As I continue with my Project365 and I learn different photo techniques and Photoshop things to do to the photos I will share them with you. Today, I took a simple photo I took with my point and shoot Canon and created an interesting photo as you can see here on the left.

Adding the reflection of clouds to sunglasses is actually a very simple and easy project to do.

STEP ONE

Open the original photo in Photoshop

The way this photo was taken we can assume that I am looking straight into the sky so what we expect to see on the sunglass reflection are clouds. You can actually use anything in the reflection, you can use palm trees, the ocean, an interesting animal, etc..

STEP TWO

Open up the picture in photoshop that you are going to use for the reflection.

Once you have both photos open in Photoshop copy the sky photo as a layer into the sunglasses photo and put it behind your sunglasses photo.

Remember to make copies of your files and work on those, never work on original photos because if you do something wrong while experimenting and want to go back to the original you will always have the original untouched and can start over at any time.

STEP 3

What we need to do now is create a mask covering the lense of the glasses so the sky photo shows in the back. To do this just add a mask to the sunglasses photos

To add a vector mask make sure you are selecting the photo you want the mask to be created, then click on the option “add vector mask” which looks like a rectangle with a circle inside, it is the option right next to the fx button.

Once the mask has been created, select the mask and erase the lense.

after erasing the mask your photo should look like this. I like to use a soft brush when erasing so when we add the sky photo behind it it sorta blends into the edges of the lens.

STEP 4

Now that you erased the lens, and the sky or clouds image is behind the original photo you should be able to see it coming through the glasses. You can move around and position the photo to fit your desired look.

Your final result should look something similar to this.

STEP 5

Adding the final touches. Right now, it looks very  harsh and because my sunglasses are purple I wanted the sky reflection to have a tint of purple, so it could actually look like they sky from above is reflecting on the glasses.

So what I did was created a purple rectangle and lower its opacity to around 30% just to give the sky a tint of purple.

Here you could see how I moved the sky photo to fit better behind the sunglasses and where I added the purple rectancle.

On this photo I clicked on the layers menu the little eye next to the sunglasses photo so you could see how I had my photos.

so after the tint we are done, you can use any color depending on the color of your sunglasses.

your final result should look something similar to this.

I hope this tutorial helped you, feel free to leave me some feedback or a link to your reflection image.

until next time, ciao for now!!

Lately I’ve been looking a lot of photographs on flickr, and doing this I found out an interesting project that’s been going on. Its called 365 Days or Project365 and what it is is that you take one picture a day for a whole year. Each day you upload your picture to  flickr and share it with others. Why would you do this? well its a way to let you get use to photography as a every day thing, as well as it helps you challenge your creativity and your photography teachnincal skills. After a few days you have to start thining out of the box and create new things, challenge yourself to become better and experiment new things.  It’s a project you do for you, not for anyone else, there is no price, no competition but a fun learning experience.

Day 2.2…. had two favorites on day 2

I’m really looking forward to doing this and sharing this with all of you. Although I’ve been doing it for only 3 days I’ve been getting very frustrated and realizing that is not as easy as everyone else makes it look.

There are two types of projects that I found. The first one called 365 Days is about you being the photographer as well as the subject, and wow! let me tell you that is one hard task! specially because I’m a beginner photographer so a lot of frustration comes out.

The second project is called Project 365 and this is about you being the photographer but not the subject so it a little easier and there is more room to do things.

I like portrait photography therefore I decided to stick to 365 days project. I upload the photos to the other project as well but I’m mainly doing self portraits. I usually can’t stick to long term projects, I start very active and then I slowly move away from them and leave them unfinished behind. I’m hoping that even if I don’t complete the 365 days I at least do it long enough where I can try new things and learn new techniques.

I am using a a few tools for inspiration, first I  look at other Flickr memebers images and get inspire by their use of colors, their poses, or even their titles. Another tool I will use is a book about portrat photography technique that I purchase from DIY photography, It has pages over pages about how to take better portraits.

So here are Day1 , Day 2 and Day 3 photographs:

Day 1

Day 2

“Life’s not about waiting for the storms to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” ~ Vivian Greene

Day 3

if you want to follow my project365 you can do so by subscribing to my blog (box on the right hand side) or you can get instant notification when I upload my photos on twitter at @amecoli or visti my flickr project365 page and leave a comment!

Thanks for sharing this project with me, if you are doing a project365 leave a comment with your URL so we can check out your photos, if you are not doing a project but have ideas on how I can take some pics or how to edit the photos please leave a comment, as I said before, this is a learning experience so everyone’s feedback is very much appreciated!!

Every photographer needs a blog to promote their photography business, interact with clients, get more clients and build a reputation. Learn how…

A few years back  every photographer was encouraged to have a website and showcase their work to get more clients, but as time passed we learned that technology advances and marketing practices have changed. As a result, every photographer should have a website, but more important than that, every photographer should have a blog. Why? well let me start by giving you guys a little online marketing lesson.

Google doesn’t like static websites. Static Photo websites are websites that do not change. This means that your website has 10 of your favorite photos and a contact page but it doesn’t change at all, there is no new information posted often. Your photography website might be very nice, photo slide shows created in flash, yes its very nice, but you probably won’t get a lot of organic visitors. Why? well,  Google likes new and fresh content and will put all those websites and blogs that have that continuous content before your static website on their search results.

Commit to Starting a Photography Blog

So committing to create a photography blog is the first thing you should do. Don’t be afraid, setting it up is the easy part… finding photography content is the hardest part of all. There are two ways you can go when creating your blog, you can get a free blog through word-press, blogger or any other free blog site. Or, you can host your own blog.  My preference is to host your own blog, with your own domain because the look of the photography blog will be branded with your business. The second option is not free but is the best way. Why? for two reasons, the first: Google likes hosted blogs better than free ones therefore giving you higher rank  which is a greater possibility to get found by your future clients or prospects as they are called. The second: it makes you look more professional in front of your photography clients as you have your own brand and with all the information and tips you are giving them on your blog you seem very knowledgeable giving them confidence and trusting you.

Don’t worry if you don’t know html or php code or how to actually craete the site, that’s why they invented web designers. You can try to do it yourself but is always good to have a web designer to help you when you get stuck!
What do I write about?

Once your blog is created you have to start thinking what you want to write about. For this, you have to put your business hat on. You want to give Google fresh photography content and you want to give your clients a reason to come back often for more photography tips and information. Photo tutorials, how-to’s and any advice blogs are all very good ideas to start.
You can also create contests or even you can teach them how to pose for better portrait photography; basically anything that is related to the photography industry is okay to write about.

Industry news are also a good way to add content. You can take some pictures and talk about it, how did you take the picture? why did you choose that shutter speed? where did you take it? all  that stuff that you know, share it with the world and clients will come.

I don’t see a lot of visitors, now what?

At the beginning you might get frustrated because you don’t have 45,000 visitors a day and 1 million subscribers a day. You have to be patient. At the beginning the only thing that you have to be worried about is creating content, lots and lots of content. Google will find you and visitors will start showing up, eventually some will stay if what they find is interesting to them.

A word of advice, don’t get frustrated if you don’t see a lot of comments, usually that takes a while too. there are other ways you can help your blog get more traffic. You can read about those tips in my SEO section.
Network and promotion are keys to success.

Once you have your photography blog created and created lots of content, then you are ready to start promoting it. Your new photo blog is your new portfolio, is your business card, so promote promote promote everywhere you go, clients will be able to see your work and get to know you better and give you their business because they can see what you are capable of doing.

What are you waiting for?Get on the internet boat and start a Photography blog to promote your photographs and get book more photography jobs!

So as you notice, amcoli.com has a new look. Yes people, I’ve moved from Godaddy Smart Space to a grown ups blog from WordPress called Thesis. still with a little code issues that can’t figure out (argh…) so if you are a web designer, know some code or has any idea how to help me with my issues I would reaaaaally appreciated.

Ok so back to business…

Amecoli.com will still have cool photography, graphic design, art thoughts and finds and everything else in between, but with a little add on twist that I think all of you will enjoy. I will use my online marketing knowledge and help you; all my creative people out there, how to promote your work and make a brand of yourself. I will help you build a strong online presence that will not only help you promote your work online but will also help you offline, meet and network with others in the industry, get freelance jobs, etc….

Did you know that 30% of employees Google your name before they call you for an interview? did you know they also want to find out pieces of your portfolio online and how you promote yourself? well… worry not! as I will help you do the best I can… Promote yoursel online and ofline.

So are you ready to put your career online and get the exposure you deserve? well, come’ on in and grab a chair, here at amecoli.com will travel together on this journey.

No, I don’t know it all, and yes! I will teach you everything I learn along the way so you can apply it as well.

any thoughts? you like the change? stick to the old stuff?