Greenville NC Strobist

Flickr is a great way to meet photographers and find lots of great imagery. It is also another way to share your work. I have started a group on Flickr for Greenville NC area Strobist users. I would love for it to be a group where we can share our flash techniques and a place to connect with other photographers. You don’t have to live in Greenville NC to be a member, just a flash photography user. So, check it out…there are two lonely members who would love some company. Click HERE to find us on flickr or use this link: http://www.flickr.com/groups/greenvillestrobist/. If you aren’t a flickr user you will have to sign up to join the group. I have really enjoyed being a flickr member, it has been a great resource!

Fun Stuff: Critiques

Simple tip for today: take time to evaluate your work and to have someone else evaluate your work.

Okay, so normally the words “fun” and “critique” are not mentioned in the same title or sentence. But, today they are. Last night I completed the first night of the Coalesce Worshop. I talked a little bit about the importance of first of all knowing what makes a great or successful image. There is a lot that goes in to knowing if you have created a successful image. Part of that is simply knowing how to evaluate your images or even someone else’s images. In the Photo I course I teach at the college we learn about the fundamentals of photography, but we also learn about how to evaluate images, which I think is really important. When I was in school studying art, critique day wasn’t something that I really looked forward to. I mean, who really wants to hear that they work isn’t perfect. Who wants to hear that they might have more work to do or that their work isn’t quite as good as they thought it was. My bubble was burst many a time. Now that I am out of school and teaching, I miss having my work critiqued, because now I really see the importance of it. I actually miss having my bubble burst. I still try and find people who I trust that I can receive criticism from because I know it is so beneficial. It’s kind of like having someone peer review a paper you about to turn in. They see so much more than you do.

All that to say, if you are struggling with the imagery you are creating, maybe you aren’t happy with it, or maybe you just don’t know what to think, find someone who you value to give an honest opinion and have them critique your work.

I have a really great resource for you if you are looking to expand your own critique-ing abilities. Zack Arias has been doing these video critiques where people submit their websites and he and his wife will go through and critique the work. I have watched several of them and they are great. They are definitely not holding back. Some people get their bubbles burst, but it’s great stuff. I found myself a little tense when I was watching the videos because I could relate to the work being critiqued almost as if I was being critiqued. Click HERE to check out the critiques. They might hurt a bit. But, honestly, the critiques that I remember most and that helped me the most in school (and out of school) were the ones that hurt.

Fun Stuff…The Fundamentals

I have been feeling the need to do a “Fun Stuff” post for a while. Things have been incredibly busy here lately so I thought it might be time for a bit of a sidetrack. It always seems that I need something to sidetrack me to help focus. How weird is that?

As I was thinking about what to do for a Fun Stuff post I was a bit blank, nothing was really sticking out. So, I just tried to think about what has been on my mind lately about this thing called photography.

So, there are times when I get in a bit of a funk. My mind is clouded. I feel like my work could be so much better than it is (which, honestly, I think that ALL the time). I hound myself about trying “this: or doing “that” or why didn’t do “this” or why didn’t I do “that” at a shoot.  I get overwhelmed by the pressures of this business, you know, trying to stand out in market saturated with photographers, or trying desperately to get to that next level where you want to be.

What to do? I have been trying to think about what has worked in the images or photo-session that I felt good about and also what is so great about the images that see by other artists that I feel are exceptional. My thought was this: the fundamentals. Yeah, it’s not anything novel, it’s not groundbreaking, and it’s not a fancy new photography product promised to make you the best photographer ever and it is not a new camera with an Ansel Adams button on it. The fundamentals, that’s it. When I am feeling overwhelmed and bogged down by all the possibilities and pressures out there, the fundamentals of photography are where I find some peace.  What do I mean by the fundamentals? Well, it’s all those things I learned back in Photo I and am now teaching my Photo I students. Things like correct exposure, composition, communication, and clarity/focal points.  And it’s not just the photo techie stuff either. Composition and communication were in that list too. If I can start there in an image and have those things in my mind, I feel like I am off to a better start.

So, now I am thinking these “Cs”: Correct Exposure, Composition, Communication, and Clarity (Focus and Focal Points).

I find that when I have the correct exposure, my images are much better in terms of quality and I spend so much less time in Photoshop (which is great). Details in the highlights, details in the shadows, and most importantly do I have detail (image tone) where detail is needed.

Composition can obviously make an image interesting or make it completely boring. It has to do with vision. How you envision your subject in a particular place is so important. So, just a few quick questions: Is everything in the image supporting my main subject matter? Are there any distracting elements in the image? What is going on in my corners?

Communication is key.  I can’t believe I am admitting this, but I remember when I was a student and wanted just to simply take pictures. I soon learned the difference between taking pictures and making them. Thanks to Philippe Halsmann, every photography teacher in the world has used that line (including myself). It’s about making images, not taking them. Conscious thought…why am I even making this image to begin with, what is the message here, who is it for, and how will the viewer read it?

Does anyone else have a hard time with Clarity/Focus? I’m not scared to admit it. I simply ask myself what are the most important things (focal points) in this image and will they be in focus with the settings I have chosen and of course, just visually speaking, are they in focus?

So, that’s it. Obviously there are other factors out the wazoo that go into making a great image. However, to me, those are the basics, the nitty gritty. I know it would be impossible to sit and ponder about all those things for every image. But, it’s worth a shot.

I know I have a long way to go (huge emphasis on long) and I will never have everything figured out. But, if I can get the basics down, I feel like that will give me the best chance at growing and maturing to the artist that I want to be.

Coalesce Workshop Update

I have had a few people asking about registration for the Workshop. The Workshop is actually set up as a Continuing Education class through Lenoir Community College so registration fees are not required until the day of the workshop. I do, however, need to know if you are coming! If you would like to join us, send me an email at jsmixon06@aol.com and let me know you would like to attend.  Space is limited to 15 people. If you have any questions about the Workshop feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email. I would love to see you there!  To read more about it, click on the Workshop link above. 

Just to give a quick rundown, it is a workshop geared towards enhancing images through Photoshop techniques, such as color saturation, toning, and finishing touches like sharpening, etc. It is July 13th-14th from 5-9pm each night and will be held at Lenoir Community College in Kinston, NC. The cost is $150 and includes my design disk with textures and borders as well as an instructional disk of techniques discussed in the class. Here is more info: 

 

Fun Stuff with the Move Tool

This little tip is may be very helpful for those of you who do things like design albums or customized greeting cards, etc. Have you ever needed to center something exactly in the center of a page or template? I have. Back in the day, I used to use guides to help me, but then I had a little light bulb, one of those moments that makes you feel a little silly for not seeing it before, but also very thankful that you found that it was there. Okay, so for example, let’s say I have just added this border to this picture below and I want to center it exactly, so that when I print it, it will be nice and balanced on each side. Notice it is a bit off from where I was working with it on the page. It is not centered at all:

So, here is a quick and easy way to center within a Photoshop document:

Step 1: Go the the menu and choose Select>All or you can press command -A(ctrl for pc guys). This defines the area you want to center within. You should see marching ants around your image.

Step Two: Click on the image or text layer you want to center. If you have multiple layers that you need to center then select them all. You can select a layer just by clicking on it.

Step Three: Select the move tool from your tool palette or just press the V key. Next, notice below the menu there are many options for this tool in the tool options bar. Click on the one for “Align Vertical Centers” and then click on the one that is for “Align Horizontal Centers”, as shown here indicated by the red arrows:

Now your image layer(s), or text layer(s) should be centered in your page., much like this:

Tuesday Tips to Fun Stuff

Okay, so I have been a total slacker on the Tuesday Tip thing. I guess the 9 classes and the second job have been getting to me a bit. So, how about this. I am going to change “Tuesday Tips” to “Fun Stuff.” Who said I HAVE to do it on Tuesday anyway, what if I feel like sharing something on Monday? Anyway, so I am will be sharing some fun stuff in the future, concerning the best boom stand ever and some fun helpful stuff with the move tool in Photoshop. Anywho, I do have something fun to share today and that is the homemade snoot. A snoot is something use on a light source (hot-shoe flash, strobe unit, etc) that really directs the light to a narrower beam than a flash unit without a modifier. There are a lot of modifiers you can make using simple things you find at home or a local supermarket…and they are el cheapo. So, the following items are what you need to make a homemade snoot: black felt (I like the sturdy kind…you can get it from Wal-Mart, Michael’s, any craft store), velcro, scissors, and about 5-10 minutes. I have a snoot for my Canon 580 and my Vivitar 285. All you have to do is wrap the felt around the head of the flash unit making sure about 1″-2″ overlaps, then cut off the excess. Take a strip of velcro and adhere it to one end of the felt. Then flip it over and adhere the opposite velcro piece (that will attach to the other velcro) to the other end of the felt. If you find the snoot is slipping off, you can use a hair rubber band to hold it tight. The pictures probably make a lot more sense:

I just use the test fire button to figure out where to place the flash or to see which part of my subject to illuminate. I use this snoot in the last wedding I did to get this shot: