Gerard Foy Photography

Highkey With One Light

2011-11-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice little lighting setup that produces a very interesting highkey image.

Loop Lighting Pattern with Window Light as Key

2011-11-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to use window light for effective portraits. The following setup will show you how to get a loop lighting pattern using window light as the key.

Entries for the Black and White Club Competition

2011-10-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

Here are my entries for the Black and White club competition. I'll let you know how I get on.

Old Wreck, Baltray Co. Louth - Second Trip

2011-10-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well I went back up to the old wreck on Baltry beach. The weather wasn't really playing ball. I have a couple of photos in mind here but have not got what I'm after yet. Knowing the way the weather works I could end up with a lot of shots of this boat before I end up getting what I'm after.

This one below is a 5 minute exposure before the sun came up..I'm always amazed the colours the camera can pull out of an image, to my eye the colours in this image where not there so it was a bit of a surprise to see the camera get an exposure like this.

Book Recommendation

2011-10-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

I have just finished reading The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression by Bruce Barnbaum.

I'm a photographer not a writer so I'm not going to even attempt an in-depth review.

I would however like to say I found it a very uplifting experience to read, leading me look upon myself, my world and my art in a totally different way.

It is by far the most powerful book on photography I have ever read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in photography.

I have included a link to Amazon here.

Another image style using channels

2011-10-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

This post is a slight deviation from my previous post with a different end result. For simplicity I will start at the beginning again.

1. Open your image in Photoshop.

2. Click the Channels Tab.

3. Hold down the CTRL key and single click on the RGB channel, this will load the luminosity as a selection.

4. Press the "Create New Channel" icon on the bottom of the Channels dialog - this will create a new Channel "Alpha 1".

5. Set your background colour to white and press CTRL+DEL a few times to fill the selection with white.

6. Select your brush tool and set your foreground colour to White.

7. Press CTRL+D to deselect the selection.

8. Paint white on all the areas you would like to be white in the final image.

9. Press CTRL+I to invert the channel and then double click on it to load it as a selection.

10. Select the Marque Tool from the toolbox and with the Alpha Channel selected move the selection into the new document where you want the background (you can move it when the little rectangle is displayed).

11. Create a new Layer and select a foreground colour you would like to use, I'm using a dark blue. Press ALT+DEL to fill the selection with the colour.

Create a High-Key Page Background

2011-10-12T15:23:00.001-07:00

Here is a nice technique for creating a faded image for a background. This technique can be used in design when you want an image to break up a boring background or for any other reason you can think of really..

1. Open your image in Photoshop.

2. Click the Channels Tab.

3. Hold down the CTRL key and single click on the RGB channel, this will load the luminosity as a selection.

4. Press the "Create New Channel" icon on the bottom of the Channels dialog - this will create a new Channel "Alpha 1".

5. With the new Channel "Alpha 1" selected white as your background colour and press CTRL+DEL a few times to fill the selection with white.

6. CTRL+click on the Alpha Channel to load it as a selection.

7. Select the Move Tool from the toolbox and with the Alpha Channel selected move the selection into the new document where you want the background.

7 . This can also be refined a little and can produce a very nice looking black and white image by playing around with Levels or Curves.

Better Portraits

2011-10-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

There’s more to portraiture than just pointing a camera at a person and saying smile.

When making a flattering portrait of a person, you looking to accentuate the positives and minimise the negatives.

Here are a few tips to help achieve this.

Make your subjects Slimmer

A very simple way to make someone look slimmer is with creative posing. Do not to have the person square-onto the camera because it emphasises their width. Also you do not want them side-on, which draws attention to any "protruding parts".

Instead place them at an angle to the camera and have them standing rather than sitting, which also prevents the body slumping down.

If they are sitting, have them sit at an angle to the camera and use the hands and arms to cover body parts like their stomach.

Reduce Ear Size

When photographing someone with ears that are too large or protrude, do not photograph them from straight on as this will make the ears very visible.

Pose them at an angle that is three-quarters to you, so that one ear is hidden. Then make sure the person is facing the light in such a way that the exposed ear is in shadow.

Give Stature

If someone is below average height and you want to make them look taller, shoot from a slightly lower angle.

Large Nose

To reduce the size of a large nose shoot them from a slightly higher angle to help reduce its size. Another method would be to take a lens with a long focal length (from around 100mm up), this will help flatten the nose if its long.

If you do photograph a person with a long nose from an angle do not let the nose line break the line on of the far cheek.

Lighting can also help reduce the apparent size of the nose. Use butterfly lighting (placing the main light straight in line with the direction the face is pointing and slightly higher than the face 25-75 degrees) or loop lighting (placing the main light above the face 25-60 degrees and somewhat to the right or left of the of the direction in which the face is pointing) and in both cases keep the light source soft to avoid harsh shadows and if your subject is a male with protruding ears and short hair Butterfly lighting is best avoided.

Reduce a Double Chin to a Single Chin

To help reduce a sagging chin use a camera angle that is slightly above the line of the cheek and ask the sitter to raise their neck and lean it forward slightly, this will help tighten the skin and pull the chin in.

Help reduce Thinning hair and Baldness

To help reduce thinness on top use a camera angle that is slightly below eye height and/or have the subject tip his head up slightly.

Try to keep the amount of light hitting the top of the head to a minimum and definitively avoid using light sources directly over head (so bouncing the flash off the ceiling is probably best avoided in this situation).

Photographing Subjects with Glasses

Have your subject tilt their head a little or to tilt their glasses forward to reduce reflections coming back into your camera lens. Get them to lean forward, with their arms resting on a table or the back of a chair.

chair.

So next time you are going to take a portrait of someone, just stop for a second and try to think how can I make a more flattering result for my subject.They will thank you for it later.

Removing Colour Cast with LAB Colour Mode

2011-10-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

LAB Colour mode is a great way to fix a color cast and/or to adjust the luminance in an image.

Follow this step by step guide to try it out.

1. Open your image in Photoshop.

2. Duplicate the image by clicking the Image menu - Duplicate

3. Convert the image to LAB Colour by clicking the Image menu - Mode - LAB Colour

4. If your layers panel is not displayed press F7 to display it.

5. Add a new adjustment layer by clicking the Layers menu - New Adjustment Layer - Levels.

6 . You will see 3 options in the levels dialog - Lightness, a, b

Just a quick Note, I find it helps to start with an end goal in mind before playing with the colours.

Lightness - This option does not control the colour but is used to change alter the luminosity in an image. Dragging the slider on the far left (your left) in makes the blacks lighter. Dragging the slider on far right (your right) in makes the whites lighter. Dragging the central slider to the left makes the midpoint darker and to the right makes the midpoint brighter.
a (Red - Green) - This option adjusts the Red - Green channels within an image and operates on the same principle as the Lightness Slider above.
b (Blue - Yellow) - This option adjusts the Blue - Yellow channels within an image and operates on the same principle as the Lightness Slider above.

7. Once happy with the colour and luminosity changes flatten the image by clicking the Layer menu - Flatten Image.

8. Change the image back to RGB Colour by clicking the Image menu - Mode - RGB Colour

9. At the point I select the whole image, copy it and paste as a new layer in my original as I may reduce the opacity of the LAB adjustment.

Types of Light

2011-10-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

There are different types of natural light available to the photographer. Each type of light will produce different results. Knowing and understanding the light you are dealing with will help you achieve better results.

Harsh Light
Found on bight sunny days, when the sun is high in sky.

- This type of light can produce deep rich blue skys, especially when used with powerful flash lighting and under exposing the sky by a stop or two (add a warming gel to the flash and change the colour balance in photoshop to tungsten to enhance the blue even more).

- Lots of light provides the opportunity to use low ISO, small apertures and fast shutter speeds. I use these conditions to my advantage regularly when panning at motor racing events.

- Be aware of the harsh contrast in this type of light.

- Be aware of the harsh short shadows produced by this type of light, especially when photographing people. Using a reflector or fill flash will help reduce these shadows.

- Be aware bright light makes people squint, if possible turn them away from the light.

- Light in these conditions can have a blue colour cast.

Low Light
Found during early morning and late evening on bright days during the Summer months and during Winter days when the sun does not get high in the sky.

- This type of light produces long raking shadows that can give a sense of depth to a picture.

- When used side on this light is great at revealing textures.

- Be aware of the contrast in this type of light.

- Be aware this type of light is very warm and has an orange colour cast.

Diffused light
Found on days when the sun is covered by cloud (pretty common where I live).

- This type of light can help to make beautiful outdoor portraits.

- The light is soft and even, producing soft light shadows.

- People are less likely to squint under this type of light.

- You don't have to wait for overcast days for this type of light. On a sunny day stand your subject in shade (you will physically see the difference when they walk into the shade). Be careful if that shade is a tree, portraits shot underneath a green canopy will inevitably look greener than you expect, but this is easily fixed by increasing the amount of magenta in your colour balance.

- Sometimes this type of lighting condition doesn't produce enough light and you will find you have to use higher ISO, lower shutter speeds and wider apertures.

Flat Light

Found in Mist, fog and early morning.

- This type of light will soften the sharpness.

- This type of light will lower contrast.

- This type of light will help produce an image with a delicate feel to it.

- With the lower contrast and the soft light the cloud cover acts like a giant softbox and there will be little difference between exposure readings taken from sky and land. Shadows will also be very soft.

Old Wreck, Baltray Co. Louth

2011-09-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

I discovered the existence of this boat a couple of weeks ago and have a lot of ideas for pictures.

I started off with a challenging one. A night time exposure with a 16 minute exposure.

Hammer Racing

2011-07-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to announce I'm the official photographer for Hammer Racing and will be doing all the promotional and race photography for the team.

Skerries Bohs win the league and cup double

2010-09-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

I had a job for the Evening Herald a while back and it turned out one of the teams were from my local town, Skerries. Now I'm not being biased here but they are some team of footballers. They blew Shelbourne off the pitch for the entire game. Here are some of the shots from the game.

Urban Portraits

2010-09-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

A graphic designer contacted me recently looking for photographs for his business. We decided on images with presence. Here is a small sample.

Salthill, County Galway

2010-09-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

I'm heading down to the cliffs of Moher this weekend and Galway next weekend on photography jobs, here is a shot taken while down in Galway last year.

The Phoenix Park, Dublin

2010-09-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Walking back to my car after a job in the Phoenix Park the light behind this bench caught my eye. The wooden bench associated with the old tree also appealed to me..
I took the image in colour and processed it in photoshop.

Trip to Dingle, Co. Kerry for the Dingle Marathon

2010-09-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend I found myself in Dingle, Co. Kerry for the Dingle Marathon. I decided to go down on the motorbike and made 860kms in two days. I'm feeling a little tender today but for the most part it was enjoyable. But I can't really complain. There were a few guys and girls running an ultra marathon, that's 50 miles!! Well done to everyone who took part but total respect to those ultra runners.

Well there was no way I traveling that distance and not getting a couple of landscapes. Its a long time since I have visited Kerry, I forgot how totally beautiful it is down there.
Here are a few photographs I took when I wasn't busy photographing runners.

Removing Global Colour Casts

2010-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a really quick tip I have just discovered for removing colour casts from a image.
1. Open your image in Photoshop and press F7.
2. Copy your layer.
3. From the Filter menu select Average, this will give you the average colour of your image.
4. Change the Blend Mode of the layer to Colour.
5. From the Image menu select Adjustment/Invert, this will give you the opposite colour.
6. Simply reduce the opacity of your colour layer until you get a colour you are happy with.

Natural Light Portrait

2010-09-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here are two edits of a natural light image I took of my daughter in France. I positioned my daughter with the sun behind her (so I was shooting into the sun) and I had a large white wall behind me. This large wall acted as a large fill reflector filling the shadows and taking down the contrast.

I set my camera to manual exposure, set the aperture I wanted (personally I like F4 to F5.6 for portraits like this, this was shot at F4), zoomed in my camera so I was only metering for the skin on the face and changed my shutter speed until the camera meter told me the exposure was correct.

With my exposure set I was free to concentrate on composition and interaction with my daughter. The result...a very pleasing portrait from my holidays in France.

Gavarnie, Hautes Pyrenees, France

2010-08-22T04:58:00.001-07:00

Recent Wedding

2010-07-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts but I have been really busy recently.

I'm just sticking up a shot from a recent wedding as its an image that I spotted as soon as I entered the hotel but had to wait about 5 hours for the ambient light to drop off.

Celebrity Gala Dinner in aid of IMNDA & CASA

2010-05-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

There were many sports stars at the event in City West the other night.

Images for sale in the gallery, all profits go to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association
The full gallery from the night can be found by clicking the photo below or clicking the link here.

How to Be a Professional Photographer

2010-05-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

Very Funny Video...

Zack Seckler has posted a video using his iPad as a portfolio

2010-05-04T04:13:00.000-07:00

Zack Seckler's iPad Portfolio from Zack Seckler on Vimeo.

Loughshinny Motorcycle Supporters Club Announce New Sponsor for 2010

2010-04-20T23:24:00.001-07:00

The Loughshinny Motor Cycle Supporters Club are delighted to announce a new sponsor for the 2010 season.

The ‘best of the best’ Trophy sponsored by Mr & Mrs Kerr will carry with it a prize fund of 3000 Euros.

The trophy is to be contended for over both Loughshinny Motorcycle Supporters Club organised events the 2010 AON Bikecare Skerries 100 and the 2010 Country Crest Killalane Road Races.

To qualify riders must compete in both events. Points will be awarded to the top 10 riders in the 600cc Championship race, the Open Championship Race and the Grand Final at both events.

The cumulative totals will be calculated and the 3000 Euro prize fund will be shared between the top three riders, the ‘best of the best’ who have accumulated the most points over the 6 races.

- 1st = 1500 Euro
- 2nd = 900 Euro
- 3rd = 600 Euro

The trophy and prize fund will be presented by Mrs Kerr at the prize awards ceremony at the Killalane Road Races.

Loughshinny Motor Cycle Supporters Club Ltd
Website: www.loughshinnymotorcyleclub.com email: media@loughshinnymotorcycleclub.com

Two for One Grunge Frames in Photoshop.

2010-04-02T03:12:00.000-07:00

This is a great technique for adding an Grunge Frame effect to an image using Photoshop's Blend Modes. I have created the Grunge Frame used in this example and have provided it for free download below. These Grunge Frames can be anything, you can buy them or create your own like I did. You can create them in Photoshop, draw them and scan them or take pictures of textures, it really doesn't matter. The point is they can be anything once they are converted to be a black and white file.

If the file is not one you have created, then when you bring it into photoshop you need to set you white and black points on the file. To do this you need to click Image/Adjustments/Levels from the menu bar.

To set the black point click your Black Point dropper.

Select and click on a part of the Grunge Frame you want to be black.
To set the white point click your White Point dropper.

Select and click on a part of the Grunge Frame you want to be white.

Once you have your Grunge Frame ready for use you press CTRL+A to select it. CTRL+C to copy it.
Open the image you wish to use the edge file on and once it opens in photoshop paste the Grunge Frame on top of the image by pressing CTRL+V.

If the Grunge Frame is too small or too large for the image underneath then we need to change the size of the edge file. To do this press CTRL+T to bring up the free transform tool. Then drag the handles of the Grunge Frame to cover the whole of the image file. Once you get it the way you want press Enter on your keyboard.

Now all we need to change is the blend mode of the top layer to display our image underneath. As the primary colour of the Grunge File is black we want everything that is black to be ignored from the top layer. To do this select the Screen Blend Mode.

When the Blend Mode is Changed to Screen.

Pretty Cool!

But what if we want black out the outside the what on the inside? Well its very easy. Select everything in the upper layer (our edge layer) by pressing CTRL+A on the keyboard. When everything is selected press CTRL+I on the keyboard.

Again we are going to change the Blend Mode of the upper layer to ignore the white letting the image underneath appear. Set the Blend Mode of the upper layer to Multiply.

So there you have it. With every Grunge Frame you create you get one for Free, just invert the layer the change the blend mode, it couldn't be easier.

Click Here to download your free High Res Grunge Frame.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Fixing Blown Highlights in Photoshop

2010-03-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

Recovering lost highlight detail is virtually impossible in Photoshop. Here is a handy little technique to recover them.
.lll

Here is my starting image.

The area around the nose is just a little bit too hot for my liking and as its virtually devoid of all colour and tone if I just use a simple recovery method like curves its not going to look realistic.
....n
So what can be done?
..
I'm going to use the Clone Stamp Tool and Blending Modes to get the result.

1. Press CTRL+J to duplicate your current layer (so I am not working on the original image and I can easily revert to my starting point if needed) .

2. Select the Clone Stamp Tool and change the tools Blend Mode to Multiply.

3. Change the Opacity of the Clone Stamp Tool to 20%.

4. Sample an area of skin that is not too blown out by holding down ALT, your cursor will change and click the area of skin you want to sample from.

5. Keep resampling and painting over the area you wish to fix, paint over the same area several times to change the opacity of the effect.

Here is my end result:

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Portrait in the Home for Everyone

2010-03-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

I am going to take you through the process of how you can turn an ordinary snap into a much more professional looking portrait in the home. A little bit of equipment is required but you can use natural light to the same effect quite easily.

I took a photograph at every single step to building the final image so you can easily see two things.

1). A little effort can go a long way.

2). This stuff is easy.

Step 1 Compact Camera and Direct Flash

This is a look I'm sure everyone is familiar with. The problem is the flash. Its too close to the lens axis and too small. The result is flat, harsh light and maybe even a bit of red-eye thrown in to add to the disappointing result.

As I have told people in the past, if you have a camera that is fully automatic and no Hot Shoe

you are limiting the results you will end up with. There are thousands of second hand DSLR's out there on the market (I was able to find them on Ebay from €100), these cameras will take you from being a photography passenger to being a photography driver. I do recommend if you are interested in photography to go get one and start learning a little.

Step 2 Professional DSLR and Direct Flash
..

So I have changed camera. Gone is the €150 euro consumer compact and in comes the professional camera, with the professional lens and the professional flash, all costing a lot more than the little compact camera. This is going to be great, the equipment is so much better. So put the lens and the flash on the camera, leave everything on automatic and take the photo, the camera will do it all for me.

The Result?
Not much difference between our Step 1 Compact Camera and Direct Flash example above. There is most certainly a difference and it is a step in the right direction, that can not be denied but there is so much more we can achieve when we have control and we exercise that grey matter between our ears.

Step 3 Professional DSLR and Ambient Light

So maybe our big expensive camera is not so bad after all? Are we beginning to see what the issue might be with the first two images above? What's the common element in the first two examples that's missing from this example?
If you said "the flash", well done, full marks.
Yes its the flash or to be more precise about it, its the relative position of the flash in relation to the lens axis and the apparent size of our light source in relation to our subject (don't worry about the apparent size thing for now, just know this bigger = softer and smaller = harder).

Step 4 Professional DSLR and Bounced Flash

Wow, what a big improvement on our first and second attempts with the flash and we only made one change....We took control.
So what where the steps.

1. I turned all the automatic controls on the camera and the flash off (I had actually done that in the Ambient Light Example above but forgot to mention it). This gives me Control. I am no longer letting the camera and flash make the decisions I'm telling them what to do. And as an added plus, every frame will be exposed the same as the previous frame giving me consistency.

2. I tilted my flash head up to the ceiling so its no longer pointing in the same direction as the lens. This gives me a softer light source because when that light hits the ceiling its going to spread out and bounce back down to my subject. I'm now lighting my subject with a large light source.

3. I added a fill card to the flash now to provide a little bit of directional fill. The problem with bouncing into the ceiling is that its overhead light and the problem with us humans and overhead light is that our eye sockets are receded. So when light comes from top down our eyes go in shadow and we get shadow casts under our eyes and this makes our subject look a lot less undesirable. Adding the fill card means these shadow areas now receive light and they are no longer the dark bags they once were, they look alive, they pop.

If you don't have a built in fill card then you can go to great expense buying a rubber band and a piece of paper and making one, so you have no excuse.

Step 5 Get the Flash off Camera.

I have now moved my flash off my camera and stuck it on a light stand. Once one get the flash off the camera you begin to put dimension into the subjects you photograph. The world we live in is three dimensional but a photograph is two dimensional. The only way we can express this extra dimension in photography is by using directional off axis light to sculpt our images. If you do painting or took an art class you know this already, right?
I have also added a silver brolly as a light modifier to increase the size of my light source giving me softer more flattering light. If you find this concept confusing either look at the images of my wall above again and notice how much softer the transition is between the light parts of the image and the dark parts of the image when I bounced the flash (increasing the size of the light source) and when I used direct flash (light source size about 3 or 4 inches).

Step 6 Add a Fill light to our Shadow Side.

Notice how, when we place a fill on the shadow side the shadows are softened. The fill here was simply an A3 mount board bought from an art supply shop for €4.

So there you have it. Its simple. If you don't have the flash I suggest you stick to window light. To decrease the size of the light source and have harder light use a window in direct sun light and to increase the size of the light source and have softer light use a window out of direct sun light (it will be reflected light from the clouds and your surrounding environment).

And get down to your local art store and buy yourself a white and black mount board, they make cheap reflectors, I use them all the time. The image below was shot outdoors using two of these mount boards, manual exposure and nothing else.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

See Gerard Foy Photography on Face Book

2010-03-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

Gerard Foy Photography

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Skerries Educate Together N.S. St. Patricks Day

2010-03-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

To the parents with children in the Skerries Educate Together N.S. Please click the image above to get access to the schools private gallery with all your images from the day at the parade.
The username and password can be obtained from the school.
Please do not contact me for log on details as I will not be able to give the details out.
For any parent wishing to get a print, I can organise for a copy of the file to be in Image Depot in Balbriggan, there will be no charge on my part for the image, the only cost to you will be the charge for the print from Image Depot.

If you do feel you should pay something for my photographic services may I suggest you make a donation to Skerries Educate Together directly.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Junior Soccer

2010-03-01T22:42:00.000-08:00

While working for the Evening Herald on Saturday I was asked by one of the parents of another team (not the match I was covering) if I would photograph their team as they didn't have a shot of them all together.

No problem, and no charge. Although I would suggest a small donation to UNICEF of €10.00 per parent. Just click the banner below.
To download your image for printing click here.

If you would like one for facebook then save the one below.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Different Wedding Photography Styles

2010-02-28T00:02:00.000-08:00

Typically, your wedding day is one of the most important milestones in your life. You spend a fortune on flowers, stationery, dresses, a makeup artist, hotels and so much more. Your personality and style goes into those details. Whoever you are and what ever you like there is a wedding photographer out there for you.

Photographers come in many different personalities, sizes and styles. Some shoot in only one specific style and there are photographers who shoot in a variety of different styles. Then we have the real innovators who create their own style.

The most popular styles of wedding photography in today's market are as follows:
- Photojournalistic
- Traditional
- Illustrative

Lets take a look at each of these...

Photojournalistic
Wedding photojournalism is said to appeal to the bride and groom that require a series of unique photographs designed to "tell a story" or narrate their wedding day. Wedding photojournalism has become a very popular style of wedding photography and is the art of capturing moments unobtrusively. Normally you barely know that the photographer is there. Normally the photographer covers the wedding with a large telephoto lens (although not always) and tries not to get in the way of the story as it unfolds.

Wedding photojournalist's respond to events as they unfold, they do not manipulate or create events. The resulting images therefore can be unpredictable (as is life unpredictable), some consider this unpredictability as a drawback with this particular style. Personally I feel its not a drawback it's the beautiful aspect of this style, it really is a record of your day. The goal of Wedding Photojournalism is to tell the unique story of your wedding day. Wedding Photojournalism captures moments rather than poses, documenting the emotions and energy around the entire occasion. The images convey genuine emotion and capture the story of your day as it unfolds naturally.

Best in the world: Well for me its Jeff Ascough but many photographers will say Dennis Reggie. Dennis is the father of this style.

Read about Dennis here.
See some images from Jeff Ascough here.

Traditional
Traditional wedding photography is a photographic style that is a series of contrived posed or 'set up' photographs, usually of the wedding party and the couples' families. Traditional wedding photographers tend to follow a 'shot list'. Lighting and backgrounds are tightly controlled by the photographer resulting in well exposed images. The disadvantages of Traditional wedding photography could be issues like, the amount of time the Bride and Groom spend getting their photograph taken. Images can look visually pleasing but stiff due to their static and contrived nature and predictable.

The upside of traditional photography is that you end up a set of professional photographs of your family and loved ones.

Although Traditional wedding photography still has it's place in the modern photography world it is being pushed aside by more illustrative and photojournalist styles of shooting. You see more traditional photographers that are older and have been in the industry a long time and have not changed their ways or you will see it in the lower end beginners as it is any easy style of shooting that does not take much creative input. But be aware it still takes skill so don't be thinking anyone can do it well.

You probably don't want to rely too heavily on formal portraiture, however, or you will miss out on a lot of the energy, passion, and raw emotion surrounding your wedding. Most couples want to make sure to include some candid, photojournalistic photography in their wedding albums alongside the formal shots.

Best in the world: Well for me its Monte Zucker.
See some of his images here.

Illustrative
Wedding Photographers who shoot weddings in the Illustrative style, think in terms of design elements by placing their subjects in settings of interesting composition and backgrounds. This photography is usually a creative person who loves design and elements of color and texture. The photographer provides direction to their subject but they are also encouraged to interact. This results in a more spontaneous feel. Illustrative wedding photography is said to bring out the photographer's 'artistic' creative and compositional skills rather than simply capturing a series of moments.

Its influenced by fashion, editorial and lifestyle photography.

Illustrative Wedding Photography is the newest style to break into the wedding scene. Its a modern and fun way to photograph a wedding resulting in artistic and edgy wedding images. Photographers who shoot in this style are skilled both artistically and technically.

If I was to pigeon-hole myself into one particular style it would be the category of photography best suited to me.

Best in the world: Australian photographer Yervant his website simply says "Fashion meets Wedding".
See it here.
OR
San Francisco based photographer Bambi Cantrell.
See her website here.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Natural Light Portraits in the kitchen

2010-02-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

My wife ran out to the shop Saturday lunchtime and left us the task of setting the table. At around the same time I noticed some really harsh sunlight pouring into our kitchen. So what do you reckon I did as soon as she left?

I ran upstairs and grabbed my camera and a reflector of course. This shot took about 30 seconds and shows how easy it can be to capture a good quality image if you understand basic camera operation and you can visualise the final image.

Essentially all that was required was moving Alana far enough away from the glass doors with the sun pouring through them and meter for Alana's face (which started out darker than the sunlight and became darker the deeper she came into the room). As I'm metering for her face and as she moves into the room the darker her face gets and the greater the light intensity difference between her face and the sunlight.

I then added a hand held reflector (yes, I shot this with one hand and yes I was shaking) to fill some of the shadows on the face.

Below another edit.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
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Blind Photography

2010-01-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

This just totally opened up my mind as to how I could approach my photography. I am so obsessed with light, the lack of light and composition as I'm sure most photographers are.
So imagine taking photographs not being able to see these elements.
That's exactly what these guys are doing here:

BBC and PhotoVoice

They are getting some pretty cool results and it makes me want to explore some of my other senses and not be so one dimensional about it.

Very interesting video from National Geographic

2010-01-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

“I believe that photography can make a real connection to people and can be employed as a positive agent for understanding the challenges and opportunities facing our world today.“ David Griffin

Wedding Gallery Updated

2010-01-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

I have been really busy recently shooting, organising and dealing with customer orders and updating my website. I have spent a considerable time looking through my wedding images for my new gallery and have added all the images displayed below. I'd love to hear your comments on them.
Wedding Bookings are now being taken.
You can email me: images@gerardfoy.com or go to www.gerardfoy.com for more info.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Recent Weddings Progress Update

2009-10-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Two of the weddings I did last month have just had their proof books put on order last night. The proof book contains 504 photos and covers the Engagement Shoot and the Wedding Day and is theirs to keep. Each of my clients proof book has a front cover designed by me.

Donna and Gary's proof book has a cool fashion look that I just love.
A blog entry to Donna and Gary's Wedding Day is here:

Joanne and Stephen's cover is done is a much more traditional wedding style and really captures a moment between the happy couple.
A blog entry to Joanne and Stephens engagement shoot is found here and here.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Baby Shoot, 3 Months

2009-10-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well I have been a little busy since my last post hence the lack of posts. Just a quick one here with two shots of little 3 month baby Emily.
They are a perfect example of how fast things change on a shoot with a young baby going from wide awake to fast asleep very quickly.
I kept the shoot really simple, using two strobes bounced off far walls and the ceiling with the white bed cover providing a nice bit of fill.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Church Island

2009-09-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got to take a trip out to Church Island the other week. It was a bumpy ride out in the boat, kind of fun actually, the same sort of fun you get out of riding a motorbike. We were hoping to be able to see Skerries from the Island, you could, but not in the way I had imagined it.

I did however get a nice shot of the old church out there. Apparently that is St. Patrick in the window, I think you really have to use your imagination to see it or really want to see it there. It just looks like a hole in the wall to me.

For those who are not aware. St Patrick's Island is so called because this is where the Saint Patrick is reputed to have landed and begun his mission to convert the Ireland to Christianity.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
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Skerries Soundwaves Festival 2009

2009-09-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

Last night was the opening of the Skerries Soundwaves festival. A local event celebrating arts and culture, click here for a brochure.. There was a fireworks display down the harbour to celebrate the opening. I wanted to get a nice shot of the fireworks from a distance. I have tried to photograph fireworks once before and have learned from my mistakes.

You don't want a long shutter speed, this results in the smoke picking up a lot of the ambient light and the light just bounces all over it and you get colour casts in the smoke.
If you can get up wind the smoke won't get to you and your camera can actually see the fireworks. I couldn't do this last night as I wanted to showcase Skerries and need to see the harbour.
Set your exposure before the fireworks start and expose for the lights.
Use an aperture like F2.8 - F5.6 this is turn the lights to stars if you use F11 there will be a glow around them.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Killalane Road Races

2009-09-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

September means back to school, the end of the Summer (or the realisation we are not getting a Summer) and the Killalane Road Races, the last Irish Road Race of the year. Ironically the weather was wonderful, a bit too wonderful for photography. I looked for cover from the harsh sun all day sticking to areas with trees in order to bring down the contrast area in which I was shooting. Any way here are a few shots from the day and hopefully I get the time I need over the Winter to get my website going fully and have 4 years of Road Racing photographs up there.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
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Joanne and Steve Engagement Shoot Continued

2009-09-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more images from the engagement shoot and a little word about how I took them for those who may be interested.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Joanne and Steve are getting married in Trim, Co. Meath. Trim castle is located just across the road from the hotel where the reception is. Now it really is an amazing location and I really wanted to use it as the setting for the Engagement Shoot.
For these first two images the sun was really beating down (for once this Summer). Maybe not seeing the sun for several months was the motivation for these two images.
I explained to Joanne and Steve the type of image I was after I asked them to hold a pose as if they were in the moment about to kiss. I described it as a burst of light and very fashion orientated. I positioned myself until I got the sun between their lips and filled with flash positioned behind me to get some detail on my side. I knew the sun would not be over-powered that was impossible, all I was doing was stopping a half-silhouette. I know this look and the following one with natural light are not for everyone and its certainly not a traditional wedding/engagement image. Which is fine, I don't consider myself a traditionalist and would make a point of actually distancing myself from that genre of photography. Not there is anything wrong with it, it just does not motivate me artistically.
And the same type of image with just natural light.
Both Joanne and Steve were starting to relax at this stage. I had shown them a few images on the back of the camera (if you get a good one show it off, it really helps people relax and gives them a bit of confidence). This enabled me to get some more relaxed, natural shots. Again these were lit with a single strobe with attention paid to get a nice bit of rim light from the sun around them. This bit of rim light makes a big difference to an image, look at how amazing her hair looks with that warm sun lighting the edges and giving a real 3D feel to the image.
And another.
When I do Engagement Shoots I like to spend a little bit of time photographing the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be individually. For this shot I got Joanne to lie on the grass and softly place her hand under her chin. It was shot entirely with natural light in an open field with a very strong back light from then sun. In order to get proper exposure I took a meter reading from her chin and to get a more hi-key image I lowered my lens to let the light spill into my lens a bit. I did try the camera at a higher angle also but I preferred this look. I converted this image to BW in Photoshop using a BW layer and played with the original colour to get the effect I desired.
I then took a few of Steve. When I am photographing men I try to make them look as relaxed as possible and leaning against a wall is a great way to get this relaxed look. I found this wall putting Steve out of the harsh sunlight and into nice soft shaded light. I cropped this image in a way that would have purists rolling in their graves or falling into them but as I said I earlier I have my own style and I know it breaks a few rules. I stylised this image in Photoshop. Everything about the image made me think of a musician and the finished image was heavily influenced by that thought.
I finished up the shoot with a nice walking image. I attempted to cross light the couple placing the strobe at the opposite side of the sun. Again I was aiming to a nice relaxed image with a sense of location to it. I placed Joanne and Steve on a little hill so I would give them some stature. The nice big smiles and the camera connection show just how relaxed and confident they both are after having experienced their engagement shoot. This day will be a big help to them on their wedding day.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Joanne and Steve Engagement Shoot

2009-09-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

As part of my wedding package I provide an engagement shoot as standard. Why do I go to this extra trouble for no extra money? Simple really.

I like to spend a bit of time with my clients before their day, get to know them a bit more and be more like friends and not just a photographer.
My clients get a feel as to what its like to be in front of the camera. Most people have never been in a situation where a camera is photographing them all day. This can start out as a daunting experience, leading to forced smiles and stiff jaws. This is not a look I aspire to when I am covering a wedding. Having a bit of fun in front of the camera and seeing how amazing they can look when photographed by me is also a real confidence boost to my clients. How many times have we heard "Oh, I don't like getting my photograph taken, I always look horrible", or something to that affect.
I am studying them, learning what they are like in front of the camera. Are they tense or nervous? Are the couple shy? Can they be intimate with one another in front of the camera?
I like to go to the Reception venue during this time with my clients, so I can get a feel for the venue. See if there is a plan B available if its raining etc.

I met up with Joanne and Steve on Saturday. I will have a few more of these images going up over the next couple of days. Their reception is down in Trim. And across the road from the hotel is Trim Castle. Funny enough I spent a day photographing this location for college so I am very familiar with it. Its such a cool location for photography. Fashion, Wedding, Lifestyle, Landscapes..You name it this place has it covered. I honestly can't wait for the wedding here, its going to be so much fun.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

What the Bleep

2009-09-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

A previous wedding client of mine was at a wedding I was photographing the other week and she told me the sad story of her friend. Her photographer canceled her wedding booking a few weeks before her wedding. She asked me if I was available and if it was ok to contact her to recommend my services.

So she contacted her and met up with her and showed her the album I had done for them and I got a call a few days later. I started off by asking her what happened and tried to understand if any alternative was offered by the photographer, there wasn't. Now I can't understand how someone can considers themselves a professional can do this to someone.

I then asked her what the previous photographer had offered in her package to get an idea of how much she had budgeted for. It turned out the package had considerably less than I provide in mine so I made the assumption she was paying a lot less than I charge. I believe you have two choices in this life, you can be fair and kind or you can be a selfish and greedy. I believe I am the former so I offered my standard package with a nice little discount.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Commercial Landscapes Continue

2009-09-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

Well I found out today, I need to bag about 8 landscapes for this commercial job. On one hand that's great and not so great on another. The problem with landscapes is you can go to a spot and then nature doesn't perform and you have just wasted an evening or worse got out of bed at a crazy hour for nothing. But I'm not doing too bad at the moment, I have gone out three times and come back with an image twice. Tonight it was another one of those rush jobs.
I'm going to be very busy tomorrow I have to get up in the morning and go out and photograph landscapes, then I need to head out with the motorbike and I need to get back, pack my gear and head to Trim for an engagement shot. So it just looks like rushing is my thing these days. Anyway, I decided to clean my motorbike when I got home this evening and I had just finished off the job and I looked up at the sky and there were colours everywhere. So I grabbed the gear and headed out.
I couldn't go far as the sunset had already started so I took a safety location, Skerries harbor, 5 minutes from my house. I saw the guys in the boat from my car so I stopped where I could and just grabbed everything. I started out wide at 70mm but while the colours were amazing they were lost in the clutter of harbor. I decided to get lower and tighter on them.
I changed location and shot them from the beach and got down as low as I could but they kept moving in the boat and when they moved they got lot in the clutter behind them. I tried calling to direct them but they were not interested. I needed to change my plan.
I ditched the tripod and the ISO 50 approach and went hand held. I could frame them quicker and shoot faster hand held. The drawback ISO800, ouch, but the camera is a 1DS MKii so I knew it wouldn't be so bad. One more in the bag and hopefully I will get a few more in the morning.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
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Commercial Landscape in Malahide

2009-09-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it was landscape work tonight. I started this small commercial project for Alan at Image Depot, my printer, a few months ago. He had just landed contract with a government department and they wanted some shots to be displayed in a new building that was under construction. It started out as a few images and I gave them loads. Well apparently they LOVE the work (I've never met them) and they have actually run out of images.
I've had an eye on the sky all day, hoping for once we are going to get a decent evening for photography. My brief for these images is fairly broad - tranquil images taken locally. I decided to try to get something around Malahide tonight. I hoped to arrive home in plenty of time to eat, and get back out into the car. Of course it didn't happen that way. As I was leaving Skerries, the sun was already sinking and I had about a 20 minute drive ahead of me. It is however sinking right behind the windmill in Skerries at the moment, so I'll have my eye on that for an other evening.
I arrived at the estuary in Malahide, the light was beautiful but sinking real fast now and I couldn't find parking. Eventually I found a spot, jumped out of the car took my gear and went for a walk to see if I could see a photograph.
It wasn't long before I saw three boats sitting in the water and the water was perfectly still. I framed the image in my mind and decided upon a mid range zoom setting to compress the scene a little but knew I needed to pay attention to shutter speed, that was what was going to make or break the image. Too slow and there would be movement in the boats. So, I walked a good bit past the boats, found some rocks, climbed down and setup the tripod.
The contrast range between the sky and the boats was perfect, I could get a bit of detail in the boats and under expose the sky to really bring out those wonderful colours. 6 frames, 3 portrait and 3 landscape and it was over, too dark, that was quick!
I hope this is tranquil enough for them, for someone who normally photographs motorbikes and fast paced weddings it certainly is for me.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
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Donna and Gary - Wedding Day

2009-09-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday 5th September 2009.... Wow, what a day. Where do we begin?
Well, first of all we would like to once again thank Donna and Gary for placing their trust in us by allowing us to photograph and document their wedding day. Both Phil and I really enjoyed the day and all your friends and family were a privilege to work with.
We hope you liked the little gifts we had planned for you throughout the day.

Congratulations to both of you once again, we wish you years of happiness together.
I have put together a few images of your day.
Guests and well wishers, please feel free to leave comments and leave your best wishes for Donna and Gary here. Also, don't forget to check out the website for all the proof images of the day.

Wedding days start early for me and finish late, I like to cover as much as possible and tell the story of the day in my albums. So I met Phil at the church at 09:45 and we set to work. We got both exterior and interior shots of the church.
When I entered the church, I noticed a big stained glass window to the right of the altar and I thought it would throw a cool pattern of light and colour on the back wall. So I stuck a strobe outside, placed it low and angled it up to light as much of the wall as possible.
Once we had a few detail shots of the church in the bag we made our way to Donna's house. I have to say, everything seemed very relaxed in the house as was Donna herself. I made my way upstairs to get some nice shots of the dress and shoes while Phil focused on getting some shots of Donna getting her hair and makeup done.
Phil then headed off to photograph Gary while I stayed at Donna's house. There was no question of Donna keeping with tradition and being late. She left just a few minutes past one and with the church just around the corner she didn't even have time to settle into her seat.
The beauty of two photographers, is the coverage we can provide. I was able to get photos of Donna leaving the house safe in the knowledge Phil is on hand to complete the story at the church. Donna is looking wonderful in this image as she exits the wedding car after her very short journey to get there.
Father Ben gave a very nice service and thankfully it didn't go on too long. That type of thing just puts everyone under pressure for the rest of the day as all the plans go out the window. I believe he really liked the gift we got Donna and Gary. We hope it will serve as a small reminder of the wonderful day we all had (yea, including your photographers, we had a blast).
With so much going on at a wedding as a photographer I always have one eye on the kids. You just never know what they are going to. The moment I saw her do this (sorry don't know her name) this was the image that was in my mind. I only got off one frame before she turned around, but one was all I needed to get this wonderful little image.
Once all the church proceedings were over Donna finally got to try out her wedding car. With a 40 mile journey ahead of her to the Hamlet Court, Enfield, Co. Meath. I'd like to take the opportunity the thank John and all the staff down there for looking after me and Phil. Thanks also for letting me store some of gear in the office that was a great help throughout the evening.

Thanks once again to Donna and Gary for hiring us. I'll leave you with one more image. I don't like static posed traditional photographs...Its either casual, semi-posed or fashion type shots like this one.
I've attached the link to Matt Ryans video preview of the day and I'd also like to thank Matt for his respect towards our job during the day. I've worked with Matt in the past and he's always a dream to work with. Good work on the video Matt.

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com

Photographing Children

2009-08-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

The world is full of parents and other family members who take thousands of photographs of their young family members every day. For many of these people the following will apply.

They know their photography is not what it could be. They want to take images that capture the real essence of their child but because for of a variety of reasons they are unable to capture on their camera what they visualise in their heart. Sometimes they capture a wonderful shot and wonder why they can't do this consistently. They become frustrated with themselves and they either educate themselves or eventually the camera goes into a drawer only to be taken out for family snaps and special events.

The ability to photograph children is a skill that I am very happy to say I do have. Did I always have that skill? No, I was as described above for a very long time. My camera stayed in the wardrobe in my bedroom, in its box. It wasn't until I started to educate myself did I turn myself into a photographer. It was a slow steady journey, one I am still on today. I hope I never reach the destination because I always want to improve my art. I believe with a little direction any parent with a camera can turn there photographs into something more. Its for this reason I started this blog with a series of educational posts. I want to share what I have learned and encourage people to take more photographs, better photographs and be as proud of their photographs as they are of their children.

Parents and other close family members are often in the best position to capture expressions of their child. They are totally relaxed in their presence, they know them, there is no defense mechanism on the part of the child. What you get is the real inner child.

Over the next few weeks I will be putting together a number of posts to help people produce more professional looking images of children. The high level list at the moment comprises of:

1. Planning your Shoot
2. Camera Position
3. Composition
4. Backgrounds
5. Exposure
6. Lighting
7. Capturing natural images
8. Basic Photoshop

Article including images copyright of Gerard Foy Photography.
www.gerardfoy.com