Thank you to 'American Photography' for spotlighting our image "Hold On!" in the July issue of the American Photography's Pro Photo Daily.
"...the image charmed our judges with its depiction of all-American suburban life." - Pro Photo Daily
We are excited that one of our images caught the attention of several judges. With so many talented photographers from around the globe submitting thier work, it's an honor to be recognized. Thank you.
"Your photograph "Hold On" received a number of votes, which means it will move forward in the contest. We are featuring some of the top entries in an ongoing series at our newsletter Pro Photo Daily, and I would like to spotlight yours." email from David Schonauer, one of the jury members of the American Photography Open contest.
We would like to share that article with you below.
Pro Photo Daily - July 2018
“In 2016 my wife and I made a conscious decision to start working together and transform our photography business into something different,” says Dean Gibson, a Cincinnati-based digital artist with a background in illustration, editing and compositing. He and his wife, freelance photographer Tracey Gibson, began collaborating to create carefully constructed vignettes they call “narrative photography.” And it all started with the first image they created together, featuring two kids speeding (somewhat recklessly) down a sidewalk on a scooter. Titled “Hold On,” the image charmed our judges with its depiction of all-American suburban life.
Casting was easy: The image features Tracey and Dean’s own daughter and one of her friends. “We found a prop — the scooter — and went straight out our front door and set up the scene on the sidewalk in front of our house,” says Dean. The final image is made up of more than a dozen separate photographs.
“We paid close attention to the direction of the light and how we wanted it to fall,” says Dean. “We took several shots and decided on this one based on their emotions. I especially liked the bandages on the driver's hands, it gave me the impression that she has been riding this thing so long that her hands were blistered.”
Motion blur was added to the image in Photoshop. “We color-corrected the image for the look and feel we wanted and used saturation to bring more focus to our subjects and less on our background,” says Dean. “We enhanced some details with dodge-and-burn techniques and finalized the image by enhancing the lighting we established at the beginning of the shoot.”
Pleased with the result, Tracey and Dean were encouraged to create more narrative photographs. “We decided to do one as our 2017 Christmas card, and the response from friends and family was very positive. Based on the positive feedback, we decided that we should offer this type of photography and restructured our photography business around it. In 2018 we created a website to get the word out. My wife saw a flyer about the American Photography Open contest while browsing at Dodd Camera here in Cincinnati, and we decided to enter.