Posts made in May, 2010
Utah Workshop Update
The Bill Fortney/Scott Kelby Moab, Utah workshop scheduled for October of this year is about ready to be opened up to the public. Any open spots (the class is limited to thirty photographers for the four instructors) will now be listed on Scott’s website (www.scottkelby.com) June 7th. That is a few days later than originally scheduled (scroll down to my post of May 6th for all the details). I will just give you the shorthand since all the details are posted previously … this is a must-attend workshop. These two are the creme de la creme of photographers, instructors and fine, fine men.
Watch Scott’s site that morning for any possible openings and then sign up immediately. If you want to go and don’t jump at this chance you will miss out because it will sell out that quickly. Read my earlier post. Think about it now. Sign up that morning.
Read MoreToo Many People?
You line up that perfect shot of that perfect landmark … only to discover the guy in the Bermuda shorts hiking through your image. Followed by the Boy Scout troop. And the hardy jogger. What’s a photographer to do?
Try this tip. Start taking photos of the scene with your camera on a tripod. Work as quickly as you can to avoid changes in light, cloud formations, etc. (This will work best in manual or aperture priority, as you want to maintain a constant depth of field). As people finally move from one part of the scene to another take another shot. Take as many shots as you need to get the entire scene with every portion of it clear of people. Next, import all the photos into Photoshop and go to run the script, Medians. This script looks for the common elements of your photos and combines them into one complete one. If the people are not common to each part of each photo you took, Medians will leave them out of the final, combined image. Voila!
You may need to do a little cleanup work with clone or heal, but if you work quickly on the scene you have an opportunity to get the shot you really wanted – sans tourists. The trick is using a steady tripod so all your images register (fit perfectly on top of one another) and getting each section of your photo free of any person. It may take a while, but it may get you the shot you set out to capture.
Read MoreA Rule is a Rule ….
Okay, you know the rule of thirds (divide your image into a grid of two vertical lines placed one-third from your edges and two horizontal lines placed one-third from the edges, then place your main subject on one of the intersecting points. Whew!). And you mostly follow that rule. Good, cause it’s a rule (well, a pretty strong guideline) that has been around a long time for a good reason. It works.
To illustrate this point, and to demonstrate my preachy ‘study the works of other photographers to get better at oyour own’ theory, click here to view a series of images that all illustrate the rule of thirds. They all have power; they all work. Take a look. You’ll see what I mean.
Read MoreMonroe Bank Exhibition
Mark your calendars now for Thursday, June 3rd, for an opening reception at the Monroe Bank gallery on Kirkwood (from 5:30-7 PM). The bank will host an exhibition of 8×10 nature images photographed by local 6th through 9th grade students. Also,there will be images from the Bloomington Photography Club. The student images will be judged by a team from the photo club and the club graciously has paid for all the photos to be matted by Framemakers from club coffers. It never is too early to encourage that next generation of photographers.
The theme for the exhibition is Oh Nature and you already know club members have a well-deserved reputation for outstanding images. The show will run through September 25th, so if you really can’t make the opening night you still can view the images when downtown later. But … if any of you ever have attended an opening reception at Monroe Bank under the auspices of Bill Bennett you know that also featured are wonderful foods and beverages. And I do mean wonderful. Now, don’t plan to attend just for the refreshments. The images are going to be the stars of the show. But … the bank is a great partner of the arts scene downtown and the refreshments are everything I described.
Thursday. June 3rd. Monroe Bank. Downtown on Kirkwood. Be there or be square.
Read MoreFive Favorite Poses
Now, I didn’t set out to continue this theme of posing portraits from the past two days. But sometimes good things just happen to fall into place … and that is what we have today. I have written several times about noted wedding photographer David Ziser (and his valuable book, Captured By The Light). He just happened to have done a short video on his 5 Favorite Bridal Portraits (and if you can pose and shoot brides you can pose and shoot everyone else) for May 25th. This video reinforces the lessons I learned over the weekend from Kip May and Lisa Walker (scroll down to my last two posts). Click here to not only view his gorgeous images, but also his notes on how he took them and what you should keep in mind for your own poses.
This is a video that will assist you in forming your own mental checklist of poses to include in every portrait shoot. It is a quality resource for all us portrait photographers. I guarantee it.
Read More