Food For Digital Thought: The Eyes Have It.

Looking deep into her eyes was great!
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.

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

Food for Digital Thought

I was paying attention.

On pretty much a daily basis, I create video critiques for the students that take my online classes with the BPSOP. During my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our perfectly round planet, I also have daily critiques of the photos the people are shooting each day.

I invariably see images where the photographer didn’t pay attention to the four borders that create their composition. I call it “Border Patrol”. What I see are small parts of something they didn’t fully put in or completely take out…leave it in or take it out is my standard phrase. When I have no idea what the small part is, I refer to them as a UFO. In other word, “What the hell is that sticking into the corner of your frame”?

Maybe it’s part of someone’s hand coming into the frame or a piece of a sign, or how about most of a street light left out. Whatever it is, most of the time it’s discovered while sitting in front of your computer. I can tell you that it’s not the best way to become a stronger photographer.

You’re a director that directs still photos. If you were a film director you would be responsible for everything that goes on in your frame; that goes for still photos. It’s your responsibility to make sure everything you want in a photograph is in there, and the things you don’t want in you leave out. What you don’t want to do is to rely on post-processing to fix things.

There might be times when you can, based on your skill level. There’s going to be more times when you can’t no matter how adept you are with your mouse….trust me on this!

In the above photo, if I was only paying attention to the two gondoliers, I might have cut off most of the street light. However, I was also paying attention to my four borders.

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

JoeB

Food For digital Thought: The Clock

light coming from 3:00 O'clock.
light coming from 3:00 O’clock.

One of the most important areas I cover in my online class with the PPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the planet is knowing where the light is coming from before raising the camera up to your eyes.

I give my fellow photographers a clock to install in the back of their minds. To me, light is EVERYTHING!!!!. If you look up the definition of Photography, you’ll see that it means “painting with light”. Unless you’re street shooting where ‘the moment’ is critical, and more important than the direction of the light, knowing where to put your subject is the key in taking your photos what I refer to as “up a notch”.

Ok, imagine a clock in your viewfinder, but if it’s easier, imagine the clock on the ground with your subject standing in the center…imagine your camera and a subject set up just like it is in this drawing. Now, imagine the sun (or light source) coming from behind the 11,12, and 1. This is ‘backlight’. It’s probably the way I light almost all the time…why?

Because backlight makes everything glow: water, grass, hair, or anything translucent. It adds so much energy and can be effective even if your subject is a touch on the boring side.

Now, imagine the light source behind the ’10’ and the ‘2’. This is what is called “the Law of the Light”…light from the “Angle of Reflection”. When the sun casts light on a subject it comes at a specific angle, and that angle is called the “Angle of Incidence”. It’s the light falling on the subject.

When that same light bounces (reflects) off the subject and hits the lens, it also bounces off at an angle to the camera. When those two angles are the same, it’s called the “Law of the Light”…also known as “The Angle of Reflection”.

Now, imagine the sun at either ‘3’ or ‘9’. This is sidelight. If I can’t backlight or put my subject in the Angle of reflection, this is the light I go for. When the sun is at ‘4’ or ‘8’ it’s ok, still somewhat side-lit, but bordering on front light…to me, this is the worst way to light…5,6, and 7 is front light and I avoid it like the plague…why? Because there aren’t any shadows or shading.

Form is an important ‘element of visual design’. Form refers to the three-dimensional quality of an object. When light hits an object from the side, part of the object is in shadow. The light and dark areas provide contrast that can suggest volume. Without shadows, the subject will be recorded without Form…appearing flat. Without shading/shadows Form exists in just two dimensions, height and width.

This is what happens when you front light. now, I’m not saying that you can’t take pictures that are front-lit…I’m saying that those times for me are rare, and the sun should be low on the horizon.

So as I said, THE VERY FIRST THING I EVER DO when I get to a location…before I ever raise my camera up to my eyes…is to determine where the light source is coming from. Then I position myself to get the right/best light.

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

Food For Digital Thought: Like a Moth to a Flame

For those of you that follow this blog, you’ll know that I put a lot of time into writing about the Light. You’ll also know that I always will say that Light is everything unless you’re out street shooting and capturing the moment which can possibly be more important. Humor is one other genre that can be as effective as beautiful light.

Having said this, that type of light is not the subject of this post. I’m talking about the light that can actually take away from your subject or center of interest. The light that’s not part of your main message but actually competes with it.

Over the past fifty years of teaching my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops and in the fifteen years of teaching my online classes with the BPSOP, I have seen a lot of photos that demonstrate this phenomenon and have often brought it to the attention of all my fellow photographers.

Just like a moth to a flame, the viewer will be attracted to the brightest part of your composition whether it’s your subject or not. Just like a moth to a flame, we are drawn towards the light or in some instances the value of a color; value meaning the lightness or darkness of a color. It’s an unconscious effort because it’s inherent in our DNA.

To know the basic reasons is to take a look at human behavior. As a species, we are Diurnal. In simple terms we are day creatures, spending the majority of our waking hours in daylight. As a result, light is an instrument used for our survival; as in sitting close to the fire so the monsters won’t get to you….a residual belief from the pre-historic times when you could be eaten by a really big predator.

So back to my point about light taking valuable information away from your thought process. If you rely on the meter in your camera to make all your exposure decisions (a big mistake) you will undoubtedly run into this. You might have the right exposure on the subject in your foreground, but what about the exposure in the background?

What if you’re shooting under some trees, or in open shade where your subject just happens to be in the shadow. You might get lucky and have your subject exposed correctly but out where the sun is shining it’s three or more stops brighter…making it way too overexposed. The viewer will not look at your subject, he will be drawn to the overexposed area…the not-so-pretty part of your photo.

Changes in the light levels can be an indication that something has happened in the immediate environment. The viewer will rely on the perception of the environment that surrounds him and that’s why he will re-focus his attention on bright areas of light in our images.

Where does your eye go first?.

As I said, the value of a subject can and will direct the viewer’s attention away from your subject. A good example would be a group of people in a photo and one of them has a very bright colored shirt compared to all the others; that’s where the viewer will look.

It’s so important to remember my pearl of wisdom…the whole enchilada. It can become easy to concentrate so much on the message you’re trying to get across to the viewer that you fail to see other things that can take away from the same message you worked so hard to get.

There are some good things you can do with this scenario. By putting the light in just the right place or places you can get the viewer to interact with you. This is one way to get and keep the visual information that we lay out to the same viewer in the form of a photograph.

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

Food For Digital Thought: An Idiom For Photographers

"Seeing past first impressions".
“Seeing past first impressions”.

Before I go any farther, let me define the word Idiom. An idiom is: (1) An expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own. (2) A form of a language that is spoken in a particular area and that uses some of its own words, grammar, and pronunciations.

Here are some common idioms: “Sunday week” for a week from Sunday. “Give way” for retreat, and “Rock and Roll” is a musical idiom. The one I’ve always thought was especially pertinent to photography, and one I mention in my online class with the PPSOP, and also in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet is. “There’s more to it than meets the eye”

In other words, I tell my fellow photographers that there are two ways to look at a subject: You can look at it with the left side of your brain, the analytical side, or the right side of your brain, the creative side. So many of my students don’t look at things as they could be, only as they are.

Doing that will keep you from taking your photography to what I refer to as…”up a notch”. What I mean is that looking with the left side of your brain will only show you what things are. Looking at those same things with the right side of your brain can show you what they could be. Take the photo above for example.

First, allow me to digress for a moment. I teach photographers how to use the basic elements of Visual Design and composition to create stronger images. A complete description can be read by clicking on the link above.

Ok, so last week I was sitting in my backyard on my deck; it was the end of a beautiful day. Seventy-two degrees and sunny, so I had my book in one hand and my Bombay Martini and a bowl of nuts at the ready and close to my other hand. I was trying to filter out all the sounds of a house being built next to us and occasionally looking up at what was going on. The sun was setting behind my house and hitting the house next door. As the sun was setting the light was slowly disappearing from the bottom up, leaving only the top part still in sunlight.

If I had been looking at the house with the left side of my brain, I would have only heard the incessant hammering and then seen the man working at the top of the house that was causing it…that’s what was. Since I’m always looking at things as they could be, I saw more than just a house with a man working on the top floor.

I saw the Texture of the Crape Myrtle’s, branches still bare from the Winter. The square and rectangular Shapes, and the blue Negative Space that defines and creates the Shapes. I’m always looking for ways to create Visual Tension, and placing the man close to the edge of the frame is one of the ways. The way the light is only left at the top of the construction is another, and the contrast between his bright, saturated red shirt against the soft blue sky and clouds is still another.

These elements of Visual Design and composition are all pieces that make up the finished puzzle…another idiom meaning the final photograph.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and be sure to watch for upcoming workshops listed at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime, and I’ll show you what could be.

JoeB

Food For Digital Thought: What are they looking at?

In the psychology of Gestalt as it applies to photography, and the third class I teach at the BPSOP, the main objective in creating memorable images is to make the viewer an active part of your thought process in producing photos that will stand the test of time. It’s also what I talk about in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the place.

 One of the six concepts that I teach is called Continuance. Part of the definition is that the viewer will have an instinctive tendency to follow a path, river, beach tree line, etc. These compositional elements provide a way to move the viewer across the frame.

The other part of Continuance is in the fact that the viewer will want to know what the subject is looking at or pointing at, especially if that person is looking or pointing out of the frame.

When you do place the person close to the edge of the frame it also creates Visual Tension. In other words, it’s the feeling that the subject will ‘collide’ with the frame.

These are ways to keep the viewer around looking at our photos. I don’t know about you, but that’s exactly what I want him or her to do.

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

 

 

 

Food for Digital Thought: Idealism Vs Realism

When Idealism meets Realism.

One of my favorite Pearls of Wisdom that I often say to my online class with the BPSOP and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind Workshops” I conduct around the planet, is “in a perfect world, what if”. I’ll bring this up when I’m discussing one of my student’s photos and ask them if they could go back and re-take the photo, and could add, change, or do anything they wanted, what would they do.

I do this then explain that whether or not they could change anything isn’t the issue. It’s just an exercise to sharpen the mind and have them always thinking about improving their photos so that one day when they could actually add, change, or do anything, they will be ready for it.

The Realism comes from the photo as they first saw it. If I had a quarter for every time a fellow photographer or student told me that they never thought about adding, changing, or doing anything they wanted, to create a stronger image, I would be writing this post on my island with a blue and frothy cocktail resting comfortably on my stomach…with an umbrella perilously hanging from one side. They just figured that if it was the way it was, then that’s the way they should shoot it.

Now, I know that there are photographers out there that believe you should never alter anything before you click the shutter. If that was the way it was before they got there, then come hell or high water that’s the way they were going to photograph it. Well, that’s all well and good, and I hope all their photographic dreams and endeavors come to fruition. My problem is that most of the time, I never like things the way they are.

Since my background is in painting and design, I think of my camera on a tripod the same way I would have a blank canvas on an easel. With a canvas, you add pigment until you get your finished ‘work of art’. That’s the way I approach my photography, I still consider myself a painter. I chose a camera instead of a paintbrush.

The Idealism part of this post is when that same fellow photographer or student tells me things he would have liked to have added or changed. That’s the ideal world, not the real world talking, and that’s the world I live in…photographically that is!!!

In the above photo, I was shooting an annual report for a pharmaceutical company. Although this kind of activity was going on (Realism), this photo was a part of my imagination (Idealism). In other words, I put all the elements together and staged it.

If you want to “take pictures”, then by all means live in the real world where Realism is the common denominator. On the other hand, if you want to “make pictures”, then it’s the ideal world for you. Don’t look at what’s there, look at what you’d like to be there.

As for me, my mother always said I was a dreamer!!!

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

Food For Digital Thought: People Like To See People In Pictures

Would it have the same impact without the student running to her graduation?
Would it have the same impact without the student running to her graduation?

From as far back as I can remember, and through all my research on the subject, I’ve known that people like to see people in pictures. In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I stress putting people into their compositions.

Photos are a powerful way to communicate ideas, or tell stories, and in the digital age, they’ve become paramount in sending information over the web. A scene without a person in it falls short in getting a message across to the viewer that’s thousands of miles away.

Showing a gondola in Venice floating by itself and moored to a set of stairs down one of the many canals, doesn’t say the same thing as a gondola with two tourists being chauffeured down the same canals by a Gondolier while having a glass of Chianti; the late afternoon adding a rim light to their and wine glasses.

I’m always trying to put people in my photos when I’m trying to show scale to an environment. The viewer can relate to the size of a person since he’s familiar with average heights. Also, where you place the person in the frame will take on different meanings. For example, placing a person in the middle of the frame and close to the lens gives a feeling of intimacy, whereas placing the person in the bottom right corner sends a message of loneliness; as well as the feeling of being small in the scheme of things.

Use people to add color to your imagery as well as an ordinarily overcast day. Having someone wearing a red sweater will add Visual Tension and draw attention away from the fact that’s a gray day. Another way to create Visual Tension is by using body language, gesture, and stopping the action of someone, and leaving it un-completed. Blurring a person walking or running through your composition not only adds interest but adds energy to your images.

Silhouettes of people are a great way to introduce a mood to your photos. They are abstractions of a three-dimensional reality, presented in a  tw0-dimensional representation. They add a sense of mystery and drama.

Use people as a ‘payoff”, when through the use of directional lines, you move the viewer through the frame to lead to him or her. Use people as parts that when designed together create Shapes. When traveling, be sure to photograph the people as they are as the key to the countries culture.

Finally, Pattern is a basic element of visual design and I like to use people to break the rhythm of patterns.

Here are some examples that encompass all the ways I have listed:

https://joebaraban.com/example/people-like-to-see-people-in-pictures/

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

Food For Digital Thought: Perceive And Process

What do you think this photo is about?

I teach fellow my photographers how to incorporate the elements of visual design and composition into their imagery. I teach these elements at an online school with the BPSOP. I also teach the same elements in the “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet.

After a long hiatus, I’ve begun teaching my class on how to use the six principles of Gestalt to “make stronger photos; the ones people will remember. Gestalt is all about making the viewer an active participant and as a result, it also makes him work harder when looking at our photos.

Whether it’s about having him discovering  new things when he’s looking, or leading him around the frame via directional lines and Vanishing Points, or the ways to imply more content outside of the frame, Gestalt is about Visual Perception…what the camera beholds, the viewer will perceive.`

Seems like Moses said something like that when he parted the Red Sea!!!

🙂

The viewer’s perception stops when he has gathered all the visual and sometimes esoteric/obscure information. At this point, the processing of the information takes over. What he was looking at, now that he’s taken in all the different parts, is now looking at the whole; the basic theory behind Gestalt.

There’s a lot of factors (that are the photographers’ responsibility) in what the viewer will walk away with. The process part is a series of steps the viewer will need to go through to achieve whatever end he was after the split second before he snapped the shutter.

One of the first things to consider is whether you’ve given meaning to your photo. Make sure it says what you wanted it to say because you won’t always be around to explain your intent unless you were going for an abstract in which case each viewer will walk away with something different. If you weren’t going for an abstract, then your photo needs to be a quick read.

If your photo is too esoteric the viewer won’t process the information fairly quickly. I’ve learned from watching people at photo openings that he or she will move on leaving you with a photo that you’ll be the only one to admire…and that would suck!!!

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

Food For Digital Thought: Daddy, Why Is The Sky Blue?

It's all about the blue.
It’s all about the blue.

I don’t know if your kids or grandkids ask you question after question after question, but my kids use to all the time while I was shooting them. They were great models so I shot with them all the time. I remember shooting with them late one morning and during a quick break, one came up and ask me why I didn’t shoot when the sky was blue, followed quickly by the question why is the sky blue anyway?

I told them what I tell my online students with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops. I like shooting during the “Golden Hour“. I like the colors and the long shadows. I like it because it’s soft easy light compared to the harsh reality of the midday sun. I can get different parts of my composition closer in exposure when the sun is low on the horizon.

It’s not that I don’t like blue skies, but in order to get the exposures close, without having to shoot away from the sun, those skies can turn a whitish blue; especially close to the horizon where the shorter blue wavelength must pass through more atmosphere and as a result, gets scattered away before reaching your lens. If I’m caught in a position where I can’t shoot under the kind of light/sky I prefer, then I’m going to compose my photo where the entire frame is about the blue sky.

“Ok, so daddy”, one of my three impetuous daughters asked, “Why is the sky blue?”

“Well sweetie”, I said to her. “It’s like this. When the sun is way up in the sky it lets out light at a short angle. This shorter angle lets my favorite colors, red, orange, and yellow, pass through the air (atmosphere) without being messed with. The shorter colors like blue and violet get eaten up by the gasses (molecules) in the air (atmosphere), which scatters their light. This causes the sky to look blue whichever direction you look; the blue light reaches you everywhere overhead.” I gave her a minute to digest what I had said and then continued with the fact that water vapor (humidity) and pollution make for a cloudy day and that’s why the sky sometimes looks gray.

She gave me what I thought was an incredibly curious and intelligent face then said, “Can I have a quarter for some ice cream?”

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

JoeB

Food For Digital Thought: Clicking the Shutter

The easiest part of photography is when you click the shutter. Anyone can do that because this particular aspect of photography requires no practice, talent, or any knowledge of the camera itself; other than knowing exactly where the button is that you press down on that results in a photograph being taken.

Having said that, to take a photo that you would be proud of enough to put it on your wall is a whole new ballgame. Not everyone can do that, but I can help. I teach online classes with the BPSOP, and I also conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” all over this very round planet.

It’s hard to find an analogy for anything these days that specifically refers to photography, but the one that comes to mind is the ability to hit a golf ball straight; not far, just straight. For those of you that play the game, you’ll understand just where I’m going with this. For those of you that don’t, I think when I explain everything you’ll get the ‘picture’.

In the game of golf, anyone can own a set of expensive clubs, new golf balls, shoes, a golf glove, and rent a cart. However, here’s what has to happen to hit the golf ball straight: Your grip on the club, clubface square to the ball, your stance in relation to where the ball is, backswing, positioning of the shoulders, the way the hip turns, the follow-through, and keeping your head down.

So, now comes the second half of the analogy, clicking the shutter. Anyone can own the top of the line Nikon, Canon, Sony, or a Fiji, and all the lenses each camera offers. The best camera case, a carbon fiber Gitzo tripod, expensive filters, and anything else that you can possibly imagine.

Now, I can tell you that none of that matters if taking ‘wall hangers’ is what you’re after…and who doesn’t want that? When you come right down to it, the ten inches behind the camera is what matters. Having the best camera doesn’t mean a thing. It’s like someone telling you that because you have an expensive typewriter, you must be a great writer.

Here’ what matters before you click the shutter: Knowing where the light is coming from, knowing where to stand in relation to the light, when to stand to get the best light, and how long you have to shoot there. Thinking about the negative space as much as the positive space, is your composition balanced, what’s going to be in focus, aka the depth of field, correct shutter speed/exposure combination, always thinking about Dynamic Range in a composition, focus points, making sure your idea is a ‘quick read’, did you do your ‘border patrol’, checked those four corners, the 15Point Protection Plan, and when you should be using a tripod.

I’m sure there’s more, but these immediately come to mind and if you just work on these guidelines, your imagery will go up (what I refer to as ) a notch or two.

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

Food For Digital Thought: Shake it Off

I shook it off, and my patients were rewarded.

I’ve always found this quote to bring a smile to my face, “Sometimes you’re the dog and sometimes you’re the hydrant”. So you ask yourself why in the world could this possibly have anything to do with photography?

It’s simply an analogy I use when I’m talking to my students that are taking my online class with the BPSOP, and during the daily critiques with those that take my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the world.

What I’m referring to is when a photo op is suddenly gone by the proverbial wayside. It can be while walking down a small street in a Medieval Village when the woman hanging her laundry out the window sees you and before you can raise your camera up to your eye quickly ducks inside…I’ve personally had that happen more times that one.

How about when you’re about to take a photo of a couple walking down the area next to the Seine and the golden light from the sunset is streaking across the water…and as your about to click the shutter a cloud comes in and steals the last moments.

It doesn’t have to be that far away from home…it can be in your own backyard when you’re taking pictures of your dog playing with your grandchildren and (kids and dogs are the hardest subjects to photograph) one sweet loving lick in the face begins a meltdown that is irreversible; perhaps for the rest of the day; you wind up self-medicating with a cocktail.

And one of the worse ones is when you run out the door to catch the sun coming up over the lake, and when you get to the spot you had picked out, you realize that there’s no card in the camera or your camera case.

All you can do is ‘shake it off’.  It’s going to happen, and some days you’ll be the hydrant. However, you can salvage some parts of these situations…be the dog, and learn by them.

How you might ask?

Learn the movements of these women hanging laundry, and whatever you do the next time you’re confronted with this photo op…do not look directly at them!! Pre-visualize what your composition is going to be. Shoot a few photos of the environment and the light so you can get the exact exposure, then set it in your camera.

If you miss the last light, then look for an appropriate place to shoot during the Blue Hour.

As I said, kids and dogs ate the hardest to shoot. Try not giving any direction and let whatever happens…happen. Have your camera settings the way you want and wait for that one moment…it might be the only moment you get.

In the above photo, I was all set to shoot this family sitting on the chairs. As I brought my camera up to my eye the father spotted me and whisked his family away. Because of the shadows, I decided to wait for another opportunity. My patients were rewarded. Not only did a woman come up and sit down, but the dog wandered into my frame and sat down.

Before you go out for an extended amount of time, charge the batteries, put in a fresh card (never delete images from the camera), with a couple of backups.

And above all, you have to ‘go with the flow’ and know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em.

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

Food For Digital Thought: Shot List To Grocery List.

 

My completed grocery list.

So many of my students that I teach online with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the planet, just grab a camera and go out with the intent of finding and shooting that “OMG” photo that we all yearn for. Well, that’s all well and good, and I say more power to you and good luck; it just might be your lucky day.

Of course, shooting early in the morning and late in the afternoon will greatly increase your chances, but without some kind of a plan, I wouldn’t bet on it. Your odds go down further if you don’t know where to go to begin looking for that elusive “keeper”.

As I tell fellow photographers and my students, light is everything so before I go off “half-cocked”, I want to know exactly where the light is going to be. I do that with the readout I get from Sunpath, a software program for determining where and when the sun will rise and set. I then use a hand bearing compass called a Morin2000 to locate the point on the horizon where the sun will come up and go down.

If I’m going to be at a location large enough of an area to offer several possibilities, I’ll plan out a shot list to determine which subject I want to take first. What I mean by that is what area will get the first light, then what area gets in next, and so on; until the light has become too hot and harsh and I stop. I’m looking for what subject I can backlight, sidelight, and put into the “Angle of Reflection, or what’s also referred to as “The Law of the Light“. This is predicated on the idea that I’ve pre-scouted the location before the day of the shoot which would be a very good habit for everyone to get into.

Along with my shot list, I begin working on my grocery list. I’ll write down what I’ll need to take that particular photo, as in props, people, additional wardrobe, etc. This is along with my regular “bag of solutions” I always try to include because you just never know and as Eddie Adams once said, “When you get lucky, be ready”.

If your interests are “just taking halfway decent pictures” (I was told this by a student right before he dropped out) then I suggest you ignore this post and continue down whatever path you’ve laid out for yourself. If you’re interested in taking your photography what I refer to as “up a notch”, then try doing it the way I’ve been doing it for over fifty years.

🙂

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come work on your grocery list with me sometime.

JoeB

Food for Digital Thought: Are You a One Hit Wonder

Are you a one hit wonder?

Common back in the fifties and sixties were musical groups that were successful with one hit records and not a comparable subsequent hit. It also applies to a sole artist who is remembered for only one hit despite other successes.

Once again I ask you to bear with me while I explain how this relates to you and your photography.

For those of you new to my blog, I teach an online class with the BPSOP, and I also conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops around our hopefully round planet. I see my fellow photographers walking down the streets of old medieval villages and stopping for a photo op.

They will invariably walk up to a subject or location, shoot the first idea that comes to mind, and then move on leaving a lot still ‘on the table’. By the way, the photograph is usually taken at eye level since it’s the easiest and less stressful way to compose. STOP!!! Don’t leave…don’t be a one hit wonder!!

The odds of you taking one shot and walking away with what you think in a ‘wall hanger, a keeper, or one of those elusive OMG photos are slim, and Vegas wouldn’t book it.  Even for me, and I’m a pretty good shooter.

Let me back up for a moment and explain how I would approach the same photo op. The first thing I do before raising my camera up to my eye is to determine the source of the light. In other words, what direction is it coming from. This is when “the clock” comes into play; check out this link!!

OK, so I’ve taken my first shot. Now, I look for variations and that doesn’t mean just zooming in or out while standing in the same spot!!

Here are some of the things I normally do:

  • Up close and personal
  • Change lens
  • Up high then down low
  • Different light
  • Change a prop
  • Put in a person, or take one out
  • Look for something that might be unexpected or unpredictable.

When I’m shooting, I have one eye in the viewfinder and the other scouring the location for a way to segue my current composition into a stronger shot. As I’m shooting, I’m constantly making small to medium-sized adjustments besides the variations because like you, I’m always looking for that “OMG” shot!!!!

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