HDR Photography

Good Morning and Happy Sunday Everyone, sorry this is a bit late it’s been a busy week with the start of my new class Digital Image Illustration.  Today I wanted to touch briefly on HDR photography, I am sure many of you have seen this type of photography and thought WOW that looks so realistic or maybe just thought it looked cool.  "The Definition for HDR or High Dynamic Range is a digital photography technique whereby multiple exposures of the same scene are layered and merged using image editing software to create a more realistic image, or a dramatic effect. The combined exposures can display a wider range of tonal values than what the digital camera is capable of recording in a single image." (Chastain). There are many ways to get the desired look of HDR; you can use Photoshop, Lightroom or a separate program that is designed just for this look. I like to use Lightroom to achieve this effect it find it easy and if you have any issues its an easy fix, there are also many presets that are available to help you get that awesome look.

Below are a few photos that I have been working on with the HDR look, these were all done in Lightroom. 

 Photos by Wayne Salat

  Photos by Wayne Salat

  Photos by Wayne Salat

 Enjoy Your Sunday and Photograph Something Everyday!

Sunday Ambassador~ Wayne

Chastain, Sue . "HDR - High Dynamic Range." About.com Guide. About.com, 2013. Web. 11 Aug. 2013. <http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/glossary/g/hdr.htm>.

The Artist's Perception

 

 

Saturday Ambassador

How do you perceive the world around you? Is your perspective, as an artist, different from that of others? Of course it is! You can capitalize on this unique perception by breathing life into your ideas with your camera and computer skills. Personally, I am fascinated by the notion of a photograph – the ultimate purveyor of visual accuracy – depicting a scene that cannot possibly exist.

 

Big Bug Picnic, 2012, Deva Mayorga-Malone, Digital Composite

 

I am a great admirer of Surrealism in art; I believe that it is an excellent way to express our deepest emotions, fears, curiosities and proclivities in a way that is unique and interesting. It can facilitate expression of intangible concepts, and it can challenge your post-production skills.

The Fisherman Dreams, 2012, Deva Mayorga-Malone, Digital Composite

 

Regardless of the style you develop, the genre in which you prefer to work or your general approach to photography, there is more to the process than simply capturing images:

§  Understand why you are attracted to the subjects you photograph.
 

§  Determine the choices you make while creating images. This can involve natural versus artificial light, angle, perspective, design elements, light ratio, depth of field, color, et cetera.
 

§  Pay attention to details: Are the distracting elements in the frame? What message does the lighting/color/pose/expression send?
 

§  Consider post-production requirements: What is the purpose of the image? Is there need for color correction? Are your edits visible?





Watch for Rocks, 2012, Deva Mayorga-Malone, Digital Composite

 

Reflect upon these things as you create. Ultimately, such explorations can be very rewarding and make you a more marketable photographer.

 

 

~Saturday Ambassador

Are You Professional?

What is the difference between a snapshot and a professional photograph? What is the difference between an amateur photographer and a professional photographer? Does selling a photograph make it professional?

As you journey through your classes you will be need to see the difference between a snapshot and a professional photograph. So how do you tell? Can you look at images on the internet and tell if an amateur or professional photographer shot it?

Three main things affect the quality of an image. Composition, Posing, and Lighting. Even if you are shooting photojournalism, these three elements will determine the difference between a ho-hum photo and a professional photograph.

I googled portraits of men, and the following images are part of what resulted. (Not sure how the blonde in row two qualifies!) Which of these images qualifies as a portrait? Which would you classify as a snapshot? Do you see good composition? Does it follow the rule of thirds? Is there artistic balance or symmetry? Is the image posed to show details in the person that enhance the image? Did the photographer take into consideration fullview, 2/3s or profile so that there are no parts of the face/head become overly noticeable, such as ears being emphasized, noses protruding past the frame of the face, eyes without skin all the way around them? Was there thought given to the lighting? Was it used to show contours of the face?  Can you tell there was thought put into the composition, posing and lighting?

 Now, consider the last question of paragraph one above. Does selling a photograph make it professional? There are a lot of people selling photographs now that are not professional. They own a decent digital camera and think that makes them professional, but they don’t have much knowledge about the elements listed above. As a student at the Art Institute you have the opportunity to move to a new level. Ask questions of your professors about posing and lighting and composition. Make sure you understand it and can create it with ease. They are there to help, but often you won’t get help without asking specifically for it.

Can’t wait to hear with images you thing are snapshots! 

3 Images I like this week

OK so I know the blog is posted WAY late this week.  I had a meeting last night and didn't get home until late, at which time I completely forgot that it was Tuesday night and that I had something important to do (BLOG!).  Sorry to the faithful Wednesday readers out there (There's at least one or two of you out there right?)

This week I thought I would share a few of the images that I currently find interesting/inspiring/cool/whatever.




Koncept Kreations

I like this image mainly for the reflection in the hardwood floor.  That element alone makes the image feel polished and elegant.  If not for that it would probably just be another picture of a girl on a floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craig Hill

I really like the juxtaposition in this image of the dress, which is very chic and urban, to the trees that are surrounding her.  I also like the lighting (which was done with one strobe with a beauty dish as indicated in the BTS image on Craig's Blog).



John Pero IV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love this.  Its creepy.  Great use of intentional subject blur.  Check out the image on John's Flickr page.  There is a creepy short story that goes along with this image, as well as a few other images in the same series.  They are all pretty creepy too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you take time each day to search around for images that you can learn from and that inspire you.  Another thing to do that will help with your own work, is to critique the images as if they were a classmates.  Look for what could be improved.  For example, in the first image I posted, the light fall off from left to right on the wall is pretty drastic, and that same fall off effects the exposure on the model.  The image could use a second light.  The second image I would crop a little tighter.  The tree trunk on the right side of the frame draws my eyes away from the frame instead of into it.  I would lose it if it was my image to correct.  And the last image... well I'll let you critique it.  Post your critique in the comments section.

 

 

http://craighillphotography.com

http://konceptkreations.com/

 

 

 

Works Cited

Hill, Craig. Fashion on a Tree. Craig Hill Photography. Craig Hill Photography, 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2013. <http://craighillphotography.com/blog/2013/7/5/july-4th-2013>.

Koncept Kreations. Reina Laying on the Floor. Koncept Kreations. Koncept Kreations, 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2013. <http://konceptkreations.com/photography/?page_id=333>.

Pero, John, IV. "Forever Home." Flickr.com. Yahoo!, 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2013. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/65939880@N07/9194093905/>.

Another Beginning...

Hello everyone and welcome to another Terrific Tuesday!

Today is going to be a different type of blog, mainly I will be sharing one of my student moments with you.  Have you ever wonder if you are over thinking something and then you get yourself really confused on something that should be easy to understand?  I have, and I am right now!

You might be wondering what the title is all about, but if you are not a new student, you possible have started a new round of courses last Thursday, right? If you did, you are probably going a little crazy trying to catch up with the studies, the readings and the assignments.  So, back to the confused part, I am currently taking two photography classes (probably like some of you) and until this term I never had a problem differentiating the requirements of each one.  However, this time is different as I am taking two classes that require two final projects; one fashion story and one photo essay.

Simple, right?  Well, I am here to tell you that if you take two classes that are similar in their final project requirements be sure you clearly understand what you need to do for the final project, and that goes for any class you take.  I have seen myself confusing them and thinking about photo stories, fashion essays and story essays!  Did I confuse you? I hope not!

So, what can you do if you get as confused as I felt most of the weekend?

 - First, read all the content of the class including the readings from your text book.  Sometimes reading the material can clear some of the confusion that you might be feeling.

-          -  Ask questions, somebody said once that the worst question is the one never asked.  Believe it or not, you might be asking questions that someone else wanted to ask but was afraid to do so.

-          -  Use your resources, including your professor!  There are office hours posted at the beginning of each course, some of them are also in Skype, so go ahead and pick their brain, they will help you.

-          -  Use the blog, we are here to assist in every way we can, if we do not know the answer, we will use our resources to help you as much as we can!

-         -    Research, research, research!  Sometimes research helps in seeing what is out there and will give you some ideas of what you can do, but remember that if you use the research in your work, you also need to give the credit to where credit is due.

http://www.upsidetrader.com/2011/05/31/confused-just-watch-thetape/

It is a new beginning, and it don't have to be a stressful one!  Have fun with your new classes and embrace the moment!

Until later then, hope you are all doing great and not stressing too much.  Have a question about your current classes, drop me a line, I will be checking regularly all day!

Have a great pixel day!

Tuesday Ambassador

Cats or Dogs?

Cats or dogs, which do you like more?  Apparently, how you answer that question can say a lot about your personality.  Researchers even took time to study this.  4,500 people were asked if they prefer cats or dogs. They were also given a personality profile.

The researchers discovered that the people that described themselves as dog lovers were more extroverted and eager to please people.  

Cat lovers tended to be more introverted and curious.  

Extroverted – Introverted --- two words that can evoke a lot of feelings because of the connotations that go with them.  The general belief is that extroversion means loud, outgoing, talkative while introversion means shy, bashful and quiet.  A lot of times extroverts are equated with Type A personalities while introverts are equate with Type B personalities.

The truth is being an introvert has little to nothing to do with being shy.  People that are introverts rejuvenate by spending time alone.  That does no meant they do not like people.  It does not mean they are socially awkward.  It does not mean a photographer wants to hide behind a camera in order to avoid talking to people.

On the flip side, being an extrovert does not equate with friendly and outgoing, it simply means someone is energized by being around people.  It does mean they cannot do things alone.  It does mean they are loud and obnoxious.  It does not mean a photographer is going to talk your leg off and leave you wondering if you will ever get photos.

So, which personality type, introvert or extrovert, makes a better photographer?  The honest answer is BOTH!  We actually can stand to learn a lot from each other and working together in beautiful harmony.  The bottom line is no matter what kind of photography you want to do you WILL have to deal with people.  Whether you are an introvert or extrovert only matters in how you approach it.  If you are shivering in your shoes over the thought of dealing with people, that has more to do with you being shy and is something you can work to overcome.

So don’t get in a dog/cat fight.  

Take a little time to figure out who you really are and when you live in that, your strengths will be stronger and you will be more at peace.

It’s been another Manic Monday…..

Monday Ambassador

Gosling, S. D., Sandy, C. J., & Potter, J. (2010). Personalities of self-identified "dog people" and "cat people." Anthrozoös, 23, 213-222.

http://www.pugdogpage.com/wp-content/uploads/Pug_Dog1.jpg

http://www.fabulouspetportraits.com/Tabby_cat_orig.jpg

http://www.wabashfirstumc.org/dog_v_cat.jpg

Recent Class Assignment and a Road Trip

Good Morning Everyone and Happy Sunday! Today I am just going to talk about a recent project and school assignment that I had due. On Thursday of this past week I had the pleasure of going on a road trip. I had a class assignment due on Saturday so I chose to go to a different location other than what I normally use. The road trip took me to Baltimore MD and Washington D.C. I had always heard about this great place to shoot called the Graffiti Warehouse located in Baltimore, so that was the first place we headed. I also like to photograph National and Historical Site so for that I headed to Washington D.C.

The assignment for school we had to take portraits using only available light, no strobes or flash. This is something that I do all the time so I wasn't to worried, I used the Graffiti Warehouse for this they had a few rooms with huge windows that gave some amazing light. Below are some of the photos taken yesterday.

 Photos By Wayne Salat

 Photos By Wayne Salat

 Photos By Wayne Salat

Photos By Wayne Salat

For the other personal project, as I had mentioned, I went to Washington D.C. I have never photographed at night so this proved to be a challenge. Photographing some of the monuments during the day also proved to be a challenge as the light was quite strong.  Getting my settings right and putting the knowledge that I had to the test, produced some nice photos. Below are some photos of the U.S Capital Building taken at 10 PM and the others were taken during the day when sun was brightest.

  Photos By Wayne Salat

  Photos By Wayne Salat

  Photos By Wayne Salat

 Photos By Wayne Salat

Enjoy Your Sunday and Photograph Something Everyday!

Sunday Ambassador~ Wayne