Week 14 DLS exercises: time to play with dollies!

So, we kind of missed out on playing with Barbies as we had so many wonderful models, but the project is still the same.

As threatened, here is the Barbie exercise (though you can of course use whatever you like - Potatoes, popsicle stick figures, marshmallow people, marionettes, stuffed animals, etc... no one has ever fulfilled my dream of using apple head dolls - if you feel like humouring me, you should totally use apple head dolls.) Since it's close to Easter, I imagine you could find some chocolate bunnies or peeps or something to use... (Below is TOTALLY not my picture but I wish it was - picture is a link back to the source @ Irregular Bones - not sure where they got it from...)

This exercise is simple.

Your client is a family, and you need to get a set of pictures that includes but isn't limited to:

a) just Mom & Dad
b) the kids together
c) each kid individually
d) the entire family

The images should include some formal, some casual, and some candid shots. Pay attention to composition, weird background inclusions, patterns and all that other stuff we've chatted about. The only unbreakable rule is that your family MUST NOT be alive. Here is my now infamous Barbie set, though I'm feeling inspired and might want to try doing a new set using something else fun:

Get creative, be playful, and HAVE FUN! Aim for between 20 or 25 pictures in your set. ;)

Week 11 DLS exercises: in someone else's shoes

I hope this past week off has given you all an opportunity to play catch-up - I know we kind of made a quantum leap and your brains might be hurting.

Moving right along, we're going to push the envelope now and get you moving towards the more creative side of things. As of the last workshop, you know how to look at pictures from a somewhat different albeit cold and unfeeling perspective. This week's exercise is about the OTHER side of that, which is identifying in pictures what you DO and DO NOT like. It is about identifying how those elements lend to the effectiveness of the image to convey a message. When you are able to recognize in your own and other people's images what your aesthetic preference is, you can begin understanding your own style.

Unfortunately, you do not really pick your own style. It kind of comes out all by itself. It's been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but not everyone can pull off a certain look. If you consider the world of fashion, while you may really admire the way Lady Gaga or a certain skateboarder looks, even if you purchase the exact same clothing and get the same haircut or even take it a step further and invest in plastic surgery to get a new nose, you are still going to essentially look like YOU.

Ansel Adams is credited with pointing out that there are always 2 people in every picture - the viewer and the photographer. The way you hold your camera, the way you interact with or approach your subject, the way you compose an image, the type of lighting you prefer, the lenses you favour, and the way you tweak or transform it in post-processing all form a part of your overall style. Like developing wrinkles or getting a paint stain on your favourite jeans, over time your body of work may change drastically as you acquire new skills and equipment, but the common thread will always be something that is like an invisible signature.

Part of developing your own style is trying on different ones until you find elements that "fit" -that you feel both confident and at ease with, and are able to do with seemingly little to no effort. Exploring other photography styles is a natural part of development and it's normal to try and shoot like those you admire. I encourage you to check out this video in the context of borrowing ideas in the fashion industry for an interesting perspective on how fashion trends being copied and reproduced forces creativity.

With your armoury of vocabulary and ability to look objectively at images, you should be able to identify elements of other photographers' work and recreate similar images. What kind of lighting was used? Are they prone to shallow depth of field? Is there a vignette or a colour wash they frequently employ? Do they use a lot of Photoshop? (Hint - pretty much all images look the same straight out of camera (SOOC) so if they look too perfect, they probably are.) Consider carefully how each of these elements contributes to whatever it is you have identified about the picture.

This week you will be asked to create an image by first finding one you like and identifying in writing the elements you will be incorporating into your own image. Please provide a link to the image from which you are drawing inspiration and/or get permission from the artist to use it on your own blog.

Below is the detailed description of me taking a walk in the shoes of Brandy Anderson of Fresh Sugar in Calgary, AB, by doing my own take on her 2010 WPPI award winning image in the category of "Fresh Faces." She also shared some of the mistakes she made as a new photographer on her and Danna Bowes's Two Photogs blog, which is well worth a read. The image I used for inspiration is here. Please view it before reading the technical critique. Brandy was kind enough to let me use the image here:

The image is backlit through panes of glass. We know it's a bus because we can see enough to identify it, and the child's face is clearly visible only where she casts her own shadow. You can tell it is either early in the day or later in the evening/afternoon because of the angle at which the light cuts through the bus. We can assume it is the morning because in autumn a child would not be coming home late enough to be in the sunset. We can also assume it is the child's first day of school as parents tend to make a point of photographing that and not just some random day like the third Tuesday in November of 4th grade. There is enough of the schoolbus included to frame the child and imply the context of heading off to school without overpowering the image. The use of subdued colour and addition of more texture (I'm pretty sure the bus window was smeary before she started lol) in Photoshop lends to the feeling of ambiguity, heightening the the underlying apprehension mirrored by both the child's and the photographer's feelings about the first day of school. It doesn't matter if the photographer was conscious of how profound the image would be. Whether these were conscious decisions or simply instinctual during post-processing does not alter the impact of this image.

This a novel way to present the first day of school to an audience. We are traditionally shown cheerful colourful happy pictures that attempt to reflect what we perceive as the ideal experience for ourselves and our children, but is not the case for every child, and certainly not for most parents who indeed feel a bittersweet mixture of trepidation and pride as they close the door on one chapter and open the next when they send their children off into the public arena of school. In a word, brilliant. This is the essence of her pictures, her style - something indelible in the way she presents what she sees through her lens that clearly illustrates to the viewer how the photographer is always present in their photographs.

While I have a kindergarten-aged child, this feeling of ambiguity is oddly enough most accurately reflected in my oldest son, who has survived elementary and junior high and is on the cusp of entering the adult world. Recreating the setting and the lighting was the easy part - my son is too old for school busses. He uses the public bus system, and bus shelters are conveniently a) located nearby and b) made of several panes of glass. My son isn't awake early enough in the day on weekends to do this by morning light, so we used afternoon light instead. This was one of the first shots I took. While I easily succeeded in making the setting work for me, the first images were too much like a portrait. He was posing, sticking his tongue out and putting on a show. I needed him to relax.

The second attempt didn't really capture his personality well either, but I did notice the delicious lens flare I was getting and decided to go for a third attempt.

In the image below, by lowering my perspective not only did I get my nice lens flare, but I was able to really capitalize on his edgy look and personality, mostly because by this point he was growing impatient with me, wondering how much longer he was going to have to stand in a bus shelter freezing his butt off (he's wearing pyjama pants and no shirt along with that filthy hoodie) before we could go home and he could have the two extra cookies (I put them in the oven seconds before we walked outside) I had promised him for humouring me.

Once I knew I had my image, I went into photoshop to grab the following textures, which were blended as soft-light layers and adjusted to about 75% opacity. If you need some help working with textures, this is a great link. This first texture is a freebie I downloaded from a freebie site.

Tidbit of interesting information - adding textures used to be accomplished in the days of film by doing a double exposure (taking two pictures on the same frame) and in the darkroom by a technique called 'sandwiching negatives' where a second negative was sub- or super-imposed either at the same time or consecutively as the original image. The first colour photographs were actually shot using three separate film strips, making sandwiching negatives necessary to view the final image. If you have ever seen a Selphy printer at work which lays down the colours in multiple consecutive passes you'll totally get it. Anyhow...

The texture above is a shot of concrete with light coming in through one of our garage windows. I chose this as the finishing touch because not only did it have a nice grain to it, the shadow in the picture is off a bike wheel. When you remember the photographer is in every picture, if you know I am a bicycle commuter, this becomes entirely relevant.

The final image is below. While you can clearly identify many similar technical elements, it is obviously not the same as Brandy's. Mine smells like teen spirit.

Now it's your turn. Go show me what you got!

NEW and IMPROVED Business End of Things

Hello, my pretties! After a rather intense market survey conducted in the last 2 weeks, a few things have come to my attention regarding where I need to BEEF IT UP for your benefit. As a result, I have employed the expertise of a marketing consultant (really, he does it 24/7 - insane!) and have been chatting it up with my new friend at the City of Edmonton to equip you with some KILLER tools during the Business End of Things workshop. I hope y'all are ready to rock out in January 2012!!!

2012 DLS workshop dates

Yes, folks, you heard right - it appears Dirty Little Secrets (about photography) will be starting in January of 2012!

Before you sign up, it's important to understand that these workshops are progressive and intended to build up your skills and style over the duration of the series along with supplementary online exercises, gatherings, and more. (Don't worry - we have so much fun you won't care that what you're learning is supposed to be boring and dry...) While there is occasionally limited space to sign up for just one or two classes that you are interested in, it may not be possible to answer all of your questions if your skills are not at the level of those who have participated in the entire series. In that same token, even though you aren't graded and there is no pass or fail at the end of it all, missing workshops and skipping the online exercises will be detrimental to your progress and will interfere with your ability to keep up with the course content. (I promise, the exercises are limited to 20 or so minutes out of your week - easy peasy!) The DLS workshops are also intended to gear you up for starting a viable photography business photographing people - while there are components of the classes that cover the basics of all styles of photography, I cannot accommodate those specifically interested in specializing in landscape, architectural, macro, stock, etc. photography as I only teach what I know and love best - how to shoot people. :)

The cost of the main workshop series is $500, tax not included, with the option of adding on the Wedding Workshop in June for $125. A $250 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration, with the balance due on or before December 31, 2011 or your space WILL be given to someone else. Snacks, water, & coffee/tea are provided throughout the day, however you will need to bring your own bagged lunch (no microwave.) Workshops are held at The Photographer Studio located at 15607 - 100 A Avenue in West Central Edmonton. Please send an email requesting a registration package to h dot walls at shaw dot ca or call us at 780.800.5530 ext 0 for more information.

January 8, 2012 - it's NOT about the camera

Start time: 10am

Finish time: 5pm

We'll learn a bit of photography history and by the end of the day you'll know what all the beeps, bells, and buttons on your camera are for, and have a basic understanding of photography lingo. You will understand how every camera on the planet is built on precisely the same technology, then learn what separates SLR cameras from P&S cameras. You will learn to love(hate) the phrase "Reciprocity Failure." We'll also go over a comprehensive list of the basic types of lenses on the market, what their benefits and drawbacks are, and what their common applications are. You'll probably go home with the urge to shoot everything that moves, and a rather pricey shopping list. Which is why it's good that you just learned that it's NOT about the camera... and will survive and thrive just fine without the $2800 IS f2.8 70mm-200mm lens...

February 5, 2011 - composition, understanding light

Start time: 10am

Finish time: 5pm

This is the one that makes your brain ache, folks. While the composition portion is a relative breeze and one of the building blocks of taking great pictures, understanding how light works and how you can manipulate it to your advantage when creating different moods and effects is the key to unlocking all the greatest secrets of natural/available light photography. Whether you plan to use studio, natural, or available light, or a combination of all three, you also need to know how your camera's internal meter works, and what to do when it fails you. You'll walk away with a headache, and a burning desire to move all the furniture away from your windows.

March 4, 2011 - technical critiquing, photo manipulation (in Adobe Photoshop) demo

Start time: 10am

Finish time: 5pm

I know - it sounds SO dry and boring... BUT - technical critiquing is a huge part of photography. We'll spend the first part of the day going through the process of deconstructing images using proper terminology so that you can develop the diagnostic tools that will be instrumental not only in looking at other photographer's work and being able to draw technical instead of just aesthetic inspiration, but in how YOU will master your OWN style and technique. Following this, we'll begin exploring some of the basics of Photoshop. I will do a brief demonstration of: skin smoothing, using unsharp mask, creating and using layers, tinting (vintage, antique), actions, and as much else as we have time for. This portion of the workshop is meant to give you enough basics that you have the confidence to explore and discover more on your own; you are welcome to bring your laptop and play along :)

April 1, 2011 - portraiture and controlled lighting

Start time: 10am

Finish time: 5pm

Get ready for LIVE MODELS! Once we've gone through the fundamentals of how and why portraits are done (the easy part) and look at a couple of different controlled lighting set-ups (OCF and continuous) we're going to hone our skills on making the connections that are so important to separating cold and heartless snapshots from gorgeous, engaging portraits that have as much meaning to you as they do to your client. We will then have a group of models at our disposal for you to work individually and in teams with doing a variety of individual and group portraits. Always a fun workshop, be prepared to be surprised! If you have a flash for your camera, this is a great workshop to bring it to as we'll have a bit of time to play around with them!

April 29, 2011 - breaking the rules, the business end of things

Start time: 10am

Finish time: 5pm

While we spent the first 4 sessions learning shooting skills, there comes a time when we get to break all the rules and just HAVE FUN! If we decide as a group we'd like to do a final project together, this will also be our opportunity to plan and discuss those details. The last portion of the day will be spent going over the NEW and IMPROVED Business End of Things - taxes, copyright, business licenses, professional printing, model releases, contracts, blogs, websites, marketing, advertising and promotion, and all other manner of things you need to consider if you intend to charge money for your services, whether as a portrait photographer, stock photographer, or art photographer. Even if you do not intend to shoot for full-time or supplemental income, there is a lot of valuable information to be taken away from this workshop that can help protect your interests even as a straight-up hobby photographer. Lastly, we'll look at something I like to call the "photography pyramid" which breaks down into simple terms the different types of clients and photographers, and how to get (or not get) yourself to where you want to be on that pyramid.

May 26-27, 2012 - all-night field trip with Team Clickin' Cancer's Butt at the Relay for Life

Start time: 3pm May 28

Finish time: 7am May 29

Location: University of Alberta's Foote Field

This has become a highlight of the workshops, where participants are given the opportunity to contribute their skills to an amazing event in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. Their largest single fundraising effort, which spans across Canada in countless cities, the Relay for Life is a powerful experience. If you are able to come and if you are interested in learning what photographilanthropy is from the ground up, slap on some comfy shoes and your camera, and let's go!

June 10, 2011 - WEDDING WORKSHOP: wedding photography, mock wedding

Start time: 10am

Finish time: 5pm

Location: TBD

This is wedding photographer bootcamp. Instead of the love and marriage aspect, we're going to dive right in to the finer points of what every person dreaming of becoming a wedding photographer needs to know, from pricing strategies, wowing your client at your initial consultation, and contract inclusions/exclusions... to knowing the 'money shots' and some of the classic pitfalls of working with weddingpartyzillas and obnoxious guests. We'll spend a bit of time looking at some trends and tactics that work like a charm and others that fail miserably, discuss how to avoid getting price-point pigeon-holed, and then open the can of worms on all those little things you need to consider like bad weather contingency plans, assistants vs. second shooters, and to take or not to take destination weddings. You'll have the insider's look at the grit and the glory of shooting weddings, from start to finish, and once we've had the in-class theory, we'll waste no time in having you shoot a mock wedding ceremony & formals. (2012's theme is truly inspired... full details will be announced in January...) And, of course, while we're hoping for good weather, if it decides to rain... you'll be getting your feet wet for real...

This workshop is NOT limited to previous workshop participants. Up to 20 persons can be accommodated. Registration and payment deadline for this workshop is March 31, 2012. Cost for workshop and wedding: $175 ($125 for series participants) and INCLUDES a pizza lunch for all models and participants. If you are interested in shooting the wedding just for fun, it is $25 for the mock wedding portion ONLY and does not include pizza lunch (unless you want to come a bit early and chip in a few extra bucks or bring dessert or something...)