LADIG – LA Lightroom User Group

At our August meeting, landscape photographer Erik Haake demonstrated the use of Luminosity Masks in Photoshop, to selectively affect different tones in an image. Responding to numerous requests from our members, I will present a full explanation and demonstration of what Luminosity Masks are, and how to use them, at our October meeting, on Thursday evening October 24!

We’ll start with some basic masking concepts, then create masks from channels, and from the Select Color tool in Photoshop. We’ll also show how the Luminosity Range control, in the local adjustment tools in Lightroom (the gradient filter, the radial filter, and the brush) can also be used to target a limited tonal range!

We’ll see how we can combine different versions of the same image (developed in LR or in ACR), optimized first for the shadows, then for the highlights, into one finished image that can span a huge contrast ratio, without the strange tonal artifacts of HDR. We’ll answer all your questions – and you’ll leave in command of a huge new ability to control your images!

Admission is free, but we’d appreciate a donation to help keep LADIG afloat. Every donation enters you into our monthly raffle (free tickets are not)

Please register on the form below:

REGISTER HERE

Do your lenses open up to F1.4? More importantly, are they sharp and contrasty? Come to our next meeting, at the Sigma corporate showroom, and bring your camera and favorite lens! Jared Ivy will talk about what makes Sigma lenses special, and how to examine the quality of your own lens – then George Simian will do a demonstration photo shoot, tethered to a computer, that you might see the difference! After that, you’ll all take turns shooting two different actresses, testing every Sigma lens available (just about all they make for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leica, etc). This is a special opportunity, and we’ll limit participation to the first 25 people to sign up – please make a small donation to LADIG!

Register here:

Buy Tickets

From the very beginning of photography’s history, artists have carried huge cameras and full darkrooms into the mountains, in a quest to replicate the awe they experienced in the midst of nature – and have found that translating the real world into a small flat image was unexpectedly difficult! Even today, landscape photographs are either boring or cliche, and almost never recreate the experience.

Come meet Erik Haake, a young photographer who hikes into wilderness with a very heavy tripod and a full thought-out and practiced workflow, to create images that impress and connect! Erik will talk about his evolution from early unsuccessful attempts, to his current method of planning, hiking, finding compositions, setting up the camera in the ideal spot, capturing many images, and post-processing them together into a finished unforgettable photograph!

See his work at https://500px.com/ehaake, and come watch him show his images, and his post-processing workflow of combining images for deeper focus and wider tonal range, at our August 22 meeting: 6:30PM for social time, and at 7PM for the presentation, at our new location, the Community Room in the 8000 Sunset Boulevard mall in West Hollywood. Parking is in the underground garage, and free validation is available in the Trader’s Joe or Starbuck’s!

Admission is free, but we’d appreciate a donation to help keep LADIG afloat. Every donation enters you into our monthly raffle (free tickets are not)

Please register on the form below:

Today’s advertising photography has to build a visual identity for a brand, through believable moments of lived life, that tell a story that feels authentic and emotional!

Come meet Michael Dorman, an award-winning advertising lifestyle, automotive, and sports photographer!

Michael has built a strong reputation for capturing the beauty of fleeting moments. Specializing in documentary-style commercial and editorial work, he photographs with a strong emphasis on narratives, with a skill for capturing filmic moments that tell a story with quality and authenticity.

For Michael “…it’s all about creating and capturing those little unscripted instances. I don’t like to direct talent to pose or act out a specific action. Instead, we create the story and the narrative and then step back to let the scene develop organically into those spontaneous moments caught when everyone’s forgotten that a camera is there”.

Michael and his team are adept in large-scale productions, as well as small guerilla-style shoots.

Michael will discuss the constant challenge facing creative photographers: staying inspired and motivated! “Our brains are programed to build and repeat patterns. It helps streamline our days and simplify how we interact with the world and keep us safe – but how do we both avoid and utilize the daily distractions of life to help feed creativity?”

Showing his work, and discussing his approach to self-motivation and inspiration, Michael will encourage you to push your own boundaries, and make new, surprising images every day! 

Join us on Thursday evening June 20, in West Hollywood, to see Michael Dorman show us his images, and inspire us to create! We’ll start at 7pm, but come at 6:30 to socialize and snack, then stay for the lecture and to have all your questions answered. www.ladig.org

We have a new location, the Community Room in the 8000 Sunset Boulevard mall in West Hollywood. Parking is in the underground garage, and free validation is available in the Trader’s Joe or Starbuck’s!

Admission is free, but we’d appreciate a donation to help keep LADIG afloat. Every ticket bought (not the free ones….) enters you into our raffle drawing!

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The future is here! The seamless blending of CGI (computer generated imagery) and photography surrounds us in most high-end advertising – and it will grow exponentially in the next few years!!! As the entire imaging industry undergoes a revolution, the photographers who take charge of integrating CGI into their images, with awareness and ability to match perspective, lighting, resolution, contrast and color, will be the ones who succeed!

In this presentation Rick will provide a quick overview of his visual history, then deconstruct a couple of images, showing the incredible complexity of integrating CGI with image elements, and creating a believable composite! He will address the various issues involved, and walk through a few case studies, timeline to finish… In addition, he’ll show retouching notes and before-afters. Rick will also explain how to manage work flows, internally and with clients. Rick will show work samples done through traditional retouching as well as combined CGI, both in still images and in animations.

Rick Chou has had a long career in advertising photography, capturing everything from Apple products to Lexus cars, from Jessica Alba to Jennifer Lawrence, winning awards for his creative thinking and his artful lighting. In 2010 Rick co-founded BLUE SKY CGI, a CGI and creative retouching boutique. A response to years of seeing agencies integrate CGI into his photographic images, with not-always-successful believability. Today, Blue Sky is comprised of six CG/Retouching artists and a select roster on standby. Rick ensures quality by hiring exceptional talent that is both adept at rendering and knowledgeable about lighting. That Rick and his team have been able to come together and advance from chasing the trail of change to being change-makers is a testament to their creativity and ingenuity. Taking an active role in his career path, Rick has successfully created a niche by combining modern technology with photography expertise.

Join us on Thursday evening May 16, in West Hollywood, to see Rick Chou explain and demonstrate CGI! We’ll start at 7pm, but come at 6:30 to socialize and snack, then stay for the lecture and to have all your questions answered, and mind expanded!www.ladig.org!

We have a new location, the Community Room in the 8000 Sunset Boulevard mall in West Hollywood. Parking is in the underground garage, and free validation is available in the Trader’s Joe or Starbuck’s!

Admission is free, but we’d appreciate a donation to help keep LADIG afloat. Every ticket bought (not the free ones….) enters you into our raffle drawing!