Digital Backgrounds: Retro Series from Savage

The DVD I recently ordered contains 48 digital backgrounds at 300dpi and can be used in Photoshop. I haven't checked the tutorial with which it comes but I'm sure it can be used on most available platforms and with most professional software.

I was just fooling around with a picture of Tiny Kitty and this is the frightening result.

Don't worry, you won't be seeing too much of this from me. This disc has tremendous potential.

In my hands it has tremendous potential for pain.

Picture of the Week Award ~ Al Gudka

I came upon this stunning photograph of the new Mini Avantguard doll Androgyny on the W Club board.

 Property of Al Gudka

Al's photography is  a favorite of mine. He's a master of composition. You will come across his posts not only on the W board but also on Doll Divas and BC.Com.

Here are the answers Al sent to my questionnaire:

-This gorgeous doll is the Mini-Clone Androgyny AvantGuards with her original wig

-No changes were made to the doll itself, but I did release the wig's ponytail

-She is wearing the Barbie by Jonathan Adler dress; corset and stockings from Aerodynamic Vanessa; shoes from last year's W Club Eugenia; jewelry from Flight Pattern Kyori

-The Hows:

• The camera I used was a 15 megapixel Canon Powershot G10
• For the backdrop I used a white foam-filled poster board; doll is leaning against it
• The only prop was a little desk fan that doubled as a large industrial fan in 1/6th scale
• For lighting I used a cluster of three 35 watt daylight florescent bulbs placed directly in front of, and slightly above the doll, at approx 6 ft away.  I hung a large sheet of tracing paper 2 feet in front of the lamps.  This diffused the light and made it look like natural light.

-My inspiration for this shot was some behind the scenes footage of model Gisele Bundchen during a photo shoot.

-The biggest suggestion I would give to budding photographers is to get acquainted with Photoshop.  It can transform a dull, lifeless photo into a brilliant, high contrast eye-catcher. It is also indispensible when it comes to white balancing your photos if your camera can't do it properly.  I see so many beautiful photos that have been unintentionally marred by green or yellow color casts. 

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Thanks for sharing your expertise with us, Al.