Beginners Guide to Editing - Google Picasa

This months blog post is all about basic editing. 

Now I realise not everyone has access to Photoshop so I thought I would do a little review on Google's free editing software Picasa. Picasa is a totally free piece of software that you can download to your computer. Its has all the basic editing features you need to enhance your photos.

The first thing we are going to talk about is the crop tool. 

We have all taken a picture and afterwards wish we had composed it differently. With the crop tool we can crop out unwanted parts of the image.

Take this shot below, it was taken in a zoo and the composition is pretty poor. We have the zebra in the middle of the frame and you can see the fence in the background.

By selecting the crop tool we can start to re compose the image and remove unwanted items.

 

Once we have clicked on the Crop tool all we need to do is click on the image and draw a rectangle over the area that we want to keep. Once we have the area selected we just hit the Apply button to save the settings.

We can also do minor colour adjustments to the picture, changing the brightness, highlights, shadows and also correct any colour issues we may have due to white balance errors.

We can also apply various preset colour schemes. 

Add colour effects to the image at a click of a button, such as sepia, holga, vintage and many others.


Other filters are also available such as sharpening, graduated or soft focus.

You could even turn the image black and white, or make it look like a pencil drawing.

One of the great features that Picasa offers is the 'Retouch' tool. This is great for removing spots and blemishes from your pictures. All you do is hover the brush over the blemish, click the mouse, and move the circle over a clear patch of skin. Below you can see a before and after picture

Before

After

Download your copy here

www.jamesnealephotography.com

Good Imagery is Key to getting your press releases published.

How many of you have sent out a well written press release but not had it published?
I'm sure its quite a few of you.

One key thing to attach to press release is good quality images. Editors don't want the hassle or have the time to search for suitable images or source images from you. You need to make it simple for them.
If you send over a well written press release along with suitable images you are more likely to get your story published.

Here are a couple of examples from one of my clients, Lynford Hall Hotel who recently had press releases published because they also sent along great images.

 Bury Free press

Norfolk Wedding Days

I can supply you with a full portfolio of great images for your business for use with press releases, marketing materials, and social media. Prices start from as little as £99.

If you would like to chat about your businesses photography needs, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

James

07833491550

http://www.jamesnealephotography.com/

Guide to Snow Photography

With winter setting in I though it would be a good idea to make this months guide all about getting the most from your camera when photographing in the snow.

Snow can make for some great images, although it can also cause a number of problems too. 

Follow this guide and you should be able to head out and capture some amazing winter images.

First things first - Wrap up warm

Seems a simple thing really but make sure you really wrap up warm. Thick socks and walking boots will help keep your feet warm. If you start feeling cold chances are you wont stay out very long and could miss some amazing shots. 

Keeping the camera dry

You can do this by investing in some waterproof covers for your gear, or by simply wrapping it up in a bin liner DIY style.

Make sure you have a lens hood fitted to the lens to keep any water droplets from getting on the glass.

If you take the camera out of a warm house or car, you will need to give it a few minutes to acclimatise to the cold, otherwise you will see the lens mist up.

Head out early

The best time to head out is first thing, or straight after a a fresh load of snow has fell. If you leave it to late you will find that many people may have walked on it.

Exposure

Snow can play havoc with the cameras metering systems and so your lovely white snow pictures can turn out very dull and grey. We need to use the exposure compensation feature of our camera and key in a +1 or +1.5 to make the camera correctly expose the scene in front of us.

If your camera hasn't got this feature, check to see if it has a Snow Scene Mode as this will do it for you.

Composition 

Because there isn't going to be much colour in our snow pictures, we need to rely on leading lines, contrast and texture to make our images stand out. Why not try some black and white images too.

Charge your batteries

Camera batteries will die very quickly in the cold, so make sure they are fully charged before you head out.

If you have a spare, make sure this is also fully charged.

If you would like to learn more about your camera. Why not check out the range of photography workshops that I provide. www.jamesnealephotography.com

The wedding of Mark & Amy Armes | Dereham wedding Photography | James Neale Photography

Mark & Amys wedding seems like it was months ago. I have had such a busy few weeks everything seems like a blur, but we finally managed to get together last week for me to show them their pictures.

I can honestly say I dont think I have ever heard a bride say 'I love that one' so many times. Every time a new picture flicked on to the screen the words 'I love that one' was said. It makes my job so worth while seeing how pleased the client is with my work. 

The wedding was a fantastic day, we started off in the hairdressers at around 10am, and then on to the brides parents house to grab some prep shots, before making our way to the Church.

I love Dereham Church, its a fantastic place and to say the church was full, would be an understatement. The place was packed!

After the ceremony we headed over to Drayton Old Lodge for the evening reception.

What a fantastic wedding to be a part of!

If you are getting married in 2013 or 2014 please feel free to give me a call so we can chat about your day

www.jamesnealephotography.com

I leave you with a few of the images form the day.

Times Gone by of a Norfolk Wedding Hotspot | Lynford Hall Hotel | James Neale Photogaphy

Lynford Hall Country House Hotel is a historic mansion house set in the heart of Thetford Forest. Surrounded by beautiful woodland and lakes, it undoubtedly is a very impressive venue. But what makes it so fascinating is that, as well as acres of magnificent grounds, Lynford Hall is also stooped with history and character and certainly has a story to tell.

The current Lynford Hall was built by Mr Lyne-Stephens between 1857 and 1862 to replace the former hall. Mr Lyne-Stephens Became a merchant banker after he made his fortune by inventing dolls eyes that opened and closed. Madame Lyne-Stephens took possession of it as a widow when Mr Lyne-Stephens passed away in 1860, at the age of sixty. At the time of his death he was considered to be the richest commoner in the reign of Queen Victoria and left one million pounds.

It was at Lynford Hall where Madame Lyne-Stephens spent the greatest part of her widowhood life devoting herself to the duties of a great landowner. She owned approximately eight thousand acres of land which was widely regarded as one of the finest sporting estates in East Anglia. This caught the eye of Queen Victoria’s advisers, who in 1861, had been instructed to acquire a suitable property for her son, Edward Prince of Wales. At that time, the ownership of Lynford Hall was being contested by many claimants and this is said to have put off the royals from purchasing the Hall. They subsequently decided to buy Sandringham Estate as their Norfolk retreat.

Lynford and its grounds changed hands a number of times around the turn of the century and in September 1924 under the ownership of Captain Fredrick James Osbaldeston Montague, 6,200 acres of grounds were sold to the Forestry Commission, which consequently became Thetford Forest Park.

In 1928 a fire in the east wing broke out and destroyed part of the Hall.  This was never replaced and only the basement still remains.

Lynford Hall became home to Sir James Calder in 1930. Sir James Calder, who was the United Kingdom ambassador to the United States, frequently entertained his great American friend Joseph Kennedy and his son John F Kennedy at Lynford Hall. They would regularly attend the chapel and hunt in the grounds. Ernest Hemingway is also said to have also propped up Lynford's Royal Wellingtonia bar in his day.

The government requisitioned the Hall during World War Two and used it as a Hospital for injured soldiers. Some carved names can still be found in trees on the grounds from this period. After the war Lynford Hall was bought by the forestry commission who used it as a training school until 1960. This saved Lynford Hall as after the war many stately homes were being pulled down.

Between 1960 and 1970 Lynford Hall was run as an apartment building, hotel, and a public house. In 1970 it was bought by Gerald F. Rand who converted the hall back into a private residence with some hotel and function facilities.

He also developed a mobile home park to the east of the house with around 40 plots.

It was during his ownership that the hall was used for several BBC programs including Dad’s Army, You Rang M’Lord and what many people do not realise is, it was the home for the great Rene’s Café in the BBC’s hit comedy Allo Allo. The café and market square now houses the hotels court yard rooms.

Today Lynford Hall is owned by Premier Wedding Venues, and is run as a hotel, wedding venue and conference centre. Its stunning location is perfect for wedding couples who want to astound their guests with the wow factor the hall has to offer. Whether it’s an intimate wedding with a select few, or a lavish celebration with many friends and family, Lynford is the ideal place for you, with three licenced ceremony rooms, each of which has its own character, whilst staying true to the heritage of the building.

With 2013 wedding packages starting from just £3500 why not contact Lynford today on 01842 878351 to arrange an appointment with their Wedding Co-ordinator and start planning your unique wedding day.

http://www.lynfordhallhotel.co.uk/

www.jamesnealephotography.com