September 2014 archive

Heroic 3D Titles | Tech Tuesday

Dance Photo Posters

I had a record number of votes for the Arthur Murray professional show posters at the Facebook page! These featured an action photo from each of the dances performed with the dancers popped out in color. Additionally, I left the the monochrome background. On this occasion, I wanted to identify each of the studios that the dancers represented. Also, I wanted to make a new design for the titles. For the most part, I have a font with some kind of layer style applied in Photoshop. In many blog posts and videos online, I have seen a lot of features added to the 3D panel in Photoshop. Additionally that can make editable text into 3D models that can be easily added across multiple images.

Arthur-Murray-Ashburn-winning-poster-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Ashburn-winning-poster-©TimeLine-Media


The 3D extrusion function was introduced in the CS6 version of Adobe Photoshop. Since it has been a few versions now, the technology has really evolved quickly, and is quite powerful for those that know what they are doing. I am just dipping my toe into this section, so I still in the hunting, testing, and experimenting phase. That being the case, I was really impressed with how easy and fast the 3D works in Photoshop CC 2014!

Starting-text-layer-©TimeLine-Media
Starting-text-layer-©TimeLine-Media


Start by making a simple text layer on a dark, contrasted background. Clicking on the 3D Menu, then “New 3D Extrusion from Selected Layer” will transform the text layer into a 3D object. This is now the ultimate Smart Object! Viewing the 3D panel, and the Properties panel, you will notice a large number of options to manipulate the design from here.

3D-Extrusion-of-Text-Layer-©TimeLine-Media
3D-Extrusion-of-Text-Layer-©TimeLine-Media


From here, you can change the rotation of the text, the depth of the 3D object, and the angle of the text to the view. And this is all by the clicking and holding the mouse and dragging it around the screen! It does not take much to produce some nice dimensional effects for titles. In future entries, I’ll post more about the details that I played around with to get the final versions. However, I’ll start with the basics to get others playing around with 3D just for the fun of it!

3D-Title-with-color-lighting-and-shadow-©TimeLine-Media
3D-Title-with-color-lighting-and-shadow-©TimeLine-Media

TimeLine Media www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Swing Professional Show – Arthur Murray | Ballroom Dance Photographer

Tysons, Virginia

It’s Freestyles week! The final preparations are underway for the DC Area Arthur Murray Fall Freestyles. We are getting the gear, and photos ready for this Friday where we will be at the McLean Hilton in Tysons Corner, VA. We are in for a great 2 days of dancing, and I know that the studios have been busy getting everyone ready. Today is the last day to vote for the posters that we will display at the event. There is a runaway vote-getter from the Ashburn studio, but there is still time to vote for others that we will display as space allows. You can go to the TimeLine Media Facebook page to vote by Liking your favorites:

TimeLine Media Facebook page

Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media

Professional Staff Show

On this occasion, these photos are from an energetic, fun Triple Swing show by staff members from two different studios. It does not happen as often, but it is awesome to see the staff sharing their resources and putting combinations together for these. We have seen some great partnerships not only for shows, but for competition by having the staff cross over, and these two matched very well.

Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media


Swing dancing is popular not just in the ballroom world, but in social dancing. When you start to formally take dance lessons, this is usually one of the first dances that really gives you confidence as you start to learn figures. It is easier to feel the music, the steps are not as strict, and even the faces on people dancing loosen up a lot more in the Swing as can be seen!

Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media


This exhibition takes the Swing to another level. These two are very fast, and have some daring moves thrown in for good measure. I had a great time trying to keep up with all of the movements on the floor, and this resulted in a lot of images to choose from for their poster! Thanks to the Arthur Murray Chevy Chase, MD and Arthur Murray Ashburn, VA studios!

Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media
Arthur-Murray-Pro-Show-©TimeLine-Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

American Star Ball Expiring | Dancesport Photography

Looking ahead in the schedule, I can see that I will be occupied with a lot of things in the coming week. Because of this, I want to let anyone that reads the blog and social networks of TimeLine Media that the photos from the American Star Ball held last May are going to expire from the website on Monday, September 15, 2014. This weekend of ballroom dancing was packed with lots of action photos, and thanks to everyone that visited and purchased their favorites since they were released.

http://proofs.timelinedc.com

American-Star-Ball-Dancesport-Championships-©TimeLine-Media

American-Star-Ball-Dancesport-Championships-©TimeLine-Media

It has been a while since I have viewed the photos from this collection, and I have forgotten a lot! The grand ballroom at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City is a great place to shoot ballroom dance photos. Especially in the way these organizers set it up. Of course, sitting at the short side of the floor gives you a long distance to blur the background. Concurrently, the dark red and black color theme really helps the photos pop off the screen. Digital cameras have always liked red. Although sometimes a little too much! But it is much easier to dial that back down than to try to find a good saturation level later.

Rhythm-dance-2014-AMSB-©TimeLine-Media
Rhythm-dance-2014-AMSB-©TimeLine-Media
American-Star-Ball-Dancesport-Championships-©TimeLine-Media
American-Star-Ball-Dancesport-Championships-©TimeLine-Media

The other good part about going to this competition was the participation from all the dancers, volunteers, organizers, music directors, and other entertainers that contributed so much to the weekend. Amanda and Ilya Reyzin have really put together a great team, and they make sure that everything – including the vendors – have everything they need. We have enjoyed working with them and providing great images for their guests. We hope to see all of you at the 2015 American Star Ball next year!

American-Star-Ball-Dancesport-Championships-©TimeLine-Media
Open-Professional-Smooth-Competitors-©TimeLine-Media
American-Star-Ball-Dancesport-Championships-©TimeLine-Media
American-Star-Ball-Dancesport-Championships-©TimeLine-Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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