Joe Baraban’s Digital Photography Blog

Follow the road less traveled

To all my brothers and sisters,

Do you raise the camera up to your eye and start shooting without first thinking it out? Do you take one shot then move on leaving a lot still on the table? Do you follow advice from all your self taught fellow photographers, even though it will lead you down the iniquitous path to mediocrity? Photographic purgatory for life everlasting!!!!

Moreover, do you buy expensive cameras in the name of artistry hoping for that creative vision, inspiration, and imagination that will evade you in perpituity? Do you really think a fast 50mm prime lens will make you a better photographer, so it’s the only lens you use? Do you crop your photos into squares, long rectangles, and enhancement bubbles or circles as they’re commonly called? Do you triple mount with colorful mats those camera club entries and give them weird esoteric titles? Do you let your camera do all your thinking for you? Do you aimlessly walk the hallowed aisles of the B&H photo store looking for expensive unnecessary crap you really don’t need? Do you let those naysayers convince you that HDR is the only way to achieve proper exposures? Do you fix it later in Photoshop?

If you answer yes to any of these, then I beseech you my fellow photographers in the name of all that’s sacred, mend your ways or become photo sinners for all eternity!!!

REPENT!! How do you ask? How do you find salvation? How do you keep the devil, also referred to as Lucifer, The Prince of Darkness, Beelzbub,  Satan, the Antichrist, or the funny looking guy with horns, a weird tail, and carries a trident wherever he goes, off your left shoulder who is just itching to force you into acts of bad behavior? How do you change your ways and go from being a photo sinner to saint?

By following the righteous trail less traveled…by not taking advice from people you might know more than…by using the elements of design and composition in your imagery…by making sure you convey your thoughts to the viewer….by doing what you intended…by having a center of interest…by including visual tension and interest in your photos…by pre-visualizing…by slowing down and smelling the roses…by coloring outside the lines, and most importantly…by breaking all the rules!!!

Of course, you could always take my online classes with the BPSOP, and/or take one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our (round) planet.

🙂

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

JoeB

Always being aware of my immediate environment.

As I tell my online students with the BPSOP, and those that take my “Stretching Your Frame of mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, you just never know when that illusive keeper will cross your photographic path. When I say illusive keeper, I’m talking about that 0ne in fifty images that passes through you camera on any given day of shooting.

Most of the photographers I teach, as well as those that I respect as great shooters all have certain criteria in judging what each considers a keeper, or better yet an “OMG” photo. My standards are set extremely high and they keep getting higher if that’s possible!!! Since I know that these kinds of photos come and go in a blink of an eye, mostly because of the sometimes fleeting light, I want to be ready just in case.

It stands to reason that one of the best ways to have a shot at your keeper is to always have a camera with you. Which I do!!! This reminds me of the tag line for the Texas Lottery that reads, “You can’t win if you don’t play”. The good news is that your chances of coming home with that “OMG” photo is a lot better than winning the Lottery.

In the above photo, I had just sat down in an outside bar on the second floor of the hotel I was staying at. As always, I had my camera with me and saw this happening right before my very eyes. Since it screams Line, the most important of all the elements of visual design, I took a picture of it.

Wherever I’m sitting, walking, running, or riding, I’m constantly moving my eyes around my immediate environment. It’s like I have a built in 2X3 rectangle and I’m seeing everything in an imaginary viewfinder. I’m especially looking for light hitting or falling on an object or person. It may be as obscure as a thin shaft of light, or it might be in an unusual shadow that it creates. My eye is also attracted to any movement that occurs in my peripheral vision.

Looking for anything that’s weird or quirky because of some brief juxtaposition of elements or a reflection is a good source of keepers. Try to anticipate something that might be happening and have your camera “close to the vest” when it does. Chances are it won’t last long.

Last, remember what Eddie Adams (a Pulitzer prize winning photographer) said, “When you get lucky, be ready”.

Here’s a few examples of being an observer of my surroundings:

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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

Leading lines to a payoff.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, we work on ways to use the elements of visual design to help take our imagery what I always refer to as “Up a notch”. In my part II class, we spend a lot of time on Line.

When thinking about the effects the psychology of Gestalt has on our imagery, one has to consider the facts about visual perception, and the methods we use to gain attention to our photography. What’s important is how we manage what the viewer perceives and processes when looking at the visual information we lay out to him in the form of a photograph. Humans rely on perception of the environment that surrounds them. Visual input is a part of our everyday life, and as photographers it’s our prime objective to present this visual information in a way that takes control of what the viewer sees when looking at our imagery.

The more ways we can have the viewer move around our composition, while at the same time leaving and entering it through the use of these concepts, the longer they will stick around. The more things we can get the viewer to discover while moving him around the frame will also keep them around longer. Isn’t that what we want?

Now let’s talk about Line. It’s the most important of all the elements. Without Line, none of the other elements would exist. You and I would cease to exist, as well as planes, trains, car, etc…why? Because we all have an outLINE. Line is a great vehicle in moving our viewer around the frame. I use it all the time in my imagery. The ultimate composition is where I’ve been able to lead the viewer around my frame to some kind of payoff at the end. Although that’s not a major criteria, it does add another layer of interest.

I don’t know about the rest of my fellow photographers, but for me, I want the viewer to look at a photo for as long as possible; at least six to eight seconds. You might not think that’s a long time but try looking at  someone’s photo somtime and you’ll see that it really is.

If it doesn’t pull at some inner feeling right away, then there’s little chance that the viewer will want to spend any time on it. Using leading and directional lines is one of the quickest ways to get their attention; especilly in the form of a Vanishing Point.

Take a look at these images where I’ve taken control of what the viewer does and then I’ll often lead him to a payoff by using Line.

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

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

JoeB

Being aware and having a camera with me.

As I tell my online students with the BPSOP, and those that take my “Stretching Your Frame of mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, you just never know when that illusive keeper will cross your photographic path. When I say illusive keeper, I’m talking about that 0ne in fifty images that passes through you camera on any given day of shooting.

Most of the photographers I teach, as well as those that I respect as great shooters all have certain criteria in judging what each considers a keeper, or better yet an “OMG” photo. My standards are set extremely high and they keep getting higher if that’s possible!!! Since I know that these kinds of photos come and go in a blink of an eye, mostly because of the sometimes fleeting light, I want to be ready just in case.

It stands to reason that one of the best ways to have a shot at your keeper is to always have a camera with you. Which I do!!! This reminds me of the tag line for the Texas Lottery that reads, “You can’t win if you don’t play”. The good news is that your chances of coming home with that “OMG” photo is a lot better than winning the Lottery.

In the above photo, I had just sat down in an outside bar on the second floor of the hotel I was staying at. As always, I had my camera with me and saw this happening right before my very eyes. Since it screams Line, the most important of all the elements of visual design, I took a picture of it.

Wherever I’m sitting, walking, running, or riding, I’m constantly moving my eyes around my immediate environment. It’s like I have a built in 2X3 rectangle and I’m seeing everything in an imaginary viewfinder. I’m especially looking for light hitting or falling on an object or person. It may be as obscure as a thin shaft of light, or it might be in an unusual shadow that it creates. My eye is also attracted to any movement that occurs in my peripheral vision.

Looking for anything that’s weird or quirky because of some brief juxtaposition of elements or a reflection is a good source of keepers. Try to anticipate something that might be happening and have your camera “close to the vest” when it does. Chances are it won’t last long.

Last, remember what Eddie Adams (a Pulitzer prize winning photographer) said, “When you get lucky, be ready”.

Here’s a few examples of being an observer of my surroundings:

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

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

Did it have a center of interest?

This is the sixth in my series I call “did it do it”. In each of my online classes I teach every month with the BPSOP, and also with my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the planet, I pass out this list of twelve suggestions to create stronger images and take your photos what I refer to as “up a notch”.

Since I’m not one for following rules, I submit these merely as guidelines. Guidelines that I’ve personally been following for most of my forty-six year career in Photography. The more of these guidelines you can include in your photos the better, as it’s worked for me so far. I call this one “did it have a center of interest”.

Since teaching my first workshop in 1984, I’ve looked at and critiqued hundreds of photographs, and a common thread that enviably runs through a vast majority is that they don’t have a center of interest.  Something that the viewer can clearly identify with and be able to recognize without aimlessness wondering around the frame looking for something to stop and enjoy; or wonder just what it was that you were shooting.

I can already hear what you’re thinking!!! What about a landscape or an abstract? First of all, a landscape does have a center of interest. It’s the location that’s the subject and what’s interesting. If there’s mountains, then they are the center of interest. If there’s a large body of water, then that’s what the viewer will latch onto. If there’s nothing but “sea, land and air”, then it the way they act and react to one another; the way the photographer arranges them in his composition.

If you’re talking about an abstract, then it’s conceptual and anything the viewer wants can be the center of interest.

For the most part, a photo needs a center of interest to create strength, convey a thought, communicate an idea,  make a statement, conjure up an emotion, or to be an anchor in the foreground to provide “layers of interest” and take the viewer to the horizon. It’s the glue that holds the entire composition together. Their can be more than one center of interest, as long as they say the same thing. This falls under one of the six principles of Gestalt I’ve written about for Adorama. This principle is called Similarity.

By the way, a center of interest does not have to be tangible. Intangible or an implied center of interest may come in the form of color, light, and contrast.

Some photographers tell you to “get to the point” by having your center of interest be seen right away. I agree, but with reservations. Sometimes I want the viewer to spend time looking at my photo, so I might pace it somewhere that will be discovered later rather than sooner.  This leads me to talk about another of the Principles of Gestalt…figure-Ground where sometimes the center of interest is up for grabs.

The important thing to remember is to make sure your idea is a “Quick read”, as in my tractor photo above.

Visit my new 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

What do you see?

Since I’m always on the lookout for articles of interest and observing well-known photographers (as well as other tyoes of artists) and their quotes, I get excited when I read one by a photographer whose work I’m familiar with.

Paul Strand is one of those photographers, who once said, “The artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep.”

For those of you new to my blog, I’m a semi-retired advertising, corporate, and editorial photographer who now teaches an online class with the BPSOP, as well as conducting my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops around our planet.

I teach my fellow photographers how to incorporate the basic elements of visual design into their photography. I also show students how to see past first impressions and instead of seeing with the left side of their brain, the analytical side, we work on using the right side of the brain, the creative side.

“Even in your own backyad”, I once said to one of my mentoring students who wasn’t able to leave her small farm. “It’s not just an old wooden fence” I remarked. “You see an old wooden fence with the left side of your brain, right? But what do you see with the right side?”, I asked.

I continued, “With the right side you see a possible Vanishing Point (leading and directional lines), Pattern, Texture, Shapes, and most importantly Line.

So my fellow photographers make no mistake we are artists who have chosen the camera as the medium. Our world really is limitless, and to me the best way to see it is to take the road less traveled. Strike out on your own, using your own imagination. Remember that it’s a beautiful world out there when in the hands of a photographer.

Remember that if you always do what you did, you’ll always get what you got!!!

Visit my brand new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my upcoming workshops at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Moving the viewer around the frame

Well my fellow photographers, here is another in the series of my “did it do it” list for good composition. If you study all of them that wll be forthcoming, you’re imagery will most definitely go what I refer to as “up a notch”. As I’ve said all along, these are not rules since rules will hinder your creative thinking. They are guidelines to making strong photos; photos that will be remembered.

Will your composition make people want to give your photograph more than a cursory look? Well first things first. First let’s see what the dictionary says about the cursory:

cursory |ˈkərsərē|
adjective
hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed : a cursory glance at the figures.

In other words, will it make the viewer want to stick around and spend more time looking. In order for the viewer to be more thorough or detailed, you have to provide enough elements for him to be thorough with.

In my online classes with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I teach my fellow photographers how to use the elements of Visual Design and Composition to create strong photos. A lot of what I teach includes the power of Gestalt. The methods we use to gain attention to our photos will vary, but what’s important is how we manage what the viewer perceives and processes when he/she looks at the visual information we lay out to him in the form of a photograph.

Visual input is a part of our everyday life. As photographer’s it’s up to us to present this information in a way that will control what the viewer sees when looking at our imagery. The more ways we can get the viewer to move around our composition, while at the same time leaving and entering our frame, the longer they will stick around. The more things we can get the viewer to discover ( layers of interest) while moving him around will also keep him around longer. This is how the elements of Visual Design can play an important part in giving our images more than a cursory look.

Isn’t that just what we want?

🙂

Visit my new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2019 workshop schedule.

JoeB

  As I’ve always said, Light is everything, and should be considered first, even before your composition. When it interacts with shadows, the results can be incredible. It’s a sure fire way to take our imagery “up a notch”. Light is important for sure, but equally important are the shadows. Not only is it important to know where the light is going to be, but it’s equally important to know where the shadows will fall.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the planet, students learn beforehand exactly where shadows will fall any day of the week, anywhere in the world. Using a program called Sunpath, and coupling it with a hand bearing compass called a Morin 2000 not only do they learn where the shadows will fall, but which direction the light will be coming from, when it will be coming,  how long it will be there, and when it will leave.

Pretty important information if you ask me!

Once the interrelationship between light and shadow is established, a mood is set and the results can range from mysterious to downright scary. This is where the Theory of Gestalt comes in. Shadows can affect how the viewer perceives and is a quick way to conjure up all kinds of emotions by giving a dramatic edge to your composition.

In both these images, I’ve made the shadows important enough as to make them the subject.

Photographers usually don’t give shadows any consideration; in fact, to many they can be intimidating.  Truth be told, they are leaving out a very important part of their imagery. Shadows can suggest what we can’t see in our reality. In fact, shadows help us to “celebrate the unseen”. Btw, the next time you’re out shooting, don’t think/worry about shadows falling on people’s faces.

Finally, when you master the light, be sure to master the shadows as well. We should pay tribute to the shadow, as it can help us take our imagery to “a place where no man has gone before”!!!

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

JoeB

Somebody up there liked me that day.

Every once in a while I find myself going through old images and will generally stop on one that brings back fun (and not so much fun) memories.

I was hired by Lowell Williams design who was hired by an oil company in London…Oil Tools Limited. They were to begin drilling in Asia and wantd to create a high quality tabletop book that they could give out.

They sent the designer and myself to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines to photograph whatever I wanted that would visually represent the culture of the countries.

We had a driver that would take us all around the cities: Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Manilla, Philippines. We would also travel around the countryside outside these three cities as well. If I saw something interesting I would tell the driver to stop while I got out and took pictures.

We were driving down the highway outside Kuala Lumpur and I looked out into the field and saw this young woman tossing water on her Water Buffalo. I asked what she was doing and our driver told us that she was keeping the animal cool; it was very hot and humid.

I jumped out, threw my Nikkor 300mm F/2.8 on an F3 motor drive, loaded a roll of Kodachrome 25, hooked it up to my tripod, and started running out towards her. I made it about thirty yards before I started bogging down in the mud.

I quickly set up, started waving at her, and began shooting. I can only imagine what she was thinking since I was pretty sure I was the first one to ever do whatever it was that I was doing!!

Well, the photo Gods were with me that day. She smiled and continued throwing water while I was shooting.

I waved to her and headed back to the car with a huge smile spreading from ear to ear. I couldn’t believe my good fortune as I thought I had at least one good shot; hard to tell in those days since it was on film and no way to see what I had shot.

I got back to the car and needed to change my jeans and tennis shoes. I set the camera and still attached (very big) lens on the top of the car while I changed. I was still very excited at the amazing experience I just had, so excited that I jumped into the car and we drove off looking for more photo ops.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that the camera and lens were still on the top of the car; just where I had left it.

I was panicked to say the least. I didn’t want to yell at the driver because he might suddenly slam on the brakes and any chance of rescuing my equipment would be compromised.

With a very slow, steady, and low voice, I explained  what was going on and would he take his foot off the gas and slowly come to a stop; which he did.

Now came the moment of truth when I opened the door and nervously looked up (with both eyes barely opened) to where the camera had been. I couldn’t believe my luck…it was still there!!!!

The photo Gods were looking out at this fool that day.

Btw, I’m always telling my online students with the BPSOP and my fellow photographers that join me in one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops to always know where your equipment is at all times; and to always check the area around you before you leave.

Visit my new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshops at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me some time.

JoeB

A balanced photograph

Ok, in this day and age we’re hearing this term almost on a daily basis. Just to be sure everyone knows the full definition, here you go:

Checks and balances: A system that allows each branch of a government to amend or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one branch from exerting too much power.

Yesterday, while listening to a news program, I kept hearing it and suddenly it all became crystal clear!!!

When I say it became clear,  I mean photographically speaking…how, you’re asking yourself right about now?

In my online classes with the BPSOP, I work with my fellow photographers on how to effectively use the basic elements of visual design in their imagery. I also discuss these as refreshers/reminders during the daily reviews with my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops; since many participants have taken my online classes beforehand.

One of the basic elements is Balance, and it’ about visual weight. A balanced photo is what we as photographers try to achieve because it makes for visually inviting images. A balanced photo gives the viewer a feeling of stability. We all are more comfortable when the environment around us is feels firm and steady.

The balance between the Positive and Negative Space is important in creating either symmetrical or asymmetrical balance. There is positive space, that area that has mass (visual weight), and the negative space that is everything else.

Btw, if you want to find out if your photo is balanced right away to check it, try looking at you photo on the LED glass…upside down!!! The proper checks and balances can be achieved by using my 15 Point Protection Plan.

Visit my new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2019 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime. I have one last spot on my New York workshop starting this coming September 17th. We’ll be shooting in all five boroughs.

JoeB

A new way of seeing

This is another point on my did it do it list of twelve reasons why a photo works. Did it show a new way of looking at ordinary ideas? These are not rules, since I don’t like rules. Rules are a hindrance and can and will get in the way of those creative juices. They’re merely guidelines I’ve been using for a very long time; most of the fifty years I’ve been a photographer.

I feel strongly enough about the list that I show it to all my classes I teach online with the BPSOP, and I share them with my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet.

After a long career, I can tell you that there are few original ideas left, but that’s ok. The challenge comes with looking at a subject in a new light. It might be a different POV. For example, have you ever laid on your stomach to get a different perspective on something; getting dirt on your shirt? Have you ever adding some props to an existing location that’s been photographed a hundred times before you got there.

Maybe it’s the time of day since so many of my fellow photographers wait until after breakfast to go out shooting, or quit so they can have dinner…missing the great late evening sun. This alone would make a huge difference between your photos and everyone elses. Light can do wonders to ordinary ideas. I’ve often said that if you find the light you’ll find the shot.

It could be something as simple as using a lens you would never have thought of. Have you ever shot a portrait with a 200mm lens? How about a 17mm lens or a 100mm macro? No? Well you’re missing out on a great way to shoot people.  What about a landscape shot as a vertical? Trust me, it can work.

In the photo above, I found a new way of showing Venice, as well as ordinary umbrellas.

The key to all this is what the title to my classes and workshops is all about. You just gotta go out and stretch your frame of mind, or as my students refer to it as “SYFOM”.

Visit my new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2019 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. I still have two spaces left for my workshop in New York, where we will be shooting in all five boroughs. Come shoot with me.

JoeB

Try looking at what’s above you.

Every so often, I like to submit a quote to all my fellow photographers out there. These are quotes I’ve written down over time that I find from all different sources, and don’t necessarily come from photographers. It’s kind of a library of thoughts I’ve accumulated that were said at one time or another sometimes going back at least a hundred years. By now I know most of these quotes from memory and I’ll refer back to one when the timing is right.

It’s a pity that this author is unknown since it’s one of my all time favorites. At some point in time, someone once said, “If you always do what you did, you’ll always get what you got”.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our planet, I’m constantly working with people that have a particular way of looking at things. A particular way of composing, and a whole lot of them live by the rules laid down by people that only require you to  achieve mediocrity.

It’s all about coloring outside the lines, and looking at new ways of seeing things. It’s  about going out and forgetting about putting your subject in one of the intersections required by the Rule of Thirds. It’s about not worrying that your subject is leaving the frame instead of making sure there’s plenty of room for your subject to walk into.

When you go out shooting. leave the left side of your brain at home. That’s the analytical side that only sees a tree. Go out with the right side of your brain turned on, that way you’ll see a tree but you also see the texture of the bark, the shapes created by the leaves, the Negative space between the leaves that defines them. Study the way the light falls on the tree, whether front, side or backlit.

Off a car’s hood

If you’ve always brought the camera up to your eye and composed from that height, try getting on your knees. Lay on your stomach and get some dirt on your shirt. Follow the light and let it be your guide as far as where to stand in relation to the subject.

Stop fearing shadows, instead embrace them because they are your best friend. Don’t leave just because the sun has gone down. Shoot in the blue hour, using silhouettes as your center of interest.

Try shooting through things, or shooting the reflections coming off buildings or glass. When you’re walking around looking for subject matter, don’t just look straight ahead; make your field of vision 360 degrees. Look from the ground in front of you to the sky above you because you just never know what you might see happening.

Instead of going out shooting after breakfast or before dinner, go out before breakfast and after dinner. This is when the light is the best.

If you try some of these ideas, I can guarantee you that your images will begin to go (what I always refer to) up a notch. Stop doing what you’ve always done so you can stop getting what you’ve always got.

Visit my new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. I have added a new workshop to my 2019 schedule. On September 17th, ten photographers will get together with me at my evening “meet and greet” to begin a fantastic workshop in New York shooting in all the five boroughs. Check out my description at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me.

JoeB

Tightened up by moving closer

After getting out of college, in the early part of 1970 I moved to Houston. My second job after graduating was with a newly formed advertising agency working as an art director.

One of our clients was Archie Bell and the Drells, and in 1968 they recorded a song called Tighten Up. It was our job to do any graphics and public relationss for them.

I got to know Archie and every once in a while on Siriusxm they play his big hit; which always maks me smile.

Just recently, I was talking to one of my online students with the BPSOP about one of his images he submitted for a critique. Since I had just heard the song, the title of Archie’s song immediately popped into my head; Tighten Up.

What I was talking to the student about was his  constant desire to crop his photos, dealing with any problems later sitting in front of a computer.

Let me digress for a moment to say that in my classes there’s no cropping allowed…I want to see their thought process right out of the camera. I tell them that in fifty years of shooting I’ve never, not ever, cropped one of my photos.

Tightened up by changing lens

Btw, I’ve had similar conversations with photographers that join me in one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct aound our planet.

If there’s things in your composition you don’t like, deal with them then not later. Having said this, cropping in front of a computer will hone your skills as a digital artist; if that’s your preference. What it won’t do is make you a better photogrpher.

What will make you a stronger photographer is to keep changing your initial composition by making adjustments. Adjustments come in all varieties, but the one that usually offeres the most benefits is to tighten up said composition.

Tighten it up by simply moving in closer, or perhaps changing lens to get rid of superfluous objects or unnecessary people. Using your 15PPP, your Border Patrol, and checking the four corners is the best way to do that.

Remember my fellow photographers, it’s not what you put into your photo that counts, it’s what you don’t put in that matters.

If you’ve never heard the song click on this link. If you do remember and want to remember the good old days click on the link!!

The Tighten Up

Visit my new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime. I have a spot open for my New York Workshop this Septmber 17th if you want to photograph all five borougs.

JoeB