Whats new: June Fun Above and Below

Aloha

Well this is what happens when your webmastah Laura Christine at lolouila.com is overwhelmed with work. You have to post your own blog. Is it just me or does that word Blog bother you? It just doesn't sound like that much fun. Oh well welcome to my blog. Since most of my regular work is for clients I've not really had a venue to show my personal work and it is often hard to separate my personal work from my wedding and portrait work so I won't really try. Scroll down and check it out. I'll be posting my HDR images and some of my New Zealand HDR's cause they are just plain fun. I will also post from time to time my new favorite images so check back to see what's happening. Hope you enjoy.
Ah hui hou
and Aloha Sara

F A Q's

FAQ: What are those HDR images anyway?

High Dynamic Range imaging is pretty fun and I am always up for something a little different. It is a photographic process that Wikipedia does a good job of explaining.

this is Wikipedia's definition and link to their page about HDR.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging

I'm into the tone mapping part of HDR and usually go for the grunge look that Ben Wilmore taught us at a workshop on Maui. If you want a great Photoshop class try anything Ben has to offer. He is a wonderful teacher. Check out Ben's work at
http://www.whereisben.com

Once you really get into being a Photoshop geek than you can try to tell the HDR's that I posted that I created multiple exposures in Adobe Lightroom and the HDR's that were created from multiple exposures in the camera. I like both methods and can't really tell a difference so far.

FAQ: What should we wear for a portrait session.
Below is a general guide line for what to wear for a sitting. Everyone should feel comfortable enough to be able to sit on the sand or rocks at the beach.

1st. Avoid high contrast, example one person in a black shirt and everyone else in light or white clothes

2nd. Look like you are all going to the same place, either the
beach or the opera. Same level of dress, all fancy or all casual. And please be Comfortable!

Color can be great as long as it is not to busy and distracting from your faces. A color theme (all blue shirts and jeans) for example also makes a wonderful look. There is a trend of wearing all white or light colors and it looks very nice but a little color thrown in like a lei really sets the look off.
People often want a few shots with selective color painted back in and thats hard to do if everyone is in all white.

FAQ: Where and what time should the photo shoot happen?
Just about anywhere you go on Kauai is a beautiful backdrop for a portrait session. I am happy to recommend locations and know several secluded spots that are perfect backdrops. Time of year and surf may also factor into the decision so usually locations are decided once you are on island and have had a chance to look around. I travel to all locations on Kauai at no additional charge.

Photo sessions are usually planned for the last hour to hour and a half before sunset. That is when the light is most flattering.

FAQ: How come some of your brides and people are underwater?
Why not if they love the water and want something really unique!! I was actually looking for better working conditions and it is so much more comfortable working in the water. It can get really hot here. It's a really fun and unique way to make an unforgettable post wedding or engagement portrait. Perfect for anyone who loves the water. Oh yeah, no wedding dresses were harmed in the filming of my underwater brides.

Kauai HDR's

So I rushed out and started snapping my brains out with local scenes that I thought people might like to see of Kauai. Some things I did just for fun as usual. It's pretty tricky to shoot HDRs this week as we have had a lot of wind and I am not a big fan of tripods so.. sometimes the results are a little unexpected. I noticed some ghosting on a few images and I will need to take them into Photoshop and do a little work on them but this blogging stuff is actually more fun then I thought. I like being able to shoot, convert to HDR, tonemap and post! It's just to easy. I'm shooting a destination wedding in May in "San Diego" yeah it is too a destination if you live here on Kauai so I am looking forward to getting some urban images. I really love a wedding in a big city setting with lots of buildings and city stuff you know the beach, palm trees and blue skies can get old after a while believe it or not. Thanks Doug for your suggestion about Horton Plaza in SD I'll check it out. And thanks again to Ben Wilmore at http://www.digitalmastery.com for all his great inspiration. Keep scrolling down to see it all and enjoy. Ah hui hou Sara