Making this year Christmas Message

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)

Wine time

While my wife and I were on our recent cruise, I finally had time to look and post pictures. We were in Mexico when we returned to the cruise ship. We went to the top floor and the lookout window of the front. It was so relaxing and time for a nice glass of wine. Still holding my camera, I liked the backlight that lit this glass of wine. After finding the composition that I liked, I took a few pictures. I wanted to blur out the background because it did not add anything and wanted attention to the wine. I think my settings were like F 3.5, ISO 100, and a speed of 2,000. With that said CHEERS.

Commercial Work

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.

Playing with Color

Yes, when we were young, we played with a crayon in school and learned color. What colors look good together, and what colors do not? Who knew that I would play with color again? Not crayon’s but with flashes with gels. We heard the term RGB but what does it mean? Red, Green, and Blue. With these colors, we see all colors. Like your TV or computer is RGB. But what happens when I combine all three? If you said white, you are correct. I saw this setup in the book Studio Anywhere, and I always wanted to do it. In my family room with a white wall, I set up 3 flashes equal in power and in-line with the subject. I placed a filer on each (red, green, and blue). Next, I took the shot and got this.

Remember, RGB equals white. Noted on the subject, but what happens in the background or shadows? You see Red and Green = Yellow, Green and Blue = Cyan, and Red and Blue = Magenta. This is what you see in the background. Now I know what you are saying. Why? Well, maybe a picture of something different? Plus, the understanding color will help your photography and what you can do with flash if needed. Last I wanted to do it, and I did it. Ok, what makes black? Combine the cyan, magenta, and yellow, and you have black. When we print, we print in CMYK and see our TV or Computer Screen in RGB.

Cartoon Fun

I watch a lot of different photography educations on the web. For example, one from Kelbyone was doing action figures with a background. When I watch these episodes, I list things that I want to do sometime. This was one of them that I wanted to do.

Stress Doll

I had this stress doll sitting on my shelf and decided to use my model. So I set up the doll using my living room and went with two lights. One is my key light to light him, and the second is with a blue gel to give a hint of blue in the shadow. The picture was taken, now the background. This I went on a stock photo site, and I knew I wanted a city. I found this nighttime picture of a town, and that was my composite.

This was a found project; in fact, I bought a toy for myself. I want to do this again. Maybe a beach photo with a toy. Not sure yet, but thinking about what I want to do with it. Now onto the next “I always wanted to do it shot”