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SAFFRON - SESHU'S DOCUMENTARY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY & PORTRAITS BLOG
Save Time Wearing Your Lehenga or Sari On Your Wedding Day |
I work with a lot of South Asian clients - Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi. The wedding day is a busy one for most couples, but I think you will agree it is especially so for brides and bridesmaids when they have to get ready for the wedding ceremony and then reception.
They have to do their hair. They have to do their makeup. Then they have to wear a lehenga or a traditional wedding sari.
This may very well be the first time that they are wearing an outfit that is part of their culture. And it isn't easy to drape the fabric around yourself in a way that is elegant or aesthetically pleasing. Yeah, the guys do have it easy, don't they?
Most brides and bridesmaids opt for a professional to do their hair and makeup but I haven't heard of a professional lehenga or sari draper. Usually the bride's aunt or mother steps in and helps out as they do have years of practice. As a documentary wedding photographer, I love the interaction and the emotion between the bride and her mother, aunt, sister or even another bridesmaid. Visually, all of this makes for interesting images, but I can tell (yes, even as a guy) that it is a huge time suck and both brides and bridesmaids would rather be done with it quickly. |
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category: Products tags: Wearing A Sari, Weddings, South Asian, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, The Pleatmaker, Pallu, Dupatta, Clothes, Draping, Brides, Bridesmaids |
Photoshop Actions For The Working Photographer |
Ask me what distinguishes my work and my answer will always be that I like to create simple, immersive, story-telling images. In the long run they will remain real and powerful for my clients.
KEEP THE IMAGES SIMPLE = KEEP THE MOMENT REAL
What exactly does that mean? I eschew trendy imaging techniques, like spot coloring. You know you have seen the image of beet-red roses while the bride and groom, in the background, are some funky combination of either black & white or sepia.
Sorry, not here folks. It's not that I can't do it. I just won't do it. I can tell you that technique was popular some time ago, but if I see it in an album, I can date the wedding. All kidding aside, I cannot offer my clients a service or product that will quickly shed its value. To me those kinds of manipulations are distracting. An image from a wedding, in its essence, should be about the relationship and the emotions people celebrating the marriage are expressing. It should be less about the photographer's ability to navigate Photoshop.
My goal is to create a wedding album that is ultimately a work of art. I come from the school of thought that it should remain timeless and be precious. By keeping the post-processing simple, I don't alter the nuance of the moments that my client's images project.
PHOTOSHOP POST PROCESSING 101
I talked about my digital workflow sometime back. In the comments section, Sanjay Borra asked me:
"I am suprised, you haven't mentioned Photoshop. Don't you process any of your photographs with Photoshop?"
I intentionally left that part of my post-production out as I had hoped to follow it up with a second blog post. So, this is that second blog post!
After the images are color-corrected and enhanced using presets in Adobe Lightroom, I begin the process of selecting images for my client's albums. This is perhaps the longest part of the process. With so many choices I have to put my photo editor's hat on to really sift through the frames deciding, comparing and ultimately selecting the best option for that one page or a two-page spread. I don't like to rush this process at all. When the images have been finalized, I bring them into Photoshop one by one, further enhancing them using Photoshop actions.
WHICH PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS?
This is where things can get wonky. There is a dizzying array of actions that can cajole a print from being just ok to being something very special. These very same actions can, unrestricted, cause one to over-manipulate images.
Remember, even when it comes to enhancing an image, I want to keep things simple. It's much too easy at this juncture to go over the top and lose an image's veracity. So subtlety is preferred. If the action produces a layer with the opacity set to 100%, I often pull that slider back down to 15% or 25%, subduing the initial effect by a great margin.
RANDY KEPPLE'S FUNDAMENTALS ACTIONS
About a week ago, my friend Andrew Funderburg introduced me to Randy Kepple's Fundamentals Actions. True to its name, Randy's actions deliver the most essential image enhancements that every photographer deals with on a day-to-day basis. From creating a pop in the contrast or saturation levels to sharpening your images for print, Fundamentals has them all. The actions are grouped as Black & White, Tools, Specialty Actions and Specialty Tones. If you sense some order in the way that's organized, it's because Randy Kepple is an Oregon-based wedding photographer. These are his personal actions that he uses all the time.
In the first image below, which is SOOC, or Straight Out Of Camera, you will notice that the image is ... blech. The couple is fairly well lit. They probably could have used a little bounced light off of a reflector below them to fill some shadows, but generally it's an ok image. Certainly nothing to gush over. Not yet, at least. Also, the nondescript, white space around the couple bothers me a bit. In color, one's eyes tend to drift from the couple to whatever is around them. If the object is to make arresting, attractive images, this is still far from being "finished," or retouched. |
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Version two below, using one of Randy's black & white actions, shows us how one can maintain the honesty of the moment by directing the viewer's attention to just the couple. Yes, converting a color image into black & white does tend to do that, but I am talking more about the emphasis you see here on the couple itself. The contrast boost and subtle vignette added to the image lets you forget for a moment that this was shot right off of a cow pasture. The image is more about their expressions and whatever feelings they may be experiencing.
Full disclosure: This is obviously a departure from my usual "found" moment. I asked Mita and Piyush to close their eyes and think back to that first moment they both knew they were meant for each other. Yes, that's really the extent to which I direct my couples. Remember, to keep it simple.
And, for me making the choice to use Randy's Fundamentals Actions was as simple as it gets. At $79 the actions set is a great value. Click the following link to buy it from Fundy's website: Fundmentals. And, nope, I don't make a dime off of it.
Post your comments below. I would love to hear from you. I'll be sure to alert Randy if you any specific questions for him, or he may just chime in here to respond to you directly. |
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How much image manipulation is too much? |
Blogger "Lekhni" of The Imagined Universe brought to my attention a New York Times article about how it is an Indian tradition to "Photoshop" people into their wedding pictures.
It's a curious read, no doubt. Take a look and post your comments below. What do you think? Does the good professor who was quoted in the article just getting it wrong, or did the NYTimes goof up a quote?
From my perspective, as a documentary wedding photographer, I do not cut and paste people's heads or other body parts into images. Where this is ethically okay by me to do would be when the image is a posed portrait, and someone in the frame is invariably looking away when the rest of the group is looking directly at me. That's one reason I try and capture multiple images of the same group.
Just in case you or your guests are temporarily distracted and aren't quite in the zone, I do allow myself some room to manipulate the original image, to produce an image (a composite, really) that will be much more pleasing to look at than the original. |
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A Blog About Saree/Sari Designs |
The nine-yard Kanjeevaram pattu sari that you might wear for your South Indian wedding will always remain at the helm of the sari domain. To wear it, is I am sure an experience unto itself.
Reading Nirali today, I stumbled upon Saree Dreams, a blog "about sari designs and saree blouse designs."
Given a great many of you readers of this blog are planning your wedding, I figured I would give you a little nudge to check out this other blog. It's written by four authors, Sunny in Los Angeles, Rupa in Delhi, Misty in London and Kamini also in LA.
Saree Dreams, in essence, celebrates the various interpretations of the design and use of the sari/saree as normal, every-day wear or haute couture. |
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Announcing The Launch Of A New Slideshow Feature |
"Go big, or go home," is the favorite mantra of Australian photographer Jerry Ghionis.
Taking his words to heart, on June 13, 2008, I closed one chapter of my life, as a photo editor at ESPN and opened another as a fully committed wedding and portrait photographer for my clients in the US, Canada and really anywhere and everywhere around the world. Yes, I will be in Udaipur, India, in October, to photograph a beautiful palatial wedding. So, don't hesitate to contact me if you are planning your destination wedding for 2008 and beyond.
One of the first steps I took was to have my website redesigned, including the integration of this blog. In fact, there are more changes coming soon. I continued to think of features which could help my clients have an enhanced viewing experience of their images after the wedding or portrait session. In that vein, allow me to introduce you to what I call THE BIG SHOW. It's a premium slideshow that has the ability to scale up my client's images and display them really, well, big, limited only by the size and quality of the monitor they are being viewed on.
I am very excited to be able to offer this option now for my clients. Remember Pramilla and Dhyan? Well, here is their BIG SHOW.
Current clients and those whose weddings I will book before the end of 2008 will receive the BIG SHOW as a gift from me. Even if you are getting married in 2009 or 2010, reserve my photographic service and receive this add-on valued at $600.
Let the absence of music in the BIG SHOW not trip you up. I am looking for ways where I could legally license music for just that purpose. And, given how even more subjective music choices can be, I sometimes ask my clients to offer up some of their suggestions. If a royalty-free option exists, I'll be able to use music for the duration of the slideshow.
I will soon be publishing a slew of blog posts here with the words BIG SHOW displayed at the bottom of the post. Simply click on that word to immerse yourself and relive a moment; one you either experienced first-hand or heard about through your family and friends. Either way, it's going to rock your socks off.
Thanks go out to Kitty Wells and Meghan Bingle of IntoTheDarkroom for helping me customize the BIG SHOW to my specifications. |
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As I lay in my hotel bed one night during a multiple-day Indian wedding I was photographing in Massachusetts, I watched the movie Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connely.
I was moved by what I saw; African children and their parents having their human rights violated in unspeakable ways, all in the pursuit of diamonds for sale and resale around the world. It made me wonder about the diamond ring I had bought my wife in India a couple of year's back. Where did it come from? What was the real price of that shiny stone?
And it had me thinking about all those grooms who are probably getting down on bended knee just about now to ask their partners to marry them. Could they possibly buy conflict-free diamonds and save the fate of hundreds of thousands of people?
The answer is, yes. Canadian diamonds. Check out Brilliant Earth, home to conflict-free diamonds and the use of renewed gold and platinum.
"At Brilliant Earth, we are dedicated to tracking our gems to ensure that every single gemstone is mined, cut, and finished in a socially and ethically responsible manner. All of our diamonds come from Canadian mines that follow environmentally sustainable practices and are committed to delivering high quality gems. Our well-established suppliers authenticate the source of their diamonds as conflict free and follow established domestic business practices."
Please note, I am in no way associated with Brilliant Earth nor do I financially gain by mentioning their business. However, between today and the end of the year, if you buy your diamonds through Brilliant Earth and can prove it, I'll be happy to offer you a special day-long photo session (valued at over $1000) for just you and your beloved when you also book my services for your wedding.
So, buy your diamond(s) through Brilliant Earth. Then contact me about booking my service for your wedding. I'll then schedule a day-long photo session that will rock your socks off. Simple as that. Small caveat, though, if you live anywhere outside of Connecticut, travel and hotel fees will apply.
The next time you are shopping for some bling bling, make sure they haven't been involved in any bang bang. I hope we can all do the right thing.
Update: Check out this company as well as an alternative. |
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I received a cute little note from one of my past clients. I completed their wedding album, even redoing it until it was just right for them. Check out their album layout by clicking this link here.
Meanwhile, here is their note. I am so happy that it all worked out and you are happy with the results Reshma and Jerry. Best wishes to you and Maya!
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With a great many of my clients calling or emailing me about the kind of albums that I now offer, I thought it would be a good idea to post a sample.
The 12x12 30-page album you see below has a photo cover that wraps around. Depending on the package you invest in, I include a display case that also protects your album. |
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Some albums are so big and heavy that you can't really hold them in your hand for too long and are meant to grace your coffee table when viewing them. Of particular interest to me was the ability of the album to have its pages open up and lay flat. The albums that have pages rising up as you open them up all the way make it harder to view images that are closer to the spine.
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| Jin Ha and Min-Hee are family friends and their two precious daughters are Emma and Sophie. I offered to photograph their family and create a Christmas card for them. I had so much fun with all of them that they asked me to come back again when Min-Hee's brother, who is serving in Afghanistan, came to visit. Thank you Jin Ha and Min-Hee! [I'll post a slideshow of my favorite images from the two sessions very soon]. |
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