Love Making Cards?

Some photos take more time to set up than others. This scene took several days to plan and prepare. I needed a helper to manage the dogs, too. The light sources were studio strobes, two on light stands behind the camera and one in the toppled-over lamp on the left side of the photo. The "spilled milk" on the hearth was a mix of yogurt and powdered sugar, so one immediate challenge was keeping the dogs away from it. Luckily the dog with her head stuck in the boot was very intrigued by the doggy treat I had tossed into the boot minutes earlier. I can't tell you how many photos I took of this scene, but it was taken during my analog (film) years. A digital camera to check on my success/failure would have been very helpful! Here are some things Photo 1: An Introduction to the Art of Photography could teach you in creating a photo like this:

• Shutter Speed: Shutter speed was very important, but so was depth of field. I had to light the scene with enough light to allow for a quick exposure. This was 1/250 second.
• Aperture: Depth of field was important, too, so I had to use f/16 and use my one remaining variable in the triad of tools for creating a good exposure,
• ISO: The sensitivity of the film I used. In this case I had to use an ISO 400 film. I pushed it one stop during the processing to give myself a little more leeway. If I had used a digital camera, I could have also tried ISO 800 or higher.

This is the "as taken" photograph not altered in Photoshop. However, there are lots of things I could do to have a little more fun, including

• Creating a new layer and painting spots of color over the lights on the carpet. Alter the opacity of that layer to get a glow effect.
• Creating a darkened outer rim to the photograph
• Lightened the Santa boot in the fireplace
• Created a large selection that covers the fireplace and Santa's legs/boots and either lightened that area and/or given that area a little more yellow light, signifying that the light source for that areas was the nearby lamp

Once you have some mastery over Photoshop's layers and adjustment layers, your imagination can really take off! Find Photo 1: An Introduction to the Art of Photography at http://goo.gl/Aou5IE .