photography Archives

My 1-Step Process To Edit Pictures

August 22, 2016/4 Comments/in photography /by Mila

I am a one-person shop around here. I write and take most of the photos in this site. Editing the photos can take a lot of time, which is why I try doing minimal corrections.

The most important step is to take a lot of photos and then carefully select the ones I like. If in doubt, I don’t include the picture, unless it represents something that other photos don’t.

Once I decide which photos to include, I edit them. I use Photoshop for this. I have a one go-to step that I use for all my photos: the S-curve.

Here is how it works in Photoshop:

Open your Curves window by clicking on the middle lower button (1) and then on curves (2). Make sure your Layers window is open (Window>Layers). You can also go to Image>Adjustment>Curves.

2. Make three clicks on the curve as shown below. They have to be 1/4 of the line apart.

3. Drag the bottom point down and the top up, so you create the famous s-curve. This will give more contrast to your photo. It will enhance the colors, add shadows, and highlights. Be careful with adjusting too much, so your photos don’t look fake. Minimal adjustment is enough for most photos.

Here is the result:

As you can see, the change is minimal, but the photo looks better thanks to this simple step.

Sometimes (but rarely), I crop or brighten an image, but the truth is that I don’t have the time nor the will to take a long time editing photos. I don’t love being in front of the computer for a long time so I this is the only thing I do to make my pictures look better. My secret is out.

Hope this info helps!

Also, a post about how to take better pictures of interiors.

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Lichon Photography – A Beautiful Journey Of Conceptual Images

June 10, 2016/4 Comments/in photography /by Mila

I found Lichon photography from Jessica Lichon a couple of months ago. Her magical pictures are full of imagination and are able to transport you into a different world where women are the only beings surrounded by nature and mystery.

What I like most about these photos is not only how breathtaking they are, the composition, lighting and colors are all perfect, but how the women are portrayed as strong and fragile at the same time. The owners and victims of this fairy tale world. It takes a lot of imagination and work to create this world through photography. I can envision days of shooting with adverse weather, but the results are beautiful, and somehow empowering.

Jessica is a young woman, full of creativity and with a clear vision. You can’t be indifferent to her images and I can’t wait to see what she creates next.

For this post, she was kind enough to answer some questions. You can find her answers about her creative process and work at the end of this post, after you see her stunning work. Her answers are as powerful as her images.

Before moving forward and looking at her photos, press play to the song below. The music would help you travel a little bit farther.

1) How did you get into photography?

I first started pursuing photography in 2012. At first I only photographed objects and landscapes. I fell in love with conceptual photography in the summer of 2012. I came across a conceptual photographer’s before and after album on Facebook. It was then that I realized I too can make conceptual photographs with the photography gear I had. I started by taking photographs of my friend Karolina in Poland. Karolina was extremely supportive; she was my first model. Once I came back to Canada, I had a couple friends to take photographs of but they were busy with school, so, I went on model mayhem and created a profile. I started meeting women who were around the same age as me and started taking pictures.

2) How did you decide to start your “Women – Magical ” series (Do you have a special name for it?)?

I consider everything I share online to be part of my fine art photography. I began to invest a serious amount of time into photography during a 52-week challenge I did. I produced one conceptual image per week and posted the images onto my Flickr account. Currently, I have been working on my self-portrait project. Attempting to create 23 pictures of myself!

3) Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you decide on the photos you want to take? Location? Women?

From living in British Columbia I am constantly inspired by the natural environment around me. I have a couple different things that typically inspire me. I usually start my concept with a location in mind or with a concept that needs a location. Sometimes I have no idea what I am doing and go out and take photographs. While uploading them onto my computer I’ll look at an image long enough and it sparks my creativity. I do not have a solid creative process. I have a ton of ideas I want to create… but my inherit laziness limits my abilities at times!

Throughout my photography journey I’ve met many women. As a result, I find that empowerment plays a significant role in inspiring my creativity. By this I mean I strive to empower women through my photos and I hope my photos reflect this.

4) What is the idea behind your photography “women” series. What are you trying to tell?

My ultimate goal with my photography is for my images to tell a narrative. When people look at them I want them to feel something. Anything.

5) What equipment do you use?

Canon Mark D III . Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM Len. Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8. Wireless Radio Trigger. Tripod.

6) Now, in the digital era, where you can take great pictures with your phone, how important is the technical aspect of photography for you?

I have always believed people should always shoot manual when using an SLR camera. Technology makes me feel a little anxious about the future of photography, especially when camera phones can almost take pictures as good as a SLR camera. But I convince myself there are people who genuinely do not have an eye for composition. A few things can make photographers still valuable when technology takes over. A photographer knows and understands lighting and composition.

7) Do you edit your pictures after you take them? If yes, what program do you use?

Yes. All my images have been edited with Adobe Photoshop and sometimes Lightroom. I make all my adjustments and do not use presets. I don’t edit bodies, unless I add an extra arm or something!

8) How do you keep yourself inspired?

Photography has created a way for me to interact with people in my community. I’ve emerged myself into photography. I’ve integrated photography into almost all my relationships. Photography has created many wonderful adventures and has led me to meet the best people. All my good friends now are somehow part of my photography world. I love the world I created for myself with photography. So I guess my inspiration comes from this photography world I’ve created for myself!

9) Do you have an interesting story about photographing this series?

I have a bunch of stories about photographing my conceptual images. I’ll provide a sample story. This past year I’ve been using Snapchat religiously and have many video stores I post onto my “story”. Sometimes I write about my adventures onto Flickr.

“I am surprised that this concept came to life. This photograph was a challenge. To begin, finding someone to be my model was impossible. I asked about 6 different girls if they would be interested to go to Big White and stand under a chair lift in a massive pink wedding dress. Also, I needed the model to be able to snowboard/ ski to the location and hike up a bit. After a few months of asking random people I finally gave up and decided that I would be the model, and, have my boyfriend take the picture. Miraculously, the weekend I planned to take this photo an amazing girl found my FB page! And, she wanted to do a shoot with me and I told her I only have one concept that I really want to do. I told her the idea and she loved it! I was so happy that I found someone!

After I found a model, the challenge was transporting the dress to the location. I came up with the idea that if I found very large snow pants she should be able to stuff the dress into the pants. Holly, the model, managed to wear the snow pants with the dress inside and snowboard to the spot:) Once we got to the location she took the dress out of the snow pants but still wore the snow pants under the dress so than she wouldn’t freeze. It was -10 on the ski hill after all!

The next step was to find the right location on the mountain to take the photograph. I had an idea of where I wanted the photo to be, but I had no idea how to position my model to be at the right angle I wanted. To be honest, I didn’t get exactly what I wanted for the angle. I would have preferred the model to be directly under the chair lift with more trees surrounding her. From the chair lift it looked really easy but once we got to the general location it was difficult to determine where I should locate her. It was hard to guess which sections of trees would look good from above.

Once I got Holly to stand in the general location I than snowboarded down to the chair lift. Thankfully, I am a very fast snowboarder. When I just got onto the chair lift I called Holly to tell her to pose and to take her jacket off .”

Here is the picture:

10) Any advice for people that are starting to learn photography?

My advice for people learning photography or Photoshop is to practice all the time and join an online community. After a certain amount of time and practice your images will start looking better. No matter what state a person is at with their photography, they should always be open to constructive criticism. I use Flickr as a platform to get constructive criticism. Also, I believe gear can make a difference with people abilities to shoot images. It’s true people can use any gear.

11) In your opinion, what are the main components of a good photo?

If an image can create a mood and evoke emotion, then its a good image.

12) Can somebody buy your photos. If yes, how?

Yes! I have one canvas print for sale for $120 dollars! Please contact me if you want any of my images! I am happy to print whatever photos someone loves! Best way to contact me is via my Facebook photography page, Lichon photography, or email me at [email protected] . That’s the best way to contact me for photo inquiries as well!

Lichon photography also has this Instagram account

Thanks, Jessica! It was a pleasure to get to know your work.

Also, a post about URBEX photography, how to take better interior pictures, and, photographer Eliza Strydom.

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Tips For Better Interior Photography – Straightening and Aligning Lines

May 16, 2016/9 Comments/in Interior Design, photography /by Mila

If you want to take good interior photography, you need to master the art of getting straight lines.

What do I mean by straight lines?

Well, it is very simple: Main horizontal lines should actually be horizontal and main vertical lines should actually be vertical. Also, main lines should be parallel to each other, meaning that vertical lines should be parallel to other important vertical lines in the photo – the same goes for horizontal lines. For example, the ceiling line should look horizontal in your photo AND parallel to other horizontal lines like your floor (see above), unless you are taking your photo sideways.

A photo of a room with crooked lines does NOT look good. Here is an example of a very bad photo: Do you see how bent this photo is? The ceiling and floor lines are all over the place. Same goes for the vertical lines.

Look how much better this shot is:

How easy is to take straight lines? Well, not super easy, but I can give you some tricks to start trying. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1) Vertical lines

Vertical lines depend on the camera being tilted up or down. Here is an example of a camera looking up (the red lines are vertical and represent the lines where you want your lines to be) :

This means that your camera is tilted up, so the vertical lines are skewed to the middle of the upper part of the frame. To adjust the vertical lines, tilt the camera down.

Now, here is what happens if your camera is tilted down too much:
The vertical lines are skewed again.

Once you find the right position where your camera is not tilted up nor down, this is the result:Perfect vertical lines that are also parallel to each other.

2) Horizontal lines

Something similar happens with horizontal lines. As we mentioned before, vertical lines change depending on your camera looking up or down. Horizontal lines, on the other hand, change depending on your camera being tilted left or right.

Here you can see what happens when your camera is tilted to the left. The horizontal lines are skewed.
This is what happens when your camera is tilted to the right:And here is what happens when your camera is centered – not looking to the right nor left -:You get beautiful straight and parallel horizontal lines.

3) Centered camera

Sometimes, even if you do what I mentioned above, you get this result:
You get one line straight, but the other lines are crooked. That was the MOST typical and difficult situation to solve when I was taking photos for the One Room Challenge! I would get one line straight, but the others didn’t follow. It took me a while to understand that this happened because my camera was not centered! Your camera has to be centered to the object you are trying to photograph to be able to get parallel lines, if it is not, some lines won’t be straight.

4) Fix it in post

Sometimes, even when you try your best, you can’t get straight lines when taking a photo, especially when shooting buildings or larger spaces.

See the photo below (the red lines are true vertical and horizontal lines and show where you want your lines to be):
The photo lines in this picture are totally crooked and not parallel… what to do? Well, Photoshop, of course!

Here are the steps you need to follow in Photoshop to fix this mishap:

a) Go to Filter/Lens correction. If you can’t open lens correction, you will need to create a copy of your background layer, but that was not necessary for me (I have Photoshop CS3, version 10.0).
b) After you select Lens Correction, you should see this window (I highlighted in red the two tabs you will be using to get straight lines):c) I started with the Horizontal Perspective tab. By moving this tab, you can adjust horizontal lines until you get them straight.
d) After getting the horizontal lines straight (and hopefully parallel to each other), you can start playing with the vertical lines:e) Once you get the lines to the position you want, you need to press OK, and you will get an image similar to this:As you can see, Photoshop uses your older image to patch up empty spaces. To fix this, you need to:

f) Crop your image g) Select the portion of your image you want to keep, and crop it:Here is the final result:
The lines are much, much better, and here is the proof:Now the lines in the photo are vertical and horizontal and the picture looks much better, don’t you think?

I hope this tutorial helps you. I wish I knew this information before I started taking interior photography because it would have made my life so much easier.

Let me know if there are any other tricks out there I should know!

Also, some posts about my first week participating in the One Room challenge, tips to take better Instagram photos, and an interview with photographer that takes photos of abandoned buildings.

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Cemetery Of Punta Arenas, Chile.

April 26, 2016/6 Comments/in photography, Ramble the world /by Mila

As I mentioned in this post, I was in Chile last week. I visited my dad in Punta Arenas. He was sick so I wanted to spend some time with him.

Punta Arenas is a beautiful city, far away from the rest of the world. I feel so lucky to have been born and raised there, and going back is a reminder of how big the world is and how small our lives are (this sounds a little bit more depressing than I wanted it to sound), meaning that going back to our roots helps gaining perspective on what is important in life. I am lucky to have this place that reminds me not to take myself too seriously.

One of my favorite places in Punta Arenas is the cemetery. The most beautiful cemetery I have ever been in my life. It is almost 10 acres, and it was opened on 1894. It is filled with magic places and details. Most tombs are well taking care for, and some are very old.

Every time I visit Punta Arenas, I end up in the cemetery. You might think this is odd, but it is very peaceful and filled with photo opportunities. For starters, it has many cone shape cypress trees that bring green to about everywhere you look, which is unusual for a cemetery this old. Also, it has many sculptures, buildings and decorations that are fun to photograph. Every corner of this place is magic and has some kind of surprise.

Growing up, my house was only one block away from the cemetery, so we used to visit all the time. It was the perfect place to go and have some adventures with friends. Very calm and safe… a small door to grief and hope.

Here are some photos in case you want to see. Have a great day!

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Let Us Be Inspired By Alexander Katuszinski And URBEX Photography

February 3, 2016/4 Comments/in photography /by Mila

I like to search on Flickr for good photographers that inspire me. This is how I found Alexander Katuszinski, an URBEX (Urban Exploration) photographer. URBEX is the “exploration of man-made structures, usually abandoned ruins or not usually seen components of the man-made environment.” Capturing these places takes a lot of planning. Photographers need to find forsaken places, trespass (if necessary) to be able to capture their essence, and, also deal with the unexpected while trying to get that soulful shot.

I can understand the excitement of such an adventure, and how addictive it can be, but, for me, they real beauty of Urbex lies in the final results: those images that capture our inconsequential nature. These pictures speak so strongly of death, loneliness, and time passing by. They are thoughtful, beautiful photos that remind me (us) of our fragility and small role in the universe. I can almost hear the human noise that once existed in these rooms that are now filled with silence.

I interviewed Alexander for this blog and his interview is fascinating – find his answers at the end of this post. But,before reading what he has to say, let’s dive into his work. Press play to the song below, immerse yourself in his stunning images, and prepare to travel far away for a couple of minutes.

Alexander lives in France, and English is not his first language, just like for me. I tried to keep the essence of his answers and only did minimal grammatical changes, so his voice is still present. Here is what he had to say.

How did you start taking pictures?

A: I have worked 9 years for a newspaper in the advertising department. I was not a professional photographer, but I had to take photos everyday. My camera was my friend.

How did you decide to start the “Post Mortem” series in Flickr?

A: I started URBEX (Urban Exploration) in 2011 after I watched a TV report about a French crew that was doing it. It was an encouragement to do URBEX, like a love at first sight. I lived in the east of France and this area is famous for good URBEX locations. The most difficult thing at the beginning of urban exploration is to find locations. You have to find abandoned houses, factories, schools, or theater on the Internet, on the road, or Google earth. There are so many different ways of finding these places…like a detective…., and, how to get inside can be difficult, too. Sometimes you have to come early because the neighbors can call the police, you take a ladder because there’s only one broken windows on the first floor, etc.

After a few years of urban exploration, I traded information with other urbexers to get more locations (GPS coordinates) of what I wanted to explore. I can do up to 3,000 km in three days for an URBEX trip.

So, this is why sometimes I don’t have time (unfortunately) to smell the soul of a location. I don’t have time to see some details because I try to see the most amounts of locations I can in a day (when I’m far from my house).

But, for example, today I was in an abandoned farm 50 miles from my house. I was with a friend. We took our time. That was cool! A lot of ideas can come for good photos when you have more time.

Sometimes, I stand 20 minutes in a place, and sometimes 10 hours. There are no rules.

What equipment do you use?

A: I have a Canon EOS 650 with a 10/22 (lens) and a lot of batteries. I also have a tripod, of course, because of the darkness of the places I visit; I have to take photos with a tripod (for long exposure).

Now, in the digital era, people can take excellent pictures with their phone. How important is the technical aspect of photography for you?

A: I’m not a photographer…I just take photos…

I tried the Sony Xperia Z5 in an old theater last summer (my son’s phone), and I was amazed by the results.

Do you edit your pictures after you take them? If yes, what program do you use?

A: You will find this strange but I don’t edit my photos (that is not a good thing, I know) I edited the first photo last month! And I will continue doing so. I am preparing and exhibition in the next couple of months. It is very interesting to see your work edited. It is not the same in comparison to the image on your camera screen.

I work with several software like Light room and Photoshop (I think like a lot of other people)

How do you keep yourself inspired?

A: My inspiration often comes from music. Sometimes, I give the name of a song to my photos. I use Depeche Mode a lot. I love the duality of light and darkness in the photos. Light is very important to decide how I take and process a photo. I need darkness and light showing up on it.

I try to show that abandoned dark places can be beautiful if you leave the fear of haunting, of darkness behind… if you can give a chance to the light to exist in these abandoned locations.

This is why I love winter, because the light is white, sweet, melancholic, and low. This light is my favorite light.

Do you have an interesting adventure that happened when photographing these places?

A: There’s a very funny story that happened in a huge old sanatorium. We were four people in that quiet huge hospital (imagine a huge building on six floors without noise). After a few hours of exploration, we heard some strange noises outside. We saw two men wearing black clothes with an iron bar in their hands. 10 minutes later, we heard in the staircase a strong voice calling “police, police, come down to the reception.” We were amazed and a little bit frightened (more for the intensity of his voice in that silence). We arrived at the reception and found the two men in black were very surprise to see us. In fact, they didn’t know we were there and they were not the police. The man that shouted was just trying to show off to his friend by shouting inside this quiet building. …We spoke to him and he showed us the morgue, It ended up being a cool experience

Do you have any advice for people that are learning photography?

A: If I can give an advice for people who start photography is to have fun. For me, there are no rules. As I mentioned before I’m not a photographer, I just take photos.

In your opinion, what are the main components of a good photo?

A: The main component of a good photo is your satisfaction when you look at it…nothing else.

Thanks, Alex. I really enjoyed your answers.

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