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Archive of ‘Photography’ category

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography | 0 comment

John King & Maria Papakonstantinou

©TimeLine Media - John King & Maria Papakonstantinou

It’s finally Friday! The photos from the DC Dance Challenge are still on sale until Monday, October 28, 2013. That is a 20% off sale on ALL products that are available on the website. This includes prints on paper, prints mounted on canvas or matboard, and digital downloads for sharing online, or storing for future prints. To view all the photos from the events, here is a direct link at the proofing wesbsite:

http://proofs.timelinedc.com

Another treat in covering the 2013 DC Dance Challenge was the opportunity to make some photos  from the two shows performed by John King & Maria Papakonstantinou. After judging the competitors all day, John and Maria treated the evening audience to an amazing display. They are the current Unites States and World Pro-Am Rhythm Champions! With the Ohio Star Ball coming up, I think they would be a good bet to repeat this year.

©TimeLine Media - John King & Maria Papakonstantinou
©TimeLine Media – John King & Maria Papakonstantinou


This first show had a great music track – with changes in dynamics and tempo. This goes along with their quick changes in their dance styles in one routine. It covered the entire floor, and had everyone focused on them throughout the performance. Because this is the first time I have photographed them, I really wish I had the chance to watch this one again without having to follow them from behind the camera. If anyone has a link to a video of this performance, please let me know!

©TimeLine Media - John King & Maria Papakonstantinou
©TimeLine Media – John King & Maria Papakonstantinou

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

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography | 0 comment

Great Gatsby Gala – Tech Thursday

©TimeLine Media - poster base image

Time really flies! Today is the Great Gatsby Gala at the Arthur Murray – Tysons Corner, VA studio. A few months ago, I asked the staff if they would like to create a poster to advertise the theme of the party. This was back in the summer when the new Great Gatsby movie was still in theaters. In a few posts, I showed some of the steps that went into making the poster. One aspect that I used in the poster but did not blog about was the use of layers to place the portraits into one image.

Movie Poster

©TimeLine Media - Arthur Murray - Tysons Corner poster
©TimeLine Media – Arthur Murray – Tysons Corner poster

In the poster, the portraits were cut out very close to the edges of each person’s form. This will not work, though, for most action photos taken of dancers on the dance floor. If you have seen us at events, you probably have seen some posters that I have created with these shots, and I do them a little differently. In this example, I start with a large base image that I changed to black and white since it will be the background for the whole poster.

©TimeLine Media - poster base image
©TimeLine Media – poster base image

Next, I take another image, and overlay it right on top of this one. Automatically, Photoshop will put this on a new layer:

©TimeLine Media - poster in-process - 1
©TimeLine Media – poster in-process – 1

I then add a layer mask to this new layer. The default for the mask is to be completely white meaning the entire layer is in view. Then, I select the layer mask, and choose a black brush with hardness turned down to 0%, and brush black onto the layer mask which removes the edges from the color image:

©TimeLine Media - poster in-process - 2
©TimeLine Media – poster in-process – 2

Here is a look at the final layer toolbar when all the images, layer masks, and edits are added:

Photoshop Layers Toolbar
Photoshop Layers Toolbar

And finally, here is the example poster created with these edits. It contains 3 images from this show, 2 layer masks that blend the color images over the monochrome background image, and some text with the song name. It is a different way to combine multiple images into one setting. The result is a little more organic or free-flowing compared to hard edges. Both will work!

©TimeLine Media - Heart Of Rock and Roll
©TimeLine Media – Heart Of Rock and Roll

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

Event, Personal, Photography, Wedding | 2 Comments

9 Years!

Wedding photos

9 years ago, my wife and I were married! A time before social media, touchscreen phones, and surprisingly, almost a decade ago. This being a photography blog, this is a perfect forum to go through the old photo archive and look back. 2004 was near the start of the digital photography explosion. Our professional photographers used both film and digital cameras to cover our wedding.

Anniversary

When we purchased the negatives, we actually got a folder of film negatives! Our favorite photos were shot from the film camera. It was, of course, the more mature medium, and they knew how to get the most out of the film compared to the digital captures. I remember Yakov used a Nikon F100, and Don used a Canon 10D with battery packs on their flashes hung on large brackets. It was my first up-close look at how a professional wedding photographer works. I suppose my life changed in more ways than one that day!

Wedding photos
Wedding photos from 9 years ago

We did have our own digital camera, a Nikon (of course) Coolpix 5700. It was my first digital camera, and I used it every chance that I could. I tried to work image composition, experimented with lighting, focus, and re-learned all the lessons of photography that were difficult to learn without the instant feedback possible with digital captures.

Wedding Photography

Today, I am helping to make new wedding images for couples, and October continues to be a popular time in the DC Area for weddings. I did now know until my fiance picked this date, that it is the BEST time to get married! The really hot and humid weather is gone, but the real cold has not moved in. It is appropriate to have saturated fall colors in the clothes and flowers in the day. Looking back, it is so nice to see how we can enjoy some time outside for our photos as well as to have earlier sunsets for nice portrait light. Aside from the technical side, these are priceless memories of our family gathering and celebration. I will have to remember this the next time I go out to photograph another wedding.

Wedding photos
Wedding photos

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

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