WILDCAT Scrimmage Day!

As promised, I'm really going to "attempt" to start blogging more on a regular basis.  That said, yesterday, I took some great action pics of our Waldorf Wildcats Mighty Mites (8-9) first Scrimmage Game.  We have two Mighty Mites divisions ( RED & Black Team). My son Christopher #11, is one of the Quarterbacks for the RED team. Oh my goodness...BOTH the Red & Black team did an AWESOME job! I'm sure I speak for all Wildcat Family members...we are very proud of all of you!

OK..because I am a Photographer, let's talk shop very briefly.

The challenge in shooting Action Sports is to capture SHARP images and FREEZE the action.  Again, I am not going to get too technical in this blog.. but basically what you want to do is Freeze the action by shooting with a high shutter speed. To get the image to be sharp, you may need to use either a tripod or a monopod that helps reduce camera shake. When shooting sports, I typically use a monopod.  

Enough of that...enjoy the pics and as always, leave comments if you feel inspired to do so.

(click on image to enlarge)

 

FOX 5 FACEBOOK FAN OF THE DAY!

This is gonna be a very short post.  About a month ago, my wife submitted our family portrait to Fox 5 for their FACEBOOK FAN OF THE DAY (we really wake up watching Fox 5) ....Well, what do you know to our surprise, we were selected and featured on FOX 5 TV!!

Below is the portrait submitted.  This was a self portrait that I did and it took about 12 takes to run back and forth to get into the correct position...lol!  But it was fun!!  Enjoy.

Chris

(Click on image below to enlarge)

Football Pics of The MIGHTY WILDCATS In ACTION!

Hi Everyone,

I can not believe how long it's been since I last posted on my BLOG! SHAME, SHAME on me! Here's a collection of images that I put together to create an advertisement for capturing LIVE Football Images.  My son, Christopher Carter #11 (Mighty Mites Red Team-this year) for the Wildcats really enjoyed himself last year!

This year, I'm offering the same deal for capturing High-Impact sports images for those who are interested.  The only challenge is being able to coordinate times and location.  If my sons team is playing on the same day and the same field as yours...no problem. But if the games are played in different locations and times....we may have a problem, because I have to be there to support my son at his game first.

Finally, to ALL WILDCAT
parents who are tired of the same ole individual football photo of your son or daughter (cheerleader) and you want POWERFUL DRAMATIC Images with IMPACT contact me ASAP to discuss details and pricing. I'm offering very Powerful Poster type images of players and cheerleaders!  As soon as Christopher gets his uniform, I will take a few pics and post them here.

Until then!

Chris

(Click on image below to enlarge)

  

Having FUN when I'm Bored!

I was bored the other day, so I asked my son, Christopher to sit and take a few pictures while I experimented with some different lighting techniques. By the way, I just took a regular blanket “throw” that was on the couch and wrapped it around him… Here’s one of the pics. (Hint-Hint….it pays to befriend a photographer when they get bored…You just might find yourself in a “Free” photo session!....lol!)

Feel free to leave a comment if you wanna!

Desherie & Isaac's Wedding Reception Pictures

Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed the beautiful pictures from the wedding that I posted on my blog. Please feel free to leave comments if your heart desires to do so. As promised, the pictures from the reception are done and ready to review!! The presentation has sound, so please make sure your volume is turned on and up.

Here's the link (turn your volume on):

http://www.chrisjamesphotography.org/DesherieandIsaacReception_2009/

Chris

The Wedding Pictures from Desherie & Isaac

Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed your pictorial tease that I posted on my blog from the wedding a few weeks back. Now...it's time for the real thing!! Attached you will find the beautiful images that were captured at Desherie and Isaac's wedding. The presentation has sound, so please make sure your volume is turned on and up.

Also, please note that pictures from the reception are still in development stages and are not available at this time. You will be notified when I've finished working on them. In the meantime....sit back and enjoy this momentous occasion!

Here's the link (turn your volume on):

http://www.chrisjamesphotography.org/DesherieandIsaacWedding2009

Chris

The Union of Desherie & Isaac

This past weekend (September 26, 2009), I had the privilege of being the wedding photographer for my cousin, Desherie and her husband, Isaac. The wedding was sooooo beautiful and full of wonderful colors, and entertainment. Desherie had on an absolutely stunning white wedding dress and changed into an equally striking dress for the reception. The wedding was held in Winston-Salem, NC.

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Isaac LeSaine! What GOD has put together….let no man tear it apart. Blessings!

Enjoy! As always, please feel free to contact me if you need my services, or just want to make a comment about some of the pictures/blogs. Email me at: chrisjamesphotography@comcast.net

Just click on the image below to view a larger picture.

Chris

A Different Type of Portrait

OK....I really suck at not putting up more blog postings on a regular basis, but I promise to get better with doing so...just hang in there with me.

I was compelled to do a different type of picture that I have not done as of yet on my blog...Below you will see a sample of a more formal picture verging on the lines of a glamour portrait. What you will notice different is; unlike the other examples of models that I've done...this picture has a much more softer feel/look. The other model samples were more for magazines, etc....Don't forget, I could have really went CRAZY and over the top with the "glamour retouch"....but, I decided that for this example, I would just make it look very professional and realistic.

By the way....it doesn't hurt to have a beautiful model to take pictures of and make your job easier...lol! This is just one of the tons of pictures that I took of this very attractive model!

My plan is to do an "Over The Top" glamour retouch, so you can see the huge difference....but for now...enjoy! Email me and let me know what you think
@ chrisjamesphotography@comcast.net

Click on image below to view larger picture.




Chris

How I Took A Simple Snap Shot & Turned It To A Portrait

OK...this was a very fun project to undertake. Basically, my challenge was to take an ordinary snap shot of a person and turn it into a beautiful portrait. When I took this picture, the talent had no make-up on, and just stood there for me to snap the shot...and that's what I did. However, I saw in my mind as a photographer and retouch artist how beautiful I could make the picture look...well you can be the judge.

Below you will find the "Before" and "After" results of the same picture...Wow, what a HUGE difference. When I showed her the finish product, her expressions said it all!!!! She was blown away and really loved my work! Tell me what you think!

Now, I have a challenge for you....look at the "Before and After" photo and tell me how many changes I made to the photo.....>>>>>???? Email me your response. Until next time...Dare 2 Be Creative with your Projects!

chrisjamesphotography@comcast.net

Chris

Touch on the images to get a larger view.

Photo Retouch & Repair!

By now, if you have been following my blogs, then you know that I love taking photos (hence the reason I am a photographer) and retouching photos. Well, first of all, let me say that I did not take the photo of the beautiful model below, however, I did receive permission from her (the model) to use her picture as an example on how to repair a damaged photo and top it off with a nice fresh look (retouch) to bring it all together. Thank you Ms. TM.

OK...here we go...as you can see, the original picture below has a bit of damage to the photo on the left side of the background itself as well as on the body of the model's arms. The first thing I did was fixed the background area, next I tackled repairing the damage to the models arms. After I was done with the major repair corrections, I made some color corrections to add some depth to the over all image.....then, I worked on retouching he image and giving the model a fresh look and digital make-over.....and let me say this, the model is already extremely beautiful...all I did was took it to the next level...that's what retouching a photo can do, it puts the icing on the cake!

Below is the original image as it was shot and displayed (again, I did not take the photo...I am only using this picture as an example) (click on the image to view a larger size)



Below you will see my finished version in its original state as the photo was taken. Added are the corrections I just mentioned, photo repair, color corrections and retouching.
(click on the image to view a larger size)




And finally, below you will see my version of how I like to see the photo cropped and ready for display. (click on the image to view a larger size)




Hope you enjoyed another retouch project. Don't forget, you can leave comments at the end of each blog and contact me for your photographic needs at : chrisjamesphotography@comcast.net

Thanks Ms. TM for the use of your photo!!

Finally, there were several different ways that I could have retouched the photo from basic to extreme...but for this example, I just wanted to keep it simple...C ya!

Chris