Apr 25, 2012 Posted by regina

Modern Day Gothic

It was Bill’s idea to recreate American Gothic by Grant Wood. I think he and Shay did a spectacular job. It wasn’t easy to keep such straight faces I agonized over the post processing, trying 4 different backgrounds before just settling on this one, taken at Fred’s family farm back in Wisconsin. I stared at this image for a solid week, pushing sliders around and trying different things... read more

Apr 25, 2012 Posted by regina

Bright Future

Riley, taken during the Don Giannatti Workshop, using Don’s patented ‘Four Umbrella Madness’ set up. After: Retouch comparison: Close up: Detail: For those that missed it… More videos from the weekend workshop here on Fstoppers. Lighting Info: All lights AlienBee B800′s 4 strobes, each inside a 32″ Westcott umbrella. Umbrellas were placed on top, bottom, left and... read more

Apr 20, 2012 Posted by regina

Dreamer

Adrienne came by the studio a few weeks ago and had her first photo shoot, as a photographer… not a model. She brought along a family member, this time Delaney, who was the perfect model. We both worked on setting up the lights to match Adrienne’s vision, which was a moody look with lots of shadows. This is her photo and she allowed me to retouch it. Thanks Adrienne! After: Retouch... read more

Apr 4, 2012 Posted by regina

Goldilocks And The Don

Another of Brooke from the workshop at my studio with Don Giannatti. Don will be appearing on CreativeLIVE this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday (April 5, 6 & 7th) from 9-4 pm. I absolutely CANNOT wait! It’s FREE to watch while it’s happening live (all three days) and it also reruns again each evening for those in a different timezone. You can also purchase the workshop for $99.00 while... read more

Mar 29, 2012 Posted by regina

Hair Masking The Calvin Hollywood Way

Some of my friends on Flickr have inquired what technique I use to mask the hair. Here’s the secret, from Calvin Hollywood: The photo must be shot against a gray background. Make a rough selection of the subject with the quick select tool, it doesn’t have to be very precise. Drop in a new texture, and change the blend mode to either soft light or overlay. That’s it! Better yet,... read more

Mar 29, 2012 Posted by regina

Million Dollar Smile

Another friend who was so kind enough to let me practice on her. Thank you, Brooke! This was taken during the Don Giannatti workshop. Special thanks to him for setting up the lights! I applied the techniques learned from the two YouTube videos I just watched on applying eye makeup and fixing the lip line. Let me just say… they worked! Sometimes, after watching or reading a tutorial, I’ll try it... read more

Mar 29, 2012 Posted by regina

Salvation Mountain Revisited

Remember this place? Located near the Salton Sea, just outside of Niland, California. Fred & I visited it a couple of winters ago. This past December, Leonard Knight, the artist who built and maintained the mountain for the past 30 years moved to a nursing home in San Diego county. The future of Salvation Mountain is in jeopardy Photo by Regina Pagles Here’s the article: The Fight To Save... read more

Mar 28, 2012 Posted by regina

Thank You, Natalia Taffarel

My life just got a bit easier. If you are learning how to apply digital make up and struggle with irregular lip lines, you will love this… I do! Natalia, you rock! And here is one for ‘smokey eyes’ that also... read more

Mar 17, 2012 Posted by regina

Practicing With Friends

Since watching the Sue Bryce workshop on CreativeLIVE a couple of weeks ago, I have become obsessed with her posing techniques. As I mentioned in a previous post, the poses, although they look simple and easy to execute, in fact, are rather painful and difficult. I was lucky enough to have some wonderful friends oblige me in my quest to master these posing techniques. I know what you’ll say when you... read more

Mar 17, 2012 Posted by regina

Four Umbrella Madness Experiment With Jeremy

Jeremy stopped by and agreed to test the lighting set up I planned to use the next day for a shoot with my friend Sandy. You can tell by the catchlights in his eyes that I used Don Giannatti’s ‘Four Umbrella Madness‘ that he showed us during the ‘Wacky Winner Get’s Me’ Workshop. It was my first time trying it on my own and I think I managed to re-create it just fine.... read more