Hi, My name is Andy Leverenz. I design, code, and am an author of things. Check out my agency called Couple of Creatives https://coupleofcreatives.com and my blog Web-Crunch https://web-crunch.com🤘🏻

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Welcome to part 7 of my "Let's Build" series. If you have been following along, I am finally to the design stage of the website build. In this part of the series, I will share some photography I shot of our client Alyssa as well as spend time showing you how to edit inside Affinity Photo.

📷 Shooting and Editing Photography

One of the most common needs for images in projects I take on is the removal of a background. If shot correctly you can save a ton of time by using a solid fill background during your photo shoot.

🌄 Capturing high-quality photos

Without good photography, editing photos can be a real challenge. I can't stress enough about making sure your photos are up to par before you even open a photo editing application. Pay attention to:

• Proper lighting is a must.
• Shooting as high-resolution photos as possible
• Avoid shooting at night unless that's the look you're after
• Remember to charge your camera batteries as you will likely need the extra juice.
• Go ahead and assume most photos you take won't make the cut. Usually, I only end up with a handful of photos I'm happy with during a shoot (sometimes none at all ).
• A good camera is in order. Phones and handheld cameras have come a long way and work for various applications but a true DSLR camera is where it's at. I shoot RAW photos which you can't do with a handheld device like an iPhone.

💻 Editing in Affinity Photo

There are a number of great photo editing applications out there. I used Lightroom for a very long time but have since transitioned to Affinity Photo. It offers very similar features at a cheaper price.

Since I shot RAW photos the importing process is a bit different when you open a file. A new user experience opens known as the Developing persona. In this persona, you can tweak general settings as well as more advanced with the click of a button. I tend to start small in this mode and later work my way towards adding more refined details later on.

In the video above you may have noticed me needing to remove the background of a headshot of Alyssa. This process is rather tedious and hard to get right. After a few attempts I got something acceptable but as you'll see in the next part of the series, I'll redo the removal of the background entirely!

💻 Originally published at: https://web-crunch.com/lets-build-consultancy-website-part-7/

💻 Check out the blog: https://web-crunch.com

💡 👫 Check out my agency: https://coupleofcreatives.com

🚀 Links: Weekly Newsletter: https://web-crunch.com/subscribe Twitter: https://twitter.com/webcrunchblog Twitter(Personal Account): https://twitter.com/justalever Facebook: https://facebook.com/webcrunchblog Dribbble: https://dribbble.com/justalever Github: https://github.com/justalever Medium: https://medium.com/the-web-crunch-publication

📘Check out my book on UX Design: "LUXD: Learn User Experience Design" https://web-crunch.com/books/luxd

📙 Check out my FREE book on Tumblr Theming: "Pro Tumblr Theming" https://web-crunch.com/books/ptt

📌Recommended Stuff I Use to Shoot Video: Canon EOS Rebel SL1 - http://amzn.to/2m3EZDH Linco Lighting Set - http://amzn.to/2mF8Shs Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 - http://amzn.to/2mpqzBk Rode NT-USB Condenser Microphone - http://amzn.to/2mFhaG9

💯 Need awesome web hosting? Check out cloudways. They allow me to use a variety of hosting providers and build apps with ease: http://bit.ly/webcrunchhosting ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b0q5WDbdBQ