A new Camera that was announced today by Lytro, Inc stated that they have developed a new technology that will allow you to focus your shot after the image has been taken.

Lytro’s announcement of their new camera

Looking over the information it would seem that there is a lot of things that are taking place with this focusing camera. With the special sensor called a microlens array, which puts the equivalent of many lenses into a small space it creates a large DOF. After you have taken the image you can then choose where you would like to have the image to appear to be out of focus.

Things that are known:
1. It’s impossible to take a out of focus image and sharpen it in post
2. It is possible to take a focused image and make it appear to be out of focus, with the use of filters, in post

It would appear that this is some new from of technology and that this is a break through. But from how it is being presented, it would seem more to the fact that the Camera is essentially taking an image with a very large DOF and then using a internal algorithm to create the illusion of changing the focus point.

So what dose all this mean. Well for the professional photographer it would be nothing new to them that they do with their normal camera. But for the a person that is taking photographs for the first time or just or family outing. I can see how this would be a great ideal to make sure that you can get what you are doing every time.

But in the end, I am interested in understanding on how they are able to do this. If it is innovative as they are claiming, it will have a huge impact in our society. Look forward and seeing how this all plays out.

THE MOST THOUGHT INSPIRING PHOTOS ARE RARELY PLANNED.

I wanted to speak a little about photojournalism. This form of photography allows the photographer to improvise, create, and truly capture the real moment. It is like telling a story with only photos. No posing please. Hopefully you can blend into the background, so as to not disturb the natural event.  I find this style combined with some traditional posed shots make for the best wedding photography. The bride, groom, and family get their traditional photos and then I can let them live their day….capturing it as it happens. No interruptions of their beautiful moments.

We all enjoy the beauty that flowers bring to a ceremony, but did you realize that there is meaning behind them? The use of Flowers in Weddings date back to the ancient Greeks. Plants and Flowers were used to make a crown for the bride to wear and were considered a gift of nature. The crown was considered a symbol of love and happiness. A bridal bouquet and the wreaths were originally made of herbs and bulbs of garlic. Different herbs had different meanings. For example garlic was suppose to ward off evil spirits, Dill was used to make a bride lust only for her husband, and sage was used for wisdom. A flower girl was used to sprinkle flowers along the path to the church, this would ensure that the bride would have a life filled with flowers and happiness. Some of these practices are still used today, others have been lost over time, but one fact holds true. We will continue to use flowers in our weddings because of the beauty and ambiance they provide.

Another wedding completely done and it was great. I would like to thank both Mark and Kerissa for letting us be apart of their special day.

We really enjoy doing this event, Have a long and Happy life together Mark and Kerissa

If you happen to have not see X-Men First Class, I would suggest that you take a look at it. Higbhly Recomend this Movie

I normally do not talk about movies to much. Yet I will have to say that this is one of the best movies I have seen since the coming of Lord of the Rings. The CGI and Effects that were done were well put together. There is an underlining thought about protecting out home and nature and how the forward progression of mankind’s greed is the cause of the suffering of all. Yet not all is lost if we act.

I must admit that the score of the music is very well put together, for it brings out the heritage of life and the passing of time. if you get a chance to watch this, I would recommend that you do so. If you are able to do so, watch it in a IMAX theater. You will not be disappointed.

First Let start with a Photograph

Your object here is to get the skin so that it is evenly as possible with out losing to much detail down the road. For when you reach this you will be able to make more adjustment on the photographs.

First thing that you need to do is get a sample of the colors on the skin. To do this you need to use your eye dropper tool that has the cross hair in the corner. Shown here.

Once you have the tool selected, you need to be sure that the tool is set to only sample an area of 5×5 on the skin. But where to select is always a question that is asked. Well when you are choosing an area, you want to look for areas of the skin that do not have any makeup on them, not too bright were the flash has hit directly and the tones are defused. A common area that are bad for this are cheeks. The reason for this is that they normally have makeup on them and you will not get a good tone or sample of color from them. Normal areas that do not have makeup, but may have only foundation, are near the eyebrow and the chin.

At this point the information that you will be getting will be in RGB settings. You need to change the information to CMYK. This will display the information as percentages. To change the values from RGB to CMYK, all you have to do is click on the Eye Drop icon where you see the RBG information and make that adjustment.

One thing I do suggest that you do is make a copy of your back layer. I did not state this earlier, this will not effect the information that is being read by the tool. This will help you down the road if you plain to make any adjustment to the photograph later. So let us return to the topic at hand. You need to add a CURVE ADJUSTMENT layer to the  the photograph. For this is where we are going to make the color tone adjustment.

I was using CS3 but the information is still able to be use in any of the Photoshop CS programs. CS4 gives you more options and easier to work with.

Before you can make the adjustment you need know the CMYK values to look for when you are making the alteration to the photographs. A guide line that I have found to work as follows.

C = 1/3 to 1/5 of M and Y
M = Magenta and yellow are close yet
Y = Yellow is higher than Magenta
K = 0

So what you need to do is Divide Yellow or Magenta by 3 and by 5 to gain the value. from there you want to be between these numbers on your adjustment. So with this photograph the adjustment that I need to make for this photograph would be in the rang of 8% to 13% and I would start my adjustment on the red channel until I have reach my value.

Then I would then make adjustment on the other channels so that the CMYK will fall in the guidelines.

To confirm that I have it close to the guidelines I will recheck all of this.

C=13 * 3 = 39 * 5 = 45

C=9 * 3 = 27 * 5 = 45

Then confirming that M and Y fall in this rang and yellow is slightly higher and K = 0

and you will end up with a photograph that is closer to true skin (left) tone then what was before (right)

After you have completed all of this, then you are able to make any other adjustment that you feel is needed.

Keep in mind that this will not always work on every photograph and there are other adjustment that need to be done on different skins. For example, Dark, Tan, Light, and Olive are a few. This guideline is like making a cake, you use the base of the information and then you adjust it to your taste or to the cake you are going to be creating.

With this photograph there are other things that I would need to do in order for me to complete it. But this is only how I start out and then from there I make the needed adjustment to the photograph to get the best results of the person and the surrounding area.

Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven)
Isn’t It Romantic (Glenn Miller)
Water Music (Handel)
Ave Maria (Schubert / Gounod)
The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
Greensleeves (Traditional)
Rhapsody In Blue (Gershwin)
God Only Knows (The Beach Boys)
As Time Goes By (A Kiss Is Just A Kiss) (Tony Bennett)
Arioso (Bach)
Ode To Joy (Beethoven)
Brandenburg Concerto #2 (Bach)
Gloria (Vivaldi)
Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers)

Bridal Chorus (Here Comes The Bride) from “Lohengrin” (Wagner)
Trumpet Voluntary in D (The Prince of Denmark’s March) (Clarke or Purcell)
Canon in D (Pachelbel)
The Four Seasons (Handel)
Water Music (Handel)
What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
Unforgettable (Nat King Cole)
I Can’t Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley)
When A Man Loves A Woman (Percy Sledge)
In My Life (The Beatles)
March From Lohengrin (Wagner)

Ave Maria (Schubert)
Amazing Grace (Traditional)
La Traviata (Verdi)
Sheep May Safely Graze (Bach)
And I Love Her (The Beatles)
Primavera: First Movement, Allegro (Vivaldi)
Love Me Tender (Elvis Presley)
Für Elise (Beethoven)
We’ve Only Just Begun (The Carpenters)
Have I Told You Lately (Van Morrison)

Wedding March (from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”) (Mendelssohn)
Ode To Joy (from The Ninth Symphony) (Beethoven)
Hallelujah Chorus (from “The Messiah”) (Handel)
Trumpet Tune (Purcell)
Magnificat In D (Bach)
The Long And Winding Road (The Beatles)
I Got You (I Feel Good) (James Brown)
How Sweet It Is (James Taylor)
Then He Kissed Me (The Crystals)
I Got You Babe (Sonny and Cher)

Reception music:

Unforgettable (Nat King Cole)
Can’t Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley)
Can I Have This Dance? (Ann Murray)
The Way You Look Tonight (Frank Sinatra)
It Had To Be You (Harry Connick, Jr.)
What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
Endless Love (Diana Ross and Lionel Richie)
I Cross My Heart (George Strait)
I Swear (John M. Montgomery or All 4 One)
A Whole New World (Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle)
As Time Goes By (A Kiss Is Just A Kiss) (Michael Feinstein)
When You Say Nothing At All (Allison Krauss)
Faithfully (Journey)
No Ordinary Love (Sade)
Here And Now (Luther Vandross)
I Can Love you Like That (John M. Montgomery)
Power Of Love (Celine Dion)
Tonight I Celebrate My Love (Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson)
Everything I Do {I Do For You} (Bryan Adams)
When A Man Loves A Woman (Percy Sledge or Michael Bolton)
All My Life (Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville)
I’ll Be There (Mariah Carey)
On Bended Knee (Boyz II Men)
At Last (Etta James)
Don’t Know Much (Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville)
From This Moment On (Shania Twain)
Our Love Is Here To Stay (Harry Connick, Jr.)
Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers)
*These are the most requested songs, but there are many others. Ask your DJ.

My Girl (The Temptations)
Thank Heaven For Little Girls (Gigi)
Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Unforgettable (Nat King Cole / Natalie Cole)
The Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette Midler)
My Dad (Paul Petersen)
Hero (Mariah Carey)
Butterfly Kisses (Bob Carlisle)
Times of Your Life (Paul Anka)
A Song For My Daughter (Steve Moser, Mikki Viereck, Ray Allaire)
Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Elton John)
The Way You Look Tonight (Frank Sinatra)
Have I Told You Lately (Rod Stewart)
Because You Loved Me (Celine Dion)
My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion)
Have I Told You Lately (Van Morrison)
What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
Through The Years (Kenny Rogers)
Daddy’s Hand (Holly Dunn)
Daddy’s little Girl (Kippi Brannon)
Daddy’s Girl (Peter Cetera)
Sunrise, Sunset (Fiddler On The Roof – Sndtrk)
Lullabye (Billy Joel)
A Whole New World (Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle)
How Do You Fall In Love (Alabama)
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder)
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)
Thank Heaven For Little Girls (Gigi)
Father’s Eyes (Amy Grant)
Friends (Elton John)
In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)

Don’t Know Much (Linda Rondstadt and Aaron Neville)
Butterfly Kisses (Bob Carlisle)
I.O.U (Jimmy Dean)
Moon River (Andy Williams)
Moon Dance (Van Morrison)
‘Til The End Of Time (Perry Como)
Through The Years (Kenny Rogers)
Have I Told You Lately (Rod Stewart)
Because You Loved Me (Celine Dion)
Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Unforgettable (Nat King Cole / Natalie Cole)
What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstong)
In This Life (Bette Midler)
You’re The Inspiration (Chicago)
Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette Midler)
Friends (Elton John)
Wishing Tree (Sonia Dada)
Blessed (Elton John)
Hero (Mariah Carey)
In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
A Song For My Son (Steve Moser, Mikki Viereck, Ray Allaire)
Sunrise, Sunset (Fiddler On The Roof – Sndtrk)
In My Life (The Beatles)
Ever I Saw Your face (Roberta Flasck)
Greatest Love Of All (Whitney Houston)
I Wish You Love (Natalie Cole)
Thanks Again (Ricky Skaggs)
Stand By Me (Ben E. King)

That’s What Friends Are For (Dionne & Friends: Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)
Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Elton John)
Friends In Low Places (Garth Brooks)
We Are Family (Sister Sledge)
Friends (Elton John)
Heroes and Friends (Randy Travis)
In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
Celebration (Kool & The Gang)

Cut the Cake (Average White Band)
I Wanna Grow Old With You (Adam Sandler)
How Sweet It Is (James Taylor)
Sugar, Sugar (The Archies)
Hit me With Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar)
When I’m 64 (The Beatles)
Recipe For Love (Harry Connick Jr.)
That’s Amore’ (Dean Martin)
Happy Together (The Turtles)
Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard)
I Got You Babe (Sunny & Cher)
Love & Marriage (Frank Sinatra)
Oh Yeah! (Yello)
Axel F (Harold Faltermeyer)
Peter Gunn Theme
Money/Dollar (Honeymoon) Dance music (Optional) Played during the time the Bride & Groom dance with guests while the Best man and Maid of Honor collect the money for their honeymoon.

Ask your DJ for suggestions

The Stripper (David Rose)
Legs (ZZ Top)
You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate)
Oh Yeah! (Yello)
Macho Man (Village People)
Theme From Mission Impossible (Danny Elfman)
Wild Thing (The Troggs or Tone Loc)
Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye)
Bad Boys (Inner Circle)
Another One Bites The Dust (Queen)
Curly Shuffle (Jump n’ The Saddle)
Kiss (Prince)
Do Ya Think I’m Sexy (Rod Stewart)
Gimme All Your Lovin’ (ZZ Top)
Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)
Freak Me (Silk)
Hungry Eyes (Eric Carmen)
Heaven (Bryan Adams)
U Can’t Touch This (MC Hammer)
Shameless (Garth Brooks)
*Girls Night Out (The Judds)
*Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper)
*Whipped Cream {Dating Game Theme} (Herb Alpert)
*Miss America Theme (Various)
*Songs for Bouquet Toss Only.

Last Dance (Donna Summer)
New York, New York (Frank Sinatra)
Good Riddance {Time Of Your Life} (Green Day)
From This Moment On (Shania Twain & Bryan White)
Save The Best For Last (Vanessa Williams)
Wonderful Tonight (David Kersh)
Could I Have This Dance (Anne Murray)
You’re Still The One (Shania Twain)
Closing Time (Semisonic)
Unforgettable (Nat King Cole / Natalie Cole)
I’ve Had The Time Of My Life (Bill Medly & Jennifer Warnes)
How Your Love Makes Me Feel (Diamond Rio)
Goodnight, Sweetheart (David Kersh)
The Party’s Over (Nat King Cole)
Goodnight Sweetheart (Spaniels)
What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
The Dance (Garth Brooks)
Truly, Madly, Deeply (Savage Garden)
Always And Forever (Heatwave)

In the photograph world a set of Clipping Mask is called a stencils. Now normally what people do is if they have a Mask that they like to use over and over again they will create a photograph of it or save it as a PSD file with all the settings in them and then import them into the new file that they are working on this way the can save time here is an example on how to do a simple one…

Clipping Mask

RedShift