Wednesday, May 27, 2009

COMPETITIONS: A fun way to expand your market

Hey guys!

I randomly came across a couple photo competitions the other day (thanks, gmail advertisements!) I think entering contests would be fun and encourage us to highlight personal images we might otherwise overlook amidst the thousands of wedding files we're always sifting through. I might even start shooting and designing specifically for some contests just to expand my normal subject matter (I'm slightly competitive ... just ask my family). :)
And when we all win every competition we enter (of course!), the awards will not only make us feel good about ourselves but also serve as credibility and an avenue to reach new audiences.

Here are just a few I found:

And since blog posts are more exciting with photos ... here ya go!

I borrowed a friend's 5D. These shots were with 2.8 28-75mm. Color adjustments in LR 1.3 - no PS.


6 comments:

  1. Ok, so I don't know how to make the photos any larger than "large." Click the photos to see them bigger. :)

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  2. Great Photos! I really like the Bride ones. Really like the lighting.
    Was that natural light or did you use light sources?

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  3. thx for the post Shauna. I thought we'd lost you. I agree, it's a good idea to consistently be entering contests. I usually only enter one contest each year (top knots). But, in preparation for it, I always find myself doing like a year-end analysis of my work. I learn a great deal from this. Otherwise, certain image seems to lay around go unnoticed.

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  4. Yo Shauna! Obviously you need to keep the posts flowing because your shots are great. What's your BW secret? I like the pop in the whites of the veil and eyes.

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  5. Thanks, guys!

    The bride image settings are 1/160th at 2.8, ISO 500, 75mm.

    She was squatting down getting the top of her hair fixed. I just foofed (phoofed?) her with an on-camera 580ex aimed at a stone and dark wood wall on my left side. There's a tiny bit of window light behind her, but the main light source is the flash. I'm still trying to find B&W conversions that I like, so this was the result of an experiment.

    No PS except for sizing and adding the frame/web site.

    LR settings:
    convert to grayscale
    exposure +.17
    brightness +78
    contrast +27

    split tone hue 52
    split tone saturation 25

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  6. Nice work of the foof. You nailed it! Looks like natural window light.

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