by successfulbob | commercial photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education
Robin Miller is getting ready to release a new CD with guitar music and he needed a new photo. This afternoon we went out and worked on getting some good captures. He’s a fantastic guitar player (among other instruments). He is extremely animated and not uncomfortable in front of the camera which made it easy to create a bunch of images that he really liked to choose from. Here’s an email from Robin after I sent his graphic designer a couple to work with in the design.
“Bob ; You totally Rock ! I love both of them but the bottom one I really love. Thank you so much for your awesome talent my friend. Talk to you soon.” Robin.
Here’s a couple from the shoot…
Robin MIller guitarist based in Sedona Arizona by Bob Coates Photography
Image for CD cover of Robin Miller. (Robin likes it!)
I used the Lumix GX7 for this capture. I’ve never been one for camera effects settings but with this camera I’m able to tweak the settings after selecting one of the presets. Here I used the Impressive Art setting and changed the White Balance to Black and White. It ends up being a really gritty high contrast black & white. I like the look and have tried to replicate it starting from a ‘straight’ image and not been able to replicate it.
Lovin this camera!
by successfulbob | commercial photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography education
Learning to see light the way the camera sees it is important to getting better images. Since I have been living with my new Lumix GX7 camera lately because of it’s small size and features I have discovered something that I have been told many times in the past by superb photographers I highly respect. You gotta make images! Lots of them!
Have you ever looked at a scene and thought, Wow, that’s gorgeous! only to be disappointed by the resulting image capture? Well that’s happened to me too… Not as much anymore because I am practicing on a regular basis and not on my paid clients. Every time I see a scene now that interests me at all i make an image then see how it stacks up to how I thought it was going to render.
Lounge area at Sound Bites Grill Sedona, Arizona
I was at dinner last night and saw these lights playing with the shadows. We have a very high contrast scene and just for jollies I wanted to see how it played out. The light along the top of the wall. Lighting of the art on the wall behind. The lamps. The reflections on the couches… You get the idea. I shot this as a jpeg so I didn’t have all the information available to me to do post adjustments but I still opened the photo in Adobe Camera Raw and was able to open up the shadows just a bit. I am surprised by the detail held in the highlight while still getting information in the shadows.
Tiger Woods doesn’t only come out to the golf course when he’s playing a tournament. As a matter of fact he will often head to the driving range or putting green after a round while still in the tournament to work on his game. So I guess my question to you is, “How much are you working on your game??”
Yours in photography, Bob
by successfulbob | commercial photography, fine art musician portrait, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education
Sound Bites Grill brought in the Steph Johnson Trio to entertain last week on Sunday night. Wow! It was wonderful. Steph has a really low smoky sounding voice and plays a silky smooth jazz guitar. Rob Thorsen was on upright bass and he was making beautiful sounds that I had never heard a bass make before. On drums Fernando Gomez showed skills mastered because he started drumming before the age of ten. All in all lots of good sounds. The Steph Johnson Trio will be right at home on the ‘Sound Bites Grill Wall of Fame’. I created a single image of Steph and one for the Trio. I used the *Lumix GX7. I’ve found this camera to have a great dynamic range which is extremely helpful in capturing the variety of mixed color stage lighting.
Steph Johnson live on stage at Sound Bites Grill.
See below for some ideas on the techniques used to create this look.
The technique I am using is one I call ‘Photo-Synthesis’. It starts with a base image, or in this case multiple images of the band members. They are all cut out, even if they are going to stay in the same position and placed on their own layer. After the musicians have been put together into the composition texture layers are added by placing images of metal, rock, walls or grasses or – you get the idea – almost anything will give a different look and feel as the various blend modes of each layer are adjusted. The blend modes allow the layers to interact with the layers below in different mathematical ways. The old ‘if this, then that will happen’. Shuffling layers, changing blend modes, and adding masks tweak the look. Where the individuals were placed on their own layers makes it possible to add drop shadows and lighting effects to enhance the depth selectively.
The Steph Johnson Trio at Sound Bites Grill in Sedona, Arizona by Bob Coates Photogrpahy
One last tip is adding the autograph messages from the band. Because it would be difficult to track down the individuals after the photographic art work is completed I have the musicians sign a blank white piece of paper with a black Sharpie marker just as if they were signing their autograph. This is scanned and brought into the final composition as a layer. The image is inverted turning black to white. Blend mode is set to screen and the signature magically blends into the image with no muss no fuss.
If you would like to learn more about how I work with Adobe Photoshop in creating this type of imagery I am available for personal coaching or if you have a photo group I can present a program. As a *Panasonic Lumix Luminary I could be sponsored for your event. Give me a shout to get details.
by successfulbob | architectural photography, commercial photography, photography
It’s always good to have a second set of eyes checking over your work… My friend Ron Jackson who does a lot of real estate photography saw my Creekside Inn image and made a couple suggestions to give it a little more pop. And he was right. Cleaned and brightened the trim. Changed the color balance a little bit and a few minor changes led to this…
The changes are small but add a bit more pop to the image. See the original here.
Check out the previous image and let me know what you think. I love this industry where other photographers have your back and are willing to take time to give their feedback on work you’ve done. Did I take all the suggestions? Nope, but I certainly appreciated all of them.
by successfulbob | commercial photography, Lumix GH3, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education
Every business needs an image that steps out beyond the norm and grabs attention. These are often referred to as the ‘HERO’ shots. The idea is to create something that grabs attention because it goes above and beyond the norm either in composition or lighting or a blend of the two.
Creekside Inn Sedona, Arizona beauty image. (a great place to stay by the way…)
In order to accomplish this look for people who are trying to promote their properties I make a time based image. What do I mean by that? I create a series of images over a period of time from just before sunset until after the sun has sunk below the horizon. This allows me to show the best features of a property by blending them together. Photos taken before the sun goes down allow me to show detail in the building. Images taken after the sun starts to go down allow the sky to record as the cobalt blue and images made after the sun has disappeared show off the lighting and allow the warm glow to come from the windows.
In this particular image I needed a high angle to show off the deck so the camera was placed on top of a light stand about 12 feet off the ground and wasn’t the most stable platform to shoot from. Because of that I didn’t want to touch the camera to get exposures so I used two features on the Lumix GH3 * that helped immensely. The first was a 7 stop bracket setting to grab a number of exposures from each time I fired the camera. The other was the on-board WIFI in the camera that allowed me to control the camera using my I-pad. The 7-14mm f4 lens really kept the lines straight on the verticals. To say I’m happy with the micro 4/3rds cameras would be an understatement!
After the images are captured then it’s off to the computer to assemble the finished piece.
Here’s a reminder that I am available for one on one or group Adobe Photoshop classes to help you get the ‘HERO’ images for your clients. As I am also a Panasonic Lumix Luminary you can contact me to see if I can be brought in to speak before your photography group paid for by Panasonic. Drop me an email with your contact information and request or give me a call to start the process.
* Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3K 16.05 MP Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera with 3-Inch OLED – Body Only (Black)
by successfulbob | commercial photography, photography
Having a professional image to use to promote yourself throughout the community is important. We tend to dislike having a portrait made because of several reasons. Number one may be because you’ve never had a professional portrait made. What’s the difference between getting a picture taken and having a portrait crafted? Plenty!
I’m a fan of the square crop but zoomed in to have more impact because these images are usually displayed small.
When people look at photos taken of themselves usually it was taken when they weren’t ready, were in poor light and due to past viewings of photos they always say, “I don’t look good in pictures!”. So tension rises leading to an even more uncomfortable looking photo. Add to that idea we see ourselves in the mirror which means seeing our face reversed from the photo so this compounds the problem of our self image. Lets add one more thing… We tend to freeze our self image in our brains to a time when we looked younger and supposedly better.
Many things go into deciding how the shoot should be accomplished. What is the message the person is trying to share? Powerful, friendly, approachable, knowledgeable or some combination of all attributes? Who is the audience for the photo? In what media will this be used? Knowing this information will determine the position the camera, wardrobe selection, lens choice, background choice and ultimately the success of the session. Remember that shooting into the shadow side of a person’s face adds depth and interest even if it is a subtle lighted area. This was a formal head shot of Walt who is in business development and a global IT services company with a focus on Energy and Utility companies. Let me know if you think we got it right….
Official formal business portrait. note the highlights on the short lit side of Walt’s face.
Square crop for social media site like LinkedIn and Facebook.
