Recently in Professional Photography Category
In the book store this morning I spent a great deal of time looking at The Here and Now: The Photography of Sam Jones. Jones is a very well known photographer who is most famous for his celebrity and advertising (which often features celebrities) work. The book is an impressive collection of celebrity portraits. I didn't buy a copy but only because Borders has it for $40 in the store and I can order it from Amazon for $26. I'm going to buy it and I very much recommend that anyone interested in portrait photography buys it as well. Some of the images are eleborate set pieces including costumes, props and staged locations while others are direct, intimate headshots. All are very interesting and give the portrait photographer lots to examine and think about.
So while all the images in the book are good and interesting and while I encourage you to buy the book that's not what this post is about. This post is about one image in the book, a shot of Tom Cruise that was used for a Time Magazine cover story. The cover story is from 2002, well before any of Cruise's couch jumping or his railing against anti-depression medications. In other words, the image was taken well before any of us started thinking Tom Cruise is crazy. I imagine that when the magazine came out the image was perceived as one of a handsome, charismatic movie star. He looks pretty and has a satisfied grin in the image, like he's got the world on a string as the expression goes. The unfocused colors in the background call to mind stage lights as if to remind us that "this is a movie star" while the deep, deep stare would seem to indicate that viewers can and should trust this man.
Looking at the image this morning in the book store my immediate thought was "wow, he looks like a crazy, charismatic cult leader. He's very frightening." Obviously I'm looking at this image with the Cruise Scientology video still very fresh in my mind. The unfocused lights in the background make me think today of all the science fiction stuff the religion purportedly believes. That satisfied grin? It makes him appear to me like a smug manipulator. Like he knows exactly what to say and how to behave in any situation to get what he wants and that he finds himself quite superior to most everyone else.
All this is to note how much context, current events and individualism very much influence how an image is perceived. As a photographer you cannot always decide when or how your images are displayed but when you can control those things it's wise to put a great deal of time and thought into the details that will influence how your images are received. This includes putting them in context when appropriate, including text descriptions, making sure prints are appropriate sizes, etc.
Lexington Herald-Leader photographer Mark Cornelison has a nice little video up about shooting athletes. In it he talks a little about his setup and his style for making athletes look cool. The video is made even cooler because it features the quarterbacks for Kentucky's two major university football teams, including my beloved Louisville Cardinals.
After the NY Times article discussion last week it seems kind of appropriate to take about an article that's actually focused on baby photography. A pretty good article in the Kansas City Star looks at how baby photography has evolved of late and some of the more popular trends in it.
BABY PHOTO TRENDS
- Black and white with little background. Parents wear black form-fitting shirts.
- Dads — often with tattoos — holding their babies.
- Outdoor settings, especially on antique furniture.
- Overlaying digital photos with graphic design elements such as script and scrolls.
- Modern pops of color, especially pink, grass green, aqua blue or yellow.
- Documentary photo shoots at home.
Oh, Baby: Infant photographers are focusing more on the child these days
One of the photographers mentioned in the piece, Jodie Otte, left a comment on my reaction to the NY Times piece about women photographers.
As one who was interviewed, I was appalled at the way I was "lumped into" the category of MWAC when that is not the direction the interview went. I'm still shaking my head about that entire article, but I do appreciate your discussion of it.
Otte has a blog herself and has some more thoughts about her disappointment with the article there.
Last week I wrote about the former Toledo Blade photographer who got caught digitally altering a photograph submitted for publication. Today Rob Galbraith brings the news that this was not a one time incident. The paper's investigation found dozens of seriously altered photos that were submitted by the photographer, many of which ended up in the paper or on the paper's website.
National Press Photographers Association says
Allan Detrich, a one-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and four-time Ohio News Photographer of the Year, is apparently a serial digital manipulator of news photographs. Prior to his resignation on April 7, Detrich had submitted for publication nearly 80 doctored images in only 14 weeks.
Even though photojournalists being caught altering photos is becoming more and more common the magnitude of this story is shocking.
An intensive investigation of Mr. Detrich's work, conducted by Nate Parsons, The Blade's director of photography, found that since January of this year, Mr. Detrich submitted 947 photographs for publication, of which 79 had been digitally altered.
The Blade offers a comparison PDF of some of the altered photos and their unaltered originals.
Mr. Detrich, as reported last week, has decided to leave photojournalism. He has also decided to disable comments on his blog.
Daily Tips to Improve Your Photography has a three part guest author series about Lifestyle Baby Photography (part 2, part 3). The series is written by Amber Holritz, a Chattanooga, TN based photographer.
It's an interesting series about what is growing style of portraiture. It's a style I very much enjoy and employ in my own work. Definitely worth a read.
State of the Art reports "The Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts in Japan is once again soliciting submissions for its Young Portfolio 2007. Since 1995 the museum has been choosing a growing number of prints (289 last year) to buy and include in its permanent collection."
It sounds like a really wonderful opportunity for young photographers (under 35). The submission period is April 15-30, 2007.
A follow up to the post about Green Photography studios. BTC Elements is an eco friendly clothing and gift store that "provides sustainable products that are high quality and stylish, inspiring consumers to create an earth friendly and socially conscious lifestyle." On the company's blog founder Summer Bowen describes trying to make a recent photo shoot for the company's online catalog more green and brainstorms on ways to make future shoots even more green.
Her ideas include
Say no to chemicals, photo paper, disposable cds - success! Since BTC is a virtual store with no print catalog or mailers, I only needed high resolution digital shots. At the end of the shoot I loaded all of the digital pictures onto my external hard-drive (I heart my e.h.) and voila, no cd! If you don't have one of these glorious electronic devices, try websites like Yousendit or flickr to upload photos instead of burning them onto a cd that'll end up getting canned.Slash emission - success! It usually takes a small army to put together a good shoot - makeup, stylist, art director, models. This one was small, so I wore all the hats, which cut down on vehicles. Plus, we only shot at one location - the photographers home studio - so only one car was driven approx 4 miles for the shoot.
Carpooling/biking/public trans - get the small army into one vehicle and head to one location with lots of photo opts.
Lighting - shooting in the early morning and late afternoon provides the best natural light. Also, using reflectors cuts down on artificial lighting. Ya can't beat the sun when it comes to beauteous ambiance and energy efficiency!
Some of her ideas are specific to situations where no printing is involved but thinking larger could help photographers incorporate more green practices into their businesses. For example more proofs online instead of prints, more email/internet communication with clients instead of multiple studio visits which add up in terms of transportation use, recycled props, backgrounds and studio sets, etc.
Atlanta photographer and business instructor Liana Lehman offers private consultations and seminars under the heading "Business Boot Camp." In the series she focuses on helping you build your photography business into a healthier, more profitable one. "The BBC is an intense, intimate two-day experience designed to help you take your photography business to the next level, enforce business health and profitability, and create a better work/life balance."
Why Business Boot Camp?There's a long answer to this and a short one. In short, we must realize that professional photography is an art AND a business... and that training is needed in BOTH in order to be successful.
As part of the Business Boot Camp series Liana produced a DVD called Profit Center that is now available for $249, without attending a seminar or hiring her for her consulting work.
Everything the professional photographer needs to build a financial foundation for a healthy business. Find out exactly how much money you make out of every dollar, how to price with confidence, and much more. Liana takes you step-by-step through the process as she works with Rafael (Atlanta-based wedding photographer) through all of his goals, numbers, and taking a look at his pricing and packages.
For those starting photography businesses or those that want to see their photography business becoming healthier, more profitable and more sustainable the boot camp seems like a really great but expensive option. The DVD is a great alternative that shares a lot of the same information add a much more budget friendly price.
SportShooter.com has a great article about the low angle technique sports photographer Peter Read Miller uses when shooting football games. His descriptions and the examples of this technique at work are outstanding. Particularly impressive are the photos of former USC running back Reggie Bush and San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.
Describing the Reggie Bush shot Miller says
"It was not what I expected when he took off towards the right and I swung my camera while lying on the ground and he leaped over a UCLA defender on his way to a touchdown," Miller said. "A number of other photographers had the picture, but the low angle I had accentuated how high he jumped in the air."
Just goes to show that a little change in perspective can make all the difference in the world when shooting. Lots of other photographers probably caught Bush going in for the touchdown but this change in perspective made Miller's much more iconic and memorable.
via Rob Galbraith
