Creating Photoshop Actions

Creating a Photoshop Action file - Press Play Below

Garmin GPS for your Photography Business...!

Nothing has helped me more with my travels than my Garmin GPS. In case you're not too
familiar with GPS units. You simply buy a GPS system and that's it...! No monthly fees or
anything. Had I known, I would have gotten one years earlier..! BUY ONE, QUICK...!
I've got one for hiking, a main GPS and a backup GPS. OCD on backing up everything! ;)

Leave it up to me to plug my new Infiniti G35x. New toy, love this thing...! :)

Using Pocketwizards

Pocketwizards: This is my current setup x2. At most Weddings, I'll use two Nikon SB-26 flashes (Nikon make the BEST flashes, hand over fist) with a pocketwizard attached to each which I'll place near the dance floor at the reception. One to the far left and far right, just slightly angled upward and set to 1/16th power. I'll always have two Canons around my neck with Canon flashes that have Pocketwizards velcroed to the top of them. Some photographers will simply use the PW on the hotshoe but when you do that, you lose your on-camera flash. I'll keep the flash attached as the main flash plus the PWs will trigger the other two flashes simultaneously that are used as fills. Hope this helps and like anything else, try it out, see what you like then personalize it to the way you would use them. Check out the Litedome Q39 that I use also.

Photography 101

Topics we'll be going over:
ISO Settings, Shooting Styles, Natural Light, Post Production & more....!

Natural Light vs. Flash:
This shot is a perfect example of mixing natural light with an on-camera flash. In this shot, I lowered the ISO to 200, took a light meter of the background (clouds) then purposely underexposed while raising the flash setting to 1/2 power. Okay, just an FYI that I had to take at least three shots before it looked perfect. Don't forget that you should always take test shots because you have to figure out if something will work for you in post production. Shot in RAW, White Balance correction and Vignetting in Adobe Lightroom, Sharpened in Photoshop using Kubota Magic Sharp + multi-layered and backed out using the eraser tool for slightly darkened corners.

Posing your Bride & Groom

Don't fret when it comes down to posing your Bride and Groom. What you do need to remember is that for the most part, your couples haven't taken courses on how to model or pose. With that aside, you have to realize that they are looking to you for help on what they should do during their formal posed shots. Even though my personal style is more of a photo journalistic approach to a Wedding, I'll spend my days off looking through fashion magazines or checking out what my favorite wedding photographers are doing. At some point, you'll find your own style and realize that it's really not that tough working with a couple with their poses. For me it's simple, "Hello Mrs. Bride, please stand here you look in that direction and Mr. Groom, you stand over here and look in that other direction". When I'm done taking the shot, I'll walk over and show them what I've just produced so they can see that I'm not going nuts by asking them to look somewhere else other than the camera. Art in the making! ;)

For Wedding Photographers - The Mission

The goal is pretty straight forward. Create a place where photographers can learn from other photographers. In the end, the articles that are written by everyone can easily be printed for you to read through whenever you'd like. Nothing is as great as an amazing forum and yet, sometimes things are just spread all over and hard to find. I'm trying to fix that. Cross your fingers and thank you for visiting our new website. ForWeddingPhotographers.com

Forever Platinum - New Online Commercial

Secret Location Workshop 2009

The first Workshop in 2009 will take place at a super secret location that is an absolutely beautiful area near Albany, NY. Many may actually know where it is but I'm just really excited to have the opportunity to work with local photographers in capturing images of a couple (not the couple below) and show you how I work with my couples during a photo session. In fact, this is going to be one of my major locations where I plan on shooting many of my engagement sessions for 2009. If you're interested, please let me know. Can't wait...! Just make sure you have enough gas and a blindfold...! :)

Louis Torres - Adobe Lightroom

Using Adobe Lightroom during the Wedding Reception - Press Play Below

Louis Torres Workshop T-Shirts are now available...!

I'm really excited at the new Louis Torres Workshop T-Shirts that are now available...!!

Creating Reception Slideshows

Engagement Session.

This photo was taken earlier today and is actually one of my favorites now. This shot was easy
but to be honest, luck was on my side. The sky was so beautifully blue that it came through the
reflection perfectly. Shot in RAW, saturation and fill was raised in Lightroom, exported out to
Photoshop, used the Kubota Magic Sharp and done. Shot from a lower angle with my Canon
Mark III, 24-105 f/4.0 lens and no flash... Who needs a flash when you're outdoors. Shoot in
RAW and you'll be 100% fine with exposures and white balance, trust me...! Hope this helps...!

Foreground vs/ Background - 1 Light

This is one of my favorite shots...! One of my absolute favorite Brides ever is Kim...! We had
a great photo session this morning and I just wanted to go over this photo. Went ahead and
exposed for the background and underexposed the sky just a bit, in order to make the clouds
pop. Then I used my flash to light the foreground and whallah...! Trust me, it's not tough
especially when you've taken this shot 1,000 times... Just have fun with everything you do, learn
as you go along in your adventures and always make sure that you progress your photography...!

Shooting Clouds...!

What you want to do is always underexpose the shot so make sure you're shooting in manual
mode, use your camera's internal light meter and snap away. I'll usually try to shoot no faster
than say, 1000th of a second and I counter the exposure by simply raising my f/Stop to f/8 or
higher. I'm also shooting w/ my ISO set @ 100. Have fun and shoot til it clicks in your head...! :)

Professional Photography : 30+ years later.

To some degree, it was this photo that helped me move into photography years ago. This was
just one of about 20 professional photos that my Mom & Dad had ordered when I was just three
months old. Thirty+ years later, I still have the photos and they're still some of my favorites....!
Are having professional photos of your Kids important? From my own experience, absolutely..!

Louis Before & 30+ years later... Still cute. ; )

Weddings: Posing the couple.

There's nothing more important than making sure that the couple you're working with feel
comfortable with your requests. If they're great actors, then I'll work with them and just have fun
with their poses. Likewise, if a couple seem to be very conservative, then I'll simply work with
them a little differently. The photo below is a perfect example of what I love doing with Bs&Gs.

Just Shoot...!

I'm one to always want to capture things from different angles and shooting wide open in order
to blow the background out of focus. Some photographers will suggest that you shoot at nothing
lower than F/5.6 and that's fine, if that's your style. After 20 years of shooting, I know what I like
and I can only hope that others like what I do. Shoot, shoot, shoot...! Always...! In fact, I'm
thinking of just having a day trip somewhere and just have a day to just focus on shooting.
Maybe go to NYC. Sounds fun, right...! Email me if you're interested in joining in the adventure!

Tip of the Week: Slide Show Presentations

For about $1,300 you can buy the Dell 30" monitor for your slide show presentations which
will help your business grow. In fact, most of my Brides for 2009 have booked with me because
they were at a friend's Wedding where I featured photos from earlier that day. In fact, last night
I covered a Wedding & had a couple approach me about their July '09 Wedding! Ya never know!

Professional Prints by WHCC

If you're looking for professional quality prints, you'll have to visit White House Custom

Colour @ http://WHCC.com - I've been using these guys for a while now and the quality is
unheard of...! Immediately after receiving my first order, I realized why the top wedding
photographers use them. Check out their website, open an account and enjoy your beautiful
photos like never before! They offer hyper fast shipping and great technical/ client support.

Free Online Workflow Workshop

Someone's workflow has everything to do with one's process that is followed after a photo shoot.
After working with a few software packages that are catered to photography, I've boiled it down
to Adobe Lightroom as my favorite but that's just the start of my workflow. The rest has to do
with working with your photo's white balance, personal settings that you love that fit your own
style, then working in photoshop and adding your spice. This is a great workshop for post production.

Photography 101 Workshops

The Photography 101 Workshops are going to be great...! This workshop is catered to the new
photographer who want to learn more about depth of field, shutter speeds and answers to
questions like, "Why would I want to shoot with a slow shutter vs. a faster shutter? We'll also
cover ambient light vs. flash and when you should use ISO 100 vs. 800 and lots more. If you're
new to the world of photography then this is the workshop to check out this year...!

Portrait Workshop

This is Carrie & Danny who were just married last Sunday, August 31st. We were just hanging
out, going doing the things a Bride & Groom typically go through the morning of and I just fell in
love with this cute little area at the top of their staircase. With that, I took these two shots that I
absolutely fell in love with... The Portrait Workshop is catered to taking those simple portraits
that you've all come to love. Very relaxed photos that your client will love for years to come.

Wedding Workshops

Wedding Workshops: As crazy as it sounds, I've had more photographers steer me in the
wrong direction when I started w/ Wedding Photography than those who were honest and
actually helped. Does that sound familiar? It's just one of those things, ya know... but if you're
interested in breaking into Wedding Photography then you have to join the Wedding Workshop.
It'll cover the entire day on what I do, flash settings, lenses and tons more from an honest
approach that is helpful and is focused on helping you succeed and grow your business.

Why Photography Workshops?

Why join a Photography Workshop?
In my opinion, it's like fast forwarding to the next level in your photography. For instance, the
first photo below is from the last wedding I just did last weekend. You'll notice that the
background is completely out of focus. It was shot w/a Canon 100 2.0 w/ Canon 12 Ext. tube.

This shot was taken while standing as still as possible @ 40th of a second to get the flowing water

One of the questions I always get asked is how the heck are my photos so sharp..! Easy, it's all
done in Photoshop CS3 using the Magic Sharp that's made by Kubota Actions. Hope this helps!

Portrait Photography - Working with a Couple