I’m teaching “Designing the Photograph” tonight at Boulder Digital Arts

http://tinyurl.com/yzmx6j4

Hope to see you there!

A few days ago I posted an article about the importance of writing about your work in order to improve it and to be able to more easily talk about your work to others.

Another suggestion: look deeper. Closer. Harder. More intensely. And then back off again. Control it, plan it, then let it flow. Create a rapport with your environment.

Try these writing exerciseswhen you’re out in the field making photographs:

1. Get a pen and paper ready. Find a comfortable spot. For 5 minutes sit with your eyes closed. Listen. Feel. Smell. Hear. Do everything but see. Then, open your eyes. Pay attention to your reactions. After a minute or so, jot down a few impressions of the experience.

Then, for 5 minutes, make photographs that reflect your impressions of what you saw when you opened your eyes.

2. No pen and paper necessary for this one. Select a spot (different from #1) that you find photographically intriguing.

For 5 minutes, take as many pictures as you can. Different compositions, different exposures, depth of field, etc. Don’t review anything, just shoot.

In the next 5 minutes, make only one picture. Find a subject and look closer. Then from another angle. From farther away. Consider artistic/creative intentions. Plan your photograph. When you’re ready, make the exposure.

Always keep a pen and paper to jot down ideas, thoughts, notes, impressions. Review your notes periodically and apply what you’ve learned to your photography.

Many of my students as me how they can make their photographs better. Usually, my answer is “put it into words”.

When you write words about your photography it lets a different part of your brain engage in the creative process. Jotting down notes about your creative process, documenting ideas, making sketches, etc. can really solidify a creative concept and help get rid of the clutter, resulting in stronger, more well-conceived photographs. Plus, when asked, you’ll be able to easily describe your work to others.

Language is essential for people conveying complex concepts to one another. A picture is worth a thousand words? Most photographers want to make pictures that people can talk about.

In the same way, when you write about your photography, you are communicating with your self, and the work becomes a third party. (I believe the work needs to have “a life of its own”.)

Writing makes the creative process easier to understand; ideas become more clear and concise. And you may even learn new things about yourself.

Writing while shooting in the field or studio can really energize a session. Writing about your work at other times, such as during editing or after waking from sleep, creates stronger connections in your mind and allows you to more quickly generate ideas.

The real point of writing is to learn to think about your photography more frequently and in ever-expanding ways. Actively participate in the creative process; be the director. Integrate writing into your photography and I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the effects on your photography.

OnOne Software has released a set of Presets for use in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw. These Presets were created by Jack Davis and allow you to quickly apply a wide range of stylish effects to your images. The best part – they’re FREE!

Link to OnOne Software site

Every photograph is unique and each image will require different enhancements to make the photograph look its best. However, there are common criteria to use when evaluating your image to determine what enhancements should be made.

Many of these decisions are subjective and the choices you make should reflect your creative vision of how the image should look. Some enhancements, such as noise reduction and sharpening, are less subjective as there are established standards of technical quality to be considered. For example: in most cases people would agree that digital noise is undesirable. Also, most people would agree that the main subject of the photo should have sharp, crisp edges. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule and the creative decisions you make should be guided by your personal preferences.

When evaluating your image and making creative decisions, start with the biggest changes first and work your way to the smaller “fine-tuning” adjustments. Global edits are changes made to the entire image; Local (or selective) edits are changes made only to specific areas of the image.

Think about the editing to be done and make a plan before starting work. Keep in mind that every step of the workflow affects–and is affected by–every other step. For example, sharpening the image may increase noise; adjusting color may affect apparent contrast, etc. So it may be necessary to go back and forth between steps to perfect the image. Read more…

Many of my students ask about additional resources and recommended reading. Below are some books I’ve found very helpful.

Photographing the World Around You – Freeman Patterson
The Tao of Photography – Gross & Shapiro
Learning to See Creatively – Bryan F. Peterson
Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography – Brenda Tharpe
Photography and the Art of Seeing – Freeman Patterson
The A-Z of Creative Photography – Lee Frost

LIST OF BLENDING MODES
From Photoshop CS2 Help

A layer or painting tool’s blending mode determines how its pixels blend with underlying pixels in the image. You can create a variety of special effects using blending modes. Read more…