Once again I was surfing through the channels, gliding non-stop through each number and name, my trusted remote comfortably positioned in my hand, and my thumb firmly resting on the button. For one brief shiny moment I stop on a series of old but still famous television commercials. As chance would have it I just happened to stop at the beginning of an old commercial for Alka-Seltzer. It ran in the sixties and it brought back memories sitting around the television watching programs that it sponsored.

Later that evening while lying in my bed after a romp down the perverbial memory lane, it began to conjure up an entirely different meaning. A concept that I had been talking about just that morning through one of my video critiques I make daily for those online students in my BPSOP class.

It’s also what we talk about every morning in my critiques during one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops and photo tours I conduct every year  in different cities all over the place. I call it Visual Relief.

I think one of the biggest mistakes I see is that photogrphers are in too much of a hurry to shoot and move on and as a result there’s no consideration for the area around their subject or subjects; a recipe for confusion and distraction. There’s no place for the viewer to rest his eyes, especially when the subject is placed too close to the edge of the frame.

Those of you that know about my 15 Point Protection Plan and my Border Patrol and are diligent about using them will usually catch this and apply a quick remedy; creating some Negative Space around the subject or between the subject and the edge of the frame; in other words allowing the viewer some visual relief.

It’s so imporant to place as much emphasis on the negative space, the space that borders the positive space. It helps to only to give visual relief but it important in defining the subject as well.

When you look at the above photo I hope it will demonstrate what I mean by giving your image some visual relief. Look at how I created negative space (and therefore visual relief) by using the sky…down to the small area that defines where his elbow ends and his waist begins. It’s the same thought process in the other two photos.

So, my fellow photographers, I know you’re just dying to see how this post came about: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxjb2UJZ-5I

🙂

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime and we’ll toast with an Alka-Seltzer Martini.

JoeB

The phrase “burning daylight” is film industry slang and it comes from my days as a director/cameraman. It’s still used to tell the crew to hurry up since the natural daylight is so fleeting. The sun’s position and the quality of the light change so fast that we always need to have continuity from one scene to another; even with the light.

I write this because I’m always telling my online students with the BPSOP and especially in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the place to stop standing or sitting around talking when the light is the best.

Not too long ago I returned from my latest “Springtime” workshop that was held in Berlin. I always find a location that can support ten photographers, and be able to spread out enough as not to step on each other’s toes…or even see each other for that matter.

On more than one occasion I will walk up to a few that have gotten together to chat. Now I don’t mind people talking about what they shot, what they shot it with, where was it, and even what was your lens and exposure; after all, it is their nickel.

That’s all well and good and should be talked about over dinner and or drinks, but not when the sun is starting to get right…that would be called burning daylight.

In the photo above, I walked up to a group and had barely finished my sermon about wasting beautiful light and getting them to break it up when I saw this man leaning against the wall. I raced over and was able to get off a couple of shots, and within twenty seconds the light was gone.

So how does this apply to you? In a matter of speaking the same way. If you’re just out and about shooting during midday, and just enjoying yourself and whatever location you’re at, that’s one thing.

However, if you’re out early in the morning or late in the afternoon (possibly with a friend) and you want that elusive ‘OMG’ shot, think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it when you’re doing it…as in getting up before the sun comes up.

Don’t stop at a Starbucks for a cold latte and run into a friend and decide to sit down for thirty minutes…then all of a sudden jump up because the light has dropped considerably. More than just likely you will miss what could have been the best photo you had ever taken; at least up to then. At least get it at the drive-thru!!!

🙂

And so my fellow photographers, don’t let the visual world pass you by and take that beautiful light with it. Don’t burn up the best daylight hours of which there’s so little of. Don’t procrastinate and waste precious time getting started, or when you’re out shooting. Above all, don’t waste precious seconds with the settings on your camera.

Or, on the other hand, a tall, half-caf, half de-caf, double half expresso, half cappuccino with low-fat foam, and a twist of lemon might just hit the spot.

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

Since my background is not in photography rather in painting and design, I studied the elements of visual design. The day I picked up a camera and looked through the viewfinder was the day I changed the medium from a brush and colored pencils to a camera. Years and years later I still consider myself an artist, only now I photograph what I actually see instead of painting what I saw or only see in my mind.

Since this is the way I approach picture taking, I now enlighten those that sign up for my online class with the BPSOP, and my fellow photographers that sign up for my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the place. The ones that first take my online class walk away with I refer to as my Artist Palette.

This particular palette no longer has different pigments on it, but instead has: Texture, Pattern, Form, Shape, Line, Balance, and Color; if you click on the aforementioned link you can get an idea of how to use the palette.

In my online class I devote an entire lesson on Line. Line is the most important of all the elements of Visual Design, and without line none of the other elements I teach would exist. In fact without line, planes, trains, automobiles, and even people wouldn’t exist as well. Why? Because we all have an outLINE.

That said, the most important line is the horizon line, and when I see a horizon line that’s not straight it’s a sure sign that a novice took the picture. Don’t get me wrong, It’s not a judgment, merely an observation. In my opinion, the only time the horizon line wouldn’t appear straight is if you were in the Space Shuttle.

You would think that it’s an easy fix, and you would be partially right. If you’re on a tripod, like I am a lot of the time, you simply straighten the horizon right away and then forget about it. It will continue to be straight right up to and including the part when you actually take the photo.

However, most people don’t like being in complete control so they always hand hold their camera. The inherent problem is in the fact that you have to look at the horizon line while you’re composing, and then again right before you take the photo. That’s going to make it hard to concentrate on a host of things like: capturing the moment, human and non-human gesture, body language, the peak of any action, balance, etc.

I’ve been shooting for fifty years and I often have a tough time remembering to take a final look at the horizon line. If you can do it, and do it successfully then you’re way above my pay grade…and I take my hat off to you.

The next time you go out shooting, look at the horizon line and remember these words. It will take your photos “up a notch”. Oh and one last piece of advice: Try getting it straight “in the camera”, and not later in front of a computer. It will make you a better photographer, if that’s what your thing is.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2018 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

According to the German philosopher and psychologist Karl Albert Schener, our minds whether we’re awake or asleep will transform things symbolically.

Visual input is a part of everyday life, and when we go about the world we’re not just taking in what we see, we’re relying on the perception of the environment that surrounds us.

A part of ourselves is out there and as photographers, it’s our prime objective to present visual information in a way as to take control of what the viewer feels and sees when we present information in the form of a photograph.

When I talk about what the viewer feels when looking at our photos, I’m talking about visual empathy. A brief definition of empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. The question is how do we create visual empathy in a photograph?

I can remember on numerous occasions during one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” when I mentioned this concept to one of my fellow photographers. I’ve also talked about it at great lengths to my online classes with the BPSOP.

Here’s one of the easiest ways to create visual empathy:

Imagine two people walking side by side, either down a street, on a beach, hiking, etc. If they’re talking to one another (of course the viewer won’t know what they’re saying) the viewer won’t necessarily know if they like one another or not; even though he’ll realize that they know one another…but that’s about all. This is one measure of empathy. Btw, if you play golf you’ll know that they wouldn’t necessarily know one another.

Now, imagine those same two people walking side by side, and either they’re holding hands or one person has his hand around the other. This is the true definition of visual empathy and will make the viewer think; making him think is a good way to keep him around longer, and that’s precisely what I like to do.

There are other ways to create visual empathy: the use of color and light, and I’ll be talking about these in future posts.

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

JoeB

I think I’ve written more posts where the light is the main theme than any other subject matter, and I’ve had a post come out every five days for nine years; that’s a lot of posts!

In my online classes with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I’m constantly talking about the importance of light and the fact that it’s so fleeting you need to be ready for it when it comes and then when it goes…be ready if and when it comes back; sometimes in mere seconds.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen one of my fellow photographers start shooting without any regard as to what’s happening with the light. In my opinion, this is definitely not in their best interest, and the consequence comes in the form of a dull, gray, and flat photo; the exception is if that’s what was important in creating some kind of mood.

In conjunction with the Santa Fe Workshops I was conducting a workshop in Bayamo, Cuba. We were sitting around the bar in the pool area enjoying a Mojito; we were sitting there because it had been raining and we were just waiting for it to stop. While we were waiting I noticed the sun break out for a few seconds then go back behind the dark clouds. I immediately grabbed my camera and thought about a great post I could write (once again) about the light and how relevant it is in creating visually interesting images.

Having said that, I have submitted two photos that were taken in the space of about a minute. You won’t find these on my website, in a gallery, or in a museum but that was not the intent.

The intent is to demonstrate how powerful the addition of light can be in your composition, and the possibility of making just about anything in the way of subject matter look good.

I shot the pool first with really bad light as the man in the middle swam (btw, the pool is not as big as it looks since I had on a 17-40mm lens) away from me. He turned and began swimming towards me and I shot again when the sun broke out.

Pull the slider from left to right so you can see the diference. As you can see, if one picture really is worth a thousand words, then what’s two pictures worth?

So my fellow photographers, the next time you’re shooting and the light isn’t great, look around you to see if the conditions will be changing anytime soon. If you see that they might, stick around!!!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2018 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

In conjunction with The Santa Fe Workshops, on October 2nd I’ll be leading a group in San Miguel de Allende. A beautiful oasis and artist colony, and the entire city is a UNESCO site.

Come join me for a week of fun and photography…what could be better?

JoeB