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

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

Here’s a saying that has been around as long as I can remember; somewhere right after the last dinosaur disappeared.

I’m sure that at one time you have either said it yourself, it has been directed to you, or you read it, “Can’t see the forest for the trees”.

For those that don’t know the actual meaning, it’s an idiom ( https://www.dictionary.com/browse/idiom) and it means…”an expression used of someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole”.

Another definition is, “To focus only on small details and fail to understand larger plans or principles”; basically the same thing.

At this point you’re probably asking yourself what does this have to do with taking pictures?

I have seen this first hand with many of my fellow photographers that have either taken my online classes with the BPSOP or have seen it during the critiques in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the world.

They get so zoned into a subject that they fail to see the environment that surrounds it. This causes confusion when the viewer can’t figure out what you’re trying to visually say.

One of the problems I observe is that I see people walking around and all of a sudden they’re shooting pictures of things that could have been shot anywhere; For example, coming in close on a person, just a face, an object, something in a window, Etc.

This all works when you’re back from your trip and have the family over for the proverbial slideshow and you’re able to talk your way through each photo.

That’s all well and good, but for the most part you probably won’t be around to explain the pictures. If you want to say where the photo was taken (without being there), you’ll want to show some of the environment to give your subjct a place; including a name of the city (if at all possible) somewhere where the viewer can read it.

This what I refer to as The Whole Enchilada.

Btw, in the above image I was looking at the patterns, color, and light on the tent. When I stepped back I saw the ferris wheel!!!

🙂

Visit my brand new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and checkout my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime and we’ll slow down together and smell the roses. I still have an opening for my upcoming workshop in New York starting this coming September 17th. I hope you can come join us as we shoot all the five boroughs.

JoeB

If I had to name one thing that I’ve talked about the most, both in the years I’ve been teaching online with the BPSOP, and in all the “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I’ve conducted around the planet, it would be that the majority of my fellow photographers ‘take’ not ‘make’ their pictures.

I’ve seen it with my own eyes, so I know it to be soooooooo very true. They walk up to a subject whether it be a person, a structure, or even a landscape, and bring the camera up from their chest or swing it around from their shoulder. They look in the viewfinder and within a nanosecond (maybe a little more) they click the shutter and walk away. That’s taking pictures and maybe they got something worth sharing, maybe even a wall hanger; but I can tell you from years of experience…don’t count on it.

Here’s the difference in that style of photography and mine, and it’s what I teach and preach to all my students: First of all, the most important step before even thinking about bringing the camera up to your eye is to determine where the source of the light is coming from. Unless you’re street shooting where capturing the moment is critical, light is everything!!!

I want to make sure I’m either side lighting or back lighting my subject and center of interest. I do this for several reasons: Texture is one of the basic Elements of Visual Design, and to bring out the Texture, you need to either side or back light it. Form is another Element. Form refers to the three-dimensional quality of an object. height, width, and depth are the three ingredients, and to show depth, you need to side light it. Anything translucent such as: grass, flowers, and water look the best when they’re backlit; I always position myself so that my subject is between the source of the light and my camera.

I show my students how to incorporate the Elements of Visual Design into their imagery, and these elements are put on an imaginary ‘Artist Palette’. The same ‘Artist Palette’ I’ve been carrying around in the back of my mind for the past forty-four years. When I’m out shooting I look for things not immediately visible without the help of my palette. I look for: Light, Texture, Patterns, Shapes, Vanishing Points, Perspective, Color, and most important Line. I look for ways to use Negative Space to define my subjects, as well as balancing my composition. I use lines to move the viewer around the frame, especially if I can introduce a Vanishing Point. I introduce Color on overcast days, and I also use color to communicate ideas.

I also show my fellow photographers the way to use the right side of the brain…the creative side. This is the side tha tnot just sees a tree, but all the before mentioned elements of design.

This is “making pictures”, and a hell of a lot more fun than just bringing the camera up to my eyes and clicking the shutter.

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

JoeB

There are many aspects involved in taking a photo that you’ll remember and that will stand the test of time; or perhaps just another background memory clouded by the passing of our daily lives.

Since I enjoy the game of golf and I often play (I’m a much better photographer), I can draw this analogy…to simply hit a golf ball straight and not necessarily far, it takes a number of things all working together at the same time: Your stance, grip, wrist, shoulders, head, knees, follow-through,  tempo, backswing, and that’s not counting all the separate nuances that are associated with each one of those aspects. FYI, according to my brother, who’s a Master Professional, only five percent of all the golfers in the world can break 100.

Well the same hold true for photography, fortunately for all of us there’s not quite so many!!!

In my online classes with the BPSOP and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind’ workshops I conduct around our planet, we work on incorporating the elements of visual design.

We also work on light, exposure, balance, composition, unity, rhythm, meaning, visual interest, and the ability to see past first impressions, are all some of the important aspects necessary before you click the shutter; if you expect your photos to stand the test of time.

What do I mean by standing the test of time? I mean that when you look at your photo a day, week, month, six months, a year or longer, and it still looks as good to you as the day you shot it, then it will stand the test of time and become timeless. Will it convey the same meaning, tug at the same heartstrings, the same smile no matter how much time goes by?

Moreover, if in the same stretch of time you take a second look at it and you wonder why in the hell you ever clicked the shutter, then maybe you shouldn’t have been so hasty. That’s where those aspects I mentioned come into play. A good photo is going to be a good photo no matter what new technology forces its way into the art of photography…and make no mistake, it is art.

Photographers are artist who have chosen a camera as their medium. A camera on a tripod is just like a blank canvas on an easel.

I find that the more plug-ins, programs, software, and buttons there are, the harder it is to take a simple photo and have it last through all these photo fads. Case in point, look at all the great photographers that shot with a lens and a camera. People like: Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Steichen, Haas, Lange, Eugene Smith, Newman, Walker, Penn, and so many more.

Their images are more sought after today than ever before and will continue their popularity even as our generations change hands and younger/newer photographers take over with more advanced, more powerful, newer, smarter, more megapixel cameras . I just don’t think you can say that with the type of photos that one sees every day. They will come and go as fast as the new spring fashions that come out year to year.

For a photo to stand the test of time, it takes a commitment to the process. Take the time to get all these aspects going for you before you click the shutter, not in front of a computer. Think before you bring that camera up to your eye, and you’ll wind up shooting less and being more productive.

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

JoeB

When I go out shooting I never look for a particular subject, for example: flowers, fences, boats, cars, buildings, planes, trains, rivers, oceans, etc. What I look for is color and light to be my subject. I’m usually looking for both to be co-subjects since it creates a strong, powerful relationship. A white picket fence is not just a picket fence, it’s a ‘white’ picket fence. The type of flower is unimportant; it’s the color that attracts me to it.

In my online classes with the BPSOP, and also my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops, I emphasize how color and light working in tandem creates those kinds of images that will stand the test of time.

Color is a stimulant for our eyes, and ties the elements of a photograph together. Color affects every moment of our lives, and has an enormous impact on our photography; knowing this, is one of the first steps in taking consistently good photographs.

I want to digress for a moment and put in a piece of information I read on the internet, if nothing else to show you how little value you should place when reading a considerable amount of photographic gibberish that’s out there..

This is what I read…” Colors that clash cause confusion to the eye and result in a poor image. Too many clashing colors create multiple focal points, causing the eye to dart around the image not sure what to look at first or what to focus on. Rather, choose one dominant color that becomes the focal point of the image and draws the eye of the viewer to it immediately. The greater the intensity of the color, the more it’s going to dominate so be careful that your subject in an image has the dominant color, otherwise a secondary subject could overshadow it because it has a dominating color”.

I couldn’t disagree more, and it leads me to the title of my post…I have created a link to the section on my brand new website to show you how color inspires me.

Since color is a basic element of visual design, it’s a very important ingredient in taking our imagery what I refer to as…”up a notch”. We should want to use color to it’s fullest dgree.

“I’m all about getting a viewer to feel some emotion when looking at my images. Except for the savvy photographer, most people aren’t really concerned how I compose a photo. Having said that, everyone responds when I’ve made them feel something; and nothing does it better than color.

So, my fellow photographer, the next time you go out shooting think of using color as your subject; using it to set a mood. If you really want your color to stand out think about the time of day you choose to shoot.

For example, photos taken in the early part of the day or in the late afternoon will have a warmer cast, which will make the scene seem inviting and cheerful.

Converesly, photos taken at mid-day will have a cooler cast and could render the different hues hot, contrasty and bold; not particularity relaxing…but definetely a look.

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

JoeB