Skater Action I

Are you into sports, action photography mixed with a bit of realness / motion? Then this – Skater Action I, is the right Pro Tutorial for you. In our latest action series we created a skater action image with some amazing powder motion.

The whole process of this tutorial is to show you first of all how to shoot such an image and create a good / realistic exposure in camera. After that we will continue with the retouching phase. In which we concentrate for a good hour on all aspects! We will start out with basic raw conversion, Compositing, Light Control & darkening the background.

The techniques presented in this tutorial would give you the opportunity to create some amazing action images. Techniques that not only complement the image, but also, when executed thoroughly, would bring the full detail and potential of the image to light.

Not only does the tutorial provide an in-depth section on photography and light setup, the subsequent lessons focus extensively on retouching techniques – Compositing Sharpening, working with masks; dodge & burn and color grading.

The idea behind the tutorial is not only to familiarize people with the techniques, but also to help them understand the reason for using certain methods and not using others.

Included in your Pro Tutorial – 1 Hours Step by Step guide

• Lesson 1 – Behind The Scenes – Photography & Light Setup “FREE”
• Lesson 2 – Preparations & Raw Conversions
• Lesson 3 – Help Layers & Notes
• Lesson 4 – Image Build-Up
• Lesson 5 – Building/Darken Backgrounds
• Lesson 6 – Dodge & Burn
• Lesson 7 – Fixes & Clean-Up
• Lesson 8 – Final Adjustments & Color Grading

Included working files

• Raw File
• PSD File

DESCRIPTION:

Behind The Scenes – Photography & Light Setup ”Free” 

In our first lesson, which is also free (watch video here) we’re going to discuss all thoughts behind this project, the complete shooting and light setup. But that is not all we’re also going to cover all aspects about our location, model and props that where needed for the shooting.

Preparations & Raw Conversions

OK. Now it’s time to move over to the retouching side. In this lesson, we will start out with the basic raw conversion and sorting our files. This means taking our images into camera raw for some basic adjustments and then into Photoshop for more in depth retouching. Once we are in Photoshop we will create some help layers in order to point out all retouching steps!

Image Build-Up

In this lesson we will concentrate on building our image. What does this mean? We’re building the image that we wanted get in camera but couldn’t because of some reasons. This might happen because your light is not set right, your model or talent is not making it or simply because you run out of time! So in other words we will build the perfect image from 3 different exposures.

Building / Darkening Background

Now that we are done with the manipulation / composting part. We will concentrate on darkening the background completely. We will be doing this setup via level & curves adjustment layers and painting black color with our brush! This is no rocket science and should not be seen as a complicated process!

Dodge & Burn

On again after all the process that we have gone trough we will still work with our famous dodge & burn technique. (We also have a great free video on this technique right here) We will be using the D&B process to correct the light and shape the powder even better! In order to make the image pop (Shine) even more!

Fixes & Cleaning

Now that we have an awesome base plate, we will concentrate on the last details. Because this is, what will make this image stand out! We will be copying small dust particles from one exposure and adding them into specific areas via a hidden mask technique.

Final Adjustments & Color Grading

In our last lesson, we will be concentrating on our last 20%. Applying the final color grading in this case an intensive black & white grading! We will also be checking sharpness, contrast and correcting all outstanding points.