Commercial Photography Wisconsin
Last week, Lisa and I went to a local restaurant in Bryan, Ohio, and I think I may have had the best Veal Parmesan I ever had with Gnocchi. This year, I have been doing more with my iPhone, and this was no exception. It was not the best light, but it worked for me for a quick picture. Now, off to the next restaurant and/or city.
Veal at Father Johns is Bryan,Ohio
One of my favorite drinks is the Grasshopper. We always looked forward to it after our Christmas dinner. During St Patrick's Day, the restaurant we were at was offering it. I had to have one. It was so good. Out came the iPhone, and I took a picture, not knowing if I would use the photo or not. Learning Adobe Illustrator, I made this layout for practice and fun.
The Grasshopper
It’s been some time since my last blog, but I have been fighting an illness, and now I am back. I thought I would end 2023 with how I made this year's Christmas message from my wife Lisa and me.
Iphone picture at Bronner’s in Frankenmuth,MI
It all starts with an idea. As I wandered the store, I liked this ornament of the two snow people. This may be this year's message. Out came my iPhone, and I took a few pictures. Next, I went into Photoshop to start the magic. First, I needed to cut it out; next was to pick a background that would work for this image. This is again done in Photoshop. Once I had the two, I had time to make a composite. After making the composite, I made some minor cleanups and color changes. Finally, I added the text. After all, it was a ready product, or at least I thought. :)
I started looking at it, and I thought, why not an animation? Once again, Adobe is to the rescue. I went into After Effect and thought I would add some animation of snow. I don’t know about you, but I think it makes it much more alive.
Now you know how I did it and what my mind thinks. Just think, it all started with an idea and a picture from the iPhone. Here is a quick look at the steps I did.
Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a great New Year. Stay tuned for 2024, for Paul J Zeinert Photography will be changing. It will be a different business model for 2024. (Stay tuned)
For those of you who follow my Facebook page, I said there would be more, and here is the more.
To keep up with your photography skills, it always helps to go to workshops to learn and practice. Plus, I love working with professional models. This was no different. With the help of @Robertsphoto in Indianpolis,In and our model Afton, the class was on an environmental shoot. This class was terrific, for we took pictures in a 10-yard diameter and made the best using lighting. In the above photo, when I was going through the shooting, I could not help thinking this was a teacher escaping her class for a bit of downtime. So I told her to pretend that she was holding a wine glass, for I added this in photoshop to get the image my mind was thinking. The above picture was a 3 light shoot.
If you saw where these pictures were taken, you would say how? It’s a simple look at the background and asks whether it will benefit. If it helps, if it does not, don’t show it. As you know, I love flash photography and have a lot of fun using it. In this case, we used from one light all the way to 3 lights and again in a very small area. That is one way to help with the background. Another is the angles of the picture; another is putting the background in focus or not. (you thought it was just pint and click :) ) I bet we had about 10 shots, and all we needed to do was look.
I can’t say enough about working with a model. For me, it allows me to use my creativity and wait for the moment before clicking. I am a big believer in education and learning. No matter how much you know, you can always learn more. I love workshops for two reasons. First, I get to see things live, and last, I get a chance to see other photographers and learn from them. Photographers are like campers. We love what we do and love to talk.
What is commercial work when it comes to photography? For me, it means anytime the work is used for advertising something. This may be a magazine, billboard, or maybe a web page. Since my start in photography, this is an area I have enjoyed. My style is more of a photojournalist like I do for weddings. I guess I like things that appear natural.
I was recently hired to take pictures for a company website. We sit down, and they tell me what they are interested in or have in mind. This could be done verbally, using Instagram pictures they have in mind. After I hear or see, I do what I think they are looking for. Let’s face it, competition is everywhere, and trying to get someone to buy from you may come from on professional picture. Your company is only as good as it looks, and I am sorry, the selfie will most likely not do it. Look at the picture below; what are they trying to sell?
Yes, if you said she was trying to sell her podcast, you would be correct, and I did my job by taking the vision of the podcast. She is not a professional actor, but by having her do what she was comfortable with (podcasting), I waited for moments and then took the pictures.
The reward (other than getting paid) is seeing your work in a magazine or on their web page. Maybe when you are driving and seeing your image on a billboard. That's the reward for me. I did my job, and hopefully, they are making money with the pictures they used. Over the years, I have done a lot of commercial work. I have done Medical, teaching, many products, Political campaigns, and companies. What's next? I don't know, but I look forward to whatever it will be. A boating campaign would be one that I would like to do sometime on my bucket list. I love water and boats or possibly do a vacation spot.