Craft & Vision - A Free Book (Dec, 2011)
Craft & Vision - A Free Book (Dec, 2011)
Craft & Vision - A Free Book (Dec, 2011)
A eBook from
FREE
Contents
MAKE YOUR IMAGES MORE DYNAMIC TAME YOUR DIGITAL EXPOSURES THE POWER OF THE PRINT LEARN TO DIRECT THE EYE UNDERSTAND THE STAGES CREATE PROJECTS AND COLLABORATE REFINE YOUR COMPOSITION THE POWER OF THE MOMENT FORGET LENS STEREOTYPES SLOW DOWN AND LEARN TO SEE MAKE STRONGER PORTRAITS 4 10 16 20 26 31 36 41 47 54 61
Introduction
Ive been a photographer for over 25 years now. Both my craft and my photographic vision are much different now than they were when I first started. I like to think theyve evolved and improved in their ability to express what I hope for. Certainly, to a large extent, that evolution and growth came with the passing of time. Give anyone a quarter century doing one thing and they are bound, it is hoped, to get better. But I dont think I needed 25 years. I think with more focused teaching and study I could have learned my lessons faster, arrived at this place sooner. I dont at all mean that Ive arrived at some magical photographic destination called mastery. In fact, I dont believe such a destination exists. But on this journey I think I might have avoided some of the potholes, diversions, and ruts, had I learned some lessons sooner than others. So, these friends of mine dug in and, without any further suggestions, turned in some topics close to their heart. Eli Reinholdtsen wrote about the power of moments. Nicole S. Young wrote about more intentional compositions. Andrew S. Gibson wrote about personal projects and collaboration while Alexandre Buisse disIn this free eBook Ive asked the authors at Craft & Vision, our weird little publishing house, to contribute an article about something they wish theyd learned sooner, a way in which others could improve their photography. I also asked them to give me something that didnt include going out and buying new gear. Our first eBook was titled TEN: 10 Ways to Improve Your Craft cussed sharing our work as a means to growth. Piet Van den Eynde, in his usual style, gave me two articlesone about giving your images a greater sense of energy, the other about seeing beyond the usual stereotypes about lenses. Landscape photographer Michael Frye talks about learning to direct the eyes of the readers of our photographs. Stuart Sipahigil wrote about If this book makes you hungry for more, were dedicated to teaching photography without the smokescreens and the distractions. At the end of this book there is an ad for the Craft & Vision store, where all our eBooks are just $5, though we pride ourselves on creating resources that are worth much more. There is also an ad for the Craft &Vision Community, a chance to access not only one new eBook a month, Without Buying Gear. The whole ethos of Craft & Visions efforts has been, from the beginning, to focus on those things that can truly improve your photography, and more (or more expensive) gear seldom truly does that. Better that we become more curious, more observant practitioners of our craftphotographers who understand the basics, recognize the power of the moment, and know how to work with lines and tension, tones and colour, to communicate. A new lens is often the last thing we need. If you enjoy this book, copy it and send it out into the world. Give it to friends. Give your colleagues a break: stop sending those emails about your cat and send this instead. Tweet about it. Blog about it. Or just read it, pick up your camera, and go make something beautiful. Never mind the new gear. Just go make some photographs that make you happy. David duChemin Ottawa, Canada November, 2011 slowing down and learning to see. An upcoming C&V author, Martin Bailey, sheds some light on printing. And Ive chimed in with an article about taming digital exposures and creating stronger portraits. Together weve tried to create something that is, and will always be, free. A gift back to the amateur photography community we love and from which we ourselves come. Peace, but to access exclusive content through the C&V blog and monthly C&V podcast. Wed love to be of service to you, in some way, as you pursue your vision and work on your craft, but if the only way we do that is through this free eBook, were glad to have been a part of the journey you take with your camera.
It happens to all of us: youre at a great place with a great ambience, you make a picture of it and when you look at your LCD or the print later on, the image has nowhere near the impact the actual scene had. Thats because three things are happening: first of all, our brain tends to focus on only the beautiful parts of what we see. It sees the beautiful landscape, andas if our mind had a built-in Photoshop Clone Stamp or Content-Aware Filldisregards the power lines at the top of the frame and the rubbish piled up at the bottom.
Another reason for the less-than-ideal transition from reality to image is that making a photograph (I prefer the term make a photograph to take a photograph because it better reflects the creative process of photography) means going from three dimensions (width, height, and depth) to two, eliminating depth.
Therefore, a big part of creating compelling photographs is trying to translate or even exaggerate that feeling of depth into your final, two-dimensional image. Wideangle lenses can be a great tool for this, as I discuss elsewhere in this eBook.
agonals in your images, framing with the rule of thirds in mind, using shallow depth of field to isolate foreground from background, etc. In this article, however, Id like to focus on translating the dynamics of time and movement into your images.
But theres a third reason, and another important dynamic in photography: when youre making a photograph, youre actually not only cutting out the third dimension, but also the fourth: a photograph is not only a spatial crop (a frame from a bigger scene), but also crop in time.
The best way to translate a feeling of time (or timelessness), and therefore dynamism, into a picture is to work with your shutter speed.
Rocks near a waterfall, photographed at the fastest shutter speed of the camera (and resulting settings for ISO and aperture to get a good exposure). f/2.8 | 1/4000s | ISO 3200
The same rocks, photographed with a slow shutter speed of three seconds. Camera set to smallest aperture and lowest ISO. Variable neutral density filter added to further slow down the shutter speed. f/22 | 3 seconds | ISO 200
Using slow shutter speeds to convey motion can be a good thing, if theres at least one part in the image thats stable, like the rocks (stable) in the water (flowing) we discussed before. However, when everything is moving, your picture very easily becomes an abstract. Great if thats what youre after, but not if you want the scene to be recognizable. In this picture, which I discuss in greater detail in my eBook Making Light II, I wanted to convey the frenzy of the rickshaw ride, which called for a longer ex-
Astrophotography? No, just traffic in Singapore. Nikon D90 | f/22 @ 1/3s | 19mm | ISO 100
posure. Still, I wanted an anchor point in the image that would be relatively sharp, so I used my flash to freeze the driver (and also lighten up the interior of the rickshaw).
Using a relatively slow shutter speed allowed me to capture the frenzy of this rickshaw ride. A flash froze the driver and added fill light to the dark cabin. NIKON D90 | f/10 @ 1/3s | 10mm | ISO 200 | Flash
Piet Van den Eynde is a Belgian freelance photographer. He also writes books, magazine articles, and gives training about digital photography and post-processing with Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. In 2009, he threw his camera, a flash, and an umbrella in his bicycle panniers and cycled 5,000 miles through Turkey, Iran, India, and Indonesia for a photography project called PortraitsOfAsia. Learn more about Piet on his website, http://morethanwords.be/blog/en
Casting the iron while its hot: it applies to photographic opportunity as much as it does to this blacksmith. NIKON D700 | f/4.5 @ 1/80s | 21mm | ISO 200 | Flash
DAVID DUCHEMIN
DAVID DUCHEMIN
One of the first things you learn when you pick up a film camera is how to properly expose the negative. Blow the exposure with film and youve not got much recourse. The same is true of digital exposures. There is only so much room for error.
While a great photograph is so much more than getting the exposure right, theres much to be said for understanding at least the very basics of your craft. The more skill and understanding you have, the easier it is to use that skill to get the results you want, and make the photograph look the way you want it to.
So lets look at the basics. First, there are two fundamentally different ways to approach your digital exposures. You can shoot in JPG, do very little to your photographs in the digital darkroom (Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, or Apple Aperture, for example) and move on. Or you can make the digital darkroom a much more important part of your process. Most photographers I know prefer to work in Adobe Lightroom to make up for some of the shortfalls of digital capture and bring their photograph into closer alignment with their vision. Either approach is fine but its good to know which path youre going to take so your in-camera approach gives you the best possible digital negative. Im going to assume you are going to do a little work in the digital darkroom, but if not, you can still use this article to get great exposures.
It helps to know what your camera is doing when it meters. It also helps to know what it means to create the best possible digital negative. So lets look at both.
DAVID DUCHEMIN
This is the histogram from Adobe Lightroom, but the one on your LCD will look similar. The histogram below represents a scene captured with no blown highlightsnotice the mountains and valleys dont go off the right side of the chart, which means there is no lost detail in the highlightsand the data doesnt go off the left side, which means no lost details in the shadows.
DAVID DUCHEMIN
Heres how I approach exposure. First, I shoot on AV mode or manual almost 100% of the time. I leave my metering on whatever your cameras equivalent of centre-weighted average is. Then I take the shot. Click. (1) Now I look at the histogram. Way too dark. See those peaks and valleys? Theyre all on the left half of the histogram, with very little information in the right half, never mind the rightmost quarter, which is where the most amount of
Before you look at the images/histograms: I did this in Lightroom as a simulation only and its meant to be just an illustration. Pretend youre looking at the histogram on your cameras LCD screen.
digital information is stored. So I want more information, which means more light.
DAVID DUCHEMIN
DAVID DUCHEMIN
David duChemin is a nomad, a world and humanitarian photographer, the accidental founder of Craft & Vision, and the author of Within The Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography, and Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Davids latest book, Photographically Speaking, was published October, 2011. Davids work and blog can be seen at http://www.PixelatedImage.com
MARTIN BAILEY
MARTIN BAILEY
Digital photography has given us so much. We can now totally control the photographic process from capture to output, in a multitude of formats, in the comfort of our own homes and without smelly chemicals.
Photography is booming because of the ease in which a good photograph can now be made and viewed, but with this, many of us have become lazy when it comes to actually creating physical prints of our images. To compound the problem, in the first five years or so of mainstream digital photography, although we had good inkjet printers that could print photographs, getting really good quality prints was difficult and left many photographers frustrated with the process and unhappy with the results. The digital age has liberated the photographer. Not only can we now change ISO for each image, without having to finish up a roll of film first, we can view the images as we make them, and correct mistakes right there in the field. In post-processing, we can change the look of each The sad thing is that this nasty aftertaste from early experiences is robbing photographers worldwide of a pleasure that we took for granted just a decade ago. In fact, although we made prints, a decade ago, our options were so much more limited than they are now. Wed select a type of film for a certain look, then wed select a finish for our images, usually either gloss or lustre, and wed have them all printed at a size just about big enough to see what wed shot, and wed then maybe get a few enlargements of the best photos every once in a while. Even for those fortunate enough to If you dont yet own a printer and arent yet sure that home printing is for you, consider picking up an A4 or US Letter size printer, as these are now very cheap, and recent models provide excellent quality. Just make sure you individual image, and our options for papers or other substrates to print to are now almost endless. Of course, when working on a project, youll often select one or two types of paper, and aim for a consistent look across your body of work, but theres a myriad of possibilities. have printed their own images in a darkroom, there were still only a relatively limited number of papers and chemical processes readily available, and once people bought into a process, theyd often stick with it for some time.
MARTIN BAILEY
select something that has individual colour cartridges, not multiple colours in one or two cartridges, as some colours will run out before others, causing waste if you had to throw out the entire cartridge. Also, look for a printer with at least six colours in the cheaper end of the market, or eight or more if you decide to go for a 13 x 19 (A3 Plus/Super B) printer. Resist the temptation to buy an older used printer if you are on a tight budget. Youll get better results with much less stress using something as cheap as a new $100 A4 printer. You might also find that some of your images are too dark out of the camera. To overcome One of the main sources of frustration for photographers printing their own work is dark prints. The source of the problem though is not dark prints, its overly bright monitors. Factory settings for computer displays have them set too bright for most photographers working environment. In general, this gives the photographer a false impression of what their images really look like and so we expect the prints to be brighter. this, youll need to rely on the histogram, either when shooting new images or preparing old images for print. Unless you intentionally shot a low-key or dark image, you should not see much of a gap between the data on the right side of your histogram data and the right shoulder of the histogram box, like in this histogram. and use the ambient light checks to adjust your brightness during the process. If you dont already have a calibration tool, try turning your display down to around one third of its full brightness. As a reference point, I have my external monitor turned down to 12% Brightness! This can be a shock to the system at first. Your images will look dark, and it will feel horrible, but I assure you, once youve worked like this for a few days you will get used to it.
To set your display brightness accurately, youd need to ensure that your display is calibrated
MARTIN BAILEY
Martin Bailey is a Tokyo-based art and assignment photographer who is passionate about creating photography that invokes emotions, and helping others to do the same. He runs photography workshops and releases a weekly photography podcast, along with a photography-centric blog and forum. Learn more about Martin on his website, http://www.martinbaileyphotography.com
It might all sound like a lot of hard work, but once youve got a few basics under your belt, it really isnt. Printing can be frustration free most of the time, and very fulfilling. If you had a bad experience printing more than a Its important to note though that this is just a quick way to get close results and not your ideal workflow. The goal is to shoot images that are brighter (if they were too dark) and to do all of your editing on a darker monitor. Then your prints will look great from the start and youre actually seeing a more accurate view of what your images really look like. Resist the temptation to increase the brightness of your monitor again when youre not printing. few years ago, I implore you to give it another try. Theres never been a more exciting time for photographers to create images, and to create beautiful, tactile prints from them to display and enjoy. I show my work a lot, and receive praise in many forms, but the highest praise Ive received was when people stand in front of a physical print, and actually shed a tear. I would love for you to experience this too, through the power of the print. Check out Martins Craft & Vision titles at http://craftandvision.com/authors/martin-bailey/ (The Passionate Printer available January 2012.)
Although this will give you better results straight away, to ensure that your colours are accurate, you also need to remove your printer manufacturers interpretation
MICHAEL FRYE
MICHAEL FRYE
When someone looks at one of your photographs, what do they see? Where do they look first, second, and third? How do their eyes move through the frame? To communicate effectively through your photographs, you have to direct your viewers attention. You cant just hope that theyll notice your subjectyou have to make them look at it. How do you that? With light, design, and processing.
LIGHT
Light can make your subject stand out, and draw viewers attention right to itor pull their eyes away to something completely different. Look at this image of Half Dome (A) and notice what areas attract your attention. Where does your eye go first? Second? Third? If youre like most people, you probably looked first at the sunburst, and next at either the yellow trees or the cloud wrapped around Half Dome. Why? Because these are the brightest and most colourful areas in the photograph.
Our attention is naturally drawn to bright spots and warm colours. In this image, I want people to look at the sunburst, the yellow trees, and Half Dome; to me these are the most interesting parts of the photograph. So the light complemented this scene perfectly. But it doesnt always work this way.
MICHAEL FRYE
C
LIGHT continued
In the first image of Bridalveil Fall (B), most of the waterfall is in the shade, so your eye gets pulled to less interesting, but brighter, areas in the upper-right and lower-right corners of the frame. Theres competition between the subjectthe waterfalland the light.
In the second photograph (C), a sunbeam spot-lit the waterfall, drawing attention to the two main subjects, the water and the rainbow, because theyre the brightest and most colourful things in the frame. To me this image is far more successful.
D
If your main subject is dark, with bright areas next to it, or behind it, youll create a visual competition between your subject and those adjacent highlights. Ideally you want the main points of interest to be the brightest things in the frame, so that viewers eyes go there immediately.
Of course there are always exceptions. If a dark subject contrasts with brighter surroundings, our attention goes right to it, as it goes to this Joshua tree silhouetted against the sky (D). So a dark subject can workif it stands out clearly against a brighter background. While our eyes usually get drawn to bright spots, they always get pulled toward contrast.
MICHAEL FRYE
DESIGN
You can also direct viewers eyes with lines and shapes. In this autumn photograph of El Capitan (E), the light does a lot of the work: the two main focal points, the cliff and the foreground leaves, stand out because theyre the brightest and most colourful things in the frame. But your attention is also directed to El Capitan because nearly every prominent line in the photograph points right to it (F). Even though El Capitan occupies only a small part of the frame, you cant miss it.
The next example (G) is more subtle, but shows the power of circular design. Again, light plays a role: the dark silhouette of the small bush stands out against the lighter water behind it, while your attention also gets pulled toward the brighter patches of water, particularly along the left and top sides.
Those bright reflections in the river form a semicircle, and in the lower-right corner theres another, less-obvious semi-circular shape that draws your eye back, and completes the circle (H). This circular design keeps your gaze from wandering out of the frame, and brings your attention back to the central bush.
The subjects in this photograph are mundane: a shrub and some water. But the light and lines make the image interesting. The more you think about the underlying design of your photographs, and how lines and shapes direct the eye, the better your compositions will be.
MICHAEL FRYE
I used Lightrooms Adjustment Brush to darken the left edge and upper-left corner, and lighten the area around the waterfall. The illustration (J) shows the areas I changed, and the exposure settings I used with the Adjustment Brush (negative amounts for darkening, positive numbers for lightening).
Almost every photograph can benefit from dodging and burning. After youve adjusted the overall colour balance, contrast, and saturation, look at the brighter parts of the image. Are any of these spots distractingdo they pull the eye away from more interesting things? If so, darken them to help draw attention elsewhere. Then look at the darker regions.
Of course you can make similar adjustments with the Dodge and Burn tools in Photo-
Are any of these areas important focal points that need to draw the eye more? If so, lighten them.
MICHAEL FRYE
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is a contributor to numerous magazines on the art and technique of photography, and is the author of The Photographers Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. Learn more about Michael on his website, http://www.michaelfrye.com
ALEXANDRE BUISSE
ALEXANDRE BUISSE
From the first moment you picked up a camera, you have been on an image making journey. There are lots of different stages, lots of different directions, and not really any final destination. There are milestones and pitfalls, and you undoubtedly have encountered plenty of both already.
There are goals, of course, both concrete and more abstract. Yours might be to one day make a living from your images, to be the main shooter at a wedding, to see your name in the credit line of magazine, or to have a solo exhibition. Or maybe it is simply to create images of your kids that you would be proud to frame over the mantel or to be able to call yourself a photographer without feeling like you are being dishonest. In this journey, I would like to argue that there are six distinct stages. This is of course a somewhat arbitrary classification, and I As soon as you reach one of those goals, however, you realize that they are not the real reason you take pictures. It is the same with my climbing: as sweet as any summit may be, it is meaningless in itself. What really matters is the journey, the climb itself. And as soon as a particularly desired summit is reached, a big painful void is open, with a burning question: what now? There is only one reasonable answer, of course, find another higher, harder mountain to climb. We are climbers because In the first stage, there is no artistic intent, the role of the photograph is simply to record. Nowadays, most families own a point and shoot digital camera of some sort and use it to fix memories of birthdays and holidays. In the third stage, the photographer has realized that the lack of technical knowledge was have no doubt there are many other ways to subdivide the creative evolution of a photographer, but here comes my version nonetheless. Please also be aware that this is a very, very broad generalization. This, in short, is the drive, what pushes us to further our art, to try to become better at what we do. In the second stage, the photographer has discovered an interest in creating beautiful images and is enthusiastically playing around with whatever camera he has available, though without any real direction or technical knowledge. He still mostly follows the automatic mode of his camera but does a lot of random experimentation, happy to find the occasional good image in his files, but still unsure of why it is good or how it was achieved. This is a time of great creativity but with a relatively poor yield of good imagery. In the fourth stage, the photographer has had a new realization: focusing exclusively on technique is a dead-end, while composition, quality of light and other similar, intangible notions are equally crucial in the creation of a great image. This is much more difficult to learn, however, since it is not nearly as quantifiable as the technical aspects of photography. This is the time where he gets interested we love to climb, and photographers because we love to photograph. Simple as that. Images are not expected to be beautiful in any way, but simply to show what was happening at a particular moment. The photographer is simply a camera operator, expected to keep things reasonably sharp and well exposed. hindering his efforts and has made a conscious decision to learn the craft of image making. He focuses heavily on technique, starts buying a lot of equipment and perusing review websites. His images improve dramatically, at least from a technical point of view, but they do not necessarily satisfy him any more than before. This is a dangerous time, as the unbridled enthusiasm of the second stage, where everything was new and exciting, has given way to the cold world of lens reviews and MTF charts.
ALEXANDRE BUISSE
ALEXANDRE BUISSE
After a few months, or most likely years, the photographer will end up realizing that debating over whether Canon or Nikon is the best brand, fun as it may be, does not help him create better pictures. He will gradually move away from debate forums and start sharing again, either back in select subcommunities of Flickr or on more mature platforms like 500px or 1x. He will be looking for both validation and measured criticism (in proportions that vary according to his character), and, in an equally important manner, he will consume a lot of images created by others and offer his own take on them, thereby developing his critical eye.
Then something strange happens. The photographer reaches the fifth stage, where he tries to find his own voice, develop his personal vision. And he stops sharing almost completely. At first, maybe out of habit, he does share his latest creation, on which he feels quite strongly. The reactions, however, are not what he was hoping for, and maybe comments are made on how it is not technically perfect, or on how the composition could be better, or the light more flattering. The danger here is that the photographer, despite having developed a thicker skin in the previous stages, has put a lot more of himself into this new image, and criticism is, once again, taken personally. As the process repeats itself, he finally decides that now that he is creating something deeply personal, he doesnt need to share with others as much as before, if at all.
ALEXANDRE BUISSE
Alexandre Buisse is an adventure photographer and a mountain climber, raised in the French Alps and now traveling to the worlds major ranges from his base in Scandinavia. His first print book, Remote Exposure, was published in April, 2011. Alexandres work can be seen at http://www.alexandrebuisse.org
There is a fine line to tread here, keeping your own voice while still listening to what others have to say. If you systematically cave whenever others make suggestions, you will end up producing lowest-common-denominator images, which may please crowds but dont truly express your voice. If on the other hand you live in an ivory tower and never consider any external feedback,
ANDREW S. GIBSON
ANDREW S. GIBSON
The word depth comes up more than once in photography. Theres depth of fieldthe zone of sharpness within the photo. Theres depth as in perspectiveimparting a sense of distance or space into the image. Another type of depth is depth of treatment. Its the type of depth you get when you follow a theme, or set yourself a project to photograph the same subject over a period of time.
Projects are an ideal way to explore a subject in depth. Whatever your preferred subject matter, its possible to get into a routine of shooting a certain thing a certain way. A new project can help you break out of this routine and give you impetus to move out of your comfort zone. It gives you something to do and a new subject to focus on. Coming back to the same subject will challenge your creativity as you search for new ways to photograph it. Projects should be driven by the type of photography that interests you. If you like landscape photography, for example, then how about a project exploring the coastline or landscape near where you live? A popular So, what sort of project can you take on? The question of what to photograph can be a difficult one, but your personal interests may be a good starting point. Perhaps you have another hobby or interest that you can combine with your photography. Craft & Vision author Alexandre Buisse is a good example. He combines his love of mountaineering with photography (you can see some of his work in the eBook If you prefer photographing people, how about a portrait project? Actors, dancers, surfers, firemenall have been subjects of successful technique at the moment is combining long exposures with black and white photography. Another (the two often go together) is landscapes with minimalist composition. Either of these could make a worthwhile project. Another unifying element in a project is the treatment. For example, if youre taking a series of portraits, how about taking them all with the same lens, or the same background, Another type of project that has become popular over the last few years is the 365 project. This involves taking a photo every day for a year. Its challenging because its difficult to find time to take a photo every day, let alone be creative and original at the same time. Some photographers concentrate on a single subject for their 365 project. Self-portraits seem to be a popular theme (theres always an available model). Extreme Perspectives). If youre into something physical, like mountaineering or rock climbing, then a project as simple as making a set of portraits of your fellow mountaineers/rock climbers could be very interesting and rewarding. projects. The thing is to find something that interests you, then photograph it over a period of time rather than superficially. That gives the project depth. Bonusit will improve the creative side of your photography too. Projects can also arise over a number of years. This happened to me when I made a series of trips to the Andes mountains in South America over a six-year period (see my eBook Andes). Each time I visited a different region and took some more photos. I took time to speak with some of the people that I met and to read about and understand the culture and issues of the region. This, and the time that I spent there, helps add depth to the collection of images. Someone who goes there for just a week or two cant achieve the same depth of coverage. Another long-term project you should look at is Jessica Hilltouts Amen. or all in black and white? This approach worked for Richard Avedons series In the American West and it could work for you too.
ANDREW S. GIBSON
You dont have to go somewhere far away or exotic to undertake a project like this. There may be somewhere relatively close by that is just as interesting to you. In some ways, the closer the better, because its easier to visit more often.
Once youve started a project you probably want to display the best photos online somewhere. Projects are a great way of developing your photography and editing skillsselecting the best photos and arranging them in a cohesive way that tells a story can be as much of a skill as creating the images in the first place. There are some fairly obvious places to start, such as Flickr, that most photographers are aware of. Its nice to have your own website though, and even if you know next to nothing about web design its easy to start your own photo blog using services such as Blogger, Wordpress.com and Tumblr. These are all free to use and theres no need to buy your own domain name or hosting.
ANDREW S. GIBSON
Dont think that you have to undertake projects by yourself either. Theres great value to be had from collaboration. Apart from the fact that its fun to share an activity that you enjoy with a friend, working with another photographer has the potential to add interest and depth to a project. Another photographer will approach the same subject from a different perspective. They may have different skills or techniques that complement yours. They can also help when it comes to editing and displaying photos. Its always difficult to be objective about our own work, and the insight of another photographer can be invaluable.
ANDREW S. GIBSON
Andrew S. Gibson is a writer specializing in photography. Hes the technical writer for EOS magazine and he also writes articles for Smashing Magazine and Phototuts+.
Links:
http://www.richardavedon.com/index.php#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=7&a=0&at=0 http://www.americansuburbx.com/2008/11/richard-billingham-rays-laugh.html http://www.jessicahilltout.com/collections/amen.html Check out Andrews Craft & Vision titles at http://craftandvision.com/authors/andrew-s-gibson/
NICOLE S. YOUNG
NICOLE S. YOUNG
When I think of photographic composition, two things come to mind: where and how the elements are placed in the frame. The where refers to the actual location of the subject, background, or even empty space in relation to the area you have to work with in the viewfinder. The how refers to the position, angle, direction, or even the colour and sharpness (or lack of sharpness) of these elements.
Now, most of us know good composition when we see it. We are, in fact, internally programmed to appreciate visual balance and harmony, but when it comes to actually creating a photograph which results in a pleasing image it makes us take a step back and really think about how to replicate that beauty. The thing is, we need to approach composition as something we do, not something that magically happens randomly while holding your camera. Composing a photograph is akin Understanding how to create a well-composed photograph can happen in one of a few different ways. For some, and lets be honest here, its just natural. These are the artists who, as little children, were able to effortlessly create beautifully composed works of art (albeit with crayons and construction paper). But does this mean that the principles of comto composing a song. The music doesnt just fall together when random notes are played or a group of people spontaneously play different instruments at the same time. A composer might start by playing something to test the waters, but then as he starts to hear something he likes, each note and instrumental addition become deliberately placed to make the position cant be learned by the rest of us? Well, obviously not or I likely wouldnt be attempting to write an article on the topic. piece harmoniously flow and make sense. We should approach the composition of our photographs in the exact same manner. the viewfinder. Or, if you photograph moving subjects (like sports, children, or pets) then you might need to anticipate their movement in order to frame the elements to your liking.
Where you place your subjects in its surroundings is, of course, important as well. Sometimes placement is determined by what you are photographing, but there are also several guidelines you can take into consideration and use to create a more powerful image. Here are a few of the things I feel are some of the more important aspects of creating a beautifully composed photograph.
NICOLE S. YOUNG
You can use this method of composing your photographs when you have one subject or a group of items (by placing them on one or more of the intersecting lines of the grid), or if youre photographing a scene with a horizon or strong vertical lines, like a landscape or side of a building (by composing your photograph so that the horizon (or line) is along one of the grid lines of the frame).
NICOLE S. YOUNG
COMPOSING WITH COLOUR
Unless everything you create is in black and white, colour is very likely to play a big part in your photographs. Its also something that you should be very aware of in every part of your frame, especially the background and foreground of your images. Creating a photograph filled with subjects that have similar colours can create a sense of peace in a photograph. Or you can add tension to a scene by separating your subject from the background with colour, like photographing a
When adding lines and angles to your image, watch the corners of your viewfinder. When you have lines that angle and lead off of the frame, the best practice is to position theses lines so that they intersect with the corner of the viewfinder, so that they arent cut off along the edge of your photo.
person wearing a bright red shirt walking alongside a pale blue wall.
One thing to keep in mind is that when we view an image, our eyes tend to gravitate towards the brightest part of the frame. So if most of your image is dark, and your main subject is a bright colour, then we are very likely to look at that part of the frame first, which is a good thing when the brightest colour is the main focal point of the photograph. You do want to be careful of brightly coloured objects in the background of your image that can take away the spotlight from the subject; try to frame your subject so that it is free from distractions in the background.
NICOLE S. YOUNG
Nicole S. Young is a full-time photographer and author specializing in commercial stock photography. She is an accredited Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Photoshop CS5 and is a Help Desk Specialist with the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. She is author of the books Canon 7D: From Snapshots to Great Shots and EOS Canon 60D: From Snapshots to Great Shots published by Peachpit Press. Nicole blogs regularly at http://NicolesyBlog.com
ELI REINHOLDTSEN
ELI REINHOLDTSEN
I love walking around a town, camera in hand, whether in my home town of Oslo or some exotic location abroad like Nepal. I think it is the indulgence of observing, lingering, watching a street scene unfold before my eyes, combined with the relaxed feeling of being part of it allof blending in, unnoticed, ready to capture something unique.
And that is the real fascination for me; each of these moments is unique. I cant plan them, nor can they be repeated. It is a moment. And I like to be there with the option of capturing it with my camera. For me, a good photographic moment is capturing a situation in which the viewer could just as well have found themselves. Maybe it is a situation that makes the viewer smile in recognition, an inherent positive feeling that both the image and the viewer share, or perhaps its a moment Observing people at work, people at play, people having a good time just relaxing with their friends on the streets, these are all glimpses of ordinary life happening in front of me. But to me they are instant scenes. There is a certain thrill in having observed a once-in-a-lifetime moment, guessing that some people were where they should be, and some probably where they shouldnt be. The thrill of being in the moment. Right there, right then. And then going home knowing or hoping you captured that moment. Forever. I find it is easier to photograph strangers than people who are close to me. Photos of people I love are always beautiful in that they reflect the relationship that we have, but they If I am not in the mood to engage with people I try and look for a quiet spot to just sit and that contains an interesting juxtaposition. Regardless of which type of moment, a guiding principle for me is that the image must be respectful and it must translate across cultures. This is a critical cornerstone of my workit helps me to show a common humanity, rather than the all-too-present world of us and them. The key to finding a moment that allows you to create an engaging image is patience. The patience to hang around and wait to see what develops, but also the patience sometimes to just sit still. Other times I might wander around, not needing to be anywhere else or thinking about work or deadlines. It is a different sort of patience. Usually it requires being alone. may not necessarily hold the same meaning or impact for others who do not know the subject. I seem to be more biasedless objectivewhen photographing someone close, so I find it difficult to create images of people I know that engage others. observe. It may be just in front of a background I like, waiting for the right person to walk into the frame that will transform or enhance an otherwise dull background. Often, I try to look for a place where there are many people passing by, but this has to be balanced with not having so many people in the image that you lose the potential power of that lone monk, or old man that will just ooze character!
ELI REINHOLDTSEN
Sometimes, by waiting, things develop way beyond what originally captured your imagination, as happened to me in Nepal. The jumping girl came running by while I was sitting on some steps just enjoying the view of the passers-by and the scene of two monks relaxing at a kiosk. She was so happy and ran up to the kiosk several times. I started observing her, and the way the monks looked at her, and suddenly I knew there could be an image there.
Sometimes it is less about patience and more about preparation. For example, when I am looking for panning shots, I usually have the camera settings on shutter priory, at 1/30 of a second. My Canon has a custom preset that, with just one twist of the dial, has all the correct settings for panning. All I have to do is raise the camera to my eye, compose, and shoot. This is what happened when the shepherd boy appeared. My timing was probably a bit off, but when he twisted his head back his face froze. I held the shutter down, shot a series of images, but only the first image was sharp.
It turned out that there was a fleeting moment that deserved to be captured. Luckily I was prepared, but even if I had not been, it was a unique moment. Never to be repeated. Within seconds he had disappeared around the corner with his goats and I never saw him again.
ELI REINHOLDTSEN
I try to always first ask if I can photograph someone. I dont think it has to spoil the moment. My facial expression usually shows that I think it is a great scene or an interesting person, and most often I can read if photographing them will be okay! But sometimes I get it wrong, such as with these four women, whentoo lateI realized it was not. By the time I understood, I had already pressed the shutter. To me this image radiates power. If they were to pose for me and give me their time, they would want compensation. I respectfully left after that. Now I wish I had just put the camera down and stayed to see what happened. In retrospect I think it was the camera that created the awkward situation for them. It wasnt my mere presence.
ELI REINHOLDTSEN
Asking for permission may still ruin your image if the scene just unfolds in front of you. To me the key is not to present people in a bad light. If appropriate I will show the image afterwards, but this is just not always possible.
In general I try to look for scenes where there are several people interacting with each other. Scenes where there is already something happening. The language I use for communication is the universal language, body language. If my face and hands express that I see beauty I believe they will understand. I am easy to read and prefer it like that. Unless it is a very private situation, they often laugh or shrug their shoulders and let me participate with the camera. Sometimes observing, sometimes interacting. If it is a group of people having fun, they may just be delighted to have their portrait taken. We all like our moment of fame, our spot in eternity, and the camera is a great vehicle for allowing that to happen! One would think that it is easier to approach just one person rather than a group, but I find the opposite to be true for me.
If I could give you any advice, it would be to begin by connecting with people and not think about photographing them. Engage. Let images slip away. Capture the moments only in your mind. And when you relax, bring the camera back on stage again. I think what you radiate through your personality and openness will open up so many opportunities, that soon it will become second nature.
ELI REINHOLDTSEN
Eli Reinholdtsen is an award-winning photographer from Oslo, Norway who has a distinct style, killer visual instincts, and strong sense of humour, all of which finds itself in her work. Learn more about Eli on her website, http://www.elireinholdtsen.com
The all new [enter your favourite lens brand here] 1635 zoom with super-clear coating will allow you to capture sweeping panoramic vistas. It seems like every time a lens manufacturer announces a new wide-angle lens, the only people that should rejoice are landscape photographers. Similarly, when new telephoto lenses are announced, the marketing hyperbole of the manufacturers almost exclusively talks about the great people (or animal) shots these lenses will allow you to make.
This leads to what I would call lens stereotypingbefore long, were made to think that portrait equals 85mm or higher and that landscape implies 35mm or lower. But one thing often lacking in these beautiful telephoto images, shot at wide-open aperture, There is no such thing as a portrait lens, or a landscape lens, however; theres just the right lens for the right job, or the right look youre after. If you asked me what my favourite portrait lens is, Id actually have a hard time choosing between my wide-angle 1635mm and my 85mm f/1.8. is some context, some information about the persons environment. Enter the concept of environmental portraiture. Enter the Theres no denying that the typical 85mm f/1.2, f/1.4, or f/1.8 lens yields great portraits. The beautiful background blur of these wide apertures makes it easier to just focus on the eyes and the main features of the subject, leaving less interesting parts of the composition in a blur. Getting my first 85mm f/1.8 was one of the best investments in photographic hardware I ever made, as it allowed me to shoot in a way that no other camera or lens I owned could. wide-angle lens.
Nikon D700 | 85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.0 Nikon D700 | 1635mm f/4 VR @ f/6.3 | 17mm A typical 85mm f/2.0 portrait and the environmental version, taken at 17mm, f/6.3.
Wide-angle portraiture might seem a little more difficult at firstafter all, you cannot hide behind the convenient, beautiful bokeh of your f/1.2 or f/1.4 lens or the interesting features of your subjects face alone. So lets examine some of the things you have to pay attention to when shooting wide-angle portraits:
Nikon D700 | 1635mm f/4 VR @ f/10 | 24mm I accidentally chose an aperture that was too high (f/10). In this image, the aim of the background was to inform about the rural setting, but not to overwhelm, as it does now. Theres too much sharp detail drawing the viewers eye in all directions.
In this image, as I noted my mistake only afterwards, I blurred the background in post-processing. Choosing the widest aperture at capture time would have saved me a lot of work afterwards. This simulated open-aperture version works better though: our mind is intelligent enough to recognize the rural environment, yet the shallow depth of field lets the viewer focus on the woman.
One advantage of really long lenses such as the 200mm is that its easy to inconspicuously make portraits from a distance. Youll notice that Ive put advantage and portraits in quotes, though, as I think this is not the way to approach portraiture. But while a 200mm can at least tempt you into this kind of paparazzi approach, with a wide angle lens you have to get really close. Theres no hiding your presence as a photographer. In this image, I was probably about three feet from the subjects own feet!
Your subject neednt always be in the foreground. But, if he isnt, hell wind up rather small in the overall image, because of the exaggeration of distance we discussed in the previous point. If you cant emphasize your subject by his physical size in the picture, youll have to find another way of drawing attention to him. As our eyes always get drawn to the lightest part of an image first, putting your subject in a beam of natural light can be a good idea or you can create your own beam of light using a flash.
Nikon D90 Nikon 1024 mm f/3.5 f/4.5 DX @ f/5.6 Nikon D90 | Nikon 1024mm f/3.5 f/4.5 DX @ f/11 | 10mm 12mm
Piet Van den Eynde is a Belgian freelance photographer. He also writes books, magazine articles, and gives training about digital photography and post-processing with Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. In 2009, he threw his camera, a flash, and an umbrella in his bicycle panniers and cycled 5,000 miles through Turkey, Iran, India, and Indonesia for a photography project called PortraitsOfAsia. Learn more about Piet on his website, http://morethanwords.be/blog/en
Check out Piets Craft & Vision titles at Its only when I switched to a slightly longer lens, and captured the reflection of the old building in the new, that everything fell into place. The result is a much more powerful image that conveys my idea in a cleaner, simpler, but more effective way. http://craftandvision.com/authors/piet-van-den-eynde/
STUART SIPAHIGIL
STUART SIPAHIGIL
The world keeps getting faster and faster, it seems. We have more obligations than ever before: family, friends, career, etc. Finding time to make photographs, especially for ourselves, can be a daunting task. Slowing yourself down, both physically and mentally, can give you the opportunity to examine what it really is youre trying to photograph, so you can make the time you have to take pictures really count.
Figuring out the craft is much easier than figuring out the artour artand so we tend to dwell on the easier things, simply because we dont know how to reach that part of ourselves that makes art. Learning how your camera works, figuring out lighting diagrams, and knowing what lens to use when all require time to learn, but once you understand them, theyre yours. Given enough time and enough money, wed all know the same techniques and wed all be able to have the same gear. What does that leave? You. Why you make photographs and what subjects you choose to shoot will never be fully mastered. This article is about two ways to do that: slowing ourselves and our minds down when were shooting to allow us to observe our world more Like anything you take seriously, photographyand why you do itrequires your deeply, and to shift our brains a bit to peer more clearly into those depths and see really what it commitment of time and focus and, like anything else, getting better at it takes time and practice. The good news is that, like anything else, if we spend the time to practice it, we will get better. Well be able to call upon that artist within us a little quicker and a little easier when we dont have the time wed like. We just need to spend some time with him or her to understand how to draw upon our insight and way of seeing. The more we practice, the better and easier it will become. is were trying to photograph. My words and pictures are examples of how you might do that, but it will be up to you as to how much you get out of it. Your commitment to your photography and its power to affect your life and the lives of others will take you farther than any article like this onebecause your pictures are worth more than a thousand words. Deep thinking and observation are key to up our lives, we dont take the time to see the deeper levels of things and so, without meaning to, we become shallower thinkers and observers. Photographs are moments, pieces of time that are captured to look at again and again. In order for you to capture these moments, you must learn to slow down and see them.
SLOWING DOWN
What do I mean by slowing down? Of course, I mean to slow your pace, both physically and mentally. Youve probably found yourself lately actually running from one place to another to get to a meeting or an appointment on time, or to catch a train or bus. By literally speeding
good photography. Rather than creating the world we want from a blank canvas or piece of paper, we must usually wait for the world to align itself with our artistic desires. Patience is essential for the landscape photographer looking for the perfect light at sunrise. Its critical for the wildlife photographer seeking that moment when a rare bird finally shows itself.
STUART SIPAHIGIL
Leica M9 50mm | 1/180s | f/5.6 I was on a photowalk in Chicago with several other photographers and it had been raining all morning. I stopped on a bridge over the Riverwalk to get out of the rain for a bit and to watch the passersby below. These two people were walking some distance apart, but not too far away, making me wonder what their relationships was to each other.
STUART SIPAHIGIL
STUART SIPAHIGIL
Leica M9 90mm | 1/45s | f/4 A local arts centre hosted a childrens carnival with several games and activities. This little girl wasnt so sure about getting her face painted and both her dad and the clown had to hold her still.
STUART SIPAHIGIL
STUART SIPAHIGIL
Stuart Sipahigil is an award-winning, published photographer who shoots and teaches for the love of the craft. In addition, he is the staff photographer for Outside Source Design , a multimedia design agency based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Stuart posts his thoughts on photography on his blog, http://www.thelightwithout.com
DAVID DUCHEMIN
DAVID DUCHEMIN
I love portraiture. My first photographic influences were Steve McCurry and Yousuf Karsh. I believe the human face can tell a thousand stories, all of them together giving glimpses into who we are, who weve been, and who we can be, as individuals and as a race.
There are few things I like more than sitting with someone, a beautiful African nomad or Indian elder, and taking the time to make their portrait. Its part art, part craft, and part relationship. And its never once the same. Here are five suggestions for improving your portraiture.
DAVID DUCHEMIN
the opposite effectsoft light allows the eyes to pop, now that they arent squinting. Or it gives the face even tones and natural colours.
create undesirable effects. High, undiffused light can create shadows under the eyes, causing the appearance of bags, or under the nose, causing a nose to look larger and more
We generally find portraits more flattering in that softer light. Shadows distract and can create strange tones and patterns, and areas of high contrast. Why I say look to the shadows is because it is those that so often
like a birds beak than most of us are likely to want in our portraits. If the subject is wearing a hat, or glasses, these too can create strange shadows, or prevent us from seeing the eyes well. And the eyes are most often the primary point of contact with the subject.
If what you want is softer, cleaner light, then again, look to the shadows. But this time look to the biggest ones. Photographing under an overhanging roof or just inside a door, or taking your subject to the shady side of the street can all result in kinder light. If you opt for a tree, or more organic shade, keep an eye out for patterned or dappled light; used well it can introduce texture to either your subject or the
One of the easiest ways to begin to see what the light is doing is to look at where it isnt. Look to the shadows. No shadows at all means one of two things. First, it could mean the light is so directly hitting the subjects face that
background. Used unintentionally it can result in distracting patterns. You might also want to consider using a large litedisc or flexfill, to block or diffuse the light. I rarely use flash, but often use the larger discs to modify the light.
DAVID DUCHEMIN
One of the key differences between a mediocre photograph and a much stronger one is the moment at which it was made. Learning to anticipate and recognize the moment a laugh breaks or a glance stops being so selfconscious, or a subject touches his eyebrow in deeper thought, will improve your portraits like very little else. In fact I think its the single most important thing you can do to improve any of your photography. In the end, great composition or attention to colours or line matters, as does focus and exposure. But a great moment trumps it all. Of course, a great moment well-composed and in focus is even better, so dont let your craft slacken, but once youre competent technically, pursue those amazing moments. Honest moments. Unexpected moments. Human, funny, dramatic, revealing moments. Whatever they are, you know them when you see them. If your portraits arent captivating you, ask yourself if you missed the moment. The more time you spend with people, and your individual subject, the more able you will be to see, and seize, those moments.
DAVID DUCHEMIN
DAVID DUCHEMIN
DAVID DUCHEMIN
David duChemin is a nomad, a world and humanitarian photographer, the accidental founder of Craft & Vision, and the author of Within The Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography, and Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Davids latest book, Photographically Speaking, was published October, 2011. Davids work and blog can be seen at http://www.PixelatedImage.com
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