I attended a portfolios and presentations seminar today that I found very helpful. These are my notes from it.

1. Why are portfolios important to photographers?
A portfolio is a visual first impression. It’s an opportunity to present your photography in a context you’ve chosen.

2. What is a portfolio?
A portfolio contains:

Step 1: Getting Started
A. What subject matter really interests you?

• Focus on photographing something that interests you with the idea of creating a portfolio. Ideally the theme should be something that can be on-going so you can add to it over time
  
• You can have different portfolios for different themes (portraits, nature, etc.)

B. What is the goal and purpose of your portfolio?

• What do you want to do with your photographs?
  
• Who do you want to show your photographs to?
  
• Why did you take the photographs?
  
• Do you want to
  
  • Exhibit in Galleries?
    
    • Nature, Landscapes, Still-Life
      
  • Portraits or Wedding Photography
    
    • People, pets
      
  • Photojournalism
    
    • Events, People, Human Interest
      
  • Commercial
    
    • Products, Still-Life
      

Options/reasons for portfolios:

• A specific photographic endeavor
  
• Images from a single camera formal (35mm, Medium Format, Large Format, etc)
  
• Black & White photographs
  
• Hand colored photographs
  
• Sepia-tone photographs
  
• Photographs created over a specific period of time or at a specific location

C. Purpose/Goal = Artist’s Statement
1. Why do you photograph?
2. What do you want to show people or what do you want to do with your photographs?
3. What do you want people to take with them after viewing your work?

Simple artist’s statement: “I photograph for a purpose. Currently this purpose is to show the beauty and positive aspects of nature. My purpose is also to create photographs that will be exhibited and used to decorate homes and offices.” - Alain Briot

There was also an artier, more elaborate statement that I didn’t get completely written down.

Then we had to create an artist’s statement for a project or portfolio we are currently working on or one we plan to start soon.

My artist’s statement for a project that I’m beginning work on: I photograph to deconstruct idealized visions of farm and rural life. By documenting small family farms, migrant workers and farm children growing up in an urban and suburban-centric world, I hope to show viewers both the struggle and the beauty of modern American farming.

I was pleased with the way my statement turned out. I took more time writing mine than anyone in the class and I think it showed. Some of the statements were basically “I want to take pet or wedding portraits to make good money” or “I want to photograph beautiful nature scenes so they will be attractive to a good number of buyers.”

The instructor pointed out that while all of us want to make money with our art the artist’s statement in a portfolio is not the best place to spell that out.

Step 2: Editing
1. Review and select your photographs based on your artist’s statement
For the editing process gather all of your images that fit your goal/purpose (100 photographs would be a good starting place) and put them in one place (physical or computer location for digital files)

2. Step Away for a Day

3. Review the images you’ve selected and delete half (down to 50 at this point)

4. Wait 24 hours then review again and delete half again (down to 25 now)

5. Make 8x10 prints of the remaining images. DO NOT CHOOSE YOUR PORTFOLIO IMAGES BASED ON A COMPUTER SCREEN

6. Get a 2nd or 3rd opinion if needed to narrow images down to 15 photographs. Your second opinion shouldn’t be your significant other or your mom. Someone objective, preferably another photographer

Printing yourself is important. In many contexts (contests, judged shows) printing the image yourself (even digital images) gives your work more weight and gains you more respect as a photographer. The idea is that the photograph is totally yours from conception to presentation.

A. What not to include in your portfolio

• A photograph of lesser quality than the others
  
• A photograph that has not been spotted or corrected (or digitally post processed)
  
• Work prints
  
• Contact sheets

B. What your photographs should have

• Date
  
• Title
  
• Signature
  
• Print identification stamp (rubber stamp that serves as your mark. Meaning you use the same stamp on all of your work and you initial at least partially over the stamp)

All of this info should be on the back of the mat.

Portfolio images should never be printed on any kind of glossy paper. Matte or semi-gloss for digital prints

Step 3: Putting It All Together

A. Assembling your photographs

• Organize by subject
  
• Organize by photographic style
  
• Horizontal and vertical images should be grouped together
  
• All prints should be the same size
  
• Black and white images should be grouped separately from color

B. Most important to remember

• Keep it simple
  
• Keep it professional
  
• Make it easy to hold
  
• Make it easy to view
  
• Keep it consistent
  
• Keep it up to date
  
• Be critical of your own work and get a 2nd opinion when you need it!

Step 4: Protecting Yourself and Your Photographs
3 things help protect photographs and their work

Reference: Business and Legal Forms for Photographers

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Week Four

E=I x T; Exposure = Intensity of light x Time

Too little light = Underexposed (light print)

Too much light = Overexposed (dark print)

Aperture = lens opening controlled by an iris diaphragm. Measured in f/stops.

Created negative = aperture x shutter speed

The amount of light reaching the film is controlled by both the size of the opening and the length of time the shutter is open.

Opening Up: Chaning the aperture setting to allow more light in

Closing down: Changing the aperture setting to allow less light in

A larger f/number equals a smaller opening or small aperture. Small f/stops mean large apertures.

f/1.4 = large opening
f/64 = small opening

Main apertures to know
1.4
2
2.8
4
5.6
8
11
16
22
32
45

Depth of Field

f/stops influence depth of field. Depth of field equals how much of an image is in focus.

- The bigger the f/stop the greater the depth of field (things farther away are in focus)

- The smaller the f/stop the less the depth of field

- Large apertures (but small f/stops like 2 or 4) blur backgrounds

- Greater depth of field = everything in focus

- Here to infinity in focus? Try f/22

Two things have a direct impact on sharply focused images in a photograph

1. Aperture

2. The distance between the subject and the camera.

You must decide what should be in focus
a. Foreground?
b. Background?

Shutter speed: The length of time the shutter stays open, allowing light to pass through

Shutter speeds affect exposure and how motion is portrayed.

The main shutter speeds:
1
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
1/250
1/500
1/1000

To freeze motion you must use a fast shutter speed (1/500)

To blur motion use a slow shutter speed (1/30)

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Week Three
FILM

With film you're creating a negative. With slide film you're creating a positive.

Film Speed How sensitive the film is to light

ISO or ASA ratings given to film signify how sensitive the film is to light
100 = slow
200-400 = medium
800-1600 = fast

Fast film is extremely sensitive to light. You can use fast film in low light conditions which allows for hand holding the camera, faster shutter speeds & smaller apertures. The disadvantage to fast film is grainy prints.

Medium film (200-400 ISO) is most commonly used. Shutter speeds & aperture settings depend on the available light. Generally medium works well indoors and out.

Slow film (100 or less) is not as sensitive to light as medium & fast films are. The disadvantages of slow film are the the camera generally needs to be on a tripod & more light is needed to expose the image properly.

When choosing film
1. How much light will you be shooting in?
2. How far away you'll be form the subject?
3. Can you use a tripod?
4. Do I need to freeze the action?

Caring for film
- Use and develop before expiration date
- Store in a cool dry place
- When traveling remove film from box and container. Pack in sealed, clear plastic bags
- Avoider extreme heat and cold

* Let cool film warm up to room temperature

Color film has 3 layers of emulsions, BW has one.

Cameras: The technical part of photography

Accessories

What you need
-Camera bag that suits your needs
- Strap
- Tripod
- UV or Skylight filter for every lens
- Batteries
-Small notebook & pen

What you might want
- Cable release
- Polarizing filter (cuts glare)
- Other filters depending on film type
- Additional lenses

Colored filters darken blue skies with black and white film. Red is the most useful for that purpose.

General lens notes
- 100mm lens is the most common portrait lens
- Can lose image quality with 300mm lenses
- Wide angle lenses distort facial features
- Normal lens = 50mm
- Wide angle = 35mm

Light: The visible "white" light we see is made up of all colors created by the primary colors of red, yellow and blue.

When you see a blue object you are seeing all the blue light reflected from that object because it has absorbed all the other colors.

Black and White filters: Generally used to light or darken particular colors.

Rule of thumb if you to darken something use an opposite color filter

Cameras
- Light tight box
holder/carrier for light sensitive film (usually a transporter too)
- Lens to form an image on the film
- Diaphragm or aperture to control the light passing through the lens onto the film
- Shutter to control how long the light is allowed to come through aperture
- Viewfinder for composing the image

Various formats

Large format: heavy, use huge negatives and therefore you can make huge prints

Medium format: Use larger (2 x 2 1/4) negatives than 35 mm so therefore it makes larger prints. Normally shoot from the waist with a twin lens reflex camera

SLR: Single lens format camera. 1 x 1 1/2 negatives.

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Week Two

Visualization: "The entire mental-emotional process of creating a photograph and as such, it is one of the most important concepts of photography." - Ansel Adams

Visual Vocabulary
1. Subject Matter
2. Light
a. Tonality
b. Contrast
3. Perspective
4. Composition
5. Technique

1. Subject Matter: Seeing means perceiving the visual relationships that exist in the world.

Classifying
1. Nature
a. Natural
b. Wildlife & animals
2. Social Landscapes
3. Portraits/People
4. Photojournalism
5. Cultural Landscapes (Rodeo, train station)
6. Urban Landscapes
a. Architecture and buildings
7. Inner Landscapes (sometimes called personal landscapes)

"I like to take people in their environment...the animal in its habitat." - Henri Cartier-Bresson

"I believe in photography as one means of affirming the enormous beauty of the world." - Ansel Adams

2. Light: Think of light in terms of tonality and contrast. In other words what light does to and for the subject matter in your photograph.

Tonality Cultural cliches & stereotypes:
- Most people associate dark photos with sadness, mystery or something ominous
- They consider "light" photos are suggesting happiness, openness, innocence

Reds, oranges & yellows are warm colors & suggest activity & advancing

Blues, greens and purples are cool colors and are viewed as passive, retreating and non-threatening

Contrast Shadows are critical to any good photograph

Contrast refers to the brightness and darkness of various parts of the subject or of the photograph as a whole

High KeySoft-low contrast light so that shadows are diffused and luminous. Creates a softness in the entire image

Low Key Extreme lighting so that shadows are dark, sharp & dramatic

3. Perspective:
Point of view
a. Where do you stand
b. Where do you point the camera

Pay attention to the size relationship. Biggest = most important

Looking up at someone or something increases the stature and significance of the subject. Looking down on someone of something diminishes or de-emphasizes the subject.

Eye-to-eye gives a feeling of identification & is less intimidating if the subject is a person, especially a child.

4. Composition
The rules are worth learning because more often than not they will help you make better photographs

1. Select a single, dominant center of interest
2. Rule of thirds
3. Keep horizon level * vertical lines parallel with edges of frame
4. Don't let you center of interest blend with the background
5. FILL THE FRAME
6. Keep busy work out of photo
7. Don't amputate parts of the human body at joints
8. Avoid distracting shapes, colors and light at the edges of photos
9. Have the main subject facing of moving into the frame instead of out of the picture
10. Use lines to lead the eye into the picture
11. Use a vertical format for vertical subject & use a horizontal format for horizontal subjects

Elements of Composition
1. Form
2. Line
3. Tone
4. Space
5. Texture
6. Rhythm/Repetition

3 Important questions
1. Where do I stand?
2. Where do I point the camera?
3. What do I leave out?

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Other than shooting more, looking at more photography and reading more about photography the first concrete step I took toward becoming a better and more competent photographer was to enroll in a class. The first class I'm taking is appropriately titled Fundamentals of Photography. After each class I like to type my notes up. Since I'm typing them anyway I might as well share them here. Perhaps someone will find them useful.

You should note that these are my personal class notes, anything that looks like an opinion instead of concrete fact belongs either to me or my instructor. Any glaring mistakes or falsehoods are of course accidental so please feel free to point them out.

With out further ado, I present the notes from my first class.

Week One

General Info
- Shoot with Kodak C-41 bw film
- Print assignments on matte paper
- Bring manual to class when cameras are required

Seeing in the photographic sense is to visualize.

Seeing = visualization.
Photography = Near Universal Communication

Light Impressions is a good photographic supplies company.

Archival storage is important both for your prints and your negatives. Keys to this include using acid free mats, glass not resting directly on prints in frames and archival/museum quality storage mediums.

Color prints only last for 50-60 years. BW are archival quality (100 years+) if printed properly.

Visual Literacy
To become a good photographer you have to learn the language and grammar of photography, the visual literacy. Terms that you'll learn soon include:
aperture
asa
iso
bracketing
f stops
list will continue

Look at photographs
It's invaluable to look at the work of other photographers. Even if you don't necessarily like or love it you learn by seeing what you like and don't like in the work of others. Some suggested photographers for closer study:

Ansel Adams
Edward Weston
Imogene Cunningham
Jerry Usman
Paul Stram
Dorthea Lange
Gordon Parks
Charles Moore
Diane Arbus

Look at more photographs
- What do you like
- What don't you like
- Why do you like it or why don't you like it

THINK BEFORE YOU SHOOT
1. Why are you shooting this?

2. What are you trying to say or convey
- Information
- Emotional impact
- Record a memory or event

3. Pre-Visualize
- Look at subject
- Look at lighting
- Perspective
- Composition
- Technical Quality

4. Look for the simple thing in a photograph
- Keep it simple

5. Watch people

Mantras
Think before you shoot

Discover the world around you

And my personal favorite The Art of Paying Attention

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