Ashley McNamara Photography » For Photographers

Product Images – The Session Album – Ashley McNamara – San Diego Photographer

Ashley McNamara — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:15:59 +0000

My albums are by far my most popular items. Almost every client buys an album and why not? They are awesome!

I wanted to share some pictures of the few that I was boxing up this morning. The most popular album is the Orange album [obviously] and it is also my personal favorite.

The Gallery Album – Ashley McNamara – San Diego Photographer

Ashley McNamara — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:48:30 +0000

I love albums and obviously my clients do too. These are a few albums that I finished up this morning and I wanted to show them off. Our top seller is our gallery album. Almost every client orders one.

Aren’t they STUNNING?!?

Please welcome our the newest Addition to the family – Ashley McNamara – San Diego Photographer

Ashley McNamara — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 23:19:01 +0000

The Canon 5D Mark II !! What were you expecting… a pet??

After making this announcement to friends, I was naturally bombarded by questions galore! I’m going to do my best to answer them all!

Do you love it?” and “Can you show me some high ISO pictures?”

Let me just say, If you are on the fence about whether or not to buy this camera. Straddle no longer!! JUST DO IT!! Holy amazing camera, batman! For anyone using anything BUT a 5D this camera is a neccessity! For those of you already working with this a 5D, the following information won’t be news to you!

To start, let’s talk about the ISO performance. Simply put, it’s too die for! I’m not sure that’s a legit technical term, but suffice it to say… TO… DIE… FOR! While my 40D was a great camera, the ISO perfmance was a little lacking. I found that using a higher ISO’s on my 40D made my pictures “hazy” any sort of grain at all made my pictures seem almost out of focus.. The 5D Mark II on the other hand is an entirely different barrell of fish! Not only are all of my “grain” issues a thing of the past, but even when shooting near an ISO of 2500 the grain is much more like film grain. Crystal clear images with grain. Just stunning.

Example 1: ISO 1000 | No noiseware and minimal processing

Example 2: ISO 6400 | I used my Soft Cross Process action

(Buzzed photographer friend makes the photo that much more interesting..)

ISO 6400 has grain.. obviously. The grain is fan.freaking.tastic though! Totally useable and a welcomed change from the 40D who’s highest ISO was 3200.

Example 3: Now for the 5D Mark II’s highest ISO 25600

Shot with the 15mm Fisheye | I cropped some dirty clothes out of the corner and fixed the white balance a little. Nothing else..I wouldn’t use it for clients but for a shapshot of my two favorite boys in my dark living room not too shabby!

While I am sure this camera offers a million reasons to love it, the ISO was certainly my biggest issue with my 40D. The color and clarity on this camera is un-freaking-real! I’m absolutely satisfied!

“Is the video feature difficult to use?”

While this is an amazing feature, it is a little hard to get used to. I am by no means a videographer (although in my spare time I like to pretend). Right now I have my video set to facial recognition which I thought was pretty darn fancy. So for the most part it gets the focus.. At the moment the only things I am recording are my children fighting over which t.v. shows to watch…. IN HD!!! Think I can list that on Pay Per View?

“Gripes?”

Only One! The battery life is crap, people! I mean it, CRAP! If you buy the camera buy an extra battery!

With only ONE measley gripe, dare I dream that Canon is making it’s comeback??

“Do you still like your lenses on a full frame?”

TOTALLY!! I might even love them MORE!! List of lenses in order of favorites..

#1 Favorite lens — 50mm 1.4 I shot a whole session with that bad boy! No more changing lenses! Whohoo!!!

#2 24-70 2.8L saaawwwet lens on a full frame! Good for all your zooming needs.

#3 The 15mm Fisheye.. It used to be my go to for beach shots on the crop sensor but now I can just shoot with the 24-70… the fisheye is just good fun on the full frame and we all need a little fun! See drunken photographer friend above as a refrence.

#4 The 70-200 2.8L Remember back in my last post I said I didn’t like this lens? Well turns out I just didn’t like it on a crop sensor. Kicks butt lens on a full frame. But still #4 on my list because it gives me wrist cramps… hehe!

What kind of bag are you Using to store that bad boy? (I didn’t actually get this question but I am sad about my bag!)

I have the Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home and I am sad to say that I might have to part with this bag.. I love my Crumpler bag but this BIG ole’ camera just isn’t liking the tight constraints of the Crumpler. I have moved the inserts in about 6 million different ways.. Bye bye crumpler.. I might have to reunite with the Jill-e Roller..

Hopefully this was more than just a ramble..

A picture is worth a thousand words – Ashley McNamara – San Diego Family Photographer

Ashley McNamara — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:40:42 +0000

My favorite pictures are those that do not need an explanation and this shoot was full of them. My friend Kristin Rachelle (also a San Diego photographer) asked me to photograph her family and if you have met Kristin you will know that she is a blast so I couldn’t resist the opportunity! There are lots of “say cheese” moments in this shoot but of course I picked the funny/wacky ones because that’s just how I am.

My favorite red staircase.

Photoshop Action Set – Ashley McNamara – San Diego Photographer

Ashley McNamara — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:21:50 +0000

So here they are. My custom actions. We’ve all been there, processing away, getting frustrated with skin tones that are over saturated and working with actions that aren’t adjustable. So I started making actions on my own.

These are the actions I use on my own photographs. I have had awesome testers, as well as hundreds of satisfied customers, and everyone loves them… especially since everything is super adjustable.

Two of my favorite actions
(mouse over images for before and after)

I thought I would share two of my favorite actions – Vintage Haze and Colorlicious.

Just a little side note. I now have a flickr group for sharing your photos using my actions.

I would so love to see what you come up with!

Ashleys Actions Flickr Group

The entire collection for just $45.00

Ashley’s action set is a set of 30 fully customizable actions for Photoshop

Included in your purchase:

- 2 color pop actions for that extra punch of color

- 5 black and white actions that can give you a variety of different looks from a light black and white to a dark black and white and I also have some tinted black and whites.

- 4 cross processing actions

- 6 vintage/haze actions These actions can give you that soft dreamy look or a vintage feel depending on how you adjust the layers

- 1 paint with light action

And a variety of other useful goodies such as:
- add light
- add contrast
- enhance
- resize for web
- and border actions.

Update – Action Mixing

Actions are a lot of fun by themselves but you can also mix them!! I wanted to share an example of what you can do mixing actions.

On this photo I used Colorlicious and I took the opacity of the hue/saturation layer down to 0%, I flattened and then used vintage/haze 4.

I brought the opacity of the lighten up layer down to 20% (this will vary by photo) Then on the first channel mixer layer I brought the opacity down to 30% and flattened. I then ran the soft cross process action and brought each layer’s opacity to 30% and flattened.

Free Action

Another giveaway but this time EVERYONE gets it! For those of you who already have my actions this is for you too because this action is NOT in your pack.

Today your getting my Vintage action!

UPDATED ACTION LINK!

Download Vintage.zip

From the Ashley’s Actions Flickr Group

I would like to also share some awesome photos processed using my actions. Its so much fun to see everyones plays so keep them coming!

Photo by Erin Palos (Sweet Baby Photo

Action Used: Vintage/Haze

Photo By Ingrid Kaslik

Action Used:Vintage/haze

Photo By Ginette Stauder

Action Used: Vintage/Haze

Photo By Kristin Brown

Action Used: Colorlicious, paint with light, and contrast boost

Ashleys Photoshop Actions

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I run the actions?

Instructions:

1. Download the file to your actions folder

2. Load the action into the actions palette using the Actions palette menu and select Load Actions, navigate and select the action

3. Once loaded press “play” to use the action.

Will your actions work in photoshop elements?
No. The actions were created in CS3 and only work with full versions of Photoshop CS2, CS3, CS4 and PS7*
*in ps7 the border actions will not work

How long will it take to get my actions?
Once your payment has cleared, you will recieve your actions within 24 hours.
If you have not recieved your actions within 24 hours please check your spam folder.

Do you use your actions to process your pictures?
YES!!

Your buttons are not working. Where can I PAYPAL?

ashleymcnamara1@gmail.com

Whats in my camera bag? – Ashley McNamara – San Diego Photographer

Ashley McNamara — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:22:57 +0000

Most Frequently Asked Questions: “What camera do you have?” and “How many lenses do you own?”

As a primary camera body I’m using a Canon 40D and can I just say that I love it. Awesome colors and clarity every time, it’s great! One of the reasons its my most used camera body is due purely to ISO performance. Lets face it, sometimes the light just isn’t there and you have to bump that sucker up to ISO 1600 and my 40D handles like a champ! As a backup I have a Canon 30D, it’s another great canon product and one that I highly recommend any new photographer invest in. (But with the XSI coming out, I might be changing that recommendation)

As for lenses, my first lens purchase was the 50mm 1.8. Compared to my kit lens, I was in heaven. Pictures were just so much clearer and it really forced me to think about my composition. I haven’t found myself using it quite as much these days, but I keep it in my arsenal. The wallet friendly price tag makes it another newbie must have.

The next lens was the 24-70 2.8 L . After almost 3 years it is STILL my favorite lens. I use it on almost every shoot. Its a super versitile portrait lens.

After that I bought the 70-200 2.8 L and to be quite frank, it’s rarely used. I’m still trying to fall in love with it, but the opportunity to use it properly rarely presents itself. To be used on my 40D (which is not full frame) I have to be like a million miles away from my subject and as a portrait photographer I rarely need to be more than a few feet away from the subject. Having said that however, I have quite a few friends who swear by this lens and say that is works just as well for shooting toddlers.

The Novelty purchase came next: The 15mm Fisheye. I held out on this one because I had gotten mixed reviews.It wasn’t something I “needed” per se, but I’d always wanted it. One day the bug got me and I bit the bullet and bought it. Now that I have it, I’m not sure how I lived without it! It is sooooo much fun! It went from being a novelty purchase to a staple in my camera bag. I use it on almost all of my shoots. Not being full frame works to my advantage. I can take family pictures (like this) and it doesn’t have a really distorted look to it.

Last, but certainly not least, came the 50mm 1.4. This wasn’t actually purchased as much as it was traded for a Jill-e bag from my friend Marmalade. And let me just tell you it was one of the BEST trades ever! I’d been on the fence about getting this lens, Kept telling myself that I already had the 1.8, why do I need the 1.4? HA! Oh, how simple minded of me. LOL Seriously, guys this is like a whole different lens. Its like butta.. Love it!

As for my camera bag, I carry everything in my Crumpler 7 Million dollar home and yes…everything fits. It took quite a bit of trial and error finding the bag that worked best for me. I’ve been through many (tamarac backpack, a shootsac, a Jill-e bag, etc)and my Crumpler is still the only one I find myself using.