how is he getting these effects!!! please help

[gvlck]

PLEASE RESPOND, THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!

http://www.staythisday.com/placeholder.html (all flash site)

i went to this website above and was blown away buy these beautiful photos. ive already e-mailed this photographer but havent gotten a response yet. i was just wondering how he is getting these results. he explains his style as "near infrared compressed tone images." i can get the infrared glowing effect with desaturated colors and they look great. but, his photos with sky is whats baffling me. using the infrared effect or a diffuse glow kinda blows out the sky, and if i select the sky and darken it back up it just looks wierd. his photographs with the sky really blow me away. i will not stop till i get it. i already e-mailed him a couple of days ago but havent gotten a reply.

[theKeeper]

First off... those ARE great photos... but the quality reaks of a very expensive camera -- which makes photo alterations just that much easier to accomplish, with the least troubles/hassles.

Second... if you really want to know about the techniques he told you about, here's somestuff to read: Tone Compression & Infrared Filtering

Those should help you understand a little about what he's referring to.

If i was to only use Photoshop to create the general effects i see...
i would use duplicate blurred layers for the "soft filter" effects, and a separate layer atop the palette to add the darker border regions that fade into the photo.
I'd also use Curves to enhance to overall tonal spectrum, and Color Balance to amp up (or down) the saturation levels.

Try playing with those things and see what you can do.

Anyone else have anything to add here?
Please do.

[Tron]

Really are great photos ase Mark said.

What I notice the most about his style is the blurred backgrounds, this tends to make the forground subject stand out much sharper. It is quite an effective technique.

Sure remindes of something a local Photographer told one time

He said " anyone can be a picture taker, you need talent to be a Photographer"

Thanks for sharing these gvick - nice Flash site as well

[Erik]

Yup.

Everyone can be a caretaker, but only few really take care.

[saywhat]
:\

using available light is difficult, but rewarding...

[jbr0530]

Well I must agree thosse are incredible photos,

It sounds like The Keeper has the solution - great camera makes its alot easier....

...wish i had 5,000 or so but the little tips he mentioned are exactly what im going to try - i love the style of those photos and want the same effect - I know it aint gonna be easy but if i can come close to what he has done ill be happy

good luck - let me know how ya make out!

[kiwi]

Can someone have some pity on me and show me an example of the image/images,I tried to connect {56k} and t just bogged me way down and chucked me offline.......I did see 1 image the first Wedding pic,was that one of them?.........I am keen for the challenge if someone can show me one



Stu.

[Josh]

Not that difficult at all. A blurred copy that is blended creates the glow using the right opacity. Infrared effects? No problem either. I've created infrared effects quite often in Photoshop. You'll need the channel mixer for that. Then you can blend the results or use them as a mask to create some other spectacular effects.

Show me which particular Photograph you really like and I'll show you in detail how to do it, I mean, I've done this so many times.

[MsOz]

Kiwi,

Here's a sample from the website showing the four basic steps used to create the effect, and my favorite example of Todd Johnson's "style"...
All images posted here are copyright Todd Johnson Wedding Photography, http://www.staythisday.com/placeholder.html and are posted for educational display only.

[jbr0530]

Not that difficult at all. A blurred copy that is blended creates the glow using the right opacity. Infrared effects? No problem either. I've created infrared effects quite often in Photoshop. You'll need the channel mixer for that. Then you can blend the results or use them as a mask to create some other spectacular effects.

Show me which particular Photograph you really like and I'll show you in detail how to do it, I mean, I've done this so many times.

If you dont mind giving me a little tutorial on some of these images that would be great

Some of the effects im tryin to create are...
'I love all the photos on his site but here are a couple that stood out.
...Are these just photos with a really nice camera or can you explain how I can make my images look this nice? I have a fairly decent digital camera - but my images dont look like these... any info would be great. Thanks

All images posted here are copyright Todd Johnson Wedding Photography, http://www.staythisday.com/placeholder.html and are posted for educational display only.

[epic]

Most of this guys photographs are done on the camera first.He is a very good photographer. Photography is one of my most favorite hobbies so I try to learn as much as I can about it. I dont know what kind of camera(s) you have or if you use 35mm then scan or what not but here is a short Photography tutorial to help you get. Techniques work best with an SLR camera. Its all about the aperture, the camera's aperture controls the amount of light which reaches the film or CCD. This function plays a vital role in one of the basic aspects of photography: depth-of-field.
Large apertures (ex: f2.8-f5.6): produce shallow depth of field. Basically this means the area of sharp focus in the picture will be small. This can be useful when you want to isolate the subject of your picture while throwing the background and other distracting elements out of focus. Some useful applications of wide apertures include portraits and wildlife closeups.

Small apertures (ex: f16-f32): increase depth of field which means more elements of a picture, from foreground to background become sharply focused. This can create a distinct sense of depth to a photograph, drawing the viewer into the picture. It's no surprise that small apertures a must for most landscape photographs.

Lens "sweet spots" (ex: f8 & f11): mid-range apertures of f8 & f11 due to technical aspects of the lens optics, often yield the sharpest images. When neither a large or very small aperture is needed, these are good apertures to use to maximize the sharpness your lens can deliver.

The picture is of an inca dove and wanting only emphasis on the dove instead of background and all I used an exposure of 1/125 sec at f5.6. This image has not been enhanced threw photoshop or anything.