Meet Patti Veld

My cousin Bonnie emailed me several months ago to see if I were willing to talk to a friend of hers who was interested in starting up her own photography business.   Since I have benefitted from several photographers who have invested their time in mentoring me, I was looking forward to the opportunity to be able to "pay it forward", so to say.

Patti and I have been emailing now ever since.  She's become a great friend.  This past week while I was home visiting my parents in Indiana, we were able to meet up for breakfast for our first face-to-face. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other.  She's such an inspiration to me.  Patti has two grown boys, is an accountant, a devoted wife, and is finally after all these years chasing her dream of becoming a professional photographer.  I am so proud of her.  

During breakfast I was able to walk Patti through my print processing procedure - Photoshop and Bridge 101, you could say.  Afterwards we took a drive around town where I showed her all my favorites places to photograph and taught her how to look for good lighting.  It was such a wonderful morning.

Patti has already learned so much in just a couple months.  Take a look at this picture from one of her recent sessions.  I think you'll agree, Patti is well on her way to realizing her dream.

I had suggested to Patti that she learn how to add a vignette to her images.  Since she was not familiar with that application, I thought I'd show her (and the rest of you) here on my blog.

First, open your image in Photoshop Bridge.  Then click on the Lens Correction tab and adjust the amount and midpoint sliders under the Lens Vignetting subtab.  I adjusted the amount slider to -100 and the midpoint slider to 6.  Here's the result:

A vignette simply darkens (or lightens) the edges of your photograph. The affect adds subtle dimensions to your image giving them a polished more professional look.  When adjusting the amounts slider in Bridge, a negative number darkens the edges while a positive number brightens/lightens the edges.  It's just another creative tool to give you an edge over those point-and-shoot photographers out there.

There are other programs that create stronger vignettes than you can get out of Bridge, but, remember, I like to keep my retouching to a minimum.  With a little research you can find the look you are after.

Patti, you are doing a great job!  I am so excited to watch you blossom and grow.  I can't wait to see your business prosper.

Lastly, for all my readers out there, if you happen to live in Northwest Indiana let me know and I can give you Patti's email address.  She lives on this gorgeous farm with all these wonderful rustic barns and even a few rusted out old cars that make for great backdrops.  

Keep your eye on this girl.  She has what it takes to take her area by storm!