Month: February 2012

Where does your eye go first?

by Stanley Learylighting / visual storytelling
Turn your photos upside down; this will help you see where your eye goes first.  After seeing where your eye goes first, is this where your audience wants to look? Nikon D2Xs, ISO 400, f/7.1, Nikkor 24-120mm
Fair values are one of the most significant factors influencing where someone looks.  Nikon D2Xs, ISO 400, f/7.1, Nikkor 24-120mm

Start upside down
One of the ways I was first taught to look at a photo is to turn it upside down.  This way, you see how the photo’s composition and light values will direct someone to what is essential or away.

The light values alone have a tremendous effect on the viewer.  If you put a black dot on a white paper with nothing else or a white dot on a black piece of paper, your eye is drawn to the dot.

With more stuff on the paper, the principle is still the same. The contrast of the light value to the rest of the scene will draw you to a spot.

Now that you know this, you should be able to help create a photo that directs the viewer based on fair values to the subject.

The ceiling helps to add some graphic qualities to the photo.  Nikon D3, ISO 400, f/7.1, Nikkor 24-120mm

Graphics

Sign manufacturers have used big arrows to direct you to a store location.  You could use a large hand to show people where to look, or you can use this same principle more subtly to direct the viewer.

Leading lines and perspective can help pull you into a photo and give the image some depth.

While straight lines hit you over the head, directing your eye, the S-curve is a classic way to draw a viewer’s eye.  One of the most common uses in the scenic photo is the river winding through a scene.

Framing


Here I am using the tree and the people in the shadows as framing at The Citadel. Nikon D3S, ISO 200, 1/1250, Nikkor 24-120mm

While a photo might look good in different frames, you can buy it at a frame shop. You can also use elements in an image to help frame the shot.  This framing often helps create a sense of depth to a photo and not just a border like a physical frame.  Looking through a doorway to the subject in a room helps create some context.

Using the flowers to fill in what could be an empty space.  Nikon D3, ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/5000 Nikkor 14-24mm

Flowers in the foreground and the subject like a house in the background help fill what would often be dead space in the photo.

Hey there’s more

While your eye may go to the young man setting the table and it is telling a story, your look will likely drift to the woman at the stove cooking and then to the people in the back room.  If I did it right, your eye would drift around looking at the more minor details because I got your eye moving, and once it is, it will explore.  Nikon D3S ISO 12,800, f/5.6, 1/40, Nikkor 14-24mm

You can make a nice composed photo of a subject and do a great job creating a good image of the issue.  You can also make a more storytelling photo and not just a pretty picture.  These are photos that you may be drawn immediately to the main subject, but your eye continues to be moved around the scene, and you are learning more about the story.

Some photographers have you looking only at the subject and not much more.  The seasoned storyteller will have you looking all around and absorbed into the content.

Multi-layered compositions take time and help tell the story in its context more. It also is more entertaining but requires time for the audience to absorb. Photos like this need a longer pause in the slide show or video. Sometimes in magazine story spread, you let them run over two pages to let the audience see all the action.  Nikon D3S ISO 5600, f/5.6, 1/250 Nikkor 14-24mm

Some things to look for in a photographers portfolio before you hire them

by Stanley LearyPhotography
When you are looking to hire a photographer there are a few things I recommend to look for in the work they show you.  If you pay attention to these little things then your storytelling will improve.

Exposure

When you look from photo to photo is there a consistency in the exposure? Amateur photographers often have inconsistent exposure values.  

Skin Tones

When you look at the subjects does the skin tone look the right color and exposure?  How often are you seeing photos that were shot under fluorescent lights having a green tint to the skin tones. If they have good skin tones on the main subject but the background is green this might be due to using their on camera flash.

Another color shift in skin tones is orange from shooting under tungsten lights.  Again if they used their on camera flash the skin tone might look OK and the background is orange.

If the photos are outside and the subjects are under trees, is the skin tone natural or green cast.  The leaves on the trees are filtering the light and giving it a green tinge. 

Where does your eye go first?

When you look at the photo quickly, where do you look first?  Is it at the subject or is there something distracting in the background or off to the side.  Many photographers are just not able to understand how the photograph is about front to back and not just the subject.  Good composition will have your eye going first to the subject and then if they do a great job it will want to wonder around at all the subtle complementary areas that give more context to the photograph.

Light value on faces

Can you easily see the people’s faces in the photos?  It is much easier to just point a camera and shoot existing light.  Some photographers will even talk about how it makes it real.  Great photographers can shoot using often just available light, but the light on the face has to be right.

Here it is much easier to see the Fencer’s face due to the style of helmet used here.

While normally it is difficult to see a fencer’s face, I chose to make it show up by lighting them in a special way. 

Can you see how the face helps bring more life to the photo?

When you are trying to sell something you need to be sure the faces are the best they can be and looking natural as possible.  Skilled photographers know how to introduce light on faces so it looks natural, but most important the person’s face is not in a shadow and difficult to see.

Catchlights in the eyes

Often the difference in a good and great portrait is just a catchlight.  A catchlight is a photographic term used to describe light reflected in the subject’s eyes. The lack of a catchlight, even in an animal’s picture, can make the subject seem comatose.

Catch light in action photos is just as appealing as in a portrait.

Not only is there a small catchlight in the subject’s eyes I have picked a somewhat neutral background for the photo.  This was shot at the same time as the tennis shot above.  We wanted to show how a gym helps local business people.  So we needed in the gym and them in their other environment.  For time reasons we shot them just at the tennis court with a change of clothes.

Without a catch light you can look a little more sinister.  

For the most part a catchlight will add more life to the person than without it. Not having a catchlight can help communicate as well.  The point isn’t they need to be in every photo, but you need to be aware if you never see them in the photographers work. 


Series


When the photographer shows you some photos do you see a series?  You really need to have overall, medium and some closeup shots sometimes for visual storytelling. Your designers want to have some graphics for a background or things to compliment the layout of the webpage, printed piece or to use in a series in a multimedia package for the web.  

Citadel Cadet prepares the Sparkling Cider for the seniors who are now getting their rings.

I chose to add a little variety shot here to show it waiting for the seniors.

The seniors all run in under the sword arch after getting their rings into the quad.

All the seniors grab a glass and toast their success of making it this far at The Citadel.

After toasting they all toss their glasses at their company’s letter.  Here they are all in Bravo and smash the glasses on the B.
I just like how I caught the glass just before being smashed.

Without the other photos this doesn’t make sense, but in the series it helps to tell the story.

Variety

Do all the photos look like the photographer took them from the same perspective?  It is amazing how many photographers shoot everything at their standing height or even a similar distance to the subject.  They may use their zoom lens to get closer, but they never get close to the subject.

Giving out door prizes at a college alumni event.

Same alumni event but now the audience is listening to the development office talk about the future of the institution.  The variety is not just in closeup and far away, but in the tone of the moment as well.

You should feel like your photographer has some visual surprises and give you some safe as well as some on the edge compositions.

Focus and sharpness

I hate to even have to mention this, but many photographers just do not have razor sharp photos.  This does not mean that everything is in focus, but rather whatever place that is suppose to be in focus is and is extremely sharp.  Many photographers have camera shake and the photos just are not tack sharp.

Moments

Family enjoys working out at the gym together.

This is where many elements come together to help make the moment, but you have to catch all the subjects in the “moment” which is often their face expression as well as they are all in step together.

You will find many technically proficient photographers who meet most everything I have mentioned up to now and still after looking at the photo you are not moved emotionally.  Great storytellers will have moments that bring joy to your heart or maybe even sadness.

What will be apparent is that you felt something when looking at the photos.

The photo makes you ask questions

If your photographer does a great job you will want to know more about the photos.  However, the photographer should be waiting for you to ask questions more than jumping in to tell you everything.  The photos should for the most part do the communicating.

I can see the cool angle and what they are doing, but I want to know why and who are they doing it for.  This photo causes me to want to read the caption.  By the way it is a middle school group helping widows with repairs on their houses during the summer.

Pass the Pen + Walk and Talk

by Stanley LearyFlash / Off Camera Flash
Getting people doing something gives you better expressions.  I have two techniques for keeping people engaged when I have to set up a situation and then help it to become a real moment.

Pass the Pen

Many schools love to show the seminar setting for a class.  When you photograph in a room with everyone around the table Murphy’s Law states the action will be when their back are to you if you are photographing.

I have a few moments with everyone and explain my dilema.  If I shot this naturally it will take ten times longer due to I am on the wrong side of the table when someone starts to talk.  By the time I shift then the conversation has shifted.

I ask everyone to listen with their eyes and not just with their ears.  This really speeds up the number of usable images.

Typical conference table for a seminar class.

I then ask to borrow a pen and then give it to someone and tell everyone this person will talk.  I ask them to tell us what they did the other day or what they are planning to do that is exciting.  No one can interrupt them and they need to continue to talk until I say pass the pen. 

Even if you do not see the pen the person holds the attention of the group and lets me get the photos catching their various expressions.  Usually we get some laughs and good stories in the process.
Even in small groups I use the pen to help the subjects relax. 
This teacher used a similar technique for classroom discussions.  He had a ball of tape that he would toss to a student who raised their hand to answer a question. He tossed it to the student and when they were done they tossed it back to him.  He was quite impressive with his tosses and catches.
You can see as this student tosses the ball back he is engaged in the class. 

Walk and Talk

When you get people walking and talking they forget about you and engage quickly.  If it is just 2 people I have them walk close enough to feel each other bump occasionally.  I have one person talk and the other listen. I stress the importance of looking at each other and not the ground.  It is amazing when people are in a normal conversation they might look at the ground or off somewhere rather than looking at a person.  However, for a photo to communicate they are interested in each other they must have eye contact.

Again in the group situation I designate who is talking and ask everyone to give them their eye attention and not just their ears.  Off to the left my assistant is walking along with them out of camera range pointing a flash to them.  I normally use the Nikon SB900 with the Radio Poppers PX system to be sure the signal from the Nikon SU800 triggers the flash consistently.  The flash is zoomed out to about 28 setting to light the entire group.
Here you can see the tour guide helping tell the student about the campus.  Now for this photo I am using a Pocket Wizard Plus II to trigger the Alien Bees B1600 being fired off to the right of the group.  They are walking towards me as my VALS (Voice Activated Light Stand: AKA assistant) is carrying the light on a light stand and staying with the group out of the frame.
The couple is walking and talking to each other a good 50 yards from me. I like using the zoom lens so as they walk closer I just zoom out.  My VALS is carrying the Nikon SB900 with the Radio Poppers PX system being triggered by the Nikon SU800 on the camera.  I am shooting with the flash at normal setting and zoomed to 200.
The flash off camera really helps clean up the photo.  Often you will have a shadow on one or more of the people.  The other advantage of the flash winking in is it helps draw the audiences attention to the subjects.
Helping keep the dark skin tones with detail is really improved outside with the off camera flash.  I can power the flash up or down on the Nikon SU800.  Sometimes I make it +1 or -1 as compared to the exposure of the camera.  Only takes a second to look at the histogram and the LCD and see what might need adjusting.  By shooting RAW I still have lots of control in post processing, but being sure shadows have detail is really important when the dark areas can be the subjects face in a photo like this one here.
Take notice that we have details in the white shirt and the dark skin of the subjects in the photo.  This is will work in a printed piece easily.  Remember I have one person talking and the others listening with their eyes.

TTL hot shoe Flash vs Manual Studio Strobe

As your VALS is walking along with the Nikon SB900 as they vary their distance from the subject the camera still compensates being sure the power stays the same.  Of course the assistant has to remain pretty close with a hotshoe flash like the Nikon SB900 because it is not powerful enough to be much more than 10 to 15 feet away.

Now when you VALS is carrying a studio flash that means as they change the distance to the subject the exposure will change.  As they get closer the flash will get brighter and when they move away it will get darker.  However, with a studio strobe they can stay further away, since the strobes are much more powerful than a hot shoe flash.  I seldom am shooting with my Alienbees B1600 much more than 1/4 power.  I am usually at 1/8 power.  I do like to use a grid spot so I am not lighting up the ground leading up to the subjects.  I like to hit the faces and let it drop off a little.

How I am marketing our Tibet Workshop

by Stanley LearyPhotography
How do you break through all the information bombarding folks today? Maybe a little old school can work.

Front of 4×6 Postcard
Back of 4×6 Postcard

I have used postcards for promotion for years.  When I started I just had 1 photo on the cover and just my return address on the back. 

Today I put photos on the back.  This started because my friend Tony Messano, creative director, pointed out that everyone has at least one good photo. By putting more photos on the back helps communicate you are not just a one shot wonder.

Just the other day I was on Facebook and saw this cartoon being shared over and over.

I think if you were like me you were laughing.

I have found that for a while email blasts were more effective until they became viewed as spam.  Now the difference is that the email is being intercepted more and more by filters.  This is for legitimate correspondence.

I am finding you need to find some resources to help you with your marketing. 


www.PPRPix.com

Meet my friend Pete Casabonne, manager of www.PPRPix.com has been my go to guy for film processing, prints, books and other things that I need to turn my photos into for my clients.

Pete’s new startup PPRPix.com is a very nimble operation. He has a printer that takes the days orders and prints most everything from 4×6 prints to 20 x 30 prints.  In the older style labs you had to convert a machine to do each size.  The only thing they do that requires them to stop and make adjustments is to change the type of paper.

PPRPix does much more than prints.  I just tested today having them handle my postcards.  There specialty is helping the person who has small runs.  They set this up with 4×6 postcards for example at $14.16 for 24 printed 4 color on front and back of the post card.

Once you get into large runs of 5,000 or more postcards the prices start to standardize in the industry, but it is the short runs that have been out of the reach of many.

Carlton Williams cuts the postcards to size using a computer automated machine. 

What is important for marketing is not to do just one thing, but to approach potential customers in many different ways. 

This was exciting for me because this was the first time I had ever since a press run on my postcards.

I am working with Pete just like I have always done.  Pete is someone that tells me of new products and price points that make them very appealing.  Then I not only think of how to use these to promote my business, but I also bring my clients to PPRPix.com to help them promote using my work for their business.

We have done large prints for many years for clients to put up in their buildings.  Pete introduced me to self book publishing. Now Pete showed me today an very cool new book design. 

I think I am going to work with Pete on the book in the next month and then blog more about that process later.

What you need to do as far as marketing

You need to have many different ways to present your work.  Here are some I recommend:

  • Large Prints (give your present clients large prints to hang on their walls)
  • Self Published Books. You can have multiple books published for very little because you only need a few to show people.  
  • Postcards
  • email Newsletters
  • Blogging
  • Phone Calls
  • Networking events

Can you find your photos? I can and here’s how

by Stanley LearyDAM / Digital Asset Management
Finding a photograph is more important than making a photograph. Why? Because putting your hands on photos when you need them is how you make money.  
 
Now where did I put that?
 
Years ago when you bought the Nikon scanner a software came with the scanner called Image Access.  This was 1993 when I was introduced to what would later become Cumulus.  
 
Today the company that produces this image database software is Canto.  I now own the Cumulus Single User 8.5 version that sells for $399.  It works on PC as well as the Mac.
 
This software is like buying PhotoShop or Adobe Premier products. This will do 100 times more stuff than you will probably every use it for, but the good thing is it is a scalable software.  You can buy versions that are multi-user and web based if you like.  But starting small with something that can grow is important for me.
 
I want to revisit my workflow and more specifically the text that is embedded into each photo.  This is called the metadata.
 
Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) is a labeling technology that allows you to embed data about a file, known as metadata, into the file itself. With XMP, desktop applications and back-end publishing systems gain a common method for capturing, sharing, and leveraging this valuable metadata — opening the door for more efficient job processing, workflow automation, and rights management, among many other possibilities.
 

The IPTC fields are integrated into the XMP fields which also capture all the settings from the camera like f/stop, shutter speed and more.

Searchable

The key point to all this is that each of these fields is searchable on computers.  If you have a photo with information in those fields and on a PC or Mac you do a search of your computer it will find that information.  However without some software like PhotoShop or database software like Cumulus you cannot read all that information.

If you do not put text into the metadata you will not be able to search for them. 

I print a label on a DVD and then put all the images from a shoot on it.
After burning a disc with all the images I launch Cumulus on my Mac.

Launch Cumulus

Ingest the DVD Disc of Images.  You can easily ingest from hard drives.  My thought is I just want to know where one of the copies is and I don’t want to have everything live.  I can search later for an image and it will say what disc it is on and the disc naming I use is based on date and is easy to find that disc.

If the Disc is corrupt I then can find it on other Disc or Hard Drive backups.

Cumulus looks like this for me.  You can customize it to have many different looks, but you get the idea there is a thumbnail view as well as you can read the text.
When I ingest the disc this comes up.  I have set the preferences to always show me High Quality Thumbnails as the first choice.  The point is you can change it up if you like.  I like to see a good thumbnail when I search for an image.  Once I can see a bunch of thumbnails I can narrow down the search to those I want the high res file.
After the photos are ingested I remove the Disc.
I put the Disc into a binder.
The binder goes on a shelf in chronological order.

In general I am all done at this point.  You can read about those steps here.

 
The phone call or email
 
Stanley do you have a copy of the Disc that you made for us? Or I get a specific request, do you have a photo of President George Bush?
 
I go to Cumulus and do a search.
 
As you can see here is the search for George Bush.
The last field here “Asset Reference” is the name of the Disc followed by the name of the folder on the disc.  031003 tells me it was shot October 3, 2003.  I go to that disc and put it in and can then click on the image thumbnail and bring up the high res file.  I can then email it full size or re-size it.  I can then put it in a folder or create a new Disc to send to a client.
Once I had Sports Illustrated asking for a specific player that played at Georgia Tech.  I had at the time one of the largest collection of images.  Within minutes I was able to find the headshots and action photos of the player.  Since I had thumbnails I narrowed down my pick and within 30 minutes of the request I had 10 images to them for consideration.  
 
Find it: Make Money
 

There are other solutions like Filemaker Pro or Extensis Portfolio.  The point of all this is if you cannot find it you cannot make money with it.