Joe Baraban’s Digital Photography Blog

First shot was a horizontal.

One of the things I find fairly common in my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the plane, is that students/photographers will frame a subject and either shoot it vertically or horizontally then walk away. I’ve even had people frame something horizontally (mostly because it’s the easiest), not like what they saw then walk away.

REALLY!!!

OK, here’s the problem simply put: We perceive in a rectangle, so it’s the way we see the world. Having said that the camera was designed to be brought up to our eye horizontally; the objective of the camera’s designer Gods was to make the camera easy to be held. If you ever want your photos to be what I refer to as “up a notch”, GET OUT OF THAT HABIT!!!!

Except for the early years of my career (fifty-three and counting) when I was shooting for AP and UPI, and since I may have been chased down the street shooting riots I didn’t have time. After moving into the advertising and corporate world I have always shot everything both horizontally and vertically. It’s just a natural movement that I don’t even think about anymore.

Next time when you’re out shooting, do yourself a favor and right after you’ve shot something horizontally, make your very next picture a vertical of the same subject. When your next picture is vertical, then make your next picture a horizontal of the same subject.

When you’re composing, keep in mind that a horizontal format is calming and mimics the horizon. A vertical format has more energy, strength, and of course stresses height.The reason why a vertical has more energy is because the viewer will start at the bottom of your frame and move his eyes upward. It will take him longer to go from the bottom to the top while viewing a vertical, and that time takes more energy. Also remember that when you put vertical subjects in a vertical composition, you achieve even more energy. Keeping that in mind still shoot both ways, if nothing else for options…options are a good thing!!!

My next shot was a vertical.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and keep a lookout for my workshop schedule. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Use the edges of your frame as a compositional tool.

I’ll occasionally pick up one of my many photo books, take it over to the couch in my studio and look at the pictures while reading the text once again. One of my favorite photographers is Henri Cartier-Bresson…the father of “The Decisive Moment”. I love reading what he had to say about his approach to photography. From talking indirectly about the “Figure-Ground” principle in Gestalt to waiting for the right picture, to timing, and a hundred others thoughts to numerous to mention in one post.

The one thought that he talked about as much or more than others was about cropping your photos. here’s his quote:

“If you start cutting or cropping a good photograph, it means death to the geometrically correct interplay of proportions. Besides, it very rarely happens that a photograph which was feebly composed can be saved by reconstruction of its composition under the darkroom’s enlarger; the integrity of vision is no longer there.” I think the part about the geometrically correct interplay might be a touch above my pay grade, I absolutely believe that the integrity of vision is no longer there.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops, I want my students and fellow photographers to crop only in the camera. By cropping in the camera, you’ll always be aware of where the edges of your frame are. One of the best suggestions I can make is to use those edges as a compositional tool. A good example would be to use one or two of the edges simultaneously or just one to create one of the sides of a shape. Since Shape is a basic element of visual design, it’s important to use shapes to help create stronger images. one or two edges can complete a triangle, square, rectangle, or any irregular shape such as a diamond or trapezoid; These have the most energy of all the shapes.

When you crop too much on the computer, it’s so easy to become lazy even lethargic. It’s that “I’ll just crop it later” syndrome that the digital age has brought upon us, reminiscent of some European plague… Yikes!!! A loose approach to framing your idea in the viewfinder can and will be an impediment leading to the obstruction of your photographic vision.

I once read, “Cropping is a sign of sloppy technique and a lack of discipline”. Now there’s food for digital thought!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

He was the fifth runner to come down the middle when the sun was out!

I see it all the time. It might be when someone submits a photo in one of my online classes with the BPSOP, or when I’m walking with one of my fellow photographers that is with me in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the place.

It might be the sun that has just gone behind a cloud putting everything in a less than desirable light. What will happen is that instead of the photographer looking up to see when the sun will come out they will invariably walk away from a potentially great photo op that needed light to pull it off. Of course, it is quite possible that the same photographer wouldn’t have a clue about the value of light and the way it affects the environment around him/her; that would really be a bummer!

What I see the most is the photographer just missing a person walking or maybe riding a bicycle down a street, path, beach, road, and the frustration knowing that he missed it clouds the mind and then not even consider the possibility of another person coming soon after.

Another common scenario is when a person or persons creates a situation where a gesture or some type of body language happens too fast for someone to raise his or her camera up to their eye to capture it. Never fear, the probability of that person repeated it is on your side. I’ve been shooting for fifty-three years and I’m here to tell you to not bet the farm that it won’t happen again…only maybe this time it will even be better.

Whatever you do, do give up, do ‘t quit then walk away. Give it a chance and the chances are you won’t be sorry for spending the time. Remember that the easiest part of taking pictures is clicking the shutter. The part that leads up to it takes time, energy, and work.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Coming from the days before the digital era, not only did we have to crawl three miles in the snow to get a shot, but we had to focus our own camera. Of course, those were the days before the written word, as in pre-historic times.

Now that we’re in the digital era, we have one of many marvelous innovations called auto-focus.  However, it’s important to remember that auto-focus is a luxury, not a necessity.

I keep telling that to my online students that take my online classes with the BPSOP, and to those that are with me during my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the perfectly round planet.

Having said all this, I generally keep my camera set on auto-focus, but in doing that I’m keenly aware of any drawbacks to it, and in an instant I can change to manual focus.

Here are some examples of when you should make the switch:

WHERE: You need to be watching where your focal points are active and place them on something that has contrast. It’s important to remember that the camera needs that contrast to focus.

If your subject has a lot of sky, your camera can’t focus there because of a lack of distinction; there has to be something of contrast below the horizon line.

WHEN: If you’re pointing your camera at a wall with nothing on it and depending on what your focal points are set on, the camera won’t see anything so it won’t click the shutter.

The most obvious one is it your lens is too close to your subject.

In the above photo, I placed my subject close to the edge of the frame to not only create depth but to generate Visual Tension as well. The camera doesn’t know that’s what I’m doing and will focus on something farther away. If I’m really lucky and have stopped down to F/22 and I have a wide-angle lens on I might get my subject in focus.

The best way to handle it is to set my camera to manual focus and focus on my subject. Then, if I want what’s behind him to be sharp, I can just stop all the way down to F/22.

WHY focus on manual? Because it will make you more aware of your surroundings, and what your camera can and can’t do. As a result, will make you a stronger photographer.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Looking deep into her eyes was great!

I teach fellow photographers how to incorporate the elements of visual design and composition into their imagery.

In my part I and part II online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, one of the basic elements and probably the most important of them all is LINE. Without Line, the other elements of visual design wouldn’t be elements, and worse, the world as we know it wouldn’t exist…why you ask????

For the simple reason that Pattern, Texture, Vanishing Points, Shape, Form, and Perspective are made up of Line. The world wouldn’t exist because everything around us from buildings to forms of locomotion to flowers to humans, etc. all have an implied outLINE.

When I’m photographing people, I almost always have my subject looking into the lens.  One of the most important implied lines is the imaginary line that runs from the subject’s eyes to the center of the lens. Not only does it suggest a certain intimacy and private bond between the subject and the photographer, but it also creates visual tension and intellectual energy.

As I always say, “Tension=Energy”.

I don’t mean the Tension that comes from mental or emotional strain, but the Tension that comes from forces acting in opposition to one another…as in the subject and the camera looking at each other.

At one time taking pictures of people use to be thought as “robbing oneself of their soul”. Having said that, I’m not looking to steal someone’s soul (what would I do with it once I had it? Craig’s List or eBay?), however, I like the old adage that suggests the eyes are the doorway to one’s soul, and I do like the idea of looking into one’s inner spirit.

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Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and check out my workshop schedule. Come shoot with me sometimes and maybe we’ll go steal some ‘souls’ together!!!

🙂

JoeB

Maui, Hawaii

One of the items from my Bag of Solutions That I never leave at home is a pair of Walki-Talki’s. I’ve had a pair near me for years, and when I use to buy them they were $1500.00 for a pair of Motorola’s that had a five-mile reach. Today, you can buy a pair for under $100.00, and the investment would be well worth it…why, you ask?

Because it will add another dimension to your photography. I often like to put someone in my photo to either give scale to my composition, or just to be able to have someone standing, riding, or sitting exactly where you want him/her to be so i can get back and shoot with a telephoto lens. Whether it’s indoor or outdoor, to have that kind of control could be the difference between a good photo and a great photo.

What I do is hook one of the Walki-Talki’s to the subject (somewhere out of sight), and hold the other in my hand while I compose my shot. If I want my subject to move over a step in either direction, or to rearrange his or her body language, or to create some Negative Space between them and whatever it is around them that’s making it hard to define their shape, I merely direct them through my Walki-Talki.

Of course, this means that I’m on a tripod so I can have one hand free. As I’ve said a thousand time to the online class I teach with the BPSOP, or in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I want complete control of my photography and be able to do whatever it is that I’m able to conjure up in my imagination. That means any combination of shutter speeds and aperture settings I want, and be able to have my hands free to do whatever…like holding a Walki-Talki.

OK, the top photo: I was shooting an advertising campaign for United Airlines, and for five weeks all I had to do was to come up with pretty pictures for their upcoming ads. We chose this location as it was a favorite among tourists. I chartered the sailboat and put one of my assistants on it (tough duty). He had a Walki-Talki with him, so I could direct the sailboat back and forth around the lighthouse. All the tourists around me went nuts because they thought it was accidental that the sailboat was there and gave them the opportunity to take back home a memorable picture. I think I was the only one there with a 600mm F/4 lens!!!!

Here are a few examples of using Walki-Talki’s to create interesting photographs that anyone can take without the expense of chartering a sailboat or having an assistant!!

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Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog and come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Just one white reflector

When I’m teaching either with my online class with the BPSOP, or with my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, students are always asking me the best way to use fill flash when shooting portraits outdoors. I have a simple and quick response to them.

I tell them that in my fifty-three year career, I’ve never, and I mean not once used fill flash outdoors. I don’t even like to use it indoors. I can honestly say that I’ve never missed it because my portraits do just fine without it. So, you’re thinking, what do I do?

Here’s my set-up. How much simpler can you get?

I use a collapsible reflector with white on one side and silver on the other. 90% of the time I use the white side. I’ll occasionally use a larger piece of Foam-board when I have a larger area to cover, as in a full-length shot. All I ever need is a stand that won’t fall over, an A-clamp, and a reflector. It’s a hell of a lot easier than figuring out ratios when I’m losing the light. Why complicate my life? There are enough things I have no control over that does a good job messing with my head. Why cloud it up even more with something that I love and have control over.

It’s unbelievable how many times I see an outdoor portrait lit with a flash. It’s a look that’s been beaten to death, and usually, the photographer doesn’t know what he or she is doing which makes it worse. I realize it’s a matter of personal preference, and for me, I like a natural look. The kind of look that has never gone out of style and never will.

Take a look at some of my portraits lit with only a white reflector or a larger piece of foam-board:

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Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Look ma, no Photoshop!

In one of my earlier posts, I talked out how it was before the invention of digital cameras and Photoshop. That’s when you had to create whatever idea you had in the camera. In my online class, I teach with the BPSOP, and the “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I ask my students to not use post-processing. It’s not because I don’t like or use Photoshop, because I use it all the time; my favorite tool in CS5 is the Content-Aware Tool!!!

I just want my students to be better photographers, not better digital technicians.

However, as much as I like to use Photoshop, I always try to fix whatever problems in the camera. For example, why take a distracting telephone pole out later with Photoshop, when all you have to do is move a step to the right or left. That is, if you can without being run over by a very large truck, or falling into a vat of acid.

The photograph pictured above was part of the full line catalog for BMW motorcycles, shot before the days when you could shoot the motorcycle in the studio, and with the help of CGI, make it look like it was actually moving, and then drop it into a landscape.

How very sad!! How very boring!!! What fun is that???????????????

Here’s how we did it back then:

Most of you have either used or know what a softbox is and what’s it for, but how many of you out there have ever seen a softbox this big? It took three and a half hours to set it up by an independent company so the motorcycles could run through it while I shot on continuous. I matched the exposure coming out of the twelve 24oo watt/sec Speedotron heads to the ambient light. That way, I could stop the action and still have the wheels turning and water coming up from behind the bikes.

Now that was fun!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog, and come shoot with me sometime. You’ll have fun too.

JoeB

Lead em!!!

For those that like to smoke cigars, drink a bunch of whiskey and bird hunt, or for others that would rather kill a clay pigeon, you know what I mean by “leading it”. In other words, don’t shoot where they are, shoot where they’re going to be. Well, that same thinking applies to photography…how you say????

As I’ve demonstrated to my online class with the BPSOP, and in person with my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, the next time you’re out shooting action or anything that moves whether it be a person or object, try aiming your camera where your subject is going to be and not where it is when you start shooting. Try giving he, she, or it a destination; someplace to wind up. That way you’ll keep the viewer interested, and the more interested the viewer is the longer he’ll stick around. I don’t know about you, but that’s exactly what I want to happen.

As I say this, Ansel Adams once said, “There are no rules for good pictures, there are just good pictures. In other words, sometimes I do this and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I have the subject leaving the composition so it will imply ‘content’ outside the frame.

I digress:

Put your subject on the far right or far left and point your camera (a wide-angle would be the lens of choice) towards the horizon, or at the end of directional or converging lines. These types of lines are a perfect vehicle that can move the viewer around the frame.

Try different shutter speeds that will vary the amount of background blur. One of the best ways to achieve the feeling of speed is to get in a car (a convertible is best, but not mandatory) and follow along at the same rate of speed. Btw, you don’t need to go more than a few miles an hour to create this.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com and check out my new workshop schedule at the top of this blog.

JoeB

“You’re perfect”.

One can’t shoot advertising and corporate photography for fifty-three years and not have amassed several funny stories during this time. Some included the client, some the designer or art director, and some when I was sent on my own to shoot whatever I wanted. This was the case when a graphic designer and his client (a paper company based in Houston) hired me to work on a brochure that was featuring a new line of paper. It was to be called “Kromekoat”.

The idea was to shoot things that were chrome, and it needed to somehow say Texas. Those were the only stipulations, and besides those two, I could shoot anything I wanted. I had read that the Texas State Fair was coming up in a few days and one of the main attractions was the giant Ferris Wheel that has the word Texas in large letters on one side. Now all I needed was something chrome to take with me.

I found what I was looking for when I walked into a CVS Pharmacy near my studio. I was walking by a rack of sunglasses and spotted a plastic pair that looked just like chrome. As I tell my online students with the PPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, follow my Did It Do It list for good composition. One of the points I mention is to Pre-Visualize.

I quickly imagined the finished photo in my mind and the next morning my assistant and I took off for Dallas and the Texas State Fair.

My idea was to find one of the Carny men that worked the games in the carnival section of the fair, and have him put on the chrome sunglasses so I could take a portrait of him in front of the Ferris Wheel. As the sun was starting to set, I still hadn’t found just the right man to pose for me. When I had less than twenty minutes of late afternoon light still available I started to get nervous. I had one afternoon to get the shot and it looked like I was going to miss it.

The sun was getting low enough that there were only a few places left that had sunlight. I was about to throw in the towel and call it a bust when I took a quick look at my assistant and there was this epiphany that hit me over the head like a big pizza pie…”You’re perfect”, I said. “Quick JD, put these glasses on and look towards the sun.” He did and I got the shot.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and be sure to check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I’m always looking for more.

I wrote a post in 2018 about creativity and a man responded to it with words that put a spark in my imagination. He said that we all should be more than we are.

You can interpret that lots of ways, but I found it to be relating to the online classes I teach with the BPSOP. In a manner of speaking, it also fits in with the “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I teach around our (round) planet.

Why you ask?

I recently did a zoom class with a large camera club in a city I really shouldn’t divulge. At any rate, it really doesn’t matter because through the forty-plus years of conducting workshops and zooming with fellow photographers, I have found that there are no geographic boundaries when it comes to photographers sharing the same issues.

It seems that the older we get, the more we are set in our ways and are not willing to “be more than we are”; walking down the path less traveled. These photographers I’m referring to have reached the pinnacle of their creative thought process. They have become shutters pushers that shoot either what they have seen others shoot or what others have told them the way it should be shot. They love their camera club meetings and look forward to sharing the same ideas, munching on Goldfish while washing them down with Diet Coke.

I’m certainly not judging them (well sorta,maybe just a touch), it’s merely an observation.

Years ago while I was conducting a workshop in Provence, the day before the start a woman living nearby, that had taken all my online classes, drove to where we were having dinner. During dinner, she said that the reason she drove to meet me was to answer my question in person.

Towards the end of my part I class, she had said that the photos she was submitting would not be accepted in any competition, or even approved of in her camera club. My question to her was, “Why don’t you start your own camera club?”

She said that she had taken my advice and along with several others that felt the same way, did start their own club. She laughed when she said that they all knew what Monet and the rest of the Impressionist Painters felt like when their work wasn’t initially accepted.

So, my fellow photographers, don’t take the path well-traveled. It will only lead you down a one-way path to mediocrity; purgatory for the creativity in you.

Visit my workshop at www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB