A Model of a Daughter

I got to spend a delightful four hours this morning in the portrait studio of Kent Harrison. Besides being an extraordinary Project Manager at work, Kent has spent his evenings, weekends and vacations for the past eight years taking photographs—all sorts of photographs–including landscapes, weddings, products, panoramas, high school seniors and even babies. And with just a simple request he and his wife Pam opened up their house to our fledgling photo club at work for a wonderful introduction to studio portrait photography. 

Even though it was a lovely summer morning, Kent’s youngest daughter Kimberly and her boyfriend Jeff dressed up and modeled for us for several hours. Kent talked us through dozens of different poses while Kim modeled them.  (Kim obviously has been doing this most of her life, as she seemed graceful and natural, even though six strangers were looking at how she held her chin, placed her arm, or tilted her head.) 

Being in a professional’s studio was a learning experience all its own. I’m sure I learned many things that I don’t even realize yet, but here are a few things that I managed to write down and that Kent provided during the studio session. 

• Identify an impact point for each shot. Perhaps it’s the eyes, a smile, or even a cheekbone or hair curl. Whatever it is, feature it, rather than having everything going on in one shot.
• Chin out and down. People tend to hold their head back, which means you end up photographing their neck rather than their eyes. Also, by pushing their chin out, they avoid the “double chin” syndrome that may occur by holding it down.
• The “Hang-out” pose. If the model (subject) looks nervous and “stiff”, ask them to put one foot behind them, then to put their weight on that foot. This creates a casual stance that looks more natural, and may make the model feel more comfortable.
• In general, it’s best to have your model wear long, or at least three-quarter length sleeves to keep the skin tone of their arms from competing with the skin tone of their face as the main area of focus.
• Keep talking while shooting. Start by saying something like “I’m just going to take lots of photos here at first just to get used to you”. Then keep talking as you move through the poses.
• Have your subject bring their own prop. If they are into something, be it a hobby, sport, work or whatever, ask them to bring something that represents that activity. It helps them feel more secure, and gives them something to do with their hands. Plus, they will probably enjoy seeing the prop in the final photographs.
• Men tend to have one droopy eye, so identify that and have the model turn the other side towards the camera.
• When sitting in a chair or on a couch, have female models move towards the edge of the chair and drape on the arm.
• Have the model’s feet and hands moving away from the camera (no bottom of shoes in the shot!)
• If you have two people posing together, stagger the heights of their heads. A rule of thumb is to have the higher person’s mouth about level with the lower person’s eyes.
• Keep a radio in the studio and ask the model what station they would like you to dial in. It keeps some other sounds going on, and can make the event more fun.

 We went over dozens more things, but I’ll have to remember them as I shoot more. I’ll post a photo or two that we took of Kim and Jeff, once I get their permission.

Notes on Camera RAW (Literally)

Several months ago I took a class at the Photographic Center Northwest, lead by instructor and Photoshop guru Juan Aguilera. Juan is a man of many talents, all creative. In his current job he creates 3-D models of everything from Seattle skyscrapers to Mt. Everest. Prior to that, in his home country of Mexico, he worked as a prepress technician for more than 10 years. And from what I’ve seen, he’s not a bad photographer either, (though he always downplays his abilities in that area.)

But the thing I value most about Juan is his ability to teach how to “think” Photoshop. You see, Juan doesn’t believe in giving a “cookbook” recipe for adjusting photographs in Photoshop. Rather, he believes students should learn to “read each photograph” and decide what it needs to bring out the best image. So Juan layers on technique after technique in his 10-week classes and then asks each student to demonstrate an understanding of when, and when NOT, to use each technique.

Since I can’t seem to remember anything I learn in Photoshop for more than a day or two, I tried to take studious notes during each class. I also worked with Juan in special sessions between classes to get these notes prepared for him to hand out, in case he decided to go the cookbook route some day. (Don’t hold your breath!)

I’m posting my notes to the blog not to discourage you from taking any of Juan’s fabulous classes at the PCNW, but because I know not everyone can take his class, and even if you do, you’ll probably never see any notes from him.

Background
These notes were delivered as part of the class “Digital Printing”, delivered between March and May of 2007 by Juan Aguilera. The topic for this session was converting Digital RAW files using the Adobe Camera RAW converter. 

Overview
Some of the adjustments that can be made in Photoshop are much less destructive to image information if made in Adobe Camera RAW. For example, when Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation and Color Balance adjustments are made in Photoshop, loss of information can lead to posterization and detail loss. However, when made in Camera RAW, these adjustments are non-destructive, and can be reversed or changed at any time without loss of information.

All of the settings listed below are subjective, and of course you need to set them to best suit your personal esthetic. These steps are guidelines to preserve the most detail possible in both the shadows and highlights. If one or both of these are not important to you, adjust the sliders how you like. However, you should still consider adjusting the “Exposure” and “Shadows” sliders first, before adjusting the other sliders, as other adjustments you may make could adversely affect your changes to these two adjustments.

Steps
Note: The White Point sets the value for which all pixels with a higher value will be clipped (turned to pure white), and the Black Point sets the value for which all pixels with a lower value will be clipped (set to pure black). Other pixel values are then adjusted relative to these two points.

• Start by adjusting the White Balance. Do this by either selecting a pre-set value from the drop-down box (not too useful) or moving the “Temperature” and “Tint” sliders until the image has the color tone you desire.

Note: the “Temperature” slider sets the Blue/Yellow color balance, whereas the “Tint” slider sets something similar to a Green/Magenta color balance.

• Begin by moving the Saturation slider on the <Adjustments> tab all the way to the left, so that it reads “-100”. This way, your image has a histogram that is for a single channel, giving you more visibility to the affect of your other changes.
• To see clipping in your image, check both the “Shadows” and “Highlights” check-boxes at the top of the screen. This will highlight in Blue the areas where your Shadows have been clipped, (lost their detail), and in Red where the Highlights have done the same.

Note: You can also hold down the <Alt> key when moving the “Exposure” or “Shadows” slider, to see a just the areas where clipping occurs.

• Start by setting your White Point by adjusting the “Exposure” slider until only small, specular highlights are clipped, or no clipping is evident (if specular highlights are not present).
• Next, set the Black Point by adjusting the “Shadows” slider until no important shadows are clipped.
• Adjust the “Brightness” slider to taste, being careful to avoid clipping the highlights.
• While it is tempting to make “Contrast” adjustment here, on the <Adjust> tab, this control gives you only a 5-point curve adjustment, whereas the “Curve” tab allows you to control up to 14 different points throughout your image’s tonal range. Therefore, you should set the “Contrast” slider to zero, and save that adjustment for when we get to the <Contrast> tab.

Note: If you do decide to use the “Contrast” adjustment in the <Adjust> tab, note that it creates an S-curve around a midpoint set by the “Brightness” value. Both the <Contrast> tab controls and Photoshop’s “Contrast” adjustment layer are linier, allowing you to create your own curve.

• Adjust the “Saturation” slider to suit your taste.
• On the <Detail> tab, set the “Sharpening and “Color Noise Reduction” sliders to “0”. There is a much batter way to do both sharpening and color noise reduction using Photoshop’s “Adjustment Layers”.

Note: You can add sharpening to preview images only by clicking on the “Fly-out menu”, selecting “Preferences”, and selecting “Preview Images Only” in the <Apply Sharpening To> dialog box.

• The “Luminance Smoothing” is useful when shooting at high ISO speeds. Even at slow speeds, some cameras benefit from a small amount of luminance smoothing (2-4). At ISO speeds of 800 and up you’ll certainly need higher “Luminance Smoothing” adjustment settings.

Juan continued to talk about the Lens, Curve and Calibrate tabs, but I was unable to collect notes on that part of the lecture. So that’s all I have for this posting on Camera RAW. I hope it was helpful!

Calling The Shot

Every five years of so I find myself in a pool hall, loosing in a game of 8-Ball to one of my friends.  I always lose because (besides just not being very good at pool) my friends play with “no slop” allowed, meaning they require the shooter to call the pocket in which they intend to sink the next ball. That way the effect of luck is completely eliminated from the game. For them, these rules make the game more fun. For me they mean I really have to study my options and plan my shot if I’m even to sink one in the whole game. My natural style is to rely try unusual shots, for the fun of it, and rely on luck that a ball will land in some pocket, even if it’s not the one I expected.

It dawned on me recently that I shoot photos much the same way I play pool. I try approaching my subject from a different angle or perspective, or with dramatic lighting or color, rather than composing the “simple” or “normal” shot.  And I tend to rely on the fact that if I take lots of these “unusual” shots, one or two of them will likely look good (or “land in the pocket”, to continue the metaphor). It’s definitely one way to play the game, but I’m beginning to think there’s some value to “calling the shot” that I would like to explore.

I was looking at a collection of some of my best shots the other day and noticed that, though some of them are pretty “good”, (as measured by the criteria of having an interesting subject and being technically sufficient), most of them were actually the lucky result of an experiment, or simply a snapshot that was framed well enough to “work”.

Unlike the large- and medium-format photographers, who must spend considerable time looking at their subject on the ground glass before they release the shutter, a digital SLR photographer can just snap away, relying more on the odds more than on a well conceived intent. With a few notable exceptions, I have tended not to think about what I wished to convey about my subject before taking the photo. The result: a series of “nice”, but unrelated photos that express very little about me or the subject. They are graphic (strong colors, strong shadows or strong lines) but not particularly revealing. They are not, as my only real photo instructor Paul Sparks used to say, “well seen”.

So, in my pool game and in my photography, I’m going to start calling the shot.

I expect this will lead to less “lucky” shots at first, but in the long run, will help me develop a much better vision.

A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep

It’s been too long since I posted. What good is a learning tool if you don’t us it, huh? I think the problem is that I’m trying to write too much. So this is my last lengthy posting. After today, I’ll concentrate on jotting down the small steps I make along the journey.

 

I’ve been thinking about depth versus breadth. Which is the better way–learning a lot about a few aspects of photography and mastering those things, never even trying the others, or dabbling a little bit in all aspects of all photography, getting to learn many of the different things it has to offer, but mastering none?

Well, neither, really. Or maybe some of both, with a shift from the later to the former.

I’ve been concentrating for a couple of years on just learning to use my camera—first a Nikon D70, now a Nikon D200. I have tried to become adept at using depth of field and shutter speed by adjusting them manually rather than using a aperture or shutter priority or program mode. I’ve worked with all the various modes of light metering and focusing. I’ve attempted to learn the limits of the sensor in terms of resolving high contrast edges. I’ve concentrated on learning what effect each of my lenses gives, and tried to identify which circumstances each is best suited for. I’ve used my Sekonic L-758 light meter to train my eye to recognize the differences in light in terms of f-stops.

I’ve taken classes on studio lighting, Photoshop and digital printing (which I’m in now). And I’ve read several books on workflow and digital asset management. I’ve purchased a powerful computer and a high resolution monitor.  I’ve done all of these things because I know that the first barrier to expressing a vision is lack of technical skill to do so.

 

My goal is to add layers of complexity to the entire process, from developing an eye for composition and experimenting with different personal styles, to shooting for both color and B&W prints, to learning natural and artificial lighting, to exploring the various forms of photography, including macro, street, nature, studio, fine art, portrait and more.

 

Currently I am concentrating on the things I know the least about in the lifecycle of creating a photograph—Photoshop and digital printing. When I get to the point that I can make a photograph all the way through from idea to finished print, I’ll go back through each step, adding more depth to my understanding and skills. Maybe some day I’ll focus, and start to get depth, rather than only breadth, but for now, this is the only way that feels right.

 

In the “Wake” of Light

At our second photo club meeting at work, Candice (a very enthusiastic and dedicated photographer) suggested that a good assignment for us might be to photograph the new Olympic Sculpture Park (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sculpturepark/). With the sunny weather and some free time on my hands this past weekend, I decided to make a mini project out of it.

 

I made it to the nine-acre, $85 million park just a few minutes after sunrise to find  a couple other other photographers exploring the early morning light falling on Alexander Calder’s “Eagle” sculpture, with the snowy Olympic Mountains shining above a foggy Puget Sound as a backdrop. It turns out these two friends have been taking pictures, attending photography workshops and collaborating on a web site together for several years. You can view and purchase their work at: www.initialphotography.com.

 

After exploring numerous sculptures, vistas and winding trails through the grounds, I discovered the Bill & Melinda Gates Amphitheater holding Richard Serra’s installation of five huge, steel waves titled “Wake”. The sun was making long, black shadows on the sand where they were placed, giving them mare a feeling of canyon walls in the Southwest than of anything nautical.

 

I attempted to capture the obelisk qualities of the massive structures, and to catch the light pooling in the canyon valley’s between the pieces. But it was not until much later that day, in the mid-day light that I was able to capture my best images of the sculpture.

 

I used two lenses, a Nikon 12-24mm, f/4 wide angle and a Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 super-wide angle fisheye. Though there were lots of people around, I focused on capturing the strong shadows and sharp contrasts between the brightly lit metal and the deep blue sky. Sometimes I would frame a shadow and wait for an interesting shadow of people to appear before opening the shutter.

 

One of my favorites is of a shadow of me and several other people with a man and his infant son in the dark valley between two structures. I called it “Shadow Promenade 3”, since it was the third such photo I made that day.

 

Though the whole park is a delight to shoot, I plan to focus more on capturing shadows of people against the warm orange walls that make up Richard Serra’s “Wake” before concentrating on the other sculptures and views. I just hope we have another sunny day in the next few months!