PhotosbyHector

03/22/2025

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dabbling-adobe-photoshop-ai-hector-amaya-vzyxc Article on my experience using Adobe Photoshop AI for the 1st time.

Today I would like to write about my experience using Adobe Photoshop AI®. I gave myself a couple of parameters; 1st don’t take a way from the image give it a plausible look; 2nd merge the two images to keep it balanced with the original lighting.

05/13/2023

Should You Print a Photograph?

The original title of this blog post was going to be Environmental Portraits, but then it occurred to me that is not what I wanted to talk about. It is about why you should print a favorite photograph. Digital cameras and phones, hard drives, and clouds can be comprised by corruption of files or loss through no fault of your own. So, for me it is important that I print and display important photos. Here are three examples why you should do the same.

First, why is the photo important to you? For example, in the first photo, there is a Texas Longhorn in a pasture of blue bonnets. It is one of my favorites and it is one of the first photos I took with a digital camera. It is a beautiful image of just a longhorn steer in a field.

Second, can you tell a story about the photograph? There are two stories behind this one, I will keep the first one for myself and the subject of the portrait. She was my girlfriend twenty years ago. The second story I will share, during my COVID recovery I spent four months recovering and having a tough time sleeping. Then one day I came across her portrait, I printed it. Surprisingly, I put it on my nightstand and started to relax and sleep more as my recovery progressed.

Finally, why display it? Like so many others I have a large catalogue of photos, in that portfolio there are images I would like to display. Not all can be, but special ones should be, I recommend having them matted and framed to give them a little more elegance. I have also, printed a small book of my favorite portraits to as a coffee table for guests to look at when they came over to my home. Also, they make great gifts for those special people, you will be surprised how big the smiles are.

Print your special photographs, not all but those that have meaning, have a story to go with it, and of course how you want your efforts displayed. Do not count on devices or cloud services to store your most valuable images, print out those that matter.

01/28/2023

01/28/2023

Just now

Black & White Conversion

I take what I think are OK photos in color and see if they would look better in another format or style. Most of the time, I convert the photo into a Black & White image. Why do I do this? Well, in my opinion images that are in black and white look timeless. Here is a thought for you, ever see your parents or grandparents in an old photo? How does it make you feel, see, and above all the transformation of who you see today? With four photos I will demonstrate what I mean; 1st, Motorcycle; 2nd, Flamenco Bailaora, 3rd, Folkloric dancer, and 4th, City scape.

1st, the motorcycle, I shot this one in 2008, the camera was set on program with flash. In color this photo looked great, but I felt it needed more. It was a black bike, and it was well lit to show off its beauty and my flash even enhanced it. So, I opened Adobe Photoshop Elements™, and converted it. The outlines of the bike look formidable and the chrome pops! The buyer was impressed the poster.
2nd, the Flamenco Bailaora, I wanted an image that could pass a simple test. That test, could it be a scene in Spain. It could, so I chose a friend’s image. I opened Adobe Lightroom™ and started working. Luckily, the coloring of her skin, dress, and hat had a big impact on the results.

3rd, The Folkloric Dancer, the test again could it be a scene from Mexico? It could, it does look appear to have been staged in Mexico. I was invited by the director of Sabor Mexico (Houston) to photograph this event. As a kickoff for the Latin Grammys and all that encompassed the event in Houston in October of 2008. The leaves had fallen, and the sky was really a dark blue. The accents of the dresses popped brilliantly and stood out against the background. Adobe Lightroom™ was used again to convert the image.

4th, the city scape, for this image I went on excursion in downtown Houston, in an area called the Market Square. As the sun was going down, I noticed this corner, I took photos from a variety of angles. When I downloaded the image. This could have been a scene out of a movie from the 30's-40’s. It has that kind of feeling as you view it.

I review a lot of images on Flickr™ and Pinterest™ and a lot of other media such as books, newspapers, and family albums. One thing I learned in all of this was that not all color photos should be converted to black & white, they lose something so take that in mind. Create a test, like I did can it be seen as time from the past or another place. In addition will it move you or make you think of an era that you read or seen on television or movies. If it meets your standards, then by all means see if it works out for you. &Wconversion

12/23/2022

I have been thinking about sharing tips for Christmas or holiday photography. They are simple, in fact it might be something you have heard or seen them before.

1st, if it is an ornament, small or large frame it your mind, in a rectangle. Walk around it look for the best light possible. Then light it with flash or add external light to give it some splash or sparkle.

2nd, people same as above crop tightly or open the frame up if it is a more than two or three people.

a. Children and pets, use your program or automatic settings with a flash. They won´t sit still, shoot continuously and work with as comfortably with the adults. I do have an Instagram friend who is a master doing this type of work and I do recommend her if you ever want a great session. https://www.instagram.com/tiffanydanielphotography/
Before you ask ¨Aren´t you a photographer and why are you recommending another photographer?" I am and I am still dealing with long COVID, so a session with me would be difficult. I want to give you a great product for the work you pay for. As soon as my endurance and strength are rebuilt, I will return to extend hours work.

3rd, when shooting people use the background to create a story using the image. Here is why I say this, have you ever seen snapshot of a person standing in front of iconography or places, what do you see? A group of people whose shoulders are slumped, frowns, and distracted. Instead use a long focal lens, zoom preferably, 70-300 with a variable f/stop. Step back and shoot your subjects to get a more authentic photograph of that the person. You'll love their look!

Simple tips, good luck with getting photos and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!😉

12/13/2022

In November, I was invited to see a show called Ole-La-La. It was a production from the brilliant mind of Maria Fernanda Urbaez. She is the owner of DANMAR Dance and Fitness. She is the choreographer and producer of this show and others. She is fabulous at what she does. This short article is not about the show but photos I took that night.

1st, I had difficulty with my equipment, frustrating but I worked it out. The problem I didn't review my equipment for settings. Normally, I work in manual (M), I couldn't get out of the lock position. ISO was the only thing I could change; f/stops and shutter speeds were stuck at f2.8 and 1/400 shutter speed. Lesson learned: review equipment to reduce problems.

2nd, I was a bit out of position, I didn't want to change seats. The exit was close by. I was still dealing with the health issues I had mentioned before. So, I set up and used my 70-200 f2.8 zoom for most of the show. It worked out, the photos you see are not from the center of the auditorium but from the last row of seats from stage right or as one views the stage the left side. Lesson learned: work with what you get find a way to make the shots you want.

3rd, trust yourself, after tons of experience you will get a sense of what you can do. I also, rely on a huge library of photos that I can review for settings, ISO's, and equipment. I knew that I was photographing a Broadway style show. I had shot a couple of DANMAR's shows, so before I went to the show, I had a look at their files to see what information would be beneficial. It worked out, since I couldn't change my settings, but I could change the ISO. Lesson learned: Rely on yourself and your library. You will be surprised by your results.

So, when you on a shoot and you are not at your best do trust yourself. Work the puzzle, find the solution to get the job done. If you are out position, equipment failure, or whatever don't allow self-doubt to encroach your thoughts. Work the puzzle. Finally, use your library of photos to get ideas, also, to help with technical issues. Work the problem and do your best to get better.

11/19/2021

Anastasia Bodagovskaya is artist in her own right! She does murals, body painting, computer graphics, dance, and of course a business owner. I've writtern and posted photos of her before. She is a lovely person know.

The posted photos were taken with a Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200 zoom, with a Nikon SB800 speed light in appeture mode. F7.1-8 SS varied.

Cloudy day, speedlight was useful to enhance her glowing tanned skin and smile. Speedlights are useful in varialbe sunlight, it evens skin tones and makes eyes pop bighter. There are plenty of YouTube videos that will give you insight oh how to use it.

I keep learning new things everytime I go and get to practice with old techniques. I also get to meet new people and reacquainted with a familiar face.