by successfulbob | black & white, fine art photography, photography, photography education
Experimenting.
Sarasota.
Sandpipers.
I call these overexposed images ‘sketches’. I enjoy the minimalist detail that comes forward yet still has a story to tell with my camera. I call this image ‘Three on Three’
Sandpipers scurrying on the beach in Sarasota, Florida with snowbirds coming in their direction.
Here it is pushed just a bit further taking away the color and adding a bit of contrast… I see something interesting happening here and I’ll explore this with a larger subject. Maybe with some washes of color…
When was the last time you pushed your camera to do something a little different? Overexposure, underexposure, movement during capture whether zooming or panning or twisting or… Well, you get the idea.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Henri Cartier-Bresson.
If you are a photographer the mere mention of the name brings at least one if not more images to mind. Well today I turn to Henri to help us think about photographic creativity, inspiration and art.
“Make visible what, without you might never have been seen.” Henri Cartier-Bresson
Many of these things only we can see which means only we can share. Sometimes it may be as simple as a snapshot capturing a fleeting moment. It’s important but is it art? Only time will tell which is which. I believe the answer will be art more times than not depending on how much we practice. How well we know our equipment. How we can pre-visualize the result of what we may be photographing because we know our craft so well.
Photography is so much more than just pushing a button. Although today the technology has gotten so good a mere push of a button will often give a result that is exposed OK and probably in focus. The difference lies in our ability to harness the camera by knowing what and how the camera sees verses what and how the eye sees.
This, I believe, is the difference between an artistic photographic image… and a picture.
Learn to see as the camera sees, Create art. Help people see.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
Henri Cartier-Bresson photo
by successfulbob | lighting, Lumix GH4, Lumix GX7, photography, photography education, photography lighting resources
We all use social media to promote our photography business. But, I ask how do you show up? Do your have a professional portrait that shows that you value professional photography? Or, have you posted a snapshot, or worse, a cellphone selfie?
I’ve made many self portraits with the camera mounted on a a tripod and triggering the camera with a remote or worse yet using the timer and running back to get the photo. It takes lots of effort. And, while it has a professional look I haven’t always ended up with the ideal expression.
I have an idea for you. Get together with a fellow professional photographer and take each others head shot. I guarantee you’ll have a good time, learn something new, (‘cuase we all lend to light a bit different) and end up with a portrait you’ll be proud to use for the next year…*
Here are some results from working with my friend Silvio of Silvio Portrait Design.
This was photographed using a wide open garage door as the light source. A black fill was used camera right to add some dimension. Captured with the Lumix GH4 and the 35-100mm Lumix Vario f 2.8 lens
Here’s a different look clothing and pose same lighting.
And here’s one that has a totally different lighting scheme. This was done with three Pro Photo B1 lights ** and a white reflector. The main light was camera left and encased with a 36 inch Octobox. The fill light was an umbrella bounced into the white ceiling of the 8 foot garage. A third light was used to add a background light. You can see when you craft the light you can get lots more depth to the photo.
* Notice I said next year, not the rest of your life. If there’s one thing that’s worse than a crappy selfie it would be one that is out of date…
** The Pro Photo B1 lights were pretty sweet to work with. Very powerful and versatile. They are battery powered heads meaning no cords to be tripping over and these were matched to the TTL of the canon camera that Silvio uses.
by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography education
Not sure if I’ve written about this quote before but I believe it needs exposure and a reminder never hurts on important stuff!
“The difference between a good photographer and a bad one? You never the the good photographers’ bad pictures.”
As photographers we have a tendency to not edit tight enough. Not get to the best of the very best and only show those images. Not using a critical eye enough. It is always easier to see problems in others images than our own because we are too close. I am guilty of this myself. I know what went into the making of the image and that info colors decisions. But, people viewing your image don’t have that information. Only the image you see. As an excellent photographer once told me an image needs to stand on it’s own. No back story. No information other than what is in front of the viewer at that moment.
A way to get around this problem is to get a ‘photo critique’ buddy. Someone who’s opinion you respect. and you can critique each others images for only showing the A+ winners. Maybe even run your photos past multiple people to see which images rise to the top from all viewers.
This brings me to one more problem. Insecurity. Happens to me all the time. I don’t always feel my images hold up to other that I see and I end up feeling I’m not a very good photographer. Let’s keep this between you and me shall we? We have to remember that we are making comparisons to other peoples finished and polished images. We don’t see their discards and to use a video term using our B-roll as a comparison.
Stand tall. Make the best images you can. And only show the best to help show others how good you really are.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – I’m heading to the editing room shortly to start getting getting rid of the image that don’t have the most impact on my web site. How about you?
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education, success education
Play
PLAY…
PLAY
pLaY!
pLaY!!! With your pHotOgraPHy…
“The more evolved and animal is, the more time it spends playing.” P.J. O’Rourke
What do you think I mean here?
It’s the advice I give to photographers (and myself) when it’s time to learn something new.
Pick a lens you haven’t used in a long time and use it all day.
Change the shutter speed to a level that you are sure is too low and see what happens.
During the exposure shake the camera. Spin it. Zoom it. Add a rear curtain sync flash to a longer exposure.
Pick one color you want to capture for a day.
Grab a macro lens and add some extension tubes to it. Mix and match some or all of the above.
In Photoshop push some buttons and examine some filters just to see what they will do. Slide a slider as far as it will go to see what it does when pushed to it’s limit. Change the blend modes and opacity. Add textures. Shuffle the layers repeat. Repeat again.
Here’s an example of play with a Salute to Georgia O’Keeffe
Continually ask the question, ‘What happens if I…???’
Become an evolved animal! ROAR…
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Let me know what you come up with…
