"Reading" a Photograph

Here's the follow up to my previous post, "Faster and Harder?"

It was simply an exercise (not a scientific test) to get you to think about the direction of movement in a picture - and the feel of a photograph. Some of you chose the top photo, others chose the bottom photo. Many of you elaborated on why you chose one over the other. Cool.

The idea for the post was generated after reading a chapter in my favorite book, Perception and Imaging - Photography, A Way of Seeing, by Dr. Richard Zakia.

In his book, Dr. Zakia quotes Rudolf Arnheim: "Since a picture is 'read' from left to right, pictorial movement toward the right is perceived as being easier, requiring less effort."

Well, the photos in my original post were not generated from the same image so, again, the fun exercise was not scientific.

Compare these two images, and ask yourself if you feel as though the rider in one image is working harder than the other.

At this point, the power of suggestion plays into your decision, too :-)

Finally, and this is important, rather than ask yourself how a picture was taken (f/stop, shutter speed, etc.) ask yourself how a picture makes you feel.

Thank you all for playing along.

Explore the Light,
Rick

Faster and Harder?

Click image to enlarge.

I am curious. In which photograph do you think the riders are working harder to go faster? Please post your answer (top or bottom) here so that all can see. Not everyone is on twitter and facebook.

You will see why I ask this question in my next post. If you do know why, please don't spoil the fun (and learning) for others :-)

Thank you for joining the fun.

Explore the light,
Rick

My Shooting Session with "Annie Leibovitz" - And a Flash Lesson

Yes, Annie does look a little waxy in this photo, as does Fidel. I am sure you know why :-)

Anyway, the top photo illustrates one of my photo philosophies: Take the darn flash off the camera! Here I am using a flash bracket and a coil cord. With that set up, I can place the flash above the lens for both vertical and horizontal pictures, so that the shadow from the flash falls behind the subject, and not next to it. (Of course, it's best to avoid a shadow all together, which you can do by balancing the light from the flash to the available light.)

The bottom left picture was taken with the flash in the camera's hot shoe. Oh no!

The bottom right picture was taken with my off-camera flash set-up, which includes a flash diffuser to soften the light. Now that's more like it.

A bracket/coil cord set-up is great for on-the-go, one-person shooting. If you have an assistant to hold a flash, or if you can mount a flash/flashes on a stand/stands, a wireless controller offers much more flexibility.

Explore the Light,
Rick
P.S. Wax museums are actually good places to practice taking indoor pictures. Fun, too. I guess you know you've made it as a photographer when you get waxed. These photos were taken about eight years ago at Madam Tussauds in NYC. More recent additions include Barrack Obama and Sponge Bob.

This Just In: Ultra-Fast Masking

I just heard about this and had to share the cool news!

The just-released Topaz ReMask plug-in supercharges masking and extraction in Photoshop by applying new extraction technology to this common task. Get lightning-fast masks and painlessly (man, I like that) preserve difficult details like hair and fur, all while staying completely in Photoshop.

The new Topaz ReMask offers several way-cool features:

Speed! Topaz ReMask is much faster at extracting even complex subjects than any other method currently available. This is partly because there's only a small amount of required user input, but mostly because its technology is so adept at creating masks automatically.

Accuracy! The hardest subjects for masking tools are those with complex backgrounds, faint edges, and fine detail like fur or hair. The unique algorithm that Topaz ReMask uses specialize in extracting "difficult" subjects without spending all day doing it.

Workflow! Topaz ReMask flawlessly integrates into a Photoshop workflow because it doesn't make a "trip" to an external app - there isn't even a new user interface to learn! It works immediately on the layer mask directly within Photoshop. This reduces the learning curve and saves processing time, which is part of what makes it so fast and simple to use.

Important: this version of Topaz ReMask only works in Adobe Photoshop because it makes use of Photoshop-specific layer masks.

You can order ReMask from Topaz Labs.

Guest Blogger: John D. Williamson

Here’s a cool guest post from my friend John D. Williamson. Take it away, John!

I never imagined that I would be asked to be a guest blogger for Rick Sammon! Thank you, Rick It’s an honor.

The top image you see here will always hold a special place with me; it was the cover for the 2009 Photo Basics catalog. When I first sat down with the Vice President and Art Director for Westcott, they already knew they wanted an edgy image that had a fashion feel to it. After some discussion we decided on the background, wardrobe and model.

I used the Westcott Strobelite PLUS mono-block with a 7’ Octabank. I positioned the light high above and in front of the model, just off to her right. This provided a very soft wrap around light that had a nice fall off from the top of the image to the bottom. It also added a nice texture to the jacket. I then added a second Strobelite Plus with an optical white umbrella (which I shot through) located just behind me, for a touch of fill. Then, after just a wee bit a post, it was finished.

With the power of the Strobelite units, I was able to have Aubrey, our model, move as she wished. Instead of posing her in the traditional portraiture method… "Now tilt your head, just a little bit more…there. Now take your index finger and move it out just a faction…" I was able to capture a much more natural position as she moved freely, with little direction from me.

The background was a scenic rental from RentScenicBackgrounds.com. The shoot was in my studio, but I wanted the “grungy” feel of bricks in an ally. It all came together to capture an image that was exactly what they wanted.

This bottom image is actually my wife’s cousin, Marie, from Germany. She had come to the States to stay with my wife’s family for a few weeks. She mentioned that she had always wanted to model but didn’t know how to get started. The next day we went to my studio, and four hours later she had the beginnings of a portfolio.

Of the dozen or so images we created, this is my favorite. I often shoot with just a single light source, preferring the look and style of low key images. I used a single Strobelite Plus unit with a Westcott 24”x32” Softbox positioned just out of the frame to the cameras right. I opted not to use a rim light or a fill light to allow her hair to fall off into shadow.

With the versatility of the Stroblite I was able to dial the power down far enough to shoot at f4, and still have the box just 2 feet from Marie. Both of which allowed me to get the softness I wanted.