Photofocus

Education and inspiration for visual storytellers

Nicci Widener

Nicci Widener is a portrait photographer, wife, and mother of 3 located in Burlington, Washington. She first picked up a camera when her oldest child was born in 1998 and made the decision to make it a career in 2006. When she is not holding a camera, she is spending time with her family, knitting, or consuming copious amounts of caffeine.

Latest posts by Nicci Widener (see all)

Photographer of the Day: Page Kuepper

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Category: Children Photograph: Untitled by Page Kuepper Page's image has a lovely ethereal look to it. The softness and pastel color tones evoke a dreamlike feeling that surrounds the little girl exploring in the water. Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook Community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photographer of the Day: Page Kuepper

Photographer of the Day: Thomas Salinka

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Category: Children Photograph:  My Little Model by Thomas Salinka A photograph of a child that makes me smile will always be my favorite. This image, while not an obviously happy moment, shows the quiet tolerance of a little girl sitting still for the photographer. She obviously would like to be off doing something else, but yet she entertains the viewer for just a moment. Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook Community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photographer of the Day: Thomas Salinka

Review: “The Mask” eBook and Video Tutorials for ON1 Photo 10

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I recently had a chance to review a new ebook and video tutorials created by fellow Photofocus author, Nicole Young. "The Mask" is a 256 page eBook featuring in depth tutorials with step-by-step instructions on how to achieve perfect masking in ON1's Photo 10 software. The eBook is bundled with presets, full resolution practice files, and 18 video tutorials containing over 4 hours of in-depth masking demonstrations. The eBook: The Mask eBook comes in downloadable PDF format which can be uploaded to your tablet for reading on the go. It is … [Read more...] about Review: “The Mask” eBook and Video Tutorials for ON1 Photo 10

Photo of the Day: He Thinks He’s An Airplane

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Category: Children Photograph: He thinks he's an airplane by Craig Hudson This photo is pure joy! The little boy's expression is so adorable! His reflection on the floor adds depth, and in combination to the composition and the angle from which the photographer took the photo, it is an engaging overall image. Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook Community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: He Thinks He’s An Airplane

Review: Photoboards from Sweet Pix

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Recently, Sweet Pix reached out and requested a review of their 8 x 8 photo boards. These photo boards can be ordered directly from an iPhone through the Sweet Pix app, which is available on iTunes. After downloading the app, the process of creating the photo boards is fast and simple. The entire process took about 2 minutes and was completely painless. The toughest part was selecting images. I decided to go with the same photos I recently printed through Millers lab to compare the color quality. The price point is set at $25 for 2, $45 … [Read more...] about Review: Photoboards from Sweet Pix

Photo of the Day: Dreams

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Category: Children Photograph: Dreams by Monty Montgomery I chose this photo because of it's engaging quality, as you are peering through a window into this little girl's dream world. The photographer's reflection gives the sense that she's protected and safe. The composition and contrasty B&W are both wonderful and keep the focus on the little girl. Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr Community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Dreams

Photo of the Day: Little Boy Happily Drawing

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Category: Children Photograph: Little Boy Happily Drawing by Gary Radler I chose this photo because the photo captures a perfect moment. The little boy is so engaged and consumed by creating, that he is unaware of the viewer. The lower angle allows us to see on his level. Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr Community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Little Boy Happily Drawing

Photo of the Day: Out for a Walk

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Category: Children Photograph: Out for a Walk by Brian Barbash Brian's image captured my attention with the subtle rim lighting on the boy. The choice of using a B&W conversion focuses the viewers attention on the child and keeps the background house and cars from being distracting. The feeling that we are watching a child have a quiet moment to themselves is sweet. Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Out for a Walk

Knitting Your Own Props for Newborns

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One of the genres of photography that is experiencing massive growth and demand is newborn photography. I'm sure at some point, you have seen a tiny baby wrapped up tightly in a piece of cloth, laying in a basket, or propped up onto their tiny hands while they sleep. There is a huge advantage to photographing babies considering more are born everyday, creating endless opportunity for clientele. Mothers are emotionally tied to the images created of their newborn, and will cherish those photos of their little one for the rest of their … [Read more...] about Knitting Your Own Props for Newborns

Photo of the Day: Being Happy!

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Category: Children Photograph: Being happy! by Anil Nagrani I absolutely love this image! Both the composition and subject are engaging and tell a story. The little girl's happiness is captured perfectly, and the droplets of water are not distracting in placement. I am a sucker for a great B&W, and this one is no exception. The overall feeling is joyful. Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr Community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Being Happy!

Instagram Launches Multiple Account Management

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Anyone who uses Instagram as a social media outlet for sharing personal images, as well as maintaining and building an audience for their business, knows that switching accounts can be a royal pain. The idea of swapping all the time was annoying enough for me to never create a second account and for a while, I used my personal account for everything. I don't mind my followers having a peek into my private life, but after a while I felt my personal life was overwhelming the select images I chose to share from my business. I was so close to … [Read more...] about Instagram Launches Multiple Account Management

Photo of the Day: Liam

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Category: Children Photograph: Liam by Ryan Shepard Ryan's image has wonderful connection. He captured the little boy's expression at just the right moment and as a viewer, I feel it is engaging and makes me want to return his smile. Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community, To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Liam

Photo of the Day: Newborn

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Category: Children Photograph: Newborn by Robyn Edgar Kilponen of Blue Egg Photography The image of the day was chosen because it is so engaging. This little one has so much personality and the photographer captured an adorable moment that the parents are sure to love. I think skin tones are lovely and the processing is not overdone. Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community, To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Newborn

Utilizing the Crop Tool Overlay

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The crop tool in Lightroom is a well-known tool, yet there is more to it than there may seem. Here I will show you how using overlays will make the crop tool more effective and useful. Once in Lightroom, navigate to the Develop panel and select the crop tool [keyboard shortcut R.] 1. Setting Up Your Overlays First, you'll want to set up the overlays to cycle through that best suit your needs. From the Menu bar, go to Tools > Crop Guide Overlay > Choose Overlays to Cycle. A pop up box will appear that will allow different overlays … [Read more...] about Utilizing the Crop Tool Overlay

Photo of the Day: Untitled

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Category: Children Photograph: "Untitles" by Md. Abu sayed joader. This image really caught my eye for a number of reasons. The photographer captured children playing in an area most would consider unsafe, while they seem unaware of his presence. It feels as if we are seeing a peek into their mischief. The punchy colors and strong contrast lends to the idea that they are playing a game where they shouldn't be. Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Untitled

Photo of the Day: Declan

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Category: Children Photograph: Declan by Ryan Shepard I originally chose this photo because the color grading is excellent. The little boy appears to have has his playtime interrupted and his expression is engaging. Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community, To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Declan

Lens Distortion in Portraits

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As a portrait photographer, I love getting a close, tight shot that really captures the personality of my subject. Understanding the limitations and effects your gear has on the final image is vital. Close up portraits are typically shot using a focal length of 85mm or longer, but when starting out, these lenses may not be an option. It is common for photographers to start out using a 50mm lens and grow their arsenal from there. I love my "Nifty 50." When shooting in a small space, the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G is my go-to lens most of the time. I … [Read more...] about Lens Distortion in Portraits

The Importance of Portraits

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I tell anyone who listens that printing your photos is so incredibly important. Anything from snapshots of a sleeping child, to wedding photos and portraits need to be turned into tangible copies. Why? Because of the unknown. You never know what will happen and when those prints will become an invaluable keepsake for your loved ones. Recently, I spent an afternoon photographing an incredible woman named Becky. She is so full of life, love, and is as positive as a person can be. We spent the entire session laughing and enjoying each other's … [Read more...] about The Importance of Portraits

Every Photographer Has a Place

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One of the most common posts I see in photography forums and groups are those upset about the prices other photographers are charging. While this may be a bit of a controversial post, I'd like to offer another way to view this oft argued subject. It never fails, after a year or two of charging for your services, you start running into the novice shoot-and-burn photogs. They sprout up out of nowhere and seem to multiply like rabbits. You see post after post of sessions for $50-$100 with a CD full of images. Immediately, your hackles rise and … [Read more...] about Every Photographer Has a Place

Setting Up Two Windows for One Image in Photoshop

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Have you ever been zoomed in while editing in Photoshop, only to zoom out and realize your adjustments were not at all what you wanted? Here is a quick solution I like to use to avoid that situation. 1. Opening a New Window With your image open in Photoshop, from the menu bar, navigate to Window > Arrange > New Window for (filename). A second tab will appear containing a duplicate version of the image. 2. Arranging the Windows From the menu bar, navigate to Window > Arrange > 2-up Vertical (or whichever orientation works for the … [Read more...] about Setting Up Two Windows for One Image in Photoshop

Using V-Flats with Backlit Portraits

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When using backlighting in an image, the first thing to decide on the light source. For beauty portraits, I prefer to use natural light, as it has a soft and lovely look to it, but this can easily be accomplished with studio lighting. In this tutorial, images are taken using a very large window diffused by sheer white curtains. The curtains I used for this window are simple netted curtains from IKEA named LILL and are just $4.99 a set. There are 3 sets on the curtain rod and a pair of VIVIAN curtains that can be purchased for $9.99. I have … [Read more...] about Using V-Flats with Backlit Portraits

Using Flag Scarves for Newborn Portraits

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Newborn photography has become very popular in recent years, and in that genre, there have been many trends. Styles range from simple and minimalistic, to highly stylized with props and backdrops. Most recently, I have noticed a trend with flags being used to wrap up or hold newborns. This is very popular with families in the Armed Forces and those wanting to show pride in their country. As photographers, it is our responsibility to provide our clients with the images they desire while being responsible in the process. This not only means … [Read more...] about Using Flag Scarves for Newborn Portraits

Tips for Finding and Working with a Professional Makeup Artist

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Sometimes, photographers find themselves in the position where they will need to collaborate with other artists to bring their vision or ideas into fruition. Recently, I've delved into the genre of women's glamour photography and knew that I needed the services of a makeup artist. Trying to find a makeup artist that fits into your vision can be challenging, but I will share a few tips that may help make the search easier. Finding a Makeup Artist A good place to start is by checking a buy/sell/trade group on Facebook for your area. If you are … [Read more...] about Tips for Finding and Working with a Professional Makeup Artist

Portrait Posing Tip: Forward and Down

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When it comes to portraits, the slightest change in posing can dramatically change the feel and look of the overall image. It is normal for people to sit with their heads further back, which does not make for an engaging portrait. One of the most simple shifts in your subject's head position can change everything. After the subject's body is positioned, direct them to push their chin forward, and slightly down. Be sure not to direct them to tilt too far down, unless you would like them to look up through their lashes, which creates a bit more … [Read more...] about Portrait Posing Tip: Forward and Down

DIY V-Flats for Photographing Portraits

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V-flats are an essential item to a portrait photographer's studio. A typical v-flat is two pieces of foam core connected on the long side with gaffer tape, and they are black on one side, white on the other, and have a smooth surface. They can stand on their own when set in an approximate 120 degree angle or less, and serve multiple purposes in the studio. While either side can be used as a backdrop for your subject, the white side is great for bouncing light onto your subject, and the black side can be used to absorb light and intensify … [Read more...] about DIY V-Flats for Photographing Portraits

Using the Fade Selection Tool in Photoshop for Skin Imperfections

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There are occasions when a subjects skin only has a few trouble spots that could use light retouching. For that, I like to use a simple fade selection with the patch tool, and I want to share that technique today. In this photo, my very sad looking daughter has a few spots Id like to touch up on her forehead, nose, and under her eyes. I do want to preserve most of the wrinkle above her eyebrows, as it is part of her expression, but some of the shadowing is a little strange and makes the skin look uneven. I will be using the patch tool, but … [Read more...] about Using the Fade Selection Tool in Photoshop for Skin Imperfections

Finding Your Niche

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Everyone has a story about how they came to love photography. It seems some were practically born with a camera in their hands, some discovered their passion in their teen years as a way to express themselves, while others did not discover photography until later in life. I am one of those that fall into the latter category. When I was 26, I made the decision to go back to college and get a degree in Sociology. While signing up for electives, I thought it would be brilliant to take a beginners photography class, and what excited me most was … [Read more...] about Finding Your Niche