Quickly Improve Your Composition

    

The composition of your image, which refers to how the subjects are arranged in the frame, is key in creating an image that evokes an emotional reaction. Many photographs are nice enough but with a bit of adjustment, could be transformed from average to extraordinary. One way to improve an image's composition is through the use of cropping, a powerful tool when properly used.

 

 

Consider what you feel to be the essence of the image. Make that subject the focal point and don't be afraid to crop close. If a person's head is in the image, you'll want to leave enough room so the photo doesn't feel cramped. However, in many other situations, a close crop brings the main sentiment to the foreground without extraneous background clutter competing with the subject. You can always undo the crop results as long as you don't save over the original image. This allows you to experiment with different crop ratios and proximity and get a feel for what works in different situations.

 

 

Shooting Old School: Cross-Processing

 

Did you know that one of today's most popular effects has its roots in the days of shooting film? Cross-processing, a technique that is experiencing popularity in fashion photography, on Instagram and on countless blogs, was originally an effect created when the film developer took negative film (C41) and processed it as a positive (using E6 chemicals) or vice versa (this is something we desperately tried to avoid most of the time at Photo Express!). Today, the stylized look is enjoying a revival and can be mimicked through the use of online editing tools such as those in Photoshop.

 

 

 

In essence, the effect will combine strong warm tones (yellow) with blue shadow tones. In film days, the final results could vary based upon the types of film used and the balance of the chemicals. To create this style digitally, try making adjustments using the Curve tool in Photoshop or Lightroom. Making changes to the tonal ranges in each of the red, green and blue channels will show the impact of such adjustments and you can tweak each channel accordingly. There is no right or wrong way to create this effect - the joy is in the experimentation - so feel free to get carried away!

 

If you're searching for a way to bring a fresh style to your images with a nod to classic photography, cross-processing effects may be the perfect fit.

 


You know how they time flies and your babies grow up so fast?  What if you had over 5,000 babies?  That's how many kids under 5 years old we have photographed in the first 19 "Cutest Little Baby" Photo Contests!  And for this year's 20th Annual event, running Feb 11-20, we have one of the best themes ever! This is such a great way to have fun inexpensive portraits taken of your child!

Here is a link to some details....
20th Annual Cutest Little Baby Photo Contest

We now have entrants from our first few years bringing in their babies, how cool is that?  So if you have any cute kids under age 5, plan to visit us from Feb 11-20 at Photo Express to enter this great contest,
and if you know of anyone else with cute little kids, please forward this email!






Last few days to buy your box on sale!! (You don't have to bring it back filled in January).

You Box Them, We Scan Them, You Save Them!

Be sure to take advantage of our "Shoebox Scan" Event this January, and start the New Year off in an organized fashion!  All you have to do is come in and buy one of our special Shoeboxes, which hold up to 500, or up to 1,000 prints.  Then take them home and fill them with old photos at your leisure.  Our professional technicians will then scan them all with our state of the art equipment.  Your memories will now be in the digital realm forever!

This month, you save 20% on your Shoeboxes, so you can have 500 prints scanned for only $79, or 1,000 prints for $144!

 
 
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