Ashley + Zach - Boulder | Colorado Adventure Session

In the mountains we find ourselves. And for these two that is true. In the midst of a very active season in their lives, Ashley + Zach made time to reconnect on a hike with their cute pup Quimby (a week before their wedding). The hike through the evergreens and aspens was brief. And before we even got winded, layers and layers of grey and blue rocky mountain ranges greeted us while the sun laid it's golden haze across the snowcaps in the distance.
We talked about the future, our collective plans to hike a 14-er and to make more time for things like this. Colorado has a way of delivering perspective and on this evening, we all needed it. 

Ashley + Zach took full advantage of every overlook and outcropping, they sat in the dirt and kissed their dog. They let the summer night fade without hurry. It's was a beautiful story to tell. 

Moon Child

We really love documenting things other than weddings, too! This session was a spontaneous evening spent wandering around the woods. We shot from sunset into the moon light and Jessica was an awesome model! She had a blast just letting her spirit free!

"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls."
-George Carlin

Katch Silva Preset Review

A Katch Preset Review

Over the years I've had a number of different presets in my arsenal. I've tried making my own and those were never very consistent. And finally Katch Silva came out with this set. When she came out with her presets I knew right away I would try them out. I had been a fan of her work for years and would often lose myself in the depth and the velvety tones.

As far as a preset goes, these guys are powerful! Presets are never a one-click fix for me, I always adjust and personalize but these are the closest thing to one click I've found. I'm big on editing less and shooting more so these totally speed up the editing process for me. I also love the consistency that using a preset brings to the portfolio. I figured I'd share my experience after using Katch's presets for the whole 2016 season! 

How I Use Them:
I love the temperature adjustments that each set provides but I mainly stick to the Katch 1.1 (an updated release) for it's warm shadows and softened hues. Out of the box it has a slight fade in the shadows which I don't love so I take my shadows back down in the tone curve and then I also decrease the whites for those soft highlights. Each set has it's own suggested use and from each of them I can pretty much do a 1,2,3 click edit on any session or wedding.

Favorite Details:
The Katch 5 BW set is a complete killer -- It's literally the perfect black and white. Warm highlights, dark darks and tons of contrast and detail! I may bump contrast and exposure on this a little because I tend to like a slightly less soft black and white. 

Pros:

1. These sets are clean edits. They don't muddy up the colors like I found vcso sets to. If one set doesn't look awesome on an image one of the others is the perfect match because the split toning and temperature adjustments are on point. 
2. They're not that expensive and are TOTALLY worth the investment
3. They're not over-done. With vsco sets, I found myself back peddling out of a preset just to make the work feel like my own again. Instead, these give me a very awesome base layer that keeps the shot I exposed for in tact. 

Cons:

1. Sometimes I find Katch 1.1 to be slightly too de-saturated for my taste, I often have to go in and add orange/yellow hues back in so that skin tones aren't too paste-y. Total personal style con, has nothing to do with the function of the preset. 
2. These presets are so good that I find myself playing with ALL of them on my images instead of just selecting one, tweaking and moving on. :-)

Overview:
Totally recommend Katch's presets if you're into bringing out the natural beauty and tones in the photo with adjustments in split toning/shadows, etc. They work well in every situation and are a great starter preset for new photographers because they are very easy to manipulate! Would love to hear your thoughts if you decide to try them out! 

Happy editing!
-M