Reviewing Your Work

Artists in general can be pretty hard on themselves; as a photographer I’ve battled myself constantly for years.  It isn’t easy looking at your own work sometimes, it can be a very introspective journey and one that shouldn’t be shied aways from.  From my own experience I can honestly say that at times I am shocked when reviewing my work, and it is at these times that I know that i’ve been truly successful.  

All “good” art should invoke some sort of response fromt the viewer.  I use the quotations due to how subjective “good” art is and this simple fact is what draws me to different art forms.  Raw expression/Raw emotion….  how much of yourself are you putting into the image first when you are composing and capturing it and then later on when you are reviewing and editing it.

It is later on, whether it is days, months or years when you browse past that image and you are instantly pulled back into the scene, when the ultimate personal artistic success is realized.  That moment of recognition, what does your memory tell you about the scene, use your senses and allow yourself to be drawn back to that moment in time.  Remember the smells, sights, sounds, thoughts, and emotions; don’t be scared, imerse yourself and realize what makes this image special.  

Early on, I didn’t appreciate this very well and was always  a bit put off when it would happen.  Now I look forward to it, and actually go looking for it with the hope of finding inspiration or just simply to experience that memory again.  I also now look for these qualities when looking at photography in general.  There is a certain technical component that is required, but it is the photographer that takes the image from being a snapshot to something bigger and greater.

When was the last time you reviewed your work…..

Professional? Really?

Over the past few days, I’ve started to come across articles, blogs and even personal proclamations about what it means to be a professional photographer. There is a varied response to this question and it seems to spark of debate in several realms. I figured I d weigh in on the topic as well.

First off anytime someone tells me that they are a pro, I always ask how I can check out their work. This should be a straightforward answer typically resulting in keywords like website, social media accounts, perhaps a separate blog (this always baffles me), or a yellow pages ad for their physical gallery if they have one. Whatever it may be, pros tend to provide a portal where they can be found, communicated with and followed. This shows a level of commitment to their craft and brand and you can be certain that you will find what they consider to be defining shots from their portfolio. This is important as it defines the artist s style and subsequently the brand.

So does this make me a professional? By the description above yes it does. Do I call myself a professional? The answer to this should be yes, but as photography is not my full time job currently, I usually refer to myself as a part-time professional photographer or a serious amateur. Over the past few days I’ve been thinking more and more about this, and going forward my answer is going to be consistently yes. I don t believe that I ve completely paid my dues to truly be called a Pro, but at the same time there seems to be a surge of people calling themselves Pro right now and I’d hate to be labled an amateur.  ;-)

So Jared, why does that bother you and make you write posts like this? Don t get me wrong, I want people to go spend money on camera equipment and start to develop their skills. What I want to do is to temper the unrealistic claims and fantasies that seem to be springing up.

Here is a basic checklist that can be used to check if you or someone you know has taken the “pro” label on prematurely:

1. You don’t know when to shoot jpeg vs raw
2. You don’t know what and how to use M, AV and/or TV mode. 
3. ISO? What’s that?
4. You aren’t proficient or confident in at least one photo editing piece of software. 
5. You do not have a base workflow laid out for handling your content.

Now these were just the five that I thought of off the top of my head. To be honest, I could probably probably provide a concise list of fifty that would fit here.  The point here is that photography, just like any other art form requires certain skills to take you from being an amateur to a pro.  Understanding what you are doing, so that you can shoot consistently without being phased is one of the important steps to get you further down that road.

Here are some things that I have done that have been great learning tools that I still use today.

1. Photo.net was the first photo website that I joined.  At first I was a little taken aback by how some of the critisism was handed out.  I soon learned that this was the result of asking for photos to be be rated and critisized, and that in the vast majority of cases the feedback was positive.  There is a great commmunity there and there are archived resources going back many years now.
2. Read some books on topics like composition, or expanded explanations of your camera gear.
3. Subscribe to podcasts such as D-Town TV and the Photoshop Guys.  This will also lead to joining NAPP, which also provides some excellent resources.
4. Subscribe to KelbyTraining.com or Lynda.com to do some paced training on pretty much any topic you can think of.
5. SHOOT!  SHOOT!  SHOOT!  - EDIT!  EDIT!  EDIT!  —  Seriously, the only way you will ever really get better is to practice the skills that you are learning.

There are some other things that definitely go along with this topic, but for tonight I think I’ll just leave it there.  Thanks for reading!

A Journal Entry

Well, it looks like I am officially calling it quits on the 365 day photo project.  At this point there is no easy way for me to catch back up, and well, I’m okay with that.  For the past month, life has taken over and I simply couldn’t stay on top of it.  Now that that’s out of the way, I will proceed to the “real” journal entry.

The other day, I asked in a Facebook status for some topic suggestions to write about as I haven’t done too much of that lately.  Two of the sugested topics were about lenses, and the other was what makes photography a form of art.  I think for now I’ll just sit on the lens topics and will talk about what makes photography a form of art. 

Bringing the topic of art up can be touchy.  That’s okay because people tend to personalize art; it always ends up meaning something a little different to each person.  That’s exactly the function that any form of art should perform.  So does this make photography an art form?  After thinking about this for the past couple of days, I would say that yes, photography is art and an art form.  Is all photography art?  The answer here is a resounding no.  But does all photography have the potential to be art?  I believe this answer is yes.

Now all that crap from the last paragraph is really all surface level exploration.  Digging deeper is what makes this topic fun to think about.  The conclusion that I came to earlier today was that it is the final image that is the piece of art.  Photography is the tool or the method to get the final product.  It is in this that I can confidently support my statments from the previous paragrah.  The camera and technique is part of the process, then there is the developing processs (whether that be digital or analogue), and then the media that the image will be displayed on.  It is the combination of all of these pieces that bring the image to a place of recognition, it is at this moment that the image/piece will either be considered art or not by the viewer.

Art is subjective and people are fickle.  One shouldn’t let the ego in the way in assuming that just because the process was “artistic” in nature, that the final product should be considered art.  Even as the artist, the photographer should judge his/her final image from the viewpoint of an observer not the creater.  If one can appreciate the image, and find a connection to the scene, then I’d venture out and say that the image is art on some level. 

I think that this is one of the reasons why I enjoy photography so much, and I wouldn’t want it to change.

The Big Photo Edit Geek Post

On par with my track record over the past while, my blog posts about photography have been a little too infrequent.  Here I’d like to take the opportunity to talk about a couple things that I’ve found interesting over the past few weeks. I’ll preface my comments below by saying that I’ll be referencing Adobe Lightroom, but the same applies when using the RAW module and Photoshop.  As well, I’ll also say that my comments stem from some long hours editing wedding and baby photos coupled with some really good comments and discussions from other photographers on their blogs.

Use Your Imagination and get a grip on RAW!

I shoot RAW and convert to DNG from Canon’s CR2 format as part of my default workflow practice, and have talked about it in previous journal postings.  I love it and really only consider shooting JPG in those situations that truly require maximum continuous shutter performance (example being motorsports).  I find that the buffer and burst rate on my Canon 50D with RAW is really good and I rarely find myself wishing for more buffer room.  But I digress…

The point about this section is to mainly reinforce that your RAW photo is simply all the uncompressed photo data that your camera recorded when you pushed the shutter and that preview that you are seeing on your screen is just a jpg preview of that data.  It is what you can do with that data later on that is important.  It is on that note that I encourage you to use your imagination.  Everyone has a different workflow process when they review their photos.  Personally, I use a pass/fail type of mindset, and typically review sets of photos several time while pairing them down.  Please refer to this post I did for more info about the power of the “X” key.  It is important to kick start your imagination while you are reviewing your photos.  If you see something that grabs you, stop and edit.  Don’t let the moment of inspiration escape you.  Let this drive your creativity, and it will help you as you continue to sort out the keepers and the floaters from the hundreds or thousands of shots from your last shoot.  

Remember you shot RAW because it is uncompressed and gives you power.  If your shot looks “bland” at first glance, it’s probably due to the “best guess” formula that is being shown to you as a preview.  I recommend taking notes or remembering specific details about the light or environment when you took the shot.  This will help you later on when you are looking at the “bland” image thinking that you were sure that the clouds were more contrasty and epic looking.  The flip side to this is that you, the photographer, should be looking at the scene trying to capture that very thing that you found interesting.  Sometimes that “blandness” is simply your fault, and I will be the first to admit that I have shot a lot of “bland” photos.  

One of the reasons why I enjoy shooting weddings so much is that the entire day is an adrenalin rush.  There is nothing “bland” about the day and the constant challenge of capturing once-in-a-lifetime moments forces me to step up my abilities.

Good Places to Use Clarity

I won’t get into the differences between utilizing clarity and sharpness here as they both function differently.  What I did want to pass along are some really great uses for clarity that I’ve found during my last rounds of editing.  Painting clarity in with the adjustment brush is one of the best ways to use clarity effectively.  I’ve found that adding it in selectively helps to create an image that shows the captured detail and draws your eye to that detail without being really over the top.  Places where I used this technique rather frequently in the last wedding proofs that I was working on were hair, bouquet and clothing detail.  I was amazed what a difference utilizing clarity on the folds of a wedding dress or dress shirt can make.  As well, when added to the bouquet and hair, the detail pops without it becoming “over-sharpened.”  Give this a try, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Going over the top with clarity can also be a good thing and can be really useful when drawing detail out of contrasty clouds and grass.  The beauty of using the adjustment brush is that you can do a little painting, start a new brush and paint over the area that you just worked on to increase the effect.  The fact that you can effectively layer your brush adjustments has been one of my favorite things while using Lightroom.

Don’t Forget the Histogram

Here’s the thing about me and the histogram, whether it be on the camera or when in Lightroom/Photoshop:  I don’t live and die by it!  

I know that there may be a collective scream of agony from some groups when they read or hear that but it is the truth.  I would prefer to say that the histogram is:  A great reference tool that you should use to your advantage.  Don’t forget about it!  You don’t need to live and die by it, but it is the one thing that can keep you grounded when either shooting a photo or editing that photo later on.  As an experienced photographer I have a pretty good idea what the histogram is going to look like when I take a photo of Baba in front of a bay window with no flash at a baby shower.  That being said, it may be good to check the histogram vs the photo to ensure that enough detail of Baba made it into the image compared to the blown out background, and with that, voila, Baba now looks like the glowing angel that she really is.

When editing, the histogram is something that I do keep an eye on, still as a reference.  I find that it is really good to know where you are at when adjusting your brightness, contrast, curves/levels etc.  Even if you are doing a washed out effect on an image, it is good  to watch that you don’t end up clipping more of the image than you really intend too.  This also applies to clipping the black levels in the photo.  I’ve found it useful to apply presets to photos and go through and see what settings have been changed, and how they affect the histogram.  I have found that this has helped me to know what to expect the histogram to look like when I edit, and learning to keep an eye on it, has helped me to keep my edits in check.

Conclusion

Well that’s pretty much all for now.  I’m always curious to hear your comments on my posts, so don’t be shy in commenting or sending me a message.  Have you tried the techniques above?  Do you like them?  What are your favorites?  

As always there is more to come.

What makes me interested in photography?

Earlier today while at work, I was taking a thirty second “look out the window and not at the screen” break, and I started musing about what makes me interested in photography.  I posted the question on my Facebook Page and really do appreciate the replies that have been posted so far.  So here are some of the things that keep me interested in photography:

Interaction - Interaction is one of the main reasons why I am drawn to photography.  Whether I am reviewing photos, actively shooting, working on the website or just talking with others about photography, the topic fascinates me.  Interaction with other people while shooting or in solitude with nature, these are the things that keep the passion alive.

Originality/Individuality - Knowing that I can shoot the same subject as five other people at the same time and receive a photo that is completely different in look and feel fascinates me.  This is one of the reasons why I find photo walks to be so much fun.  The last vacation that Charlotte and I took, we were often shooting the same subject at the same time, and the variety of imagery is astounding.  In fact one of the main items for the vacation was to revisit and shoot a series of waterfalls that we had last been to several years previous.  Even though I’d say that the results were better this time around, there weren’t any shots that were duplicates to the one’s taken previously.  

Challenge - I have found that there is always something different to try or improve with photography.  Even upon reviewing my photos after a shoot, whether it be hours, months or years later, I find myself re-evaluating my images.  As with the waterfalls mentioned above, I was happy to get another attempt at capturing their beauty.  Perhaps the third time will be a charm, and we’ll have a little bit of sun the next time around.  The ability to capture a scene/subject at a particular moment in time is magical, and I think is under-rated sometimes.  You may never know when a snapshot will turn out to contain an extra meaning as I did a little while ago.  One of the reasons why I follow other photographers websites, podcasts, articles/blogs is to appreciate their art, and to be inspired for my own projects.  

“Gear” - One of the most exciting things for me is the gear, for those who know me well this won’t be a surprise.  ;-)  Enough said!

So there are just a few things that keep me interested in photography.  What are some of yours?  Feel free to leave a comment here under the post or on my Facebook Page.  

Chase the light!