Thoughts on Photography

Two cool & affordable things to add to your camera bag

I've purchased a couple of items recently that I've been happy with and thought I would share.  Both are under $40 and worth the money. 

First is the UPstrap camera strap.  I'm late to the party here, but if you haven't heard of this yet, just go out and get one.  There isn't a better no-slip, sling it over your shoulder camera strap on the market.  I love this thing.  You will find them at www.upstrap-pro.com.  I bought the "SLR-Classic" for $32 + shipping.  For a more in-depth third party review, check out this Luminous-Landscape Article.  This thing doesn't even come close to slipping off your shoulder.  I've walked the dogs while using it and not once did I feel like I had to reset the strap back on my shoulder to avoid having the camera fall...it just won't. 

Second is a cool new item that is necessary in today's digital age:  A depth of field calculator.  In the old film days, there used to be no need for these things because the scales were available right on the lens. All you had to do was look at the marks on the scale that corresponded to your f-stop and immediately, you knew how much of the scene would be in focus. 

But with digital, each sensor crop factor (1.3x, 1.6x, etc.) requires a different scale.  That's why we no longer have scales on our lenses (a sacrifice for us full-frame 5D users who could have used the old scales).   Well the makers of the Expodisc have provided a flexible and pocket sized solution.  You definitely need to check this out.  It's called the ExpoAperture2 Depth-of-Field Guide.  I picked up one at my local camera shop (listed as a dealer on the Expodisc website) for $29.99.  I can see where a portrait photograph would find this tool to be indispensable.  After just two days with this little tool, I find I'm thinking much harder about my choice of aperture and the impact of distance-to-subject & lens focal length will have on my finished image.  I could go on, but you just have to sit and play with this thing awhile to see how it starts the creative juices flowing. 

Flipping Photos

I had an "AHA!" moment this weekend.  I have been watching instructional videos on using Photoshop CS3 and reworking some old images that I liked, but never loved...just to see if I could make some magic happen.  Well, I didn't make any magic, but I did learn something simple and effective for improving an image.  The FLIP. 

In my prior post (Feedback from a Pro), I shared the pro's idea about how we read left to right and how this also impacts how we view images.  His instruction to me was to have something interesting on the left side of the frame and avoid dead space there.  I further interpreted this to mean that the image should flow from left to right if it is to feel natural or more soothing.  Not all images flow, but those with pattern, repetition and strong line tend to.  "Feeling natural or more soothing" may not be the objective of the image, but if it is, this left to right idea makes some sense. 

Here are a couple of photos I worked on yesterday where I like the overall composition, but found that by FLIPPING the image horizontally, I had a much more natural flow and balance.  I'll discuss why I think so under each photo.

Before:

After:

Why I like the Flipped Image better:

In this case, this image is slowly paced and flowing. The original version, with the women walking to our left (opposite of how we read) creates a sort of tension among them.  Not sure why, but it does.  With the women walking to the right, they seem to flow thru the image more naturally.  In addition the lamp on the wall to the left provides a key element in drawing us into and then across the image.  On the original version, the lamp just seems to be in conflict with the women's pace.  Finally, and this may be just me, the Flipped version seems brighter and just a tad more vibrant to me, even though I know it is not.

Before & After:

 

Why I like the Flipped Image (the one on the right) better:

It actually hard for me to say why I like this one better, but I do.  For some magical reason, the red umbrella becomes the subject of the flipped version, where as the original version seems to be struggling for a subject.  I would even argue that, in the original version (left image) the blue umbrella is competing (and failing) to be the prominent subject.  Its interesting to me that the red umbrella looks brighter and more saturated in the flipped version, even though I know it is not. 

Something else at play here is the direction of the glance of the woman in the light colored jacket. Her glance to the left in the original version causes a subtle tension, while in the flipped version it seems more natural.  Again, this is that "reading right to left" thing coming into play.

All of a sudden, I'm feeling compelled to revisit all of my favorite images to see if flipping them will have me seeing them in a new way.

 

Feeback From A Pro

Two weeks ago, I attended the Betterphoto.com Summit in Chicago.  Part of the two day event (which I highly recommend) included an opportunity to have 10-15 of my photographs critiqued by a professional.  I decided to get feedback on what I consider to be my weakest photographic skill - people shots. 

I sat down with photographer John Siskin for about 20 minutes as he walked through the images I created from my one and only photo shoot of a live person (see 40 Minutes in an Alley).  His feedback and my reworked images are below.

Original Image:

His feedback on this image: 

• crop in from the left border; too much space on the left is almost always a bad thing; western culture reads left to right, so try to avoid any dead space on the left side of an image; even better, place the subject there; like the gradation of light on the face, has nice form, especially easy to see this in ear area,but nice overall (this was a fortuitous result of reflected light coming up from the alleyway pavement)

Revised Version:

Original Image:

His feedback on this image:

• again too much dead space on left; crop in and then separate him from the background by darkening it and possibly desaturating it

Revised Version:

Original Image:

His feedback on this image:

• Graffiti which was distracting in some of the other shots from this day is OK here because the interest is on the left first; crop off the fence on the right - distracting; lighten up shadow on left wall

Revised Version:

Original Image:

His feedback on this image:

• like what you are doing with creative posing/thought process; this one might be stronger with a creative crop losing part of the face and tighter from the bottom

Revised Version:

Original Image:

His feedback on this image:

• would like to have seen more separation between him and the background - giving us 3 levels (hands/face/wall); also symmetrical shots are stronger when you crop them tighter; dead eyes (no catch-light) work here when they normally wouldn't; a grab might have been a better hand gesture than framing like this; graffiti is distracting in this image even though it echoes the tattoos, it's not helping here

Revised Version:

I'm not sure I did a great job revising the images per his advice, but it is helpful to understand how someone who does this for a living looks at these types of images.  John teaches a few classes over at betterphoto.com that might be worth my while when I get some time.  I also just came across a youtube video of him doing a studio lighting demo for anyone who might be interested in that sort of thing. 

I'm alive!!!

Wow, it has been so long since I've seen a post here, I was beginning to think I had died.  Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and saw a photo posted in my Pbase PAD gallery.  I must not be dead, just on hiatus.  Oh well, back to blogging about photography.  Next up...feedback from a pro.