by successfulbob | fine art photography, fine art portrait, photography creativity, tuesday painterly photo art
Photo Art Tuesday – Thom Rouse – M.Photog, MEI, CR, CPP, F-ASP
Tuesday’s on Successful-Photographer, now dedicated to the art of converting images beyond that of a photograph and converting the image in a more Painterly/Artistic direction. We’ll be taking to look at the artist/photographers who are forging their way forward in creating a new art form with photography at its base.
Thom is one of my heroes!
I have been a fan of Thom’s work ever since seeing the first image in a PPA Loan Collection Book. Thom has a fresh and unique style that is unlike any other photo/art work I have seen. Every chance I get to see Thom share his thoughts through a program I’m right down there in the front row.
Interested in seeing or hearing more from Thom? Thom Rouse lectures and teaches regularly at PPA affiliates and schools. He also holds private small group workshops around the country. Email [email protected] or through his website: thomrouse.com
Here are a few of his works of art.
Gravity’s Consent
Lilith
Symbol Tree
Andromeda
I asked Thom to share some ideas about creating art. Here are some words that are as poignant as his images.
“Art has its own DNA. We don’t create art in a vacuum; we create art based on 40.000 years of human creativity that has preceded us. The same themes and visual concepts bounce around not only decades but centuries and millennia. The more visual experience we gather from viewing art, the better informed and inspired our creations will be. Inspiration provides the fuel for our creative engines. We need to steal the color palette of one artist, the composition of another, the subject and themes from others and transmute them and make them our own. We need to take inspiration from everyone and compare ourselves to no one. We need to both meet the expectations of our viewers and simultaneously subvert them. Art works best when it’s something that you know and something you don’t know.” – Thom Rouse
Rouse’s book ‘After the Camera’ is scheduled for release on June seventh on Amazon. I’ve already ordered my copy and can’t wait until I can immerse myself in his words and imagery.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – All images in this post are © Thom Rouse – All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, people photography, photography, photography education, photography lighting resources
Find Solid Lighting for Your Photography Portraits
To find a beautiful natural light for your portrait subjects I recommend looking for shadows. Shadows are the hallmark of depth and dimension in two-dimensional renditions of our subject.
First, look for porches or overhangs that will remove the overhead light. Ideally, you’ll have a bright surface like concrete or sand or bright building reflecting the overhead light into the shadowed area. This situation works well because the larger the light source, the softer the shadow edge transitions will be. There is a magical place just under the portico that will yield very flattering light patterns. One way to discover the right spot is to hold up and examine the back of your hand and examine the shadows as you move your hand through the scene. This method allows you to see how the shadow-edge transitions will play out. If you have beautiful smooth hands with no ridges and alternative is to bend the middle finger down and watch the shadow as it falls on your palm.
Fondly referred to as the reverse salute, the middle finger can show you how the shadows will look.
Once you have decided on the proper place for your subject, you then have the opportunity to set the lighting pattern by changing her angle to the light. By rotating your subject you have the ability to create the most flattering light whether that be broad light, split light or short light. Most times I will opt for short lighting as I feel that adds the most depth and interest to a portrait.
Note The light on camera right side is less wide than the shadow camera left
Note the light and shadow are just about even in this image
In this image, most of the mask of the face is lit with just a soft shadow camera left. Note the slight ‘kicker light’ on her face on the camera left side.
This particular space was a bonus in that it was more of a tunnel with an opening on the other side which added a subtle separation light which adds more dimension to the photograph.
I was photographing this session as part of a job for the Sedona Meditation Center, which is now under the guidance of Ichibuko Todd (my fabulous model!) who has relocated here from Hawaii.
Images captured with the Lumix GH4 with 35-100mm f2.8 Vario Lens. Settings ISO 200 1/400th sec. f3.5 47mm (94mm in 35mm)
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – If you want to have higher contrast with harder shadow edge transitions move your subject further away from the main light source.
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix GX8, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography, photographer of musicians, photography
Photography of Entertainers
I enjoy photographing musicians and entertainers. Whether it be a studio or location shoot for marketing or CD covers or live performances there are challenges to be met. In a studio or controlled environment creating the lighting that tells the story and eliciting emotion and expression is the challenge. During a live performance, lighting is what it is and the emotion is always there but the challenge becomes capturing the right moment when all the pieces come together.
Whether it be a studio or location shoot for marketing or CD covers or live performances there are challenges to be met. In a studio or controlled environment creating the lighting that tells the story and eliciting emotion and expression is the challenge. During a live performance, lighting is what it is and the emotion is always there but the challenge becomes capturing the right moment when all the pieces come together.
I love a challenge.
Here are some images from a location photo shoot for the Saith band (here’s lead singer Nathan’s web site). I was hired by Valerie Romanoff (Sedona/New York Musician) to capture here working with the band over in Jerome at the Spirit room. And here’s bass player Dom’s web-site.
In between sets we needed to make a band/group photo. The awning out front with everyone standing on the bench with a little fill flash was just the ticket.
Here’s one of my favorites of Valerie. It shows her in her element. Action and energy! The Lumix GX8 and the 7-14mm Lumix G Vario f4.0 lens was perfect for getting in all the action from a very close position.
Another fav… Shows the sparkle in her eyes and smile!
Images in this post were captured with the Lumix GH4 and 35-100mm Lumix Vario f2.8 lens (except for the ‘dancing guitar’ image) I’m still enjoying the smal, lightweight form factor of the Lumix line of pro camera gear. It allows me to be low key in live situations but still gives me the quality I need!
Just a reminder I am a Lumix Luminary and am sponsored by them for speaking to photography groups. That means I get to try out a lot of the new gear too!
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Need a speaker for your photo group or organization? Get in touch and let’s see what we can put together! Contact info is right at the top of the page. Here are some of the programs I teach.
by successfulbob | commercial photography, Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, people photography, photography
Business Marketing Staff Photos
Looking for a way to better serve your business clients?
Here’s a way to make that happen and become more valuable to your clients. Many businesses have staff members that change regularly either through attrition or expansion. Whatever the reason keeping the marketing materials up to date can be difficult if your clints need to assemble the entire staff for a group photo every time there is a change in personnel it isn’t going to happen. You can save your clients money by being creative and offering solutions that meet their needs. Saving money for your clients also means an opportunity to earn more money for you.
Original advertising photo for Sedona Integrative Medical Clinic
A staff change called for a new group but did not necessitate gathering all employees for a new group photo
Addition and expansion were shown again without unnecessarily disturbing the rest of the employees.
To make this work you need to keep notes on lens choice, distance from subject, aperture and lighting settings so there is a consistent look. Shadows and shadow edge transitions need to be consistent for this to look right when adding people to the scene. In this case, we choose a high key rendition because it was a health business. The high key white background has a clean clinical look that helps sell the business. If this was a more formal group, like a law office, I would have opted for a low-key or black background.
I photograph all subjects from both sides without changing lighting direction. This way when it comes time to build the composites I can place people on either side as things change.
With this system in place, the marketing materials can be kept up to date without disrupting the entire office. Each person is photographed individually. If someone leaves for a new job or, as in this case, new people are added to the staff during expansion images can keep up with the change. Being able to adapt the layout without involving the rest of the employees is key.
The individual photos can also be broken out as singular head shots for promotion and other placements in marketing for brochures and advertising collateral material.
These photos were created with the Lumix GH4 with Paul C Buff lighting. A 35″ foldable Octabox with a large silver reflector on the opposite side completes the look. A high key white background makes separation of the subjects for compositing easy. (here’s Photoshop tutorial technique that can help with extractions)
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, people photography, photography creativity, photography education, photography software
Wall of Fame in Sedona, Arizona – Sound Bites Grill
Putting in some new imagery at Sound Bites Grill in Sedona, Arizona.
And it’s me…
My image for the Wall of Fame
As you may or may not know I create art for Sound Bites Grill based on the live performances. Steve asked me to design some signage to introduce the Artist of the images (hey that’s me!) in the hall of the ‘Wall of Fame’. So I needed to come up with something similar to the art that is in the halls.
And as long as I was working on something a little different I thought I’d show you some of the inner workings from my thinking (that’s scary!) and how I utilize Adobe Photoshop to create the art using Textures in Layers with Masks and Blend Modes.
The Layers Palette tells a lot of the story but not all…
You get an idea of the workflow but a major part of the story is how the Layers are Blended using the Blend Modes. Almost all of these Layers are in a different Blend Mode with opacity changes and of course Layer Masks to further refine hoe the layers will interact. Hope this peek into the process will give you some ideas. If you have any questions give me a shout.
Most of the images were made with the Lumix GH4. (which is $200 off for a bit right now at $1300) The head shot was made easier in studio because of the free Panasonic APP I use on my phone & IPad which allows me to change settings and focus as well as trigger the shutter from subject position. In the past I would have had to pre-focus and hope I was in the right spot and if I moved I ended up out-of focus which used to drive me crazy!
It was fun putting this together… Let me know what you think!
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
