Halloween Portrait 2022

eric washburn October 24, 2022

14 years. Hard to believe it's been that long. It's getting harder to find the time. I have the ideas, but to get everyone together in one weekend is getting tougher. Last year it was last minute, and this year was the same. I still have not done the one I wanted to for the 13th Anniversary, not sure when I’ll be able to get that done. We almost didn’t do this year, because it just seems like the list of things to do gets longer and longer. I can thank Suzannah again for encouraging me to do the things I enjoy doing, not just the things that need to be done. Always find balance. Might learn that eventually.

Tyler as a Goblin - Suzannah as a Banshee - Eric as a Gargoyle

This year’s theme?….Well, since I decided last minute..it was, ‘What can I do with what I have left from previous years.’ Sounds exciting, huh?

I went through the boxes of stuff we have stored away.. the old costumes, the makeup and the props. I looked up Halloween myths and monsters and picked three we haven’t done yet. I chose a Goblin, a Banshee and a Gargoyle. The only group photo is the one above. These three really didn’t go together, but it’s nice to mix things up every now and then.

Up first, The Goblin.

If you have followed over the years, you might find Tyler’s outfit familiar. It was from the Skeleton Theme photo in 2014. It was really big back then and now fits him perfectly (glad I got the large size). The makeup was from the zombie set of airbrush paint for the zombie shoot. His hair was left over crepe hair from when we were werewolves. I had to buy the ears and nose. I was going to try and make them, but, I ran out of time.

Up next, Suzannah’s portrayal of a banshee. An Irish folklore of a female spirit who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, and shrieking. It was perfect for her - Let’s see if she reads this. ; )

I had to get a new wig, but the makeup was from the skeleton shoot, and the sheets were leftover from The Mummy shoot, ripped in the same style as Tyler’s mummy was. The shirt she is wearing is the one I wore as Fred from the Scooby Doo shoot.

Tyler used a leaf blower to blow the ripped sheets and Sue’s hair. The leaf blower was a little strong and took some practice getting the right distance and strength. It did make for some funny outtakes. I had to composite many of the best parts of each photo for the final look.

Finally Eric as the gargoyle. mainly makeup from the zombie shoot. I bought the horns and balding cap (never used one before, I think next time I can get it a little neater). Also really hard to do your own makeup and get it everywhere it should be.

The video below is a short time-lapse of the makeup process.

Hope you enjoy! We’ll be back next year.

Maybe.

Halloween Family Portrait 2020

eric washburn October 27, 2020

Well, it looks like I haven’t done a blog post in a year.

I wonder why.

It’s been quite an interesting year and it does not seem to be ending. One thing that got me through was thinking and working on different projects. I made a lot of notes and did a lot of research in the time I had, which was not that much. I still have not gotten a break this year, the pandemic kept all of us busy in the hospital. This is also something I’m very grateful for with so many other people not having that luxury.

We did end up spending a lot of time out in nature, which was amazing. Biking, canoeing and hiking was great. You needed to get up early and get it done before the entire city had the same idea and joined you.

The point is, it really changed my perspective on a lot of things. Problems that bothered me before, really did matter that much any more. If something didn’t work right, oh well, try again. I ended up with more patience then I used to have. Now, I still get frustrated, but it feels different. That brings me to this year’s photoshoot. I got the idea almost immediately after finishing last year’s shoot. I had time to plan and think, which really helped, because not much went well at first. I had a lot of ideas for the props in this picture and not a single one worked out the first time I tried to make them. I’ll get more into that later, for those who are interested. For now, I introduce the 2020 Washburn Halloween Portrait.

Our theme this year was Greek Mythology. Medusa, Minotaur, Hades and Cerberus.

Our Theme this year was Greek Mythology. Starting from the left, Suzannah plays Medusa, I play the Minotaur, Tyler is Hades and Pepper is Cerberus.

Suzannah as Medusa. Yes, the headpiece is real.

Yes, the head piece is real. As much as I love photoshop, everyone who sees the photos I make thinks a lot of the objects are photoshop. From the clothes, to the props, to the backgrounds (which are usually fake) I end up telling people what is real and what isn’t. Sometimes things are real, but I manipulate them to appear different, other times I put in fake objects and have to tell them it’s fake. Most professionals can see right through this, so it’s not that big of a deal to explain the composite to people. If someone likes your art work that much, explaining what is really going on is very enjoyable. That is one part of composites that I love.

This headpiece took a lot longer to make than anything else I’ve ever made. I had multiple ideas that failed the first around and it wasn’t until I discovered cyberlox that it all came together. So, cyberlox, are these goth-like plastic dreadlock things, I don’t know how else to describe them, that are super lightweight and flexible. They were perfect. I bought a snake head 3d model and my friend Chris was nice enough to print about three dozen snake heads for the head piece. I hand painted them with acrylics. I cut the brim off of a baseball cap, attached wire, painted it black, added the cyberlox on the wire and superglued the snake head to the front. After that, it was just a matter of bending them in the right direction. The whole piece weighs just over a pound.

Greek Mythology American Gothic. Suzannah and Tyler enjoying the photo shoot. (for once, I’m joking, they almost always like it)

Tyler got away with it easy this year, the boy had to take organic chemistry this semester at UGA, so I couldn’t stress him out anymore. The beard was made with the crepe hair from the red riding hood / werewolf shoot a few years ago. Over the years I have acquired a small special effects workshop in my basement, so if anyone needs any help with their costumes, let me know, ‘wink’. The costume was bought online and the crown and staff I made myself with foam, pvc, tape, glue and foam clay. I have never used foam clay, but it is one of the coolest thigs ever, I can see why cosplay people use it. Now that I’ve made a few things with it, I think I have a good grasp on all of the possibilities it has.

As for me, I originally made my own horns. They weren’t bad. I crafted them out of wire and paper mache. I tried smoothing them with plaster of paris and it looked great, until they dried, cracked and completely feel apart. I painted what was left and hoped to “fix it in post” (Good photographers try to never say that phrase).

I was able to take the first couple of photos before my horns and hair started coming apart. I was able to get the main photo complete, but getting a close up was not going to work. It’s very difficult to have props and makeup on and take the photos. The horns in the final composite are not mine. The ones I made just didn’t make the final cut. The costume is real, although there are some manipulations. The bull nose is real. It’s a prosthetic with makeup added, like the prosthetics we used for the zombies and the werewolves. I have come to love using the prosthetics, they are awesome and learning how to make them has been a lot of fun.

I’ve tried to use as many real props and costumes with the photos and embellish them with photoshop. This was the goal along. We hope you enjoy this year’s Halloween shoot and hope you will return for the finale. Yes, the finale. We will be stopping at 13. Great Halloween number to stop at. It’s time to move on to other projects. See you next year!

Black Light Girls

eric washburn August 9, 2019

I had a lot of supplies left from our Halloween shoot years ago and I was dying to use some of them. Lucky for me, Hannah and Skyler were excited at the chance to help me with that dilemma.

As beautiful and awe inspiring that black light photos appear, to make them happen is a messy operation. We used paint, glitter, brushes, tooth brushes, sponges, water and towels. You can be the neatest person possible, but these supplies get everywhere, especially the glitter.

I created a black light ring light for the Halloween photos years ago and took it out of storage for this shoot. It’s a little heavy and bulky, but it gets the job done. For more photos from the Halloween shoot and a look at the black light ring display go here. (a new window will open up)

All of the photos are taken with a 50mm lens with a wide open aperture. The iso is 200 and I’m using a tripod. There are not a lot of adjustments needed in Photoshop. It is up to you what you want to enhance. The HSL sliders are fun to play around with in Lightroom and of course some clarity, vibrance and sharpening. I really just tweaked these photos slightly because they look really good straight out of camera. Some needed a bit of exposure or high lights correction, but over all, it was minimal. My black light ring light was a huge help to keep the photos lit well.

This was such a great shoot. The girls were fantastic and I can easily see them modeling if they wanted. They seemed to enjoy it a lot and posted them on social media. I really want to come up with some more ideas (or they can) and we can do another one soon.

Halloween Portrait 2018

eric washburn October 26, 2018

The Washburn’s Annual Halloween Portrait 2018 - 10 Year Anniversary

Black Light Halloween Photos

eric washburn October 28, 2016

It's that time again. Each year we create our Halloween photo project. This year's theme was "Blacklight". Yes, just like the posters us old people had on the walls when we were young. This was the same premise, but not with ink, we used UV Makeup to make these portraits come to life.

The process started with me, painting each of us with regular black makeup (skin has a glow under UV light, so I had to cover most of it up). Then I layered a combination of different makeup colors, based on the design I had drawn up earlier.

I tried to come up with a different color pattern for the three of us, to make us as unique as possible. Each person took about 2 1/2 hours to apply the makeup and only about 30 minutes to shoot the photos. There is very little post processing in Adobe Lightroom. I didn't need to use Photoshop at all.

We are all illuminated by a custom made ring light equipped with (8) 25 Watt Fluorescent Blacklights (pictures included of the rig below). This provided enough light to capture the photos at a decent camera setting for detail.

I wanted to make a video this time because I didn't think people would think it was real (i.e. photoshopped) unless they saw it for themselves.

I hope you enjoy this year's photos. If you have any questions, please leave them below. FYI, I'm already working on next year.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween Family Portrait 2014

eric washburn October 24, 2014

We present our 2014 Halloween Portrait. This year's portrait was the most difficult one we have tried to date. We have done 7 portraits since 2008. The theme this year was Skeletons. I wanted to go a little less photoshop and a little more photographic style, but I ended with a pretty even amount of both. The makeup took the longest (almost three hours for the three of us). I did all of the makeup myself.

I went with a single light setup. White lightning 1600 in an octobox (Thanks Stan - stankaady.com ) at a 45 degree angle right above the subject with a black backdrop. It highlighted the face and made great shadows on the chin to emphasize the makeup.

I realized it is very difficult to try and shoot while wearing tons of makeup on your face. It's even harder to try and take a "selfie". It was one part of the process, I had not thought of. I was able to take good photos of my wife and son, but I was not quite satisfied with mine. Regardless, it was a great experience. Next time, I will plan better.

That's me as Papa Legba (Haitian Voodoo)

Time to start thinking of next years shoot!