Photatofari

List designs with the Photatofari color scheme

2014-11-29T07:31:00.000-08:00

I would love to show two of my latest creations inspired by the new color scheme of Photatofari. I was in need of a good way to keep track of ideas, upcoming meetings and help to get structure in my everyday life, so i designed a weekly planner, with a place to list up tasks and chores for everyday of the week. And one A5 sized "note to self" type of design, which i can putt up on my cork board or refrigerator.

This is the outcome. You can download the designs for your own use HERE

New Era for Design - 2015 -

2014-11-28T11:46:00.003-08:00

As we are entering winter and soon a new year, this site gets it's well earned design change. With it's new paint i am hoping to share my new and changed take on trend and art-design.

It have been too long since the last post on Photatofari, but now we are back again.

Next up i'm sharing some work for different Calendar, To-Do lists, and Weekly planner designs. I'm going to share them here for you to print out and use yourself.

All in all, i'm happy to be back, and i'l see you guys soon!

In memory of Summer 2012

2012-11-03T17:20:00.001-07:00

The winter is around the corner and i am starting to miss the summer more and more. So i thought it would be great to remind you all about the summer 2012. Here is some photos i took this summer. Hope you like them.

f/1,8
1/1000
ISO 100

f/8,0
ISO 100
HDR: +2. 0. -2.
(This image are very "Over-edited" but i like the feeling in it so i posted it anyway.)

f/11,0
ISO 200
HDR: +2. 0. -2.

New design!

2012-11-01T09:37:00.001-07:00

Photatofari have after a long time finally got a new face. I personally thought that the old one were starting to get a little well.. Old. So some new colors and a brand new style are what the site needed.

Unfortunately i could not make it exactly like i wanted it to be, because i have a very little knowledge when it comes to CSS, but this is what i come up with. You may see some updates in the future, but in the meantime be happy and subscribe to get updates whenever i share more Photography or design inspiration.

Dota 2 Add

2012-09-11T02:04:00.001-07:00

Hello! My name is Daniel, and I am a student at Thor Heyerdahl High School and go to the same class as Andreas. I made this flash animation during class as a part of a year-long project. My inspiration was taken from the game “Dota 2” which is made by “Valve”, a software company. The genre of the game is often called MOBA or Action RTS, and originated from the “Warcraft 3” mod “Defence of the Ancients”. The idea behind the animation was to encourage new players to buy wards, which grants vision within the game. You kind of have to play it to understand how important it is, and how annoying it is when people don’t buy them.

If you have any questions or constructive criticism, you can reach me at pyroic7@gmail.com. I’d also like to recommend the game to anyone who likes any form of strategy game.

A new style!

2012-07-13T13:40:00.001-07:00

Have not taken photos for a while so just had to do it. I was hoping to try a new style for my photos, so you can call it a little experiment what you are about to see. Please keep in mind that some of the photos may seem a bit over-edited, but thats was kind of what i tried to do.

Hope you like it!

Smoke

2012-06-28T04:47:00.001-07:00

Have been taken some photos of smoke coming from incense i have bought earlier. The results was okay i think, considering that this is my first time trying smoke photography.

For those of you that are going to try take smoke-photos, have in mind that the smoke fills the room very quick, and you will get an hard time to breath. I will recommend you to use a big room, cause a small room with the window open, will make the smoke behave a little weird.

Here is the results, hope you like it!

Photo update!

2012-06-20T10:50:00.001-07:00

Hello, a few days have been passing without me be able to update you on anything, so right on time for new photos.

These are taken in Larvik, Norway. The photos are taken with a tripod 50 mm. f/1.8. (A great, cheap lens that i really recommend)

For the time being, am i using a Canon 1100d. which is a good camera. Yes, it is one of the cheapest but, it is about the photographer not the equipment right?

Anyway, hope you like them. Hoping for a new article/guide on tips and tricks for different motives soon, so stay tuned!

A bunch of HDR

2012-06-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my HDR pictures from earlier on. These are pictures from different places in Larvik which is in Norway.

For those who wonder, I am using Photomatix and Photoshop on most my photos. That is because i think these software are have the best way to process the images.

Unfortunately I have not much to say today. So here is the pictures. Hope you like them!

New writer, and a lovely day by the harbour

2012-06-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hello! My name is Ole Martin, and I'm a friend of Andreas, who is the creator and writer of this blog. We both study Media & Communication at Thor Heyerdahl in Larvik, Norway. Unlike Andreas, I am quite new to both photography and HDR in general, but we took some pictures together today, and I would like to share them with you readers. If you like my contributions I might start to write here more often!
But enough talk for now, on to the pictures:

All pictures are shot with three exposures as explained by Andreas earlier. The pictures were taken down by the harbour in Larvik after school today.

Hope you enjoyed my pictures, and please leave a comment if you have something on your mind. Comments and critique is more than welcome!

An introduction to HDR

2012-06-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

High dynamic range images (HDRI) is used in many different places. Some of them may you be familiar with. Places like games and animated movies are some of them. This Word “HDRI” or “HDR” are a method to process images/videos. This allows a image/video to have a greater dynamic range between the lightest and the darkest areas.

HDR is also used in Photography. This is possible when taking multiple images of the same motive with different exposures and batch them together with a Photo editing software.

Not all Photo editing software can Batch images together. Some that can are for example Adobe Photoshop or a HDR software named Photomatix. Photomatix can be bought for about 40$ for the Photomatix Essential, and 100$ for Photomatix pro. I will recommend starting with Photomatix essential for those who are new to HDR.

A HDR image made of 3 exposures. (-2. 0. +2)

How to take a HDR image

Like I said. An HDR images is a high dynamic range image aligned with multiple exposures edited in a HDR software.

What you have to do to make a HDR image is taking three images of the same motive with different exposures. Some cameras have a function called bracketing which is found somewhere in the menu.

When taking three pictures, a tripod is recommended to use. This will reduce the shaking that makes something called ghosting when we have putted three images together.

An image with “Ghosting”, after too much shaking when taking sources multiple images.

Starting out

I will in this guide learn you step by step have to make HDR in Photoshop. I have basically described how, when using CS5. Earlier editions of Photoshop may have the same approach but, CS5 has the best HDR processor of them so far. So I recommend upgrading if you have any earlier edition.

When you have your multiple exposures photos ready, open up Photoshop and click file>Automate>Merge to HDR pro

Click on “Browse”, find your images and then “OK”

The Processing

A good rule to remember when I process images is, if it looks good, then then you have done something right. Anyway, with this rule in your mind, you have to follow a checklist to achieve a good HDR image.

Do not overdo images
Do not take the “HDR effect” to the top just because it is cool.
You have to remember what HDR are meant for.

HDR is as said, High Dynamic Range Images, which means that shadows and highlights do not loose details, and the images feels more “alive”. So use the different sliders carefully.

Halos
Halo is a glow that may appear around edges in different parts of the picture. This glow effect is not gooda good thing, and destroys the outcome of an image. The only way to avoid this problem is sacrifice some effects, and pull for example the “strength” slider downward.

Halos appear more often near bright backgrounds like oceans and skies. Try to avoid getting detail in front of these places.

Skies are possible to not getting halos if there are white clouds in the sky.

And finally
Use HDR what it is meant be used as. Like I said make details in the shadows and in the highlights. This Will make Your Pictures outstanding.

Some personal tips

Experiment with different textures like rust, wood and stone. This will make interesting results.

Use light as an effect, but do not use Speedlight, no matter if the Speedlight is compatible with bracketing, this will destroy the natural effect of the image. Use tripod instead if there is a lack of light around you.

And the most important thing. Do not forget to look after possible motives around you. Be at Your guard. ALWAYS.

DOWNLOAD

This guide is also available on PDF for those of you that want to have it on the mobile,tablet etc.
You can Download it here.

Brochure design for Greenies

2012-06-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

Hey, I have been designing a test design for a Brand called Greenies. This is basically a brand that offer dental supplies for dogs and cats. The language is Norwegian so it may be hard to read for some of you.

Hope you like the design. Feel freely to comment, and subscripe to Photatofari's email list.
Greenies Brosjyre

A reason to keep old stuff

2012-06-07T12:55:00.002-07:00

I have been at a friends house for a couple of days now, and i found many intresting things to photography. He lives in a farm with an old smith not far away from the house. This smith was used by his great grandfather and have not been used since. I found many intresting things there and by the barn to photography.

When i am going out with my camera i look after certain colors and textures to take photos of. Colors that works very well with HDR is for example Red, Orange, brown etc. Contrasts of many different colors work very well too. Textures i like is wood, rust, metal, stone, and old stuff that are worn out basically.

But enough talk. Here is some of the picture i have managed to finish at this moment.

Just a picture?

2012-06-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

I have a picture i want to show to you. This picture is taken the same day i took the picture of a bench two posts earlier. This is a HDR image made with 3 exposures, -2. 0. +2. It is taken with a tripod since handheld is often to shaky when needing to take multiple exposures of the same motive.

I have planned to make a HDR tutorial soon, and i hope you will like it, but in the meantime here is the picture i talked about.

Larvik Open 2012

2012-06-05T05:05:00.005-07:00

Hello! this weekend have i been live streaming a skateboard event called Larvik Open. I have done this through my company FutureProof media.

I have also been photographing so here is the results.

Love the spring!

2012-05-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, almost summer now. And the nature want to show us that it is not far away. The colors are stunning. I would recommend everyone to go outside with your cameras. I have done that, and here is one of the shots.

Album design

2012-05-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hello readers. Have been designing a cd album lately and have just made the finishing touch to it. This album is dedicated to a friend of mine that are producing rap songs. He call himself "Local Vocal".
Here is result, hope you like it!

If any of you have any requests of anything you wish me to make, just let me know.

Table

2012-05-08T08:08:00.005-07:00

Hello everyone, i have not been posting any photos lately because of not having anything to show you. As i have bees telling you earlier. I have been taken some smoke photos, and i will probably post some of the results here this week.

When that have been said, i have not anything special to show you. so here is just a picture of a table.

New layout

2012-05-03T04:49:00.001-07:00

Hello, have not been posted anything for awhile because lack of time. I am preparing a livestream for a skate event which will happen i June. This is allot of work and this totally uses up my spare time. But here i am again. I want to tell you guys that i am improving the blog layout a bit, this may make it easier for you to pay attention and follow the blog.

in the right at the top there is an subscribe button for you people with Google+. be my guest and subscribe.

Btw. I had a task on school today and was forced to upload what i made. so here is it, an add for flowers. nothing big really.

Spring

2012-04-28T05:16:00.003-07:00

Hi everyone, its about a couple of days since i have been out photographing. And the pictures i took have just been on my computer without me looking at them at all. So today have i done that. i found i few photos i want to show to you. I thought maybe some ordinary photos was what this blog needed right now.

Hope you like it! BTW. As i have been said earlier. I have planned to take some smoke photos. I have done that, but did not get any good examples i was happy with. So i shall try some more before i post them here. Maybe tomorrow, i do not know yet.

More coffee!

2012-04-24T14:33:00.003-07:00

Hi again, i have taken some few more pictures of coffee beans, and just wanted to post them today, here are them. Not the best in my opinion, but i will show them to you anyway.

I think that this is the last pictures of coffee i will post here. My next photo project will contain smoke in different ways i think. well, hope you like it.

Coffee

2012-04-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

Hey! I was recently wondering what i could be photography, and because of the new speedlight i have got, did i want to take some picture indoors with it. A good friend of mine thought that i should try photography Coffee.I thought it would be interesting so i did it. I am not 100% satisfied with the results so i have planned to try some more, not sure when. Here is what i got so far.

If you have any ideas at all about what i can photography, please tell me. I like to try many different things so i can learn more. Hope you enjoy reading. I will post more tomorrow or maybe today.

Some more lemon

2012-04-23T00:33:00.000-07:00

I really want to share some more pictures from yesterday. As i said, these pictures are mainly about water in different forms.

The equipment i used was Canon Eos 1100d with an 50 mm. F/1.8. and a external speedlight.
to take these photos have i been using:
- Glass bowl
- food color
- plastic bag
- white paper background
- Lemon

I will be making a tutorial how i did it soon, but before that let me show you what i got.

Water!

2012-04-22T12:18:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry for that i not have posted anything the last couple of days, have been on a concert. Today have i been taken some photos off different things with water as main subject. This is something i have been wanting to do for awhile, but i have not had a External speedlight before yesterday, so today have been a pretty fun day. Here is one of the pictures i have managed to taken.

I am really happy with how it came out at the end. Love the details, which not had been possible without the new speedlight.

Photoshop tutorial (Water droplets on text)

2012-04-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hello, this is the second tutorial posts on this blog. And this time shall we try to make a text with water droplets on. This tutorial is not very complicated, and easy to learn. You may need to know some of the basics about Photoshop, so if you need help, I would gladly be the one to help you.

Step 1

Start with making a document. Choose a size and set resolution to 300 px/inch. Then create a white text with the text tool.

Step 2

Right click on the text layer and choose “Blending options”

Step 3

Click on “Drop shadow” and set the Blend mode to Multiply, color black, Opacity 26%, Spread 0 and size 250.

Step 4

Then choose “Inner Shadow” and set the blend mode to Multiply, color black, distance 25, choke 0 and size 100.

Step 5

Now click on “bevel and emboss” and set style to Inner bevel, Technique smooth, Depht 680%, Direction up, size 30, soften 15, highlight opacity 75% and shadow opacity to 38%.

Step 6

Choose “Satin” and set Blend mode to Multiply, Opacity 40%, Distance 40 and Size 250.

You will now have something like this, depending on which font you have used, and size.

Step 7

Take a picture of water droplets on a white surface or by a photo from a stock site. If you do like me and takes the picture by yourself, I would recommend you to use a glass plate over a white paper sheet. Like this (This is not the picture I used).

Step 8

Now open the droplet photo in Photoshop and click on CHANNELS beside the layers button. Hold CTRL and click on the red channel, now you wil see a selection over you droplets. Click on edit>copy and past it into the main document with your text.

Step 9

Place the droplet image over the text how you want too, and use the eraser to delete what that is around the text. What you have now is what the finished images shall look like. If you want to add something else, do that. And feel free to comment below what you did.