One of my favorite posts to write is for my “Life Before Photoshop” category. So many of my students with the BPSOP, an online school I teach with, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet fell in love with Photography after the digital age had eliminated virtually all film cameras.

These same photographers think that Photoshop and Lightroom are just another part of taking pictures with their new digital cameras. Sitting in front of the computer is merely an extension of the process. I’ll admit that Photoshop has come to my rescue on more than one occasion, but it was part of my thought process before I click the shutter”) not in front of the computer. For example, if I couldn’t take a step one way or another to keep something from growing out of my subject’s head.

In my classes I try to get across an important point, that is to become good photographers, not good computer artists and digital technicians.  For me, the challenge is to get it right “in the camera” and not have to rely on any post-processing to make good photos. I also crop in the camera, because when you use the computer to do your cropping, you’ll never know where the edges of your frame are. Next time, try using the edges as a compositional tool…it will make you a more rounded photographer.

In this photo, I was sent to Grand Junction Colorado to shot for BJ Services Annual Report. BJ Services supplies various materials to oil companies that are drilling for either Natural Gas or oil. We shot the day-to-day photos at a drilling site, but they also wanted a photo to use on the cover that portrayed the ideas that they delivered 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

I had an idea in my mind that would not only make them happy but myself as well. I scouted various locations with my Sunpath readings and my Morin 2000 hand bearing compass. As a result, I knew exactly where the sun would come up and choose this small part of the two-lane road that led to an oil rig.

I positioned one of my assistants with a walki-talki in a car going in one direction (with his foot on the brake), and the Designer with a walki-talki in another car heading in the opposite direction. I took a reading on the sky to judge how long I had to make the two cars travel to get the blurred lights across the frame. Based on a thirty-second exposure, that’s how long the cars had to complete the distance.

Btw, as the light got brighter, the cars had to cover the distance traveling faster until it became too dangerous. That’s when I knew the shoot was over!!!

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com and check out my workshop schedule. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I get a lot of my ideas while laying in bed late at night trying to go to sleep, watching late-night TV, or I occasionally wake up with an idea. While some people may count sheep, I think of ideas to share with my online classes with the BPSOP, and also with my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the place; as well as all my fellow photographers that have been following my blog since its inception in 2011.

This time I was watching a show and they started playing one of the most popular Christmas Carols Do you see what I see? While some people might get a touch nostalgic this time of year, I get inspired, and what a perfect time for this post!!!

I don’t know about you, but I not only shoot for myself, but I like to share my images with as many people that will take the time to look. Having said that, if you’re of the same mind make sure that right before you click the shutter the viewer will see what you saw.

Ok, so let me offer you at least one way to pull that off, and it’s what I do and have been doing for a very long time; started right after the Paleolithic Period!!!!

🙂

Before I click the shutter, I do a sort of body experience where I send my imagination to that of the viewer…sort of a ‘Spock’ thing!!! When I’m in their mind I’m now seeing what they’re seeing and if there’s the slightest doubt as to understanding what I’m seeing, I don’t take the shot.

Probably, photographically speaking, one of the last things I would want to happen is for anyone to ever say to me, “I don’t get it”.

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

BTW, here’s the carol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADj-Ru3JQp0

All the best to you and all of yours, stay safe and hope for a better 2021.

JoeB

When you’re walking the streets somewhere in the world looking for photo opportunities, My suggestion is to be on the lookout for what I call the ‘photo dichotomy’.

First, in case you’ve heard the word used but might not know exactly what a dichotomy is, let me give you the definition.

Dichotomy: something with seemingly contradictory qualities. mutually exclusive or contradictory.

Perhaps you’re still a little confused as to how this relates to photography. So, having said that let me show you in the photo seen above.

I was walking around the canals in Venice, looking in all four directions to make sure I didn’t miss anything when I saw this young woman sitting on the steps.

Ordinarily, I might pass on it since the visual interest is limiting. But what really sparked my interest was the small sign right behind her…a dichotomy!!

In my online classes with the BPSOP, I often talk about keeping your eyes and ears open all the time. You just never know when a photo op will rear its head, and when it does it will usually be for just a moment.

When I’m walking with my fellow photographers that are participating in one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops, I always point out things that in of themselves have visual interest.

Another example of a dichotomy is in the other photo pictured here of a man walking in the opposite direction of the arrow signifying a one-way street.

If you click on this link, it will take you to a post on paying attention to what you hear.

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

JoeB

Photography is most definitely the love of my life, but right under it is fishing and then cooking. I love to look through cookbooks, especially ones with great food photography and find interesting things to serve when entertaining…which we love to do. Having said this, I’m really into recipes, and I’m always using some kind of recipe when talking with my online students with the BBSOP, and my fellow photographers that take my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the hopefully round planet.

I often like to create an atmosphere where the viewer is drawn into my photo whether he wants to or not. I want to induce a feeling in his psyche.

Creating a mood is a good way to not only deliver your message visually but editorially as well. What do I mean by editorially? By using a certain mood to tell a story, which incidentally doesn’t have to be controlled by light.

According to the dictionary, the definition of mood is: “A temporary state of mind or feeling”. It also means “The atmosphere or pervading tone of something, especially a work of art”. This is where photography comes it since we’re all artists, our medium is a camera instead of a paintbrush.

So how do we achieve this atmosphere, this state of mind?  Well, first you have to determine what kind of mood you’re after. Do you want your photo to ooze with a bright and happy feeling of tenderness and warmth…or a dark, melancholy and introspective mood? Do you want the viewer’s eyes to well up with sadness or the proverbial grin from ear to ear?

If this is the way you’re after, then it’s all about how you manipulate the light and color. Darker colors for somber pensive moods or rich, bold, and vibrant colors for a more cheery look. Although color is a big factor, the use of light transcends everything.

As I said, the use of light doesn’t always factor in. If you look at the above photo, light isn’t that important; it’s all about the story I was telling.

It’s hard to create a somber mood on a bright sunny day. It’s all about the emotional environment. Since I shoot early in the morning and late in the afternoon, the light is going to be softer and the shadows longer. An overcast, gloomy day is a good way to create a type of mood, as well as the placement of your subject.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me some time and I’ll get you in the mood.

Cartier-Bresson is one of my most favorite photographers. I think I’ve talked about and quoted him the most in my online classes with the BPSOP and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the place. I guess one of the reasons is that he has been quoted so often and his quotes can be found in so many places.

For me, it’s because so much of what he said, and the way he composed his images hit home more than most other photographers I’ve studied throughout my career.

I’ve said on many occasions that I don’t often photograph what I see because I don’t often see what I want (being somewhat impatient by nature), so I photograph what I’d like to see. Which takes me to the reason for writing this post.

Cartier-Bresson once said, ” The greatest thing to fear is the artificially contrived”.

When I’m talking to a student, I encourage them to move something out of the frame if they don’t like it and can’t compose differently. Conversely, I also say to move something into the frame if it will add visual input and a layer of interest.

It’s important to remember that we, as photographers, are artists who have chosen the camera instead of a paintbrush.

The difference between a painter with a blank canvas on an easel and a photographer with a camera on a tripod is in the fact that as a painter you fill in the canvas until you finish with a ‘work of art’. Photography is the art of subtraction whereas you remove objects until you achieve a ‘work of art’.

Here’s where the quote comes in.  If you do decide to add a prop, or some element, or even a person, make sure you believe it. Make sure the viewer will believe it instead of thinking that you put it there yourself.

When I’m composing (painting), right before I click the shutter, I always ask myself do I believe it. Case in point, I recently had a student take a closeup of a hubcap and decided to put a flower into of the holes. Well, it just would never happen that way and looked completely contrived. A similar occurrence was a rose on a manhole cover…what is it with flowers?????

There’s another way a photo can and usually will appear contrived, is when photographers shoot through something. Again, I encourage that because “framing a subject with a frame” is one of the ways to create Visual Tension.

Having said that, if you intentionally put your subject in let’s say between two spokes on a bicycle, or two trees close to one another, or posts on a pier, etc., there’s a good chance that it’s going to look weird…especially if the POV is too difficult for the viewer to have seen for himself.

Have fun out there and always try to “color outside the lines”, but be sure that people believe it.

BTW, the photo at the top was shot just the way I saw it….maybe?

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

JoeB

Although I was never a Boy Scout, I’ve always been a firm believer in being prepared. When I was actively ( until the last dinosaur disappeared) shooting advertising campaigns, corporate annual reports, brochures, or magazine assignments I made sure I had everything with me; I called it my Bag of Solutions.

Besides scouting every photo ahead of time, or at least most of the time and certainly whenever possible, I knew that during the actual shoot some extracurricular event, or in other words outside the normal routine, could possibly come up. When this opportunity crossed my path, I wanted to be prepared for it…on many levels.

This would usually be some small window when time was of the essence, whether it be a sudden change in the light, something new either entering or leaving the frame, or even needed to be added at the last minute…when I had the wrong piece of equipment on or not on and missed it by seconds, that really sucked!!!

When I’m talking to a student in my online classes with the BPSOP, I will often be asked what they should be taking when they go out to shoot for one of the lessons they’re assigned each of the four weeks. For them it’s easy, I tell then to put as much gear in the trunk of their car as they can. That way they will have a fighting chance to change something when the time is right.

When I conducting my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops around the planet, I’m asked the day before what lens should they be taking. Being prepared is problematic at that point because so much of the time we’re walking around.

And so my fellow photographers that are reading this blog, when in doubt take as much as you can. To win the argument you have with yourselves, I would, as my go-to lens, start out with a medium zoom that might address a lot of the things that will be coming your way. I keep a 17-40mm lens on most of the time, and I have quick access to equipment when the time is right.

Keep your equipment clean, make sure you have a fresh card in your camera (never delete images off your camera, it could corrupt the card), and take an extra one just in case. for those of you that have a second body, be sure to bring it. Putting a tripod in your trunk couldn’t hurt in case you wind up shooting during the Blue Hour.

As Eddie Adams once said, When you get lucky, be ready.

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

JoeB

I was just listening to the radio where they had a program that was all about bands in the fifties and sixties that came out with a hit record, then disappeared from the charts into oblivion without leaving a trace. They called the program “One and Done”.

As I was listening to the disc jockey talking about some of the bands, I couldn’t help thinking about all the times I critique photos submitted from my online class with the BPSOP, and in the daily discussions during my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct.

It seems to be a common thread that ties all my fellow photographers together. What I’m driving at is when I’m walking down the street either next to or behind one of my students and see them raise their camera up to take a photo, it’s one and done.

In other words, they take one shot then move on. Maybe it’s just me but I find it to be mindboggling to think that someone can take that quick a photo and expect it to be something worthwhile; something that can stand the test of time.

I can tell you that Vegas would give it at least twenty to one that it would be. For me, that’s just not good enough odds…why? Because I rarely like the first photo I take. It’s a series of adjustments and variations before I’m satisfied and would be proud to show it.

I also see these same people raise their camera up without considering where the sun is and how their subject will react to it; it’s still the mindset of one and done.

The first shot should be the one that gets the creative juices going. It should segue into a stronger image by looking at from a different POV, perhaps a lens change, including or eliminating people, increasing or decreasing your aperture., etc., etc.

This is how you come back with a photo that you’ll keep, instead of scratching your head while looking at your monitor wondering why in the hell you shot it in the first place.

FYI, I spent a lot of time working on the photo above. I would say maybe a dozen different variations.

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

JoeB

There are two important types of Perspective that I teach in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops and in my online classes with the BPSOP. The most common one is Linear Perspective.

This deals with parallel lines that converge at a point on the horizon. As the lines move farther and farther away from the eyes, they appear to converge at a point just before, on, or just past the horizon line. This is better known as a Vanishing Point; a very powerful way to move the viewer around the composition.

The other type and not thought of as much as the first-mentioned is Atmospheric Perspective. This way of seeing (as does Linear) helps the viewer perceive the depth of your composition. Btw, both of these are ways to show in a two-dimensional representation (the photo) three-dimensional reality.

Atmospheric Perspective consists of a gradual decrease in clarity and color, as the area recedes into the distance; which implies a sense of depth. Our air is filled with water vapor containing billions of tiny molecules of water, as well as minute particles of dust, which scatter light waves as they pass through. Shapes appear slightly blurred and a lot less contrast; colors become almost monochromatic.

The above photograph is a perfect example of Atmospheric Perspective.  As you can see, the farther away the mountains get the less intense they become; this is what creates the depth.

So, my fellow photographers, next time you’re outside and in a position to look at things across a distance, check out how they appear in your viewfinder. Try to incorporate this concept in your imagery, and see what happens…you’ll be glad you did!

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

JoeB

I would say that the most common phrase for getting over the hump is that past the midpoint of the week, Wednesdays, are considered the Hump; as in halfway to the weekend.

I don’t know about you, but to me, there’s a lot of other kinds of humps one has to get over in life. For example, that first piece of sushi that actually has fish in it. Your first attempt at riding a bicycle, or the first time you try to parallel park.

Ok, now getting over the hump in photography. In both my online classes with the BPSOP and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the planet, I often talk to my students about getting over the hump. This means different things to different people. For example, one student keeps forgetting to straighten the horizon (the epitome of distraction), while another might not understand the concept of balancing the Negative and Positive Space until he does it for the first time; figuring out that it makes his photos stronger. All photographers have some sort of hump to transcend.

I will tell you this, all my students forget to incorporate my “fifteen Point Protection Plan”, checking the four corners, and the Border Patrol until they use it for the first time and understands how important it is. Btw, that doesn’t mean they won’t forget it the next time…because more than likely they will!!

One of my all-time favorite expressions is, ” I don’t photograph what I see because I never see what I want, so I photograph what I’d like to see. If I’m composing a photo, and I need to change something or ask someone (usually a stranger) to move over a step so a pole isn’t growing out of their head, I have no problem asking…not if it will make for a better photograph.

If I had to list one hump that the majority of my students have a very hard time getting over, it’s approaching a stranger to ask them something that would improve their photo; or to even take their picture.

Another one that might rival it is using a tripod. What I often see is someone carrying the tripod in one hand and the camera in the other. It’s a pain to stop, put the tripod in place, take the camera and attach it, compose your shot and then take the camera off the tripod, put it back in your hand and the camera over your shoulder or in your hand.

No wonder people don’t take a tripod when they need to, and when it comes to being freaked out because everyone is watching you, it’s still another hurdle to get over.

When I use a tripod, it’s usually during the Blue Hour, sunrise and sunset, when you’re shooting with a slow shutter speed. I keep the camera on the tripod and then put it over my shoulder. It becomes one piece of equipment and thus much easier and faster to use.

I guess I’ve been doing it for so long it has become second nature to me. I figure that all they can say is no. The key is to not walk up to someone with the camera in your hand, which is sure to intimidate…especially nowadays when everyone’s personal space is up for grabs.

In the above photo, I was walking inside this tent at a festival and saw these two people right outside it. I was an interesting shot, filled with visual interest., The guy was moving around for her and for the most part, the lines forming the windows were always going right through his eyes.

I told them what I was trying to do and if he would listen to me directing him so that I could get his head unobstructed in the window..worked like a charm!!

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

I teach people how to use the elements of visual design and composition to create stronger and more memorable images. Images that people won’t forget in the moments just after looking at your photo. Images that are compelling and will leave impression days, weeks and yes, even months afterward.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the (round) planet, I stress the fact that “light is everything”, and should be considered first when composing your photo. One of my Personal Pearls of Wisdom is, “You find the light and you’ll find the shot”.

Now I’m not referring to the shooters that like to prowl the city streets looking to capture an emotional photo that has some kind of consequence, a moment in someone’s life or as followers of Henri Cartier-Bresson work would say, “The Decisive Moment”. These are the type of photos that rely more on a quick finger hitting the shutter release and timing than of light. Instead, I’m talking about the type of photographers that likes to create beautiful photographs in any other genre that are timeless representations of reality. To me, these are the type of photos that require great light. Landscapes, Architecture, environmental portraits, to name a few.

OK, here’s where the Quick Photo Tip comes in. As I tell my students and fellow photographers, there is one genre that doesn’t need quality light to be memorable and that’s Humor. Humor is the one concept that can replace a day of flat, gray, and un-inspiring light. Whether it be a funny situation, an awkward expression on a loved one’s face, or perhaps something as simple as a misspelled word on a sign, if it’s funny that’s all you might need.!!!

One more thing I always tell my fellow photographers and is to look to include color on an equally bad day, and when you can achieve both, you just might have something.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me some time and we’ll have a few laughs.

JoeB

Well, I’m back again with yet another example of what it was like when Adobe was a type of house in the Southwest part of the US. In this Life Before Photoshop post, we’ll look at how we made things look as if they were screaming down the road back before we could just do it on the computer; before there were personal computers.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I want my students and fellow photographers to work on getting as much in the camera as they can…why? Because it will make them a more rounded photographer. One that depends on his or her skill with the camera, their ability to use the right side (the creative side) of their brain. Someone that cares more about “making pictures” than being a good computer artist. For me that’s the fun, to challenge myself every time I go out shooting knowing that I can come back with the illusive “OMG” photo that everyone hopes for each and every time they go out…without any help!!!

Ok, let’s talk about the above photo and how we use to make things appear to be moving fast all on one frame of film; and just one exposure.

If there was a decent budget, I would rent a camera car that had all the bells and whistles, and cranes to position yourself in the front, the side, or the rear of the vehicle you were shooting. If there wasn’t a budget, perhaps because it was for a regional and not a national market, we renting what use to be called “The poor man’s camera car”.

That was a Lincoln Town Car, and it worked like a charm, especially if you were doing a 2/3’s frontal view and the client wanted to have the car coming at you down the road. The best part about the Lincoln was that it had an extremely smooth ride and a unique stabilization system. You could be in the trunk of the car and it would be as smooth as a camera car at five times cheaper. Did I say trunk??? Yes, that’s where my assistant and I shot from.

In the above photo, we had wet down the road, then I got in the trunk. We moved at the exact same speed so I could make the car sharp while blurring the rest of the scene. We didn’t have to go very fast. In fact, in the above photo, we were moving together at approx. 10 to 15 miles per hour. The blur and movement come to play from the slow shutter speed. I would vary that to create different looks, and the shutter speeds ranged from 1/4 of a second to 1/30th; depending on the speed of the two moving cars.

FYI, if you’re wondering why the emblem and the rest of the front of the VW are bright, there is a small convertible to the left of the Town car and in front of the VW. In that convertible are a couple of my assistants holding a large silver reflector bouncing light into it.

It was great fun, and one hell of a challenge!!! Now, the car is shot in a studio on a blue screen, made to look like it was moving and the background is usually put in after the fact. How sad…how very sad.

🙁

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog.

JoeB

I’ve been a photographer for fifty-three years and in all those years I can count on my hand the number of times I took just one shot…of anything. The times that I did were when I was street shooting and I had one chance to get it before whatever I was going for had either changed or was gone altogether.

I virtually never take just one shot, it’s always a series of either adjustments or variations. It’s what I ‘Preach’ during my online classes with the BPSOP, or when I’m standing next to someone in one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct just about everywhere on Earth.

As I’m shooting, I look all around the frame. I’m doing my Fifteen Point Protection Plan, my Border Patrol, and the Four Corner Checkoff. Each time the shutter opens and closes I’m making adjustments, Shoot adjust, shoot adjust, shoot adjust, etc., etc., etc.

An adjustment can be nothing more than taking a step back to include all of the subject’s hand or foot, the rest of a tree, sign or car. It can also be moving in a step to exclude an unwanted hand or face coming into the frame, getting rid of a sign that has letters missing or some of the letters burned out on a sign; what about a streetlamp that should be on but isn’t?

The digital age has had a profound effect on photography. some good and so many not so good. One good thing that has come about is the ability to shoot a photo and immediately look at the back of your camera to check it out

The reason for adjustments? To achieve what I want in the camera, and not have to rely on a computer to fix the problems I could/should have done prior to clicking the shutter.

A variation is a different animal. The reason for a variation is to increase your chances of going home with one of those elusive ‘wall hangers’, and variations come in all types of reasons.

For example, If you’re into getting the right light, then you’re shooting from different points of view and thinking about my clock. Shoot then moving around to see how your subject looks lit from the side perhaps to bring out the texture, then decide on another variation by placing the sun behind your subject to backlight it.

I’ll occasionally (depending on how much time I have) completely change my position and lens. I’ll add or subtract people or objects, get on my knees or stomach, and anything else that comes to mind at that moment. Btw, at my age, it has to be a really good idea for me to get on my knees or stomach!!

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

JoeB