by laurenawagner | Jul 31, 2018
Food Photography
BYU-Idaho is a very awesome place. One of the requirements in order for the business majors to graduate is to run their own business. The students learn how to build their business from the ground up. Everything from the idea to the logistics, and then they pitch the idea to a board of advisors and they give them a loan to start their business. The students then try to run a successful business and are graded on how they do. These groups are called IBC meaning Integrated Business Core.
A friend of mine ran an IBC group called Coop Chicken. They did all kinds of chicken and it tasted awesome! I was asked to take photos for them to use on their Instagram and to use as promo posters. I was happy to do so! Doesn’t it just look delicious?
by laurenawagner | Mar 25, 2017
Top 10
So the last three months I have been in a professional imaging class (COMM 316) taught by the wonderful Caryn Esplin. I have grown so much as a photographer. This class has allowed me to try all kinds of photography. It has also allowed me to learn about the different types of external lighting and what not in photography. Before taking this class I knew I liked macro photography, but I discovered that I also enjoy product photography as well. I also was not a big fan of portraits, but this class made me change my mind.
Honestly, I love learning new things, and that is the beauty of photography. There is always something new to learn or to try. This is why photography will be a lifelong passion of mine. So I would now like to present my top ten images from the last 3 months.
by laurenawagner | Mar 25, 2017
Taking Practical Images
Recently I signed up for five different stock agencies. Which are Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, 123RF, Big Stock, and iStock. Stock photography is really different from all other types of photography. While taking these photos you are focused on what is practical and what someone would buy. Stock photography is also different because you can’t have any identifiable logos or trademarked items. You also need to have signed releases for identifiable models and locations. Your photos also require keywords for people to use to find your images. Stock is also interesting because your images have to be approved for sale. This means that there are a panel of people who go over your images and are looking for imperfections. This means that you need to take high quality images, that are properly exposed, ect.
Stock photography really changes your perception of photography. I often find myself going wow, how could I sell that. All stock photos are extremely planned and staged. This means you have to truly be aware of each shot you take, because if it looks weird potential clients won’t buy it. So on that note, feel free to buy one of my images. *cough, cough*
by laurenawagner | Mar 4, 2017
Freezing Motion and Balancing Light
Speedlights are so great. You can use them to light any scene. They are fast enough to freeze motion such as water drops or sugar. For trying to freeze motion with a speedlight it is important to remember that your shutter speed must be between 1/60 and 1/200 of a second. Any faster or slower than that and the speedlight will not work. For macro water drops it is also important to keep in mind you want a shallow depth of field. If you want more tips on water drop photography click here. As I talked about in my post about speedlights and portraits you can use speedlights to balance the light of a subject and the background. In order to do this you expose the photo for the background then use the speedlight to light up your subject. If you want tips on balancing the light click here.
by laurenawagner | Mar 1, 2017
The Process of Printing
This is a macro image of three water droplets. I thought it looked neat and would make a great fine art print. The original image is great but it’s very muted and would not print well. The first thing I did was crop the image so the drops would be in the center of the photo. Then I used the healing brush tool to get rid of the spec in the water. Then I sharpened the image so it would be clear when it was printed large. Then I started playing with the colors using the selective color tool. I made four different edits and test printed it. Based off the test print I choose my final image. The final image is a 16×24″ semi glossy mounted on foam core. It will be hanging in the Spori Building on BYU-Idaho campus.
