromptu painting session with this mom to be. I can't believe that those hand prints came from a 10 year old girl.

Nothing To Do With Photography

Great soccer goals and highlights Brittani Bartok. I show this video to my kids on game days. Today is a game day so I thought I would share with everyone.

Chrisy