by successfulbob | black & white, commercial photography, photography, photography education
UNCOMFORTABLE!
That’s how most people describe their foray in being in front of a camera. I believe that three quarters or more of my job is to get people to open up their real personality… And the only way to do that is to coach people through the experience and have them feel good.
I can do that. I know, because when I was working on a nude art calendar to raise money for the Sedona Arts Center people were SO comfortable that halfway through many sessions I would have to remind them to cover up while we were reviewing images.
Alberto Salas wanted a quick solid business portrait for use by the marketing team for Wells Fargo. He came with very specific instructions on the file format and cropping. But within that I think I caught the sparkle in his eye and by taking a slightly higher camera angle made him look friendly and approachable. The person in the photograph is looking up at the viewer making the viewer be above in a more powerful position. Think about camera angles when trying to sell what your subject wants to say. If you want to portray more powerful, strong personality take a lower angle so the person in the photo is looking slightly down at the viewer. Remember it doesn’t take much…
Alberto walked in the door, I set up the lighting, got him comfortable with conversation, created his portrait, retouched the image and burned the files to disk. And, he was done in about one half hour.
I choose a modified split lighting pattern. Note the shadow side of Alberto’s face. Shadow creates form and depth and what is usually missing from a non-professional executive portrait.
I highly recommend that you do the black and white conversion so someone is not tempted to push the grey-scale button that causes the loss of contrast in the image.
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education
MOVING STATUARY.
That’s what I call it. The closing party at Imaging USA was graced with models that held different poses while on lit podiums. It was an interesting exercise to try and capture images with the low ambient light and the glowing stands. I was surprised how well the Lumix GX7 performed in these conditions. I cranked up the ISO to 3200 and added a little bit of light with a small LED flashlight for some of these.
Captured as a vertical panorama in very contrasty low light conditions. There was one spot where the model moved during the capture but I was able to fix where the stitching went wrong. No fault of the camera. I was surprised it was able to do as well as it did!
ISO 3200 hand held almost dark room… Black and white preset on camera
ISO 3200 hand held almost dark room… Black and white preset on camera
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education, success education
VISION.
Simple word.
Complex thought.
And something I think Peter Adams was talking about in this morning’s photo/art quote. Many photographers chase the holy grail of getting the bestest, newest and greatest camera thinking it will help them make a better image. While I agree having more and better tools at one’s disposal is not a bad thing but if you don’t see and understand the light the way the camera does you won’t be making memorable photographs.
“Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gizmos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a great picture anymore than a typewriter wrote a great novel.” Peter Adams
So what’s a great way to become a better image maker? Learn the language of light. How many lighting terms do you know? How many words do you have to describe shadows? Light direction? Reflection? Direction? Ratio? Color consistency? Hue and saturation?
I’m going to give you a link to a single page of photography lighting terms. Spend some time there. I promise if you review and learn a bunch of these terms and definitions you will give your brain a new way of thinking and expressing light. When you have a larger vocabulary you will be able to see light in a new light… And that will make huge difference. http://www.lowel.com/edu/glossary/
Yours in photography, Bob
PS – After you get finished with that page poke around on your own. Learn color theory from the side of painters and spend time in museums viewing classic art from the masters.
by successfulbob | photography, photoshop tutorial
This Photoshop tutorial will help you sharpen your images for different output.
An image being reproduced on Inkjet paper or being printed by your photo lab requires different amounts of sharpening for optimal quality for magazine or newspaper printing.
Different subject matter or even different printing mediums need different amounts of sharpening also. Here’s a way for you to harness the power of Photoshop’s Actions Palette to create a Suite of sharpening actions for many materials and uses.
Photoshop Tutorial for sharpening images for different output or medium.
by successfulbob | fine art photography, fine art portrait, landscape photography, musician photography, photography, photography education
Chills! They wandered up and down my spine when I saw this video.
This presentation is based on images from the Professional Photographers of America Loan and General collections from the International Print Competition 2013. Awards were presented at the convention held in Phoenix this past week. I proud to have several images included…
When you watch this video crank up the music and make sure you go full screen for the most impact!
In this competition I entered two print cases of four images each. In total I received three general collection merits and four Loan Collection images. I’m proud to be in PPA and a member since 1998 to continue to pursue exellence in imaging so my clients get the very best I can offer. As far as I am concerned when you stop learning your imaging skills start to deteriorate.
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education, success education
I hear the word passion spoken by many photographers in reference to why they are in photography. “I have a passion for capturing images of your family!!” “I’m passionate about making beautiful images…” What many really mean is they enjoy making images and they really LIKE doing what they do. Nothing wrong with that for sure.
I would like to ask you to think long and hard about this quote from Roy Williams.
“Passion does not produce commitment. Commitment produces passion.”
Are you committed to making the absolute best images possible for your clients? By that i mean are you practicing your skills daily? Studying to find ways to add more depth, dimension and emotion in your photographs?? I don;t mean practicing when you are paid assignments. Tiger Woods doesn’t win golf tournaments because he goes out from Thursday through Sunday. It’s because of his commitment to practice, practice, practice and to hire coaches to help him understand what he needs to work on to get better and stay on top of his game. Do you know your gear inside and out? is the camera second nature in your hand? Or, are you fiddling and looking for settings when your mlnd should be on creativity not tech stuff?? Do you have all the tools you need? Do you know how to use them?
So, I ask one more time are you ‘passionate’? Or are you committed? There’s quite a big difference!
