I am extremely fortunate in many ways, one of which is being named a PPA Approved Juror. This gives me the opportunity to be exposed to photographers creativity in a very intense, concentrated form. Thinking critically about the work and listening to my fellow juror’s opinions. It is an intense education.
Have I told you lately how much I appreciate the educational value of PPA’s Imaging Competition? Both as an entrant and a judge I learn more about photography every time I place images before my peers or sit on a panel sharing my opinions about the quality of work before us.
A painterly image by yours truely
I love to see new areas being opened up and explored. But, I would like to add a word of caution and offer my opinion on a new trend many photographers are embracing. Creating painterly images. There are some magnificent image makers who have embraced this and I applaud a lot of the work I see coming through. A word of caution. Some of this new work is less than stellar.
The reason behind this sub-par (in my opinion) image making is that painting is a whole ‘nother skill set. Those that are producing beautiful work have studied the work of classic art and artists. They have studied and practiced with software like Adobe’s Photoshop and Corel’s Painter programs to replicate the depth and dimension found in paintings. They have learned color. They have learned to balance blending of the painting technique with the photography using the Goldilocks method. Not too much, not too little but jus the right amount.
Other photographers have seen this art trend and tried to get the look via a shortcut. That is what inspired this post. You really can’t just push a button on a software plug-in and think you are creating artistic images. The software that ‘replicates’ a Monet or Degas style of painting does not work. They are flat. There are repetitious strokes that are quite evident in the work which will limit the amount of time anyone will want to be viewing the image.
Just as learning photography has a learning curve so does creating a look in the style of the old masters or any other artistic genre.
So what are the options if you want to offer this product line to your clients?
You can ‘half-a**’ it and push the button on a plug-in.
Or you need to study, learn and practice, practice and practice some more. You will need to want to create this type of art. Immerse yourself deeply in the new art. Explore the new world with the same ferver that you brought to learning your photography skills.
Or you can continue to make your photographic images and hire out the art creation. There are some marvelous photographers who enjoy the creation of the art and are excellent sources for a new product line for your studio.
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing art and artists that I feel are transforming true art from their photography images. See if the difference shows from those who are at the top of their game. Hopefully you’ll find inspiration to take your work to new heights.
When I travel to speak sometimes, I get a little behind on my blog posts. For good reason. This past weekend I had the honor & privilege of sharing some knowledge and judging imaging competition for the New Hampshire Professional Photographers Association. What a great group! If you are in that neighborhood & not a member of this association you are missing out big time on great photography education and camaraderie with fellow photographers.
I can’t speak highly enough about Professional Photographers of America (PPA) Affiliates. Education. Yes, there is a lot of it available online and through DVD and streaming products but I have to tell you nothing beats in-person education. Weirdly enough, your learning opportunities are magnified, and you learn as much or more during the breaks sharing ideas with fellow photographers over a cold beverage or hot meal.
I’ve been a member of PPA since 1997, and as soon as I moved to Arizona in 1999, I became a member of the Arizona Professional Photographers Association (AZPPA) and, in spite of living almost two hours away, have been attending monthly meetings, conventions, and special events. That’s a lot of commuting time! I added to my education by using audio training on sales and marketing during the drive back and forth.
If you read this blog regularly, you know that I am a huge proponent of the imaging competition system. The state organizations that are PPA Affiliates are a great place to get your feet wet in the process. Most state affiliates have an annual competition with some of the PPA Approved Jurors on the panels. Also, they have some form of image critiques and networking with other photographers who are familiar with the best practices in competition. Please don’t let the word competition hold you back. It is not a battle against the other photographers for awards. It is a challenge against yourself to be better than you were the previous year. The awards start coming as you improve. I’ve seen it time and time again, those that get in and participate find they improve their photography skills exponentially. Those that say, “I’m not ready’ seem to progress at a MUCH slower pace.
Networking is another large part of belonging to associations. Getting to know the other photographers in your area can be a great help to you and your business. What do you do if you become ill or have an accident just before a big job?? Do you have backup people in place to make sure your clients are served correctly? Also, many photographers share leads with fellow photographers with overflow business or with genres of photography that they don’t pursue. Sharing ideas on lighting, posing and pushing each other to become the best they can be. Sharing time by heading out for little photo trips together. All these things tend to start with joining your local affiliate.
What are you waiting for? Here’s a link to the PPA Affiliate list.
Become the best photographer you can be. Check out the next meeting in your state!
If you look at yesterday’s post you’ll see the capture and processing of an orangutan photographed through a dirty plate glass window which pushed capture and processing skills. Today I want to share an artistic rendition of our countries’ symbol of freedom, the bald eagle.
While we’re looking at this image let’s go back in time with the Steve Miller Band’s Fly Like an Eagle for a little musical accompaniment…
The theme here is to practice skills of photography. What did I get/learn while photographing the eagle that I can carry with me to my regular photography gigs??
Number one – People were moving through on a regular basis, so there were distractions to manage. awareness of surroundings while concentrating of my subject.
Number two – Patience. I wanted the eagle’s beak to be closed and there were only fractions of moments when this was the case. I had to learn this behavior and movement and time it to get the position I wanted.
Number three – The eagle was caged so there was the fencing to account for which meant shooting at a shallow Depth of field and focusing on the eagle and not the fence.
Finally, number four – Processing the image into an art piece that is more than the sum of the parts. Always working on these techniques to improve them. As they say, practice makes perfect…
Original photograph. Captured with Lumix FZ1000 1/400th sec f4 ISO 200 at 420mm (35mm equivilent)
A process through NIK Silver FX Pro 2 gave a very gritty black & white rendition of the eagle. I like the idea of the eagle in a square crop portrait style but not all the cage elements and distracting background.
I wanted a larger portrait rendition so I choose a larger crop and started adding my art embellishments.
The artwork is accomplished using photographs of textures and colors combined together using layers and Blend Modes. Utilizing Layer Masks on the texture layers allows for control of specific effects in certain areas of the image.
I thought the eagle was just holding it’s wing up when I photographed it, but it was bothering me. Then my eagle-eyed wife Holly came in and liked the art treatment but also spotted that the eagle’s wing was probably broken hence the residence at the zoo. I did a little plastic surgery for the final image you see below.
The last bit of work was accomplished with Adobe Photoshop. I copied the broken wing onto its own layer. Then repositioned it as if it was folded in its normal place. Using a layer mask to blend it into place.
I do! I always try to improve my skills by pushing out of my comfort zone and create different images from different places.
I always try to improve my skills by pushing out of my comfort zone and create different images from different places.
So how do you do it? One of the best ways is to continually practice and expand your skillset. Anyone who is at the top of their game in any sport, yes I consider photography a sport as well as an art form, practice daily. Why do I consider it a sport? Depending on your photographic genre you need coordination, timing, and stamina. This goes for shooting sports, weddings, wildlife or other fast moving situations. Why art? Art because you need to create or recognize wonderful lighting in order to have your images rise above the ordinary. Both the ‘art and sport’ parts of your work can be improved by working on your muscle memory. And, you guessed it, that takes practice.
Guess what? Your composition gets better when you practice too.
You also need to practice your post production as well… And the more you do it, well you get the idea.
I always try to improve my skills by putting myself in different situations and today I’ll share some images from the Phoenix zoo. For a little accompaniment push the button to listen to Paul Simon’s song ‘At the Zoo’.
Paul Simon with Garfunkle “At the Zoo’ from around 1967. (am I showing my age here??)
Orangatang at Phoenix Zoo. Captured with Lumix FZ1000 1/40th sec f4 ISO 200 – With a range of 25-400mm the FZ1000 is a very handy lens covering a wide variety of situations.
“OK Bob, so how is this zoo practice good for practicing other types of photography?
I’m fighting crowds to get the angle I want. Looking to capture expression which happens very quickly. In this instance, I am also going to be working hard in my post processing because this image was made in less than ideal lighting conditions through a thick, colored, and dirty pane of glass.
Did I say it wasn’t an ideal situation? That never happens on a regular photo shoot… (cue the laughter bouncing off the walls!)
Here is the final image I was able to pull from the original capture.
A couple of post processing tips I picked up from working on this photo of the orangutan. Adobe Camera RAW has a feature called DeHaze. This was quite helpful in getting a lot of the reflections and dirt on the glass to disappear. Did a much better job than I thought it would!It was designed to help with scenics to take some of the blue out of a landscape image but it worked very much like a Polarizing filter in this situation. I will be revisiting this filter more in the future. I love how tools and setting designed for one thing can be leveraged to do more.
After the initial processing in Photoshop I moved over to my favorite black and white conversion tool NIK Silver FX Pro 2. I made my black and white selections in the filter. These process out onto their own layer, and with a Mask, additional adjustments can be made. One more time back into Silver FX Pro 2 (it’s free now!) and I made some adjustments to the Structure, dialing in very strong enhancements to the mid tones and the fine structure. I changed the Mode of that new layer to Luminosity and filled the mask with black. Then I was able to paint with white on the mask to selectively sharpen specific areas of the image.
Last on the list was a Soft Light Mode Layer to dodge and burn.
Many times it is a small thought shared that opens large passageways of ideas. If you have attended any of my programs you know I am a fan of quotes from artists, photographers, inspirational speakers and authors. Helen was sitting right there in the front row and noting some of the quotes I had collected and was sharing in a slideshow before my program began.
She said, “Oh, you know of Robert Henri and his book The Art Spirit.” “No,” I replied. She had seen one of his quotes go by on the screen and she said, “You really need to get that book and read it!”
So I did.
And, now I’m going to do for you the same thing Helen did for me. Get the book!
Here’s a quote from Henri…
“When the artist is alive in any person… he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature.” Robert Henri
When I took Helen up on her suggestion I had ordered the book but let it sit on my side table before grabbing it one day. OMG. There is so much inspiration packed into these pages I don’t know where to start. When I went back through my collection of gathered quotes I found four already in there… And soon I will be adding many more.
Henri pushes you to think in different ways about your art. He was an artist but he was known more for his instruction and influence of other artists who followed in his footsteps. As he said in his book, “I have little interest in teaching you what I know. I wish to stimulate you to tell me what you know.”
And, stimulate you he does.
You never know where the next piece of your education is coming from. One reason I love teaching is I get to learn so much, from my students.
Helen thanks again for the tip.I can’t wait to read it again and really absorb Henri’s message.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – By the way Helen is working on a book on the software program Painter with Amherst Media. If you are into Painter and want to push your skills you’ll be able to pre-order soon…
For infrared conversion of my cameras I use LifePixel. Infrared allows you to put an older camera to use and opens up a new time time of day for productive image creation.
Fotopro tripods are well worth checking out. You can learn about the ones I use and recommend by clicking on the Fotopro Tripods link at the top of this page. If you want to see what other tripods might fit your needs check out the Fotopro.com website. Check back with me before you buy as a Fotopro Ambassador I’m able to get you discounted pricing including complementary continental USA shipping for my followers that you won’t find through retail outlets.
Learn Photoshop in a fun environment. Aaron Nace applies the right amount of fun with easy to understand and follow tutorials. Actions and brushes are included with lessons!
Lightning, waterdroplets, sound, time-lapse, HDR sequences, smiles and much more control for your camera!
Cameras Get Smarter -
A High Speed Smart Camera Remote
Best embroidery ever. Give Queensboro a try, get a $20 instant credit to get started by clicking on the logo! They specialize in great quality custom logo apparel and promotional products with the best customer service.
Platypod has become a great resource for being creative in getting your camera gear easily into unusual places. As an Platypod Pro I get to work/play with the gear even before it comes out. Head over to Platypod, subscribe to the newsletter and you will get special discounts reserved only for subscribers.
A painterly image by yours truely
What are you waiting for? Here’s a link to the PPA Affiliate list.
