Good and the great

It seems that most people can take really good pictures with a digital camera. If one learns how to adjust the basic settings: aperture, shutter speed, and iso. So it seems what really separates the good photos from the great photos is what one is able to do with them after the click occurs.

Post-processing, the modifications that occur after the photo is out of the camera. This can be the most daunting challenge for photographers. What style should I learn? Should I practice black and white, photorealism, high dynamic range, or just strictly color photography? There are a number of different methods and all can look spectacular.

One of the above mentioned techniques that is gaining a lot of traction in recent years is high dynamic range (HDR) photography. What this practice entails is is taking multiple images, anywhere from two to as many as 9 or 10 in some cases, all at varying exposure levels and then combining the images together. When one takes a photo that is underexposed it is dark because the camera did not have enough light to fully expose the photo. Conversely, when the photo is taken overexposed it is too light. These photos on their own probably won't look very well. But there are places that the overexposed photo looks better than the properly exposed photo, and the same holds true for the underexposed photo and the properly exposed photo. Putting all of these photos together and taking the best of each of them can create a photo with a wide array of colors and contrast.

At the top of the page is an example of a recent HDR photo I took while at Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado in May 2009. I would not have been able to get the range of colors in the clouds, nor in the sandstone bricks if I did not use an HDR method. If you are interested in HDR there are many fabulous tutorials out there on it including:
http://www.vanilladays.com/hdr-guide/
http://www.backingwinds.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-create-professional-hdr-images.html

And finally, to see more of my HDR images as well as my general photography please check out my photos. NocoJoe Photography

Shooting on locations problems -- part 2

The problem of people...

While weather and lighting pose problems while shooting on location, people pose a completely different people. Recently, I was shooting at a park next to a local high school. Presumably, a family was a few minutes early and the parents waited with the child in the car. They parked and watched our photo shoot for 10 minutes, and while they did nothing wrong it was a little unnerving. There are worse things that can happen during a shoot.

Interference into the shoot. This can come from passerbys or just concerned citizens that there might be something awry, even though you are not doing anything wrong. At best, this can waste a little time explaining the situation, and at worst a nightmare because of the hassles good intentioned people can cause. One type of good intentioned person who can cause nightmares is the police. Shooting different types of photography in public can attract the attention of the police. While I personally have not had the police even ask me what I am doing, other photographers I know have had the police ask them what is happening. My friends said they were polite, and the police were polite in response.

If confronted, there are some things to keep in mind. 1. Be polite. No matter who approaches you during a shoot being polite will get you a long way. If you are rude, impolite, or look like you are hiding something, it will only be cause for concern. 2. Always act professionally. If for some reason someone asks you to leave and you are on public land don't argue. This will not only look bad to the person who asked you to leave, but to your model as well. You can always reschedule for another time, or you can try to do the shoot somewhere else. Remember acting professionally is also performing public relations for you.

Problems can be out of the control of the photographer when shooting on location. But if the photographer keeps his cool, is polite, and acts professionally, he should put himself in a position to shoot another day.

www.nocojoe.com

Shooting on locations problems -- part 1

Shooting on location can be a whole lot of fun, and it can also pose different problems than the ones that may be encountered while shooting at a studio. None of these problems are insurmountable, nor should they be feared; however, one ought to realize that they are common problems with shooting on location and can be thought about and planned for beforehand to help ensure a smooth photoshoot.

One problem is lighting. The studio is controlled. Maybe in your studio you can have the same lighting conditions 24 hours a day, seven days a week without fail. When shooting on location one must take into account lighting. First of all, having reflectors and a portable lighting source (flashes, softboxes, etc) can help, but severe overcast skies, dark clouds, and ever changing, shade can cause potential difficulties.

If one can figure out the weather patterns while they are happening simply anticipating the weather patterns can be something else altogether. Usually location shoots are booked in advance, well most photography is booked in advance, and that means the weather can potentially be anything for the day scheduled. The most difficult part of may be the frustration of planning an entire shoot only not to have the weather cooperate. This is someting either must plan ahead for (something with some protection incase the weather sours) or one must be flexible in the outlook because one does not have control over the weather.

To see examples of location photography check out some of my photos at: www.nocojoe.com.

Intangibles -- website

It can be difficult to know where to start when one is just beginning any sort of endeavor, and photography can at times feel overwhelming. If one wants to start attracting possible clients, and or models then one must have a storefront of sorts to advertise and promote their business. This shows to potential business opportunities what type of work you do, the quality of work and you are serious about your work.

Having a website can serve another tangential purpose. The website can serve in lieu of of a physical studio. Especially for people starting out the expense of camera equipment alone can be financially straining, let alone paying for a studio and all of the accessories that go along with it, such as: lighting, softboxes, hot shoes. This all can easily cost just as much as a camera and good lenses or more! So, having a website can act as a store front, and one can advertise that they photograph on location.

A good website can be as complicated or as simple as one would like to make it. The goal is to demonstrate your work. One thing to consider while starting out is whether to build your own website or to use one made for you. The thing that made me choose a premade one is that I don't have the expertise in security that I would need to build my own. I would want a website to reasonably protect my images (and while I know that one cannot fully protect their images online, I like some reasonable protection) and one that can handle orders securely.

To see an example of my website and the photo hosting service I used, smugmug, please visit: www.nocojoe.com.

Finding models -- part 2

In an effort to find models I am reviewing my options. In my last post I discussed perhaps finding someone on the street. The issue of approaching people and asking to take a type of candid shot of them in my mind still has its problems, and isn't resolved, but that can be revisited at a later point. The point of this piece will address where else one may look for models, and the focus this time will be the internet, and the two main free options.

The first place I thought of was to post a advertisement on Craigslist. This is perhaps the easiest way to find a model. There is not any registration, and one does not even need example photos of one's photography, although they do help. The two main sections within Craigslist that seem to have advertisements looking for models are: community, and gigs. In the community section there are requests made for models in the artist subcategory. Then the other place is in the gigs section, talent subcategory.

Now, with that said, there is really no barrier for posting for either the photographer or the model. What that means is that anyone who has a computer and an email address can post. With no barrier to posting it brings good and the bad. I can imagine some experienced photographers cringing at the thought of potentially using persons who may have a couple of snapshots and without any modeling experience whatsoever. On the other hand, for someone like myself this is a positive. That means there are more potential models available than on other sites, ceteris peribus.

Another free site Model Mayhem is different than Craiglist. Model Mayhem is solely about the modeling industry, whereas Craigslist is a online classifieds. However, there is more of a barrier for admission into Model Mayhem. First, one must register with the site where one must provide pictures of one's self if he is a model, or pictures of other models that one has taken if one is a photographer. This can be a probelm if one is just starting out. If one wants to start photographing models, but doesn't have any photos of models how does one clear this hurdle? Welll in that respect one must ask friends, relatives, or go onto Craigslist. However, after one is accepted into Model Mayhem (they have administrators go through to see if the photos are of good enough quality for admittance) then there are many models to choose from, and models with some sort of modeling aspirations or modeling portfolio.

Each site has a little something different to offer. And since they are both free -- they are both good places to look for potential models.

To see some of the models I have found on Craigslist and Model Mayhem check out my site: www.nocojoe.com.

Finding models -- part 1

The first step for me is to find models, which may seem easy enough... find a pretty girl and tell her she is beautiful, then ask her if she would be willing to let me take a few photos of her.

Well if it was just that I might be able to swing it. I have a dslr camera with a couple of nice lenses. It wouldn't mean that I would have to pull out my point and shoot camera, take a couple of shots, smile, and say thanks. At least I am, maybe, a step up from that. There are a couple of problems with me approaching random people on the street and asking if I can take their photo. First, there is the problem of a release. There doesn't seem to be much to do with a photo taken without a release. It would be out of the question even to post the photos on a website! I can only imagine showing someone, especially a woman, a release and have her give me that creepy stalker look.

Maybe when I have more practice photographing people and models I will try to ask someone on the street if can photograph them. In the meanwhile I will use the internet, which will be examined in part 2.

Until then, check out my photography at www.nocojoe.com.

From Landscapes to Portraits

So recently, I started upon the journey to add some variety to my photography. Until this point I took mostly landscapes and nature photographs. Those are fine... and what I have readily available to me since I live in Colorado.

Taking pictures of a live person will be totally different. For my first blog on the subject I will list the problems I think that I might encounter.

1. Lighting -- I only have a single external flash. I don't have any of the fancy flash set-ups that is associated with studio photography. I can see this as a hindrance.

2. Photoshop -- I know some of photoshop, but what I know is what I have seen through video tutorials. I think I am missing some more of the advanced techniques. These can be learned. I can ask someone or read a tutorial somewhere.

3. I don't have a reputation! This can be a good and a bad thing... but for right now it can be a hurdle. Although I can always make one of those.


Those are all the problems I can think of for now. Check back soon to see how my first encounters with models are!

Also visit my photography website at www.nocojoe.com to see examples of my landscape/nature photography and my photography with models.