Post Production

Within 24 hours of announcing the Fstoppers 2011 Behind The Scenes Video Contest, we were shocked to already have our first submission. Marc Kuyer from Holland had an idea to have small model cars battling each other like they were straight out of Rock and Roll Racing (super cult classic). Marc does a good job outlining his plans and showing you all the photoshopping that went into this final image. Of course we'd love to see everyone on camera but sometimes with language barriers you may have to stick with subtitles and text. So I guess it's safe to say right now Marc has taken the lead in our contest. If no one else steps up to the plate he will be moving on from small speed lights to a full studio worth of equipment!

Hello Fstoppers! My name is Sean Armenta, and this is my little spot on Fstoppers called The Post Production Tutorial. If you enjoy these videos, feel free to subscribe to my new Fstoppers PPT Youtube Channel for the latest updates. Feel free to connect with me on the right side bar and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have about retouching. This week we have part two of my Beauty Retouching Workflow mini-series. We will be dealing with those pesky stray hairs while preserving the natural look of the hairstyle. We put to use some of the tools and techniques from my previous PPT videos, such as the Clone Stamp set to lighten, using the Healing Brush or Clone Stamp within a selection, and using the Pen Tool to make selections. Many thanks once more for your continued support and encouragement! Be sure to drop by my Prep To Post workshop website at www.preptopost.com for even more information on photography, lighting, and retouching. I have a Beauty Editorial Workshop coming up in Washington, DC on August 26th, and a Twitter contest on how to attend the workshop as a VIP guest.

We have featured a lot of Dave Hill's unbelievable photoshoots here on Fstoppers. So when I saw his Adventure Series posted over at Strobist I thought it was an older video. Oh how I was wrong....way wrong! In his latest video, Dave Hill places his composite images into an After Effects type environment and lets you see every layer and all it's photoshopped glory. The video outlines all 11 images so it's a bit long but you will probably still find yourself watching all of them in wonder. This video was also a great reminder that Dave is to work making behind the scenes videos so you will probably see a lot more of him in the near future. What do you guys think? What is your favorite image from this series?

Hello Fstoppers! My name is Sean Armenta, and this is my little spot on Fstoppers called The Post Production Tutorial. If you enjoy these videos, feel free to subscribe to my new Fstoppers PPT Youtube Channel for the latest updates. Feel free to connect with me on the right side bar and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have about retouching. This week I am excited to showcase my beauty retouching workflow for you from start to finish. I have divided it into a mini-series, and the first part will deal with skin cleanup utilizing the three tools (Healing Brush, Clone Stamp, and Patch Tool) that we went over in a previous FS PPT. I showed you the techniques, now I will show you how I put them into use. I hope to provide insight as to why I use certain techniques and tools, when I use them, and how I use them. I will also be going over how I use Imagenomic's Portraiture in the following episodes of this mini-series, which I have been getting numerous requests for. Many thanks once more for your continued support and encouragement! Be sure to drop by my Prep To Post workshop website at www.preptopost.com for even more information on photography, lighting, and retouching.

If you went to see a movie over the weekend, chances are you went to see the new Michael Bay movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon. You may not be a big fan of Michael Bay and his over use of (and often reused) CGI effects, but you have to admit the creative artists responsible for carrying out Mr. Bay's vision are pretty remarkable. SoundWorks has profiled the incredible work sound designers Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl went through to create the soundtrack required to make the visual effects on the screen believable. For the photographer or videographer just getting into video, you will soon realize how important the audio element is in maintaining a high production value in your films. If you enjoyed our post on The Sound of Inception then you are sure to enjoy this one as well.

Hello Fstoppers! My name is Sean Armenta, and this is my little spot on Fstoppers called The Post Production Tutorial. If you enjoy these videos, feel free to subscribe to my new Fstoppers PPT Youtube Channel for the latest updates. Feel free to connect with me on the right side bar and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have about retouching. Today I demonstrate how to use a curves adjustment layer to introduce a vignette to your photograph in order to give more separation between your subject and background. Because you will be using an adjustment layer that has a mask attached to it, you will have a great amount of flexibility with the amount of vignetting. I also do photography and retouching workshops over at www.preptopost.com. On June 25th, we have a retouching workshop aimed just for photographers who want to develop a more efficient post production workflow.

Have you ever seen a car ad in a magazine and wondered "how did they do that?" The car itself seems to be glowing and the location is always perfect. I've always known that tons of photoshop is involved by I didn't know if the car was actually shot in that location or if it was shot in the studio and dropped into the scene in post. In the case below, the car was shot on location and lit with a very simple rig (umbrella on a stick). The magic happens in Photoshop afterwards.

Every now and then I toy around with the idea of calibrating my monitor. I know how important color is for a photographer, but as a Jpeg shooter I've always felt that if I can capture an image to my liking in camera then I should be good to go. In the past I have tried a few products to calibrate my monitors and the results have never been very pleasing to my eye. After a few hours of letting my eyes adjust, menu bars and icons I've seen for years start having a pink or yellow tone that I simply can't get used to viewing. Well today I decided to test the calibration waters again on my laptop (since it's not used as much as my main workstation). Many of our Twitter followers recommended the ColorMunki by X-Rite which lead me to the following video on their system. It all seems pretty straightforward on video but I want to see what you guys think. Have you had a good experience with calibrating your monitor and feel confident people on normal laptops are seeing your work in the best possible representation?

Lomo Photography or Lomography has gained quite the cult following in recent years. And it’s no wonder. These little Lo-Fi cameras, such as the Lomo LC-A, produce some really cool and compelling images. Aside from the Lo-Fi look of the Lomo, the other main feature of Lomography is the cross processing of the Color Slide Film. Check out the video below by SLR Lounge and then view the full post to see the Photoshop tutorial.

Hello Fstoppers! My name is Sean Armenta, and this is my little spot on Fstoppers called The Post Production Tutorial. If you enjoy these videos, feel free to subscribe to my new Fstoppers PPT Youtube Channel for the latest updates. I also do photography and retouching workshops over at www.preptopost.com. Feel free to connect with me on the right side bar and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have about retouching. This time around I share a very simple and easy way to achieve facial symmetry in a straight-on beauty shot by cutting and pasting within the image. It's in our human nature to want to improve ourselves and seek perfection. you only need to peruse the front pages of women's magazines to see the ads for cosmetics, hair care, and skin care to see how these companies feed into this pursuit of the "ideal beauty." For the most part it is out imperfections that make us human, and also what makes us beautiful and unique individuals. There are times however, when for the sake of the client's request, or for your own work, we aim for the supernatural, and retouching helps us get there. I hope you enjoy watching this episode. On June 25th, I will be offering a retouching workshop geared towards photographers. We will be discussing beauty and fashion post production techniques in an easy to follow, non-technical manner. If you would like more info and to register, please visit www.preptopost.com.

Hello Fstoppers! My name is Sean Armenta, and this is my little spot on Fstoppers called The Post Production Tutorial. If you enjoy these videos, feel free to subscribe to my new Fstoppers PPT Youtube Channel for the latest updates. I also do photography and retouching workshops over at www.preptopost.com. Feel free to connect with me on the right side bar and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have about retouching. In this episode I demonstrate how to do a quick and easy skin tone correction using a curves adjustment layer. Often times we run into pesky situations where we have to retouch things like visible tan lines or other skin discoloration issues. Sometimes no matter how much prep work we do in the capture stage, we always have to do a final tweak in post. Well here's a perfectly simple little operation that will work for those instances.

Hello Fstoppers! My name is Sean Armenta, and this is my little spot on Fstoppers called The Post Production Tutorial. If you enjoy these videos, feel free to subscribe to my new Fstoppers PPT Youtube Channel for the latest updates. I also do photography and retouching workshops over at www.preptopost.com. Feel free to connect with me on the right side bar and I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about retouching. This time around I demonstrate how I use Photoshop's Liquify Filter. In putting this video together, I realized just how often I use liquify, whether it be to reshape clothing, hair, facial features, or even sometimes shadows. For now, we'll cover the basics to get you started and revisit this tool in a future episode.

When the iPad was announced I laughed. I thought "this is just an over-sized iPhone that can't even make calls." I then figured out how to tether my DSLR to it and now I bring it on every shoot. Don't get me wrong, it does have some annoying quirks but when it does something well... it does it very well. Adobe may take the iPad to the next level and make this "toy" an even more powerful tool for photographers. In the video below Shawn Welch shows us a quick run through of his new iPad app that will work directly with Photoshop on your computer. Hit the full post to see 2 videos of Adobe's work in progress. Maybe one day the iPad can will be able to compete with this.

I know a couple of Fstoppers that go by the names of Tiffany and Gianna that are going to love this one... Jay P. Morgan is back again with a really unique concept. In this video Jay explains how he created a super hero concept from nothing and then shows us every minuscule detail that goes into making that image come to life. As always, Jay does an incredible job of packing his video with priceless information that every photographer can use, even if you don't ever plan to shoot Wonder Woman.

One of the first things you learn as a photographer is to get a proper model release when considering to sell your work commercially. However, simply having a model release still might not prevent you from litigation. A law firm recently published an ad looking to represent firefighters who were affected by the federal James Zadroga Act. The advertising agency used by the law firm photoshopped a stock image of Robert Keiley who was modeling as a firefighter. They then created a scene where it appeared as if he had been at Ground Zero on 9/11. The argument is how much can a stock image be altered before it becomes false advertising (the ad did clearly state that the image was a depiction of a 9/11 firefighter)? In this Fox News story, two attorneys give two different sides of the argument. I think the law might fall in favor of the law firm who hired the ad agency; what do you guys think?