Landscape Photography + Gradients

One of the first things we are taught in Graphic Design 101 is to beware of the gradients. Gradient generically laid over a background is an easy cop out. 


However I came across today and interesting series of photographs by Robert Schlaug. He stretched out the colors of the landscapes to create linear gradients in different portions of the photographs. I am attracted to the photos where the gradient begins at the horizon line, creating an abstract background such as this one:





This image is my favorite because of the color combination and even though the sky is obviously a gradient, I think it works well in the photo. The other images are worth a look as well. You can find them here:


http://blog.gessato.com/2012/03/27/landscape-photography-by-robert-schlaug/

Bouncing Baby Photography

I used to work at an early childhood center in the infant suite and took a lot of photos of the babies. So this tutorial really caught my eye:


How to Make a Photo of a Bouncing Baby


Some of the main ideas covered in creating the final photo are

• Well lit background shot to start
• Taking a lot of pictures for layering
• Getting detailed in photoshop to make it look realistic

I thought this post did a really good job at showing the result of good planning for a shoot and not cutting corners in editing. The final image of the bouncing baby makes all the time spent worth it.