What fun we had last night on our Croton-on-Hudson, New York photo walk! Photographers came from Woodstock, Newburg, Albany, Scarsdale, Ossining, Long Island and of course from Croton-on-Hudson.
Croton Photo Walkers: You can share your photos on my photo workshop participant's page. I'd love to see your work. If you'd like to join a workshop, see my 2016 Photo Workshops page.
Thank you all again for joining the fun!
Explore the light,
Rick
“I don’t think, I feel.” That’s what Keith Richards said about playing guitar onstage in Shine a Light, the Martin Scorsese film about the Rolling Stones’ performance at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. A "must-see" movie, in my book!
I like that philosophy and have thought about photography the same way for years. I feel that a photographer must know exactly what all the buttons, knobs, dials, and settings do on a camera so that when he or she sees a shot, the process becomes more about feeling than thinking about the technical side of photography (this must become second nature).
In this blog post, I’ll share a few of my favorite philosophies about feelings and photography that I’ve gathered over the years. So sit back and don’t think about RAW versus JPEG, white balance, ISO settings, etc. Instead, think about the feeling of a photograph.
The camera looks both ways
When it comes to photographing people, the most important photo tip I can share with you is this: “The camera looks both ways — in picturing the subject, we’re also picturing a part of ourselves.” “Every picture is a self-portrait” is another way of conveying that point. Let me explain:
When you’re looking through your camera’s viewfinder, viewing and framing a subject, if you realize that the feeling, emotion, attitude, and energy you project will be reflected in your subject’s face—and eyes—you’ll get a higher percentage of pictures that you like. That’s because, by your actions, you’re subconsciously directing the subject to mirror the way you feel.
I don’t have to tell you how I was feeling at the moment when I snapped the photo of the Buddhist monk that opens this post. Well, even though I don’t have to tell you, it was a feeling a great respect.
Make pictures, don’t just take pictures
Rather than simply taking pictures—pointing you camera, composing the scene, setting the exposure, and focusing—take your time and make pictures.
Making pictures is not only fun, it’s part of the creative photography process. When you take control, you become the director of the shoot, just as a movie director takes control of the scenes he or she shoots.
In this cowboy portrait, look closely and you’ll notice the reflection of a horse in the cowboy’s sunglasses. That, of course, was no accident. The horse and the cowboy were carefully placed in such a way as to capture the horse’s reflection. The relatively plain background was also no accident. I selected the side of the red barn so that the subject stood out prominently in the scene.
Be aware of body language
Sometimes we get so caught up in the technical aspects of photographing people and their facial expressions that we forget how body language affects how we feel about the subject. Compare these two photographs of a woman I photographed in Marrow Bone Springs, Texas.
In the dressed-down photograph, the woman is gripping the post with “man hands.”
In the other photograph she’s holding the pole in a feminine manner. By the way, the woman is a model, and is actually the person who taught me about man hands.
Portrait vs. environmental portrait
Basically, when you take pictures of a person, you have two choices: You can choose to take a portrait (head or head-and-shoulders shot) or an environmental portrait (a picture that shows the subject in his or her environment). Both types of portraits can be effective, and I often photograph a subject both ways.
The first picture of Taraino women, taken in Amazonas, Brazil, is my favorite environmental portrait from my brief photo session in the village, which lasted only about an hour. Looking at the photograph, you can see the surrounding rainforest, and you also get an idea of the women’s clothing and body painting. Those elements help tell the viewer something about them, where they live, and what it might feel like to live in the location.
Check out this shot. It’s a nice portrait of the woman on the right in the first photograph; however, because we can’t see the environment, we don’t feel as though we’re “on location,” so to speak, with the photographer.
Be there and be aware
Most of the photographers I know agree with this expression: The hardest place to take pictures is in your own backyard. That’s why we travel to different locations around the country and the globe: to get inspired—to feel an affinity with the subject.
I took this picture in Kingdom of Bhutan, which sits on the right shoulder of India. How can you not get inspired and be driven to taking the best possible pictures when experiencing a scene like this one?
So being there in a new, interesting, and inspiring location is important for many photographers. If you can’t get to places like Bhutan, go someplace that’s new to you where something interesting is happening—something that will motivate you to take pictures.
Being aware of everything that’s going on around you is important, too. You must have your radar activated, not only looking for interesting subjects but for interesting scenes. What’s more, you need to anticipate what might happen.
This photograph of the Buddhist monks was the result of my anticipating what might happen. Moments before I took this picture, all the monks were praying inside the temple. I was observing quietly. A bell rang and they all jumped up quite quickly and put on their sandals. I anticipated that they would be outside in a flash, so I dashed outside and grabbed this shot. Being there and being aware will help you get good pictures.
Be yourself—enjoy the moment
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Stop and smell the roses.” When it comes to photography, we need to keep that expression in mind. We need to totally enjoy the moment; however, that usually comes when we have a total and complete understanding of our cameras, so we don’t have to think about the technical side of the creative process (as I mentioned and as Keith Richards suggests).
This picture of school children in Lombok, Indonesia, helps convey that point, which is basically to have fun and to enjoy the moment.
Explore the light,
Rick
My 36th book: Creative Visualization for Photographers. The story of my Girl with Pear Earring photograph is in the book, as well as tons of tips and processing ideas for shooting indoors and out.
My 2016 photo workshops, where I encourage my workshop participants to visualize the end result.
This week on my blog: I am running excerpts from my latest book, Creative Visualization for Photographers. Both the paperback and Kindle versions are now available!
Excerpt #3
“Photography and the death of reality” is not a new topic, but as we move more and more into digital darkroom enhancements, the topic becomes more and more important.
Since the early days of photography, people with cameras have made images that don’t represent reality, even when they tried. That’s due, in part, to the way cameras record light, and how lenses bend light and compress or widen a scene or subject – not to mention that we see in 3D and camera see in 2D, and that our eyes have a dynamic range of about 13 f/stop compared to the six f-stops or so our digital cameras see (in a single exposure without digital enhancements).
A chapter in the book, Photography and the Death of Reality, has three main messages:
One, to encourage you to make your most creative images ever, and not to be afraid to follow your heart when it comes to making digital enhancements.
Two, it’s important to consider the reality of your photographs and the photographs of others.
Three, photographers are somewhat like magicians, or illusionists, if you will. The creative process of image making is like the art of doing a magic trick. If you don’t know the trick, the tick is amazing. If you know the trick, you know that it’s a relatively simple procedure.
I took the opening photograph for this post on my Provence, France photography workshop. On site, I liked the way the horses were running through the water, but the light was dull and flat. Rather than increase the contrast and sharpness of the image in Photoshop, I soften it using the Pastel filter in Nik Color Efex Pro.
If you go to Provence, you will not see horses running through the water at the beach – unless you have an assistant who will release them upon your command . . . so you can create your own reality.
Click here to order Creative Visualization for Photographers.
Explore the light,
Rick
This week on my blog: I am running excerpts from my latest book, Creative Visualization for Photographers. Now, both the e-book and paperback editions are available!
In music, there is a big difference between listening and hearing. You can hear a song, but you may not pay attention to the words, how the musicians are playing their instruments, if the song changes key, if there is two- or three-part harmony, and so on.
Listening gives one a much greater appreciation for a song or piece of music.
The analogy for photography is that there is a big different between looking for a photograph and simply seeing a scene. To find pictures, we often need to look for them. Carefully. Creatively. Thoughtfully.
In the book I share with the reader some images that illustrate the difference between looking verses seeing.
Looking for pictures while motoring around in a zodiac (inflatable boat) in Antarctica helped me find the interesting subject that opens this post. To me, the ice formation looks like a polar bear resting on its back. If you don’t see a polar bear, what do you see?
While I was looking for pictures, rather than just enjoying the view, I noticed the interesting iceberg. It was an okay shot, but nothing to write home about. I asked the zodiac driver to move around the iceberg so we could see what it looked like from different angles.
I was pleasantly surprised when the shape of a polar bear came into view. Thanks to my effort to look for pictures, I was able to make an interesting photograph.
Click here to order - and to start your journey on creative visualization!
Explore the light,
Rick
This week on my blog: I am running excerpts from my latest book, Creative Visualization for Photographers.
Excerpt #1
Photographers, myself included, usually photograph what we recognize, consciously or unconsciously. What’s more, some photographers specifically travel to popular locations to get the “iconic” shot, the same shot that a million other photographers on the planet have taken. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It can be fun and rewarding.
Thinking about what others will see (recognize) in our photographs often influences our decision of what to photograph, how to photograph it, and what images to show and share.
I recognized a human face in this image.
The technical term for seeing a human face in an image is anthropomorphic, which stems from the Greek word anthro, which means man, and morph, which means shape or form.
I have many pictures in which I see faces, profiles and suggested faces. I took this one in Antarctica. The profile is easy to see. It is an anthropomorphic image.
Both the paperback and hard cover editions are now available
Explore the light,
Rick
