Archive for Composition
Stop Using F8 all the Time
Posted by: | CommentsYou can add a great deal of artistry and interest to your images by using other f-stops that are available. I actually do know a professional photographer who only uses F8. Really!
It is especially easy outdoors to shoot at wide open settings like this image
that was shot at f4. Of course you will want to use manual settings and take a meter reading like a pro. (If you are unsure about how to do this, I offer a manual you can find out more http://barbgordonphotocoach.com/products/beyond-the-manual-beyond-the-photography-instruction-manual )
The boy’s mom said, “Oh, I like the background.” the minute she saw this portrait. She also ordered this pose. Why did it seem so interesting to her? It looked different to her because F8 is close to the amount of depth of field of the human eye so we are very used to that. Anything more detailed or less detailed will get our attention.
So to add variety to your photo sessions, use different f-stops for a variety in the looks you show your customers. It just might increase your sales too!
Better Portrait Sales using Less Props
Posted by: | CommentsMany photographers do promotions that involve special props. Christmas decorations, chicks, bunnies, and lambs at Easter are popular themes. Although these themes might be eye catching and make great photographs, these same props may be hurting your sales.
When an image has only one specific use that is all you are going to get out of it.
For example, a family needs Christmas holiday portraits for their Christmas card. If your family group arrives in all red sweaters, or you have very Christmassy props, what do you think the chances are for this to become a wall portrait above the fireplace in their very neutral family room? No, it will only be purchased as a Christmas card.
What about spring specials using little chicks? You may find that the chicks are quite popular and book a lot of sessions but is this wall image possibilities? Will this client hang a very seasonal image on the wall? Yes, a few might but my advice is to take a few images with the chicks and a few images without. Show both to your client and see what happens. You may find your sales are actually better without the chicks even though the original draw was the chicks. It certainly won’t hurt to give that a try.
If it is possible to create a more neutral, timeless image you will find you will get more sales from that image.
PS – Be sure to check into your local laws, licenses, or guidelines about working with animals before you bring them into your studio. You might be surprised to find out there are restrictions and what they are.
Fabulous Fonts
Posted by: | CommentsOne of my favorite projects, shown here, was done using only fonts and background papers. (We talked about background papers two weeks ago.)
“Way to Be” (words composed by Gordon B Hinckley) was designed to coordinate with family portraits I took. All of the pieces now hang on the same wall so I did select the colors of this piece carefully.
I loved this piece so much I have a copy on my wall and have sold a copy as well.
Many fonts are free so Google free fonts and start your font collection. I have mentioned before and I will say it again, back up your font file to a DVD or something in the event you have to reinstall.
Photoshop Brushes-add them to your Creative Toolbox
Posted by: | CommentsSince we are on a roll talking about some fun Photoshop tools and resources, I have another creative one for you. Brushes. You can get a lot of drama from one simple tool.
Brushes can be used like a rubber stamp. This shape can be resized to whatever you need. They can be turned, flipped, or rotated to make each “stamp” unique. Of course you can change the color of them too.
For the image sampled here, I used one brush to make both designs. I used the same brush twice, each on its own layer. Each image is placed above the brush layer and then masked behind (cont alt g). Drop in an interesting background as the bottom layer and you’re done!
Photoshop comes with its own standard brushes but check out http://www.brusheezy.com/Brushes to get you started with more creative sets.
Five Tips for Working with Outdoor Light
Posted by: | CommentsPhotography is all about recording reflected light. Many beginners and amateurs are not yet familiar with how to see light and know what to look for yet. It can be quite a challenge to find locations that are suitable for outdoor portraits but there are some things you can use to your advantage. Here are five getting started tips:
- Photograph in the shade. Raccoon eyes, squinting eyes, deep dark shadows, and images with no catch lights in the eyes do not make a pleasing portrait. Place your subject in the shade with open sky as your main light source. This takes practice and deliberate study to find this kind of light. Going deep into the woods in too thick of shade is not going to give you a nice lighting pattern. By staying closer to the edge of the shade you will have great light coming from open sky.
- Photograph late or early in the day. This is often referred to as “Sweet Light”. An hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset is really beautiful light. The light is more even light and shadows are long and soft.
- Use a reflector. Reflectors work great to fill shadows and give a little kick of sparkle in the subject’s eyes. I personally use the gold side the most.
- Use a fill flash. When working in brighter conditions or wanting to include dramatic sky in your portrait images a fill flash is required to balance the lighting conditions for a proper exposure.
- Watch for color reflections. Color from items like green trees and red paint on a building, for example, will reflect into a person’s skin tone and shadows. This is not a desired outcome and will look unnatural. Be careful how close you are to strong color reflections. You can also correct minor color shifts in the artwork stage of your final image.
Of course you still must meter correctly, white balance, and process your files. But the more you get right in your camera first the easier the rest of the process is.
Shoot Outdoors – Part One
Posted by: | CommentsSeven Gear Tips for Photographing Outdoors
Learning how to photograph outdoors can be tricky because the light will be different in different places. Light can change in direction, color, and intensity.
Here are seven basic tips to get started with photographing outdoors.
- Use manual settings-The exposure of an image is controlled by coordinating the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings. These three settings used correctly together create a properly exposed file that produces a proper photographic print. Use your camera’s meter to guide you in getting the settings right for getting a correctly exposed image.
- Take accurate meter readings-I prefer to use a spot meter or the center weighted meter in my camera to take a meter reading of just my subject. Many people run into problems with getting a correct exposure because they are getting too much light from the sky affecting their meter reading.
- A Reflector-If you are photographing people I would suggest taking a reflector along to gently fill in shadows and add sparkle to their eyes. I like the 5 in 1 style that you can chose the black, white, silver, gold or the translucent center. It will depend on the lighting conditions which side you choose.
- A Grey Card-No matter what you are photographing using a grey card to take accurate reflected meter readings from is always a must.
- White Balance-Teaching your camera what “white” is so that you get accurate colors is critical. A grey card is also helpful for white balancing the digital camera so tweaking color balancing a RAW file in Adobe Bridge is fast and accurate.
- Test your system! Just because you have all of the tools it does not mean you will get perfect results right away. I have found through my testing that in order to get just the right exposure, (using the grey card I do) I actually open up 2/3 a stop more than my reading indicates in most outdoor situations.
- Get it right! For optimum quality, get it right in the camera in the first place. Assuming that you can fix everything in Photoshop is lazy, unprofessional, and not always possible.
If you are having problems understanding how to use your manual settings on your digital camera, then you may be interested in the “Beyond the Photography Instruction Manual-Professional Results with Manual Photography”. I take you step by step through the process! Click here to find out more.
Leading Lines of Composition
Posted by: | CommentsTwelve Elements of Composition
Tips for Remarkable Photographs
Part 12-Leading Lines
Solitude
This is one of my favorite images. I was photographing a high school senior boy on his horse by the barn on his farm when I happened to look to my right and saw this horse perfectly set up! The only thing I can think of to make this image even better was to photograph this at a later time of day with the long shadows of evening.
This photograph, called Solitude, combines so many elements in one image. The more elements in a photograph the more interesting the image becomes.
We have already discussed the Rule of Thirds in lesson number two. The horse is standing in the left third of the image.
It is also helpful that the horse is leading your attention into the photo with his head rather than directing your eye out of the image by looking to the left. We discussed this in lesson ten.
The fence coming into the image and drawing your attention toward the horse is an example of leading lines. The fence takes your eye right to the horse. This is a strong compositional element you typically have to really search for. You may need to change your shooting position to make the most use of it. The fence would loose its leading line effect if I was to shoot straight into it. It would become flat and just part of the background. A leading line needs to run in at an angle. I love the fact that it ends at the horse and does not go clear to the left side of the image. I think it is stronger this way.
We really have not discussed framing yet either. This is a good example of it with the tree above holding your eye in the image. As it fills about a third of the frame, it gives us a second rule of third element.
The light color of the horse pops from the scenery without being too contrasty. There is plenty of detail in the highlights and shadows making this an ideal image for my wall decor line.
About Barb
Barb Gordon, of www.BarbGordonPhotoCoach.com, is a Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman, and Certified Professional Photographer with the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) to which she has belonged since 1984. She is a nationally published and award winning photographer, entrepreneur, speaker, and author including being published in the prestigious PPA Loan Collection 2006, PPA Showcase 2003, twice named Iowa’s Top Ten Photographer of the Year, and 2010 Iowa’s Master Photographer of the Year.
From Boring to Awesome-Include an Item of Interest
Posted by: | CommentsTwelve Elements of Composition
Tips for Remarkable Photographs
Part 11-Center of Interest
Many amateur images are not very interesting because there is not a center of interest, an item or subject that is the main focus of a beautiful scene. So often we just snap a picture with no thought to its lack of impact. Landscape images are a bit more difficult to find scenes with a center of interest available.
This beach scene on the left, although nice, is not a breathtaking image to start with but it will work to demonstrate a scene without a center of interest. The eye does not really know where it is supposed to look. I added a center of interest with this Hawaiian lea for the image on the right. The photograph is still not an award winning image, but it now demonstrates a complimentary and believable focal point in the scene.
I love this bridge (on the left of the pair above), but it is a boring photograph. As a primarily portrait photographer, I would have loved an appropriately dressed couple to pose in the scene. Place them on the right third and wa la! The railing becomes a leading line to the subjects.
Okay, the right bridge image above is more interesting than the previous one, as the bridge itself is an impressive one and the angle I shot it at is nice. But it is still missing a real center of interest.
Imagine how much stronger of an image yet, if there was a horse and buggy crossing the bridge or a large bird in the air-facing the correct way (into our image) and at the intersection of thirds. Getting all of those elements right is challenging and not always possible. That is why nature and wild animal photography is so challenging. Waiting for all of the pieces to come together at the right time of day as well.
This awesome place is the road to Hana, a town in Maui, Hawaii. There are many waterfalls on this drive. Some you can see and some you must hike for. Most of the bridges are one lane only and the roads are extremely winding. If you ever go, driving after dark is not a fun time.
Center of Interest is more challenging to make happen. If you add the item yourself, you run the risk of being too contrived and not very real. Try to find something that is natural to the scene and believable.
By including the surf board in the picture, the same scene becomes a little more interesting.
Remember that center of interest does not mean that you center the item. The item is just an interesting subject to compliment the landscape and makes the image more visually appealing.
About Barb
Barb Gordon, of www.BarbGordonPhotoCoach.com, is a Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman, and Certified Professional Photographer with the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) to which she has belonged since 1984. She is a nationally published and award winning photographer, entrepreneur, speaker, and author including being published in the prestigious PPA Loan Collection 2006, PPA Showcase 2003, twice named Iowa’s Top Ten Photographer of the Year, and 2010 Iowa’s Master Photographer of the Year.
Don’t Bonk Her Nose
Posted by: | CommentsTwelve Elements of Composition
Tips for Remarkable Photographs
Part 10-Looking into the Frame
By Barb Gordon, M.Photog., CR, CPP
Using the same image I am able to demonstrate how much stronger the image on the left is because the model has space to look into. On the right she feels like she is going to bump her nose if she takes a step.
We don’t want to bonk the model’s nose by getting her so close to the edge that if she moved forward she wouldn’t be able to stay in the frame. I think you can tell that the right image just feels easier to look at as well.
About Barb
Barb Gordon, of www.BarbGordonPhotoCoach.com, is a Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman, and Certified Professional Photographer with the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) to which she has belonged since 1984. She is a nationally published and award winning photographer, entrepreneur, speaker, and author including being published in the prestigious PPA Loan Collection 2006, PPA Showcase 2003, twice named Iowa’s Top Ten Photographer of the Year, and 2010 Iowa’s Master Photographer of the Year.
Stop the Action Fast
Posted by: | CommentsTwelve Elements of Composition
Tips for Remarkable Photographs
Part 9-Shutter Speed
By Barb Gordon, M.Photog., CR, CPP
Selecting how much of an image is in focus is another way to control the outcome of a photograph. This is also called selective focus.
You may want to freeze the action of a sports moment, or like in the image on the right, catch the scarf in the air. I did this at 1/125 at f8.
Maybe you would like to show a bit of motion with some blur by using a little slower speed. This would demonstrate the speed of a race car, speed boat, or a runner. Exactly what speed you need to use will take a little experimentation.
About Barb
Barb Gordon, of www.BarbGordonPhotoCoach.com, is a Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman, and Certified Professional Photographer with the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) to which she has belonged since 1984. She is a nationally published and award winning photographer, entrepreneur, speaker, and author including being published in the prestigious PPA Loan Collection 2006, PPA Showcase 2003, twice named Iowa’s Top Ten Photographer of the Year, and 2010 Iowa’s Master Photographer of the Year.
