This is how I quickly figure out which of my photos will make good Black and White photos using Adobe Lightroom.  I select the photos from the session and make a new collection.  I set the collection to make virtual copies.  Then I select those virtual copies and apply the grayscale preset to them.

The third secret of photography is an attempt to quiet negative people, especially negative photographers.  From time to time you will run into these people, the know-it-all.  They’ll make sure you know it too… not what they know, but the “fact” that they know it all.  I ran into one of these photography “experts” at a recent meetup.  He was actually telling someone what to photograph.

Here’s the secret: You can photograph anything.  There are no rules in this matter.  Want to photograph the floor?  Fine.  Think the dust on grass is interesting?  Great.  Do you feel that clouds over people’s heads  from low and behind is a good photo?  It probably is. All this goes back to that old adage, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  This is particularly true of photography.  Photograph what you like.  Just because I make portraits, doesn’t mean you have to in order to be a “photographer.”

By default if you make a photo… of anything, you are a photographer.  If someone seeks you out to photograph for them, you are a professional photographer.  No one needs photography.  The desire to create and express oneself is a need we all have.  I choose to express this through photography.  I hope you’ll join me.

Here’s the larger version of the photo in last week’s posting.  Did you guess the colors correct?

049 Photography Tip of the Week (audio)

Make Photos Part II

Last week I pointed out the virtues of making photos, not just taking pictures.  You need to observe, anticipate and visualize the scene set before you.  Doing these things will allow you to make the most out of the photos when you have no control over your environment.  There is another aspect to making photos, and that is when you have a studio and control every piece of your environment.  In a studio you may not need to observe as much, since you are creating every aspect of the scene.  However, you still have to watch out for stray cords, props, equipment and little children, yet all-in-all you know the place very well.  Everyone has an indoor studio, even if it’s your living room.  But is there such a thing as an “outdoor” studio?  Certainly, and everyone has them.  An outdoor studio is a place you visit often.  Some place nearby that you enjoy photographing or using as a backdrop for your photography. You may grow bored with them over time, but look at these places as your secret locations.  Your outdoor studio where you make photos.

The things to keep in mind for making photos in your outdoor studio are very similar, however the priority changes.  Since you already know the nooks can crannies of the area, you don’t need to worry about the observation phase.  You already have a good idea what the conditions are like and how the setting will look over time.  So the big aspect of making photos in your outdoor studio is visualize first. This is where your creativity can shine.

I have a couple of locations near me that I like to use.  One is the old train depot and the other is an old gas station.  They are especially nice for senior portraits.  The contrast between history of the region and rising seniors make for memorable portraits.  I know these locations well enough to know when the light will be good and what angles make for nice photos.  But more importantly I have an opportunity to experiment and keep my photography fresh.  In some cases I even amp up the grunge.

The final thing to note about your outside studio is that you know what you need to bring.  I’m not talking about camera equipment, even though you do need to bring your camera, but what props would work well for the vision you want to create.  I like to add some form of contrast in all of my photos.  Contrast is something that your mind attaches to and helps create a memory.  So adding a prop like a picture frame and using it to define the boundary between color and black and white makes for an interesting contrast.

There are so many movies that show high-tech video and photography capabilities.  You see an image taken from a low resolution black and while ATM video camera.  They will take that image and not only “enhance” it to be able to read the license place that only took up 4 pixels on the screen but also come up with a color of the vehicle.  These abilities are pretty much impossible.  But through movie magic, that license place pops into perfect detail and the black and while image colorizes those shades of gray into perfect hues.  Let me give you a little test.  Here’s an image I’ve made smaller and converted to black and white.  Next week I’ll post the larger color version, but for now tell me what color are the walls of the room or the couch.  How about, who’s photo hangs on the wall above the fireplace.

While you try to figure that out.  Here’s the real dirty little secret, you can’t fix everything in post processing.  A lot of people think that you can fix photos that are out of focus.  You can’t.  If it’s out of focus, you have blurred out the detail, and there’s no way to bring that back.  Below I have an image where I blurred out the background.  You have a clue what’s in the background based on the foreground objects, but there is no way from this image to restore the detail of the grape vines.  The same is true if you “accidentally” have bad focus on your subject.  So  make sure you check your focus.  One of the nice things about digital cameras is the LCD on the back.  In most cases you can zoom in and check on the spot so you don’t have any nasty surprises later.