by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education
WHAT IS THAT?
“Common objects become strangely uncommon when removed from their
context and ordinary ways of being seen.” Wayne Thiebaud
I know there have been times when I wasn’t quite sure what the subject was of an image… But, I liked it!
Then finding out what was actually in the image I became even more impressed.
Think Body-Scapes, (*Please if you are offended by nudity please do not follow the Bodyscapes link)
Think Howard Schatz
Think Jerry Uelsmann
Think Edward Weston and the pepper among other iconic images
Think Abstract Photography.
When was the last time you pushed the limits of what you were trying to capture? Sometimes less is more when trying to tell your story. Spend some time poking around some of the links I shared here. Find more of your own and share them back here.
THEN THINK. JUST THINK….
by successfulbob | graphic design, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education
Thundering hooves passing by as the riders chase a small white ball with long sticks…
My first live polo match enhanced by the tailgating party before-hand. Holly and I were on our way to the airport and our friends *Skip & Sheila Cohen hooked us up with this experience at the Polo Club in Lakewood, Florida.
*Skip is founder of Skip Cohen University – definitely worth a look if you have interest in marketing your photography business!
But, I digress… I ended up shooting the match with the 100-300mm f3.5 to 5.6 lens on the Lumix GX7. There was plenty of light so there was enough shutter speed to handhold with an ISO of 800. I always enjoy photographing new subject matter whether I have a specific reason or not… Then I’ll sometimes do a self assignment to see if there is a way to sell the images.
The possibility here is for art images to sell to polo players or as decor. But, I wanted to be even more specific. I saw they had produced a really high end magazine supporting the matches with lots of graphic artwork. So how about a couple cover possibilities??
What can you do to push your skills? What’s your latest personal project that you did for the heck of it? And then turned into money? I working on that part now. I’ve already contacted the Sarasota Polo Magazine to see what I can work out with them…
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 | 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.
