Street Photography : The Most Challenging and the Most Lasting
/Let’s spend time on the doing of street photography
Read MoreWelcome to The Photo Video Guy. I share training, ideas, opinions and tips to help you make better photographs and videos.
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Let’s spend time on the doing of street photography
Read MoreThe use of natural frames enhances the story of your image. Learn how to use frames effectively and why on their own, they aren’t enough.
Read MoreClaude Monet - all rights reserved, used solely for editorial purposes
I must thank my friend Rick Sammon for this phrase and all credit for it goes to him. That said, this basic principle is ignored more than any of us should approve.
Obviously I am not talking about the disposable snapshot or selfie, I refer only to a created image. It’s imperative that as creatives, should we choose to make our images available to others, but more importantly to ourselves, that what we make creates a connection to the viewer in one second or less.
Does that seem fast? It’s a short time but longer than the average human’s visual attention span when viewing still images. As an artist, never assume that any viewer other than yourself is going to spend time looking at, let along observing your work. You want to catch them fast.
Filling the frame with your ONE subject helps achieve this. Of course your subject must be interesting, your composition well structured, your processing effective, but avoiding useless clutter is paramount.
yousef karsh - all rights reserved - used for editorial purposes only
If in creating an image, you place equal weight on your subject and the background, it is going to fail. The purpose of a background is to push attention to the subject. Humans in this decade are visually lazy, moreso with video than stills but in any case lazy. Much more so than even ten years ago. It is a natural response to the stunning amount of utter dreck foisted upon humanity by inane posters on social media and numbskulls who think that their work is so good that everyone should fall over in supplication.
It doesn’t happen.
By filling the frame you communicate your intent, your goal and provide a framework for the viewer to create his or her story from your image.
lee miller - all rights reserved - used for editorial purposes only
A good place to look is at the paintings of the Old Masters. Their strongest work is very complete and fills the frame. It provides sufficient context and everything that is not the subject supports the subject. So look at this work.
Filling the frame does not have to mean that the subject is the only entity the viewer sees, although that really does help with the attention deficit crowd.
We can also look at images made by famous photographers, who are famous BECAUSE of their work, not for being well liked or well known
If we look at the Claude Monet painting at the top of the article, the subject is immediately clear to the viewer and everything else in the painting contributes to the subject and helps the viewer create his or her own story.
The photograph made by Yousef Karsh in 1949 of Albert Einstein is not the one seen most often, but personally I like it better. The frame is filled but not so much that the viewer with no knowledge of Einstein cannot get a sense of the greatness of the man.
The photograph made towards the end of World War II by one time model and later wartime photographer Lee Miller fills the frame just enough to communicate intent and story, but no more.
It’s work. It is planful. Artists are planful, snapshooters are not. You tell your stories your way and by actively engaging to fill the frame, you literally create the framework for your creation.
This is not an exercise or assignment because it is required for every image that matters to you. We already know that there are many things that we as creatives can do. This one however, could be considered non-optional.
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This time I want to introduce the Time After Time Project. It’s very simple but has a long duration.
It definitely requires planning in advance and a commitment to stick with things. Your end result could be an Express presentation, a slide show, a collage or some kind of montage.
Read MoreIn this article, I give you the knowledge to do infrared photography using your digital camera
Read MoreThe once dead point and shoot is alive, and committed photographers are buying in, as powerful alternatives to smartphone.
Read MoreLearning to use an incident light meter will help you learn to see the light and to see exposure separately from what your camera’s internal light meter will tell you. It’s also a killer tool for manual flash. Every photographer committed to the craft should have one and learn to use it.
Read MoreManaging the light is critical in close up photography. Join me to learn a practice that works.
Read MoreI have a challenge for every still photographer engaged in the craft of photography. Are you daring? Willing to try something new?
Read MoreThe use of the Expose To The Right methodology allows you to maximize the capability of your sensor without losing highlights while providing significantly more shadow detail, all without the hassle and weird results of using HDR.
Read MoreIt’s been a while since I touched on video. Despite spending tons of money on cameras whose only real value adds are in the video space, most buyers never try it. You’re missing out. So let’s get you started.
Read MoreIn this article I share some valuable tips for photography in spring. I also share some best practices for shooting in the best light possible, which means it’s wet
Read MoreIf you do not presently use AUTO-ISO, why not? Join me to discover why you probably should
Read MoreIt sure looks like a lot of photographers are including film photography as part of their engagement. For those of us who started in film, this is very interesting, at least it is for me. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of shooting film in the third decade of the 21st century.
Read MoreAs we become more involved in photography, we might be inclined to wander through camera stores, or read online articles and even <gasp> paper based periodicals that talk about gear. How do we know what is useful and what is not?
Read MoreHas it ever happened that you made a landscape image because you were blown away by what you saw but when you got home, the image felt flat and unimpressive, maybe even forgettable? You aren’t alone and learn how to prevent this from happening
Read MoreVideo does not have to be confusing, so let’s start with a simple explanation of video frame rates
Read MoreRear or second curtain sync opens new opportunities for photographers using flash
Read MoreClose up photography can expand your horizons, learn more here
Read MoreIt’s a sun in your pocket! Use it more often
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