What a fabulous month! I truly enjoyed this elements course and I hope that you guys were able to pull a few tips out of the information that I shared. Before I completely sign off, I wanted to give you guys one final bonus video. While staying at the beach to create this course, I fell in love with the window light in the house we rented.  This video will share a little more information about window light and how I made it work for me.  I will also edit the photo in effects to create a beautiful Black & White photo to I had envisioned for this shot. 

Sun? Or is it Fire? I am told our last element should be “Fire” But ironically while I was creating this course for you guys there was a fire ban here in Oregon.  They were putting up signs on the beach while we were shooting. So I decided, Sun was more appropriate for our final element. Sun can be your friend or your enemy. It is good practice to learn how to work with it.

This week our theme is, Earth. It can often be the element that I forget but it can be essential to telling the complete story of the beach.  When I think of “earth” I think of the sand, sea grass, driftwood etc. I focus on the details and tell the story of the day at the beach. In this video I will share with you guys a few samples of those details. I will edit a photo taken in driftwood and seagrass. I will show you how to increase the green tones, add a glow and a lens blur.  I will also show you how to import your own sky texture to finish off the photo.

Water is, of course, one of the most important elements of the beach. My favorite part of taking water shots is getting a beautiful reflection to balance out my photo.  I love to look for a spot in the sand that captures a reflection.  One important part to not forget, If you are replacing a sky and your photo is also showcasing a reflection you need to make sure you add that same sky into the reflection. So let’s do it. For this video, I am going to share a few tips about water and finding those reflections. I will also edit a photo in ON1 Photo Raw replacing a sky and show you how to include it in the reflection.

Our first element is Wind. Especially on the Oregon Coast, wind can be an element that can be your friend or your enemy. Finding ways to make the wind work for you and how to work around it will help you get amazing shots even under difficult conditions. While I can’t magically make it go away, I will share a few tips on how to handle your gear and clients to ensure that you get your best results. In ON1 Photo Raw I will show you guys how to enhance the colors in a photo, along with skin smoothing and a sky enhancement.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway this month!