HeavyTheory

Mike Carroll and HeavyTheory for ScanSource

Big Heavy — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:07:46 +0000

Once again HeavyTheory has teamed up with Mike Carroll Photography - this time to create a dramatic series of images for ScanSource, a POS and barcoding company. The common visual theme of this series is a bright orange source of light emanating from a number of devices such as smart phones and speaker phones. Click the image above to see the final effect complete with the client’s copy and dark vignette.

HeavyTheory and ActionSports Collaboration

Big Heavy — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:08:50 +0000

Aaaaaaannnnddd We’re Back!…. Whew. Apologies for my long absence, but I’ve been kept very busy by many new ventures – not least of which is an exciting collaboration with ActionSports Photography. ASP is a leader in sports related stock photography, but is also a big player in our local NASCAR culture. ASP and HeavyTheory have created many vibrant images in this past year including the image in this post. I think it is a great statement for jump starting this site back into action. It displays a great feeling of self improvement and following through.

I hope you will check back often as their will be much in the way of new images, testimonials, and retouching tutorials. Stay tuned!

Slappa Catalog Retouched by HeavyTheory

Big Heavy — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:18:36 +0000

When Slappa, an internationally trusted brand for specialty custom gear for active gamers and jet setting dj’s was set to release their new line of high end gear, they called on Peter Taylor Photography, Moss Creative, and HeavyTheory to create a stunning new catalog to highlight all the new gear. Slappa needed five dynamic concepts to appeal to a wide variety of customers. Planning for such a comprehensive release required extensive pre-visualization which Moss Creative worked tirelessly to produce. Since such a high level of detailed planning was achieved before initial photography began, each shot went without a snag. Five very different locations were chosen and high dynamic range images were captured by Peter Taylor Photography and served as backdrops for our final images. In some instances every shot of the scene, product, and models took place on location. In others we chose to capture several components in a studio setting and match them to our backgrounds. HeavyTheory was tasked with the responsibilities of maintaining continuity of lighting and accurate positioning of our models and products as well as compiling every image together. In some cases as many as thirty separate shots went into achieving a final image. When the dust had cleared and every pixel pushed into place, Slappa released it’s new catalog which is now being shipped all over the states as well as Europe and China.

Wamsutta Product and Beauty Retouching

Big Heavy — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:51:05 +0000

I was recently approached by Wray Ward to retouch several images for a new Wamsutta campaign and have enjoyed working on them immensely. Wamsutta is an internationally recognized name for producing soft and vibrantly colored bedding. My primary goal was to ensure that the viewer wants nothing more than to get lost in the softness of the fabric and to explore every delicate texture. It helps to start out with wonderfully captured images and the lighting and feel of these are superb.

High End Female Beauty Photo Retouching

Big Heavy — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:27:23 +0000

I love retouching all kinds of people, leaving them with perfect skin and features, yet perfectly real. I utilize a number of different techniques depending on the scope of a project. My favorite method by far is a pixel by pixel approach known as “dodge and burn”. This helps me render skin and hair that is without flaw, yet believably so. It is a time intensive process, but is by far the most widely agreed upon method used in most high end fashion magazines like Marie Claire, and Vogue.

There are many different attitudes regarding the perception of beauty, but it’s importance to the fashion industry can not be understated. When we open a magazine it is thick with lush and vibrant images which attempt to identify with us on a number of levels. Whether these campaigns speak to the fashion savvy or the health conscious, every one of them shows us an image of a beautiful and confident person in some form or another and that person needs to look flawless.

The goal of any retoucher when altering an image is make adjustments to whatever extent the client requires and to get out without leaving a single trace. We may balance the symmetry of a body or even reshape a face, but none of these changes can look unnatural. It is important to me on every image that I stay true to each individual and to do them justice.

Team Building Photo Manipulation

Big Heavy — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 19:46:39 +0000

This is a composite photo manipulation of several photographs taken by Mike Carroll Photography for a national client. The players were captured in three groups in the studio, while the tunnel was photographed on location. And what could be more believable than recruiting an actual football team? That’s just what Mike did. The client’s concept was to represent an intense sense of camaraderie and determination for a team building campaign. These team members are ready to exit onto the field and conquer the task at hand.

My job is to work with photographers and art directors to interpret their concepts into a strong image that reads well and get’s the point across. Communication with the client, transparency, and dedication to each and every image is what HeavyTheory is all about.

Cinematic Male Model Photo Retouch

Big Heavy — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:46:35 +0000

Sometimes even a casual photograph can become something emotive and expressive. I took this image of my close friend Ryan while on a trip to Atlanta. We were exploring the Candler Estate – home of one of the more eccentric progeny of the Coca Cola dynasty who at one point owned a private zoo complete with a menagerie of exotic birds, a Bengal tiger and even four full grown elephants ironically named Coca, Cola, Refreshing, and Delicious!

With the light at this point in the afternoon being soft open shade, I fired off a single exposure of Ryan. I had a good feeling about it and when I got home I set about to bring something else to it visually. He has spent most of his life traveling the country, constantly on the move. He has seen a parts of America that most common citizens like you and I don’t care to, or don’t have the time to see. I wanted to let these experiences show in his face, in his eyes. This is how I see my friend, with a quiet and honest reserve.

At HeavyTheory I work with clients to bring something rare and defining to their imagery. My job is to go beyond what a digital sensor or a silver halide negative can capture, and to show something that we can all feel, the reason we capture these images in the first place.

Nascar Driver Jeff Burton Composite Image

Big Heavy — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:04:46 +0000

This is one of my favorite photo manipulations that I have been honored to work on. It was created for Mike Carroll Photography. These images of driver Jeff Burton and his # 31 car were not captured together but are rendered here beautifully. Mike has a powerful eye for lighting, angle, and composition and these shots are sharp and vibrant.

Being the digital tech on this shoot, which was put together at the last minute, I added my creative input as we made our way through several shots at lightning speed. We only had a few hours and time was critical. Through the use of Mike’s creative lighting techniques and strong direction we came away with crisp and original images to create something with.

Back in the studio I began to sketch out my ideas for the final product. After a few talks with Mike about the feel he wanted to capture for this job I got to work. With a few of my own original stock shots to add texture and what seems like a million layers in Photoshop the composition began to take life. I gave this piece all of my attention until it was finished and I was ready to deliver an image that was up to HeavyTheory’s standards, and most importantly one that Mike Carroll was happy to call his own.

For more insight and personal testimonial check out mike’s photo blog entryabout the shoot.

Thanks for reading.

Jason Dulin – lead retoucher