Answers (part 1)

Tamara asked:
1. What is your favorite lens and why?

I love my 50mm 1.4 lens. It grabs focus quickly, and it's a good sharp lens. I like to work closely to my subjects, which is why I chose the 50mm over the 85. I have the 28-75mm 2.8 Tamron and I don't like it as much. I feel like mine hunts around for focus and tends to underexpose. I included the shooting info on my most recent session to show how often I shoot more open than 2.8. The 1.4 has saved my little fanny so many times!

2. Where do you focus?

I focus in between the eyes. If one eye is closer than the other, I focus on the closer eye. In a group shot I focus on the eyes of the closest person. Tamara- Maybe try testing out a different lens and see if it grabs focus a little better. I know my Tamron takes a little longer to focus.

3. What are your favorite color pop actions?
Usually all I do to pop my color is a contrast adjustment layer in curves, and occasionally a saturation bump. I have some actions, but I rarely use them. Bumping up my exposure helps to pop my color. Bumping up contrast when the picture is underexposed (or has color casts) makes the color (especially skin tones) really muddy. I have also used this method:


4. How do you get nice creamy skin tones?
This is a tough one! Color cast issues are my biggest problem when it comes to skin tone. If I find great light and get a good exposure, I rarely have any correcting to do. If I DO have a color cast, I open an adjustment layer and play around with color balance. My Canon tends to bump up blues, so it seems like I'm always bumping up the yellows and reds. I fixed the color cast in this picture with color balance.

I learned a great photoshop trick to even out skin tones, but it is kind of complicated. The online tutorial I found has been taken down. I would love to walk you through it if you'd like!

5. On average, how long does it take to edit a single image?
It takes me about 3-4 minutes to do a basic edit. I usually do a few plays and can get a little carried away doing that. I try and keep it pretty simple so editing isn't too overwhelming!