Some jobs are better than others...

Model Jenny Curran features regularly in the local press and this shot shows why. Photographed by John Harrison promoting a prize Volkswagon Fox, Jenny provided an eye catching focal point for the image.

Jenny was Photoshopped from head to toe including:
Changing the camera focus point
Eyes lightened and coloured
Eye liner added
Skin texture removed and reapplied in a matt finish
Hair sharpened in a graduation leading to eyes
Arms & legs slimmed (the angle of the pose made them look bigger than they are!)
Boots retouched to remove marks
Mouth blurred, teeth lightened
Car badge sharpened

Prepare to Throw Your Underwear...

Take That are always popular in Belfast and their latest gig in the Odyssey Arena was no exception with widespread coverage in the local press. A selection of the first night's coverage was photographed and 'pasted' together for this final scrapbook composite. An image of fireworks was used to fill in the background spaces.
The framed print was presented to the band on their final night.

Tis the Season... to be snowy

Adding snow is always fun but in this case frost was called for with a little icy breath.

This is a simple enough cut out with a colour adjusted background and the find edge filter to retain the look of detail in the trees.

The Group Shot... individually

Photographing media personalities is always fun, especially when the brief calls for six of them to line up together at the same time. Getting six such people is a coup in itself, but getting them together at the one time is nigh on impossible!
To make life easier, we opted to shoot them individually then combine them with Photoshop.

The sample image below is Melissa Patton, Miss Northern Ireland 2007. Despite her tiara, she was one of the easier cut outs.


The background was drawn in behind the tallest person, then everyone was resized to their correct height. Shadows were then added around the feet.

Final touches were added including shadows where the people overlap.

The final shot featured in the Belfast Telegraph:

The Sunday Life also ran a copy:

Take a Closer Look

Spooky Gold

The traditional Halloween Witch was out this year with a cauldron full of gold. Or in this case, with five pieces of gold. Simply replicating a few pieces of gold and adding a little motion blur filled the cauldron nicely:

Featured in The Newsletter:

The original photo was by John Harrison. The model is Christine Kinning.

Ring Ring

I love jewellery photography, both studio set and on a model. In this case we were shooting a collection of 11 diamond rings. Jewellery is a lighting challenge but diamonds particularly so as a reduction in the visible facets is a reduction in quality and value. The final images were shot with maximum detail rather than artistic perfection then each diamond was individually enhanced to bring it back to match the original beauty as closely as possible:

Manu-Stitch

Even with the latest in technology, auto-stitch camera features and Photoshop stitch assist, you still need to do a little editing to ensure the light is correct but when you finally get it completed, it can be a great image that will be used again and again:

Magic, obviously

For some jobs, the Photoshop work has to be apparent, this can be for legal reasons or in this case, simply because it's a comedy pic. The clock was photographed hanging on a wall, shrunk and dropped inside the hat. An image like this takes about five minutes. Adding the stars takes another minute or two using a custom shape, a little glow blend and some directional blur.

Northern Ireland Hospice

Produced quarterly, the Hospice magazine always likes to include their own staff rather than contract models which gives the whole thing a natural and personal touch.
For this Autumn shoot, we had decided on a falling leaves shot but with only an hour for the shoot, getting the right amount of leaves falling in the right places simply wouldn't be practical.
Shooting some leaves separately gave me the necessary props to complete the image.

Hospice nurses throwing a few leaves.

Leaves on the park pathway.

The final shot was used on the magazine cover:

RiverRock BBQ

The majority of PR Photoshop work is completing the story by adding special effects or removing elements that are not relevant or take away from the image. Unlikey advertising photography, the deadline is usual in minutes rather than hours.

This simple BBQ shot works but simply lacks colour or flames.

Adding in a shot of hot coals beneath the money and a little special effect smoke completes the image.
Photos by Harrison Photography.

Specsavers 2007

Specsavers always produces fun photos and 2007 was no exception. Simon Graham, Miss NI and celebrity photographer took the shots as usual:



For the final image the client needed two girls together without branding so two cut outs and a re-composition was required for the result below:
(note, this image is before final editing of the models simply to show cut outs and recomp).

Latest Work...

Looking back over the last year I have completed a number of technically difficult or time sensitive images for Harrisons which I hope to show here. This is the first composite image I produced for them.


Image 1 is the model striking the gong, ably held up by Simon, an accomplished photographer and gong stand.

The background shot with railings removed.

The completed image with obtrusive lamp post removed and local railings added in along with some dark cobbles for the ground. The gong was also moved so the model was striking it in the centre. The stand for the gong is a manipulated copy of a railing post.
All of these images were shot by John Harrison.

The final image was used in tourism brochures and local press.