by successfulbob | fine art photography, photography, photography - art quote, photography education
We move back in time this Sunday morning to what I believe was one of the most brilliant minds in history. An artist who pioneered many things and when I need some inspiration to be creative I read some of his work. Leonardo DaVinci wrote extensively and one of his subject was art. He really took things apart visually and today’s art quote gives us something to think about when shooting and doing post production.
“The color of the object illuminated partakes of the color of that which illuminates it.” Leonardo DaVinci
In spite of the stilted language the information is important to consider while we shoot. What color are the surroundings of our subject? If photographing in an area of lawn or surrounded by trees the prevailing color is green. The sun lights the green and according to Leo’s observation the reflection of the green is what lights our subject. I don’t now about you but every time I see a green subject, unless it was Kermit the Frog, it’s a problem because our subject looks to be ill. “But, I love the background and the park!” I know, I know the location is wonderful. So what should be done for pleasing skin tones? We can overpower the light that is reflected from the green by adding flash on our subject. Clean light equals clean skin tones and because we direct the light with modifiers we still get the nice green color of the grass and trees – And save a lot of time and effort in post production from trying to clean up those skin tones.
Speaking of post production, I am doing a lot of art based images and Mr DaVinci’s writing has alerted me to being careful to render scenes being aware of the reflected colors to add realism to the art pieces. Check some of the work I did with images from France…
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 | fine art photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Providing these quotes to you every Sunday is actually becoming a gift to myself. As I search for quotes that I feel would be of interest I run across many more that give me food for thought. Even more thinking through my reactions and sharing the ideas with you makes me give pause and understand my own thinking on this process of creating art from photography.
I thank you. And, without further ado here’s this Sunday’s art quote.
“Creativity takes courage.” Henri Matisse
Three short words. Maximum impact from Matisse.
I can’t tell you how many times I have walked away from a piece of art because I ‘THOUGHT’ it may not be received well and I might get ridiculed or told that something isn’t the norm. Most of the fear is generated from within and has absolutely no basis in fact. It is important to override the self-doubt of the inner voice that holds you back. And after you have broken through the inner doubt be ready to counter any beginning negativity you ‘MAY’ hear from other. Think about the ridicule and grief the Impressionist Painters were subject to when they first began to unveil this new way of showing the world to itself. Now there entire museums around the world dedicated to the display of this art.
“Why talk about this Bob?” you might ask. “I’m a photographer not a painter.” I say, if we take this career seriously and are beyond just pushing the camera button on P or A or S and taking what our camera gives us we are creating images of artistic intent. What subject and how do they pose or are they framed in the viewfinder. What lens, angle of view. Light and shadow – take what’s there or craft it by adding or subtracting? this doesn’t even begin to think about how the set is staged. What extras do you add or take away? How about post processing? Some? A little? A lot? Adding multiple images?
I ran into a budding photographer on the trail the other day and he said he didn’t want to “cheat” by adding filters or making multiple exposures to record the scene or do extra work in post. Reminds me of myself when I first started. I said the exact same thing until I learned that the camera does not see as the eye does and in order to show the scene as the eye sees it there must be adjustments made. And for sure the camera doesn’t see the way my mind sees. All the additions and adjustments, multiple exposures and post production bring forth what my minds eye sees. And, less and less do I worry about what others may think. I may have finally found the courage that Matisse has spoken of….
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 | fine art portrait, photography, photography education
One of my fine art photography clients came to me with a photo of a recently deceased restaurant owner from his favorite restaurant in Prescott, Arizona. He wants to create a gift of a framed art portrait printed on canvas to hang in a place of honor to remind patrons of the vibrant, fun host he was.
Here’s the challenge. The photo was a snapshot taken with on camera flash with a busy background. Take this image and turn it into a 40 inch canvas. Challenge accepted! I used my ‘Photo-Synthesis’ technique to create this art piece. First I isolated the subject from the background using various selection tools and placed him on his own layer. Then using the stamp tool I moved the catch lights in his eyes to set the direction of light. Painted some shadows using the soft light layer mode using a soft black brush to add some shadows to his face to add some depth and dimension. Because it’s an Italian restaurant I selected several textures captured from walls in Europe and blended them together using Adobe Photoshop in various blend modes. Added some painting techniques I’ve been studying and toned the image to a warm reddish golden color. The art portrait has not been through final tweaks and possible color changes that my art patron can ask for if he desires, but I thought it was far enough along for me to share with you.
Here’s the before and after… You decide. Success??
Art Portrait created by Bob Coates Photography from snapshot.
To see more art images from Bob Coates Photography check out this web site. If you would like to talk about a me coming to speak to your photography group about these techniqes or other photography education programs give me a shout. If you have enough members my expenses may be picked up by Panasonic as I am a Lumix Luminary.
