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

One of my favorite topics to discuss with students taking my online BPSOP class,  and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet is the Light. Unless you’re street shooting where timing and and capturing a moment are important, Light is everything.

I’ve been a student of light for as long as I can remember, including those B/W years spent shooting with AP and UPI. I studied art and design, with a couple of semesters plodding through Art History, where we studied each of the Masters and later impressionists approach. This is where I learned notable techniques like Renaissance portrait lighting.

When I first started studying the Light, I broke it down in what I termed Four Part Harmony: Hue, Intensity, Direction, and Quality.

Hue: Refers to the color of the light. The color is dependent on the time of day you’re shooting. When the sun is low on the horizon, it appears warmer since it’s going through more atmosphere. As the sun rises in the sky, the color of the light becomes bluer. The reason being that it’s going through the shorter blue and violet wavelengths.

Intensity: The intensity of the light is associated with how hard or soft the light source is. When you consider the intensity, don’t think of it as being either bright or dim. It means a whole lot more than that. One needs to think about it in terms of how it will render the final outcome to your photos. When you consider the Hue, consider the intensity as well. The lower the light is to the horizon, the more atmosphere it’s going through making the light much softer than it is when the sun is higher and going through less atmosphere.

Cloud cover can have a huge effect on your images, mostly when the sun is high and it’s a day that’s considered partly sunny. It’s a good time to shoot as it’s referred to as open shade. The only drawback is that with open shade, it’s hard to create the third dimension (depth) since you need side light to accomplish that.

Using artificial light can greatly impact the intensity of the light. Aiming your flash directly at your subject will render it harsh and contrasty. Shooting through diffusion, or bounced off a white umbrella, or bounced off the ceiling will provide a softer light; it’s the only way I light when I’m indoors.

Direction: There are three basic ways to light a subject. Side, front, and back. The first thing I ever do, before raising the camera to my eye, is to determine where the source of the light is. I avoid front light like the plague…why? because Form is a basic element of visual design, and it refers to the three-dimensional quality of a subject. When you front light, you eliminate the third dimension (depth) and as a result you’re left with the other two…height and width. Front light provides the least amount of information.

When you sidelight your subject you create the third dimension…depth. A simpler concept is when you side light, you provide shading to your subject. Side light is also used to emphasize the texture of an object; or any patterns in your composition. It’s also a good way to separate the subject from the background.

Back light is when the source of the light is behind your subject. It’s my favorite way to light since it adds a rim of light around the subject. When I’m shooting something transparent, such as water, grass, flowers, leaves, etc.,  the back light makes those subjects glow. It also can add strong shadows, and as I always say, shadows are your best friend.

Quality: The quality of the light affects mood and drama. It also refers to the softness or hardness of the light source. What kind of look or mood you’re trying to create is determined by how the light is used. Harsh direct light gives you sharp and defined shadows, where a softer diffused or bounced light might not offer near as defined shadows, and sometimes none at all.

My favorite light is available light. As far as the quality of the light goes, most of the studio shooters I know, including myself try to emulate available light and will go to great lengths and expense to do so. I can’t tell you how many “North Light Studios” there are to rent in NY. I say North light because it’s the softest. Since it faces north, you’ll never get any direct sunlight coming in to affect your photos; and the light remails constant throughout the day.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime. I just announced my New York, New York Workshop beginning September 17th ,2019 and ending at noon on the 23rd. This will be my second workshop there and this time we’ll be shooting in all the five boroughs.

JoeB