My mantra always is "I think I can , I think I can, I know I can, or at least I can exhaust myself trying"....try I did!
My plans for last weekend were to DIY a deck and two photoshoots with 7 teen girls. Not an easy task, either project. The Deck is done, thanks to my neighbour who helped me out and taught me a lot , next year I am going solo and expanding the deck.
The photoshoot...I had somewhat planned in my head. I knew what I wanted, all I needed was good weather and get the girls to pose on cue so we would not be out there to long. This was no easy task. One would be blinking, another looking somewhere in la la land and of course a couple fixing there hair. It was fun, but a challenge. I have never shot a large group before, the thought of shooting a group before was overwhelming. So much to consider. How do you position them so that it looks great and not carboard cut out? The lighting!
Originally I just wanted to use three girls because I had done up a plan (on paper) for three girls, but at the last minute I asked my daughters friends if they would help me out. They love to pose in front of the camera. All they needed to do was to get their parents permission and have them sign a model release form. 
We went to my favorite spot, one of the back alleys in town full of detail. I had a wooden and metal staircase, some blocked up windows, barrels and little corridors all in one spot. I thought we would be yelled at because we were there for so long, surprisingly people were very nice to us and did not seem to mind. We were there for nearly two hours and went back the next day for some different poses. 
Photographing seven girls takes a long time. Would I do it again? ...hmmm...maybe, I would probally aim for a smaller group. The girls were great sports, some were daring and hung off the side of the staircase. 
Many of these shots are straight from the camera, the Canon 50D EOS is amazing (still learning). I did do a few touch ups. I worked on blemishes, brighting the eyes and some of the girls look washed out so I added just a bit of lip color and blush. I wanted to keep them as natural as possible. 
Before
For this image I brighten the eyes, cleaned
up the blemishes and added a bit of color to her lips. I also soften the skin just a bit using a filter in Photoshop (for those who do not have Nik filters)
Here's what I did
Filter/blur/surface blur
use it gently and apply the amount in your layers pallette. I then used layer/layermask/hide all and brought back the blur with a brush.
After
For Blemishes
I worked with the healing brush in Photoshop.
My settings are :
hardness, 13%
spacing 15-20%
I also used pen pressure.
For brighting the eyesa)Make a duplicate in layers pallette
b)Grab your rectangular marquee and select around the eyes.
c)Select Image, then brightness/contrast and make the adjustments. Don't make it too bright, you want to make it look as natural as possible.
d)Deselect your selection and go to layer/ layer mask hide all.
e)Grab your brush tool and adjust your brush size. I leave my opacity and flow at 100% and control it in the layers pallette. Usually at 25-30%
Adding Lipstick a)Make a duplicate in Layers pallette
b)Grab your lasso tool and select around area around lips.
c) Go to Image/adjusment/Hue&Saturation and pump up the saturation just a bit.
d)you can use a layer mask if you want or hopefully your selection will be exact and the work is done. Once again you control the amount in your layers pallette.
A couple of the images(for model portfolio) I ran through nik filter and just played with all the settings until I found something that fitted the look I was going for.
Image above I ran through Nik filters and used the Darken/ lighten center
Image above I used Contrast Only, Glamour Glow and Gradutaed Neutral Density filter in Nik filters.
I dragged my husband and four kids with me told them “Hey guys lets go on a field trip” they bought it. I think they clued in once they saw my gear. It was only about half hour from where I live, not far so that the kids would not be making each other mad by screaming “Are we there yet!” I also bribed them with chips from the chip wagon. You have to have secret weapons to deal with kids.
We went to Foymount, Ontario. Foymount originally was a radar base in the 50’s. It sits on the highest point on Ontario, Canada. It was a Radar base, used to detect nuclear bombers coming over the polar region from the Soviet Union, that was until the 70’s when they had develop better technology and moved else where in Ontario. The site was eventually close in the early 70’s. I did hear however that some soldiers that were originally stationed there have returned to the town and are trying to re establish Foymount. 
The trip to Foymount was truly amazing. The ride up was divine, lush forests, winding roads and a soft blue sky with fluffy clouds getting larger as we neared. I was very excited and could not wait to jump out of the car. My only concerns were a: hope there are no, no trespassing signs b: hope none of the kids have to go to the bathroom.
My husband did the driving that day if it were me behind the wheel. I would have parked as soon we drove into the town and made a run with my camera, he took us to the top of the hill. Good thing though, what a treat.
On the towns main road there sits several windowless buildings. Some are occupied with new owners others lay empty. Personally I think they would make an incredible gallery for an art show. Anyhoo, in this nearly deserted town there sits a tea room for tourists, yes a tea room that has tea and crumpets. Thankfully they had Ice cream as well, kids loved that part.
Beautiful Colour buildings that once were barracks for the soldiers still stood there on the hill magnificently. You really feel there sense of grandeur at first glance. Hold the thought for one second, back to my kids for a sec. Now I mention earlier how they regretted it once they got there. Only Mason would get out of the van. The other three scared and bored would not leave. What were the girls afraid of you ask? Ghosts! Seriously, my oldest daughter started it. Yes, granted it was a spooky place. Run down, balconies flying in the air, windows cracked no trespassing signs EVERYWHERE. There were also pictures of Mary posted on all the windows. 
This I found very interesting but my daughters found spooky. Okay so back to the old barracks and how gorgeous they look, just waiting for me to take their picture. It couldn’t just be any shot. They deserved something truly special. HDR photography would make these buildings shine in all their glory. I first took a walk around the buildings looking for shadows and angles. Aiming to get the best shot; my time was limited in Foymount because the kids would not be able to stay too long.
There is no right or wrong way in using Photomatix, it is what you like and what works for the image. What is it you are trying to achieve? Play around with the settings, have fun exploring Photomatix.
If I want to take the image further I will adjust the curves in Photoshop for more contrast and pump up the saturation.
Open up curves and make adjustments for more depth in your image, almost making appear like it will jump out at you. You are aiming for the shadows here to make them stand out more.
Now go to your layers palette and duplicate your image and set it to hard light at about 23%
Voila! Your HDR image
Today, still resting a bit…and a bit of work…I do not want a relapse of the nasty virus. I am going to try something with the ISO that I have never tried before (once I try it I will post my results and what I did). I discovered something before I fell asleep….yes…the truth is out….photography, art, is constantly on my mind. I was not kidding about the hamster in my mind constantly churning… I read something in the Canon manual and in a book that I have been reading, The Hot Shoe Diaries written by Joe McNally. The book (one of six) was part of my prize package that I won for 1st place Wedding/Portraits at 
