GUESS WHAT? Well, you probably know what if you follow me at all on social media. My baby Morgan filly "Maisy" finally came home last week! The whole transition was far less eventful than I feared it would be. She has a very easygoing nature, and I've been in her life since the day she was born, so I'm her constant in all this change. I admit have shed happy tears and hugged that scruffy neck and kissed that velvety nose every day! (This photo by my friend Jessica Robinson! ❤️❤️)
But October wasn't sunshine and rainbows, I also dealt with significant mental health issues, which I'll share later in the newsletter. For now, just let me say, no one's life is perfect, no matter what you see on social media. 😉
But now that Maisy is home and my schedule is getting more manageable, I'm able to take a deep breath and start to move forward on my next projects which include finalizing my 2022 Photo Calendar and launching my next Wings Mentorship (including a very special scholarship opportunity!). But before that, I have to tell you about this AMAZING new feature in Lightroom that's gonna blow your mind! 🤯
Quick Tip - New Masking Feature in Lightroom
Just last week, Adobe launched a MAJOR update to Lighroom where they completely redesigned their adjustment tools. They are now called “Masks” and are grouped together in a new panel.
So why is this a big deal for equine photographers?
Because it means you can black out the background of your black background images MUCH faster than brushing around the horse because Lightroom is going to select the horse automatically and then you can use brushes to refine your selection.
Here's a step by step tutorial for you! I'm hoping to get a video made later this week or next and post it to my YouTube channel. So make sure you're a subscriber!
Step One:
Edit Your Photo for exposure, color and cropping.
Step Two: Click the mask icon to reveal the masking tools.
Step Three: Click “Select Subject.” Lightroom will work and do its best to select your subject and will show the selection in red (if you don't see red, click “show overlay” in the mask panel). I have found it does a very good job, but it's not perfect if your subject shares some color or tone with the background. But that's fairly easy to refine later (see step six!)
Step Four VERY IMPORTANT!: Invert the selection by clicking the three dots next to the subject mask and selecting “Invert.” This will select the background instead of the subject.
Step Five: Use exposure, shadows and blacks in the adjustment panel to make the background black. Note: You may need to use additional brushes later to black out any really bright objects don't black out with the sliders.
Step Six: Refine the selection by clicking “Add” or “Subtract” under “Subject” in the masks panel. Choose “brush” and then start brushing areas where the mask bled into the horse or didn't select the horse.
Final step: Hop over the Photoshop for a quick halter removal.
Now, there are other great uses for this new feature as well, like changing the color and tone of your background.
For this image of my mare, Fritzie, I simply used the “Select Subject” mask, inverted it, and then brought the highlights down, and warmed it up using white balance and color. I also blurred it slightly by moving the clarity slider to the left.
Have fun with this new feature and let me know if you come up with any other fun ways to use it!
What I'm Reading and Listening To…
WHAT I'M READING
The Happier Approach, Nancy Jane Smith In the middle of October, I started to experience a familiar, but horrible feeling in my chest. In 2019, this feeling landed me in the ER three times thinking I was having a heart attack. The cause? Stress and Anxiety. I'm not an outwardly anxious person and was surprised by the feeling because I thought I was juggling all the balls well. But my body was telling another story: I had tightness in my chest, my heart was pounding and I was struggling to breathe.
I did some research and happened upon a podcast (linked in the next section) that helped me realize I think I have High Functioning Anxiety. This lead to finding Nancy Jane Smith and reading her book. It's a very practical how-to for dealing with your inner critic (the cause of a lot of the anxiety!). I've been implementing her method and am finding a lot of peace as a result. I am also planning to see a therapist to better help address the root cause of my anxiety.
24/6: Giving up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection, Tiffany Schlain I'm always looking for ways to have a healthier relationship with social media, so when this book came up in my suggestions, I bought it right away. I had already started taking Sundays off from turning on my computer or checking social media, but I wanted to learn more about why I should be offline once a week so that I'll do a better job sticking to it. The book was rich with exactly the stories and information I needed!
I know this is VERY last minute, but at 2:30pm Central Time today, Tuesday November 2, I'll be teaching a class called "Video Killed the Photography Star" and it's all about how pet photographers can add video to their portrait sessions.
And the best part? You can attend for just TEN DOLLARS! And 100% of your $10 registration will be donated to the Hair of the Dog Conservation Fund to protect and support wild animals and wild places all around the globe.
If you aren't able to make it, this will be a Standalone course on my education site soon or you can buy the Summit VIP pass and watch a replay of all the classes AND get VIP goodies from each of the speakers!
I sincerely hope you are enjoying the Pegasus Journal. If you know of another photographer you think might benefit from these emails, would you consider sharing it email with them? Thank you!
And, as always, if there's anything I can do to help you grow as a photographer, please reach out by hitting reply to this email. 😊
