Bill Kratt Photography Blog

Ok, so the move has been made, and I'm at my temporary headquarters in Modesto while we scour the area for a permanent home.

It's been a rough couple weeks. Trying to pack, get the house up to date for sale, and then my computer having a stroke right before I leave. Goodbye everything that wasn't backed up in the last month.

I'm finally up and running, and getting ready to update my business info to reflect California!

Time to get to it! Need to find new locations for shooting, and start networking with the Northern California crowd!

Ok, moving day is almost here!

Foundation repairs, Check.
Broken pipes repaired, Check.
New appliances installed, Check.
New paint, Check.
New light fixtures, Check.
New carpet, Check.
New landscaping, Check.
New tile floors, Check.
New towel bars, toilet paper holders, and soap dishes, Check
New electrical work, cabinet hardware, miniblinds, Check.
Completely out of money, Check.

It's almost like a new house now. Anyone in the market?

So this has been an interesting process. Besides the dogs destroying the landscaping, the home is in the same general condition as when we bought it. Guess our "home inspector" missed a few items.

The realitor also suggested adding some decorations to help the house sell. If the $$$$$$$$$ that has gone into it now doesn't help is sell, I'm just going to stay. If someone needs to see a pair of wine glasses and a doiley on the kitchen counter to make up their mind about the house, then something is definatly wrong.

I have a newfound respect for the people that flip houses. It doesn't look this hard on TV.

So hopefully new photos soon, I know I'll be taking some landscapes on my drive out to California!

So, in my down time this week, I loaded up a trial copy of Capture One 5. I've heard a few good things about it, but I'm used to lightroom, so I was a little hesitant.

Besides everything being in different places, and not as easy to navigate as Lightroom, I stumbled though it, clicking and trying all the buttons as I went (I've never been one to read directions unless absolutely necessary!).

I did manage to get it under control after about 15 minutes, and I must say, I was happy with my results. I achieved a more natural result in much less time. The first image here was a little extreme to say the least. It was shot directly into the bright Texas sun, and really gave me trouble in lightroom. The best I could do with it still left it with a green cast that I wasn't happy with. After putting it through Capture One, I was left with a much warmer, more natural looking image (still a bit on the red side, but better than green!). The light also looked more natural shining through the model's hair.

Here's the first image. Capture One is on the left, Lightroom is on the right.



For my second attempt, I tried an image shot in the shade. I do have a bad habit of over-editing in Lightroom from time to time. After a few hundred images, I notice I'm pushing contrast and clarity way too far. My first impression of Capture One was that it was difficult to push the image too far. You can't force it as much as Lightroom.

Again, Capture On on the left, Lightroom on the Right.



Now, am I going to dump Lightroom for Capture One? No way. There are too many features I love about lightroom. File management, the ease of adjusting and globally updating the metadata, the web galleries, printing packages, slideshows, ease of trasition back and forth between itself and photoshop, the batch renaming and file saving options are awesome and the noise reduction feature is outstanding.

I would consider bringing Capture One into the arsenol of programs though. It produced a much more natural looking image, especially on those images with challanging lighting. Now I don't really like jumping between programs, but my final image was achieved using Capture One to do the initial color and exposure adjustments, then to lightroom to reduce grain and do detailed adjustments, then off to Portrature for the final touch!



I guess you can never have too many tools.

Model: Diana Graves
Location: Dallas, West End

http://www.billkrattphotography.com

So, it looks like this is one of my last shoots in Dallas. A small get-together at the West End for a few shots! Thanks to everyone that came out, endured the heat, and kept a smile on their face.



http://www.billkrattphotography.com

Ok, time is winding down here in Texas! Between packing and fixing up the house for sale, I'm trying to get in a few more photoshoots. Book yours now before it's too late!

This first set was with Elizabeth, and if you couldn't tell, we were going for a vintage pin-up look. I haven't done a lot of pin up shoots, so I was happy with how these came out! Enjoy!







This last image was from an engagement shoot at the Dallas Arboretum. Hot, but if you get there right when they open you have about 45 minutes to 1 hour before you're sweating too much to get good shots. Congrats to the newly engaged!



http://www.billkrattphotography.com