We went to the pumpkin patch this past weekend, for all of about 20 minutes, but we still enjoyed ourselves and I was able to get about 20 shots off.  One thing I need to tell any photog now that does not have children is this: No matter how well you plan a day, your little one will ensure it falls through!  However, you have to embrace it with open arms and a smile on your face because they are worth every minute of foiled plans.  We may have been over zealous with all that we wanted to accomplish, a morning at the public market and an afternoon at the pumpkin patch can be a little too much for our half pint.  Regardless, we got what we went for a picture of my beautiful wife and handsome son amongst pumpkins!

I used Nik Software’s HDR Efex Pro to pseudo HDR this single exposure of Sarah and Michael.  I love HDR Efex Pro’s presets!  They are the only, I repeat only presets in any HDR program worth giving a chance.  I don’t know why other HDR software companies haven’t jumped on the band wagon of making good presets.  Presets really set the stage for a good jumping off point with your tone mapping decisions.  The preset used for Michael and Sarah was the “Granny’s Attic” Preset and really gave this pseudo HDR the Autumn feel I was looking for.

Walking around the pumpkin patch I spotted this windmill and found it perfect for HDR.  With every photo, a little bit of experimentation in post is always worth the extra 5 or 6 minutes.  While playing with the Curves Adjustment Layer I created a VERY simple way to make a cross processed looking image with a few clicks of the Curves slider.  I am feeling frisky so I just may show you this Friday, we’ll see.  Also, if anyone wants me to do a specific tutorial in the future, send me a message, email, or comment with what you want to see.  Have a great week everyone!

Blake Rudis

f.64 Academy and f.64 Elite are the brainchildren of Blake Rudis. While he is a landscape photographer, he is most passionate about post-processing images in Photoshop and mentoring others.

For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!