a photographic memory

Baaa Baa... Black Sheep?

2011-03-27T22:35:00.000-05:00

"27 Fun and Creative Photographs of Sheep

By Light Stalking on 22 Mar 2011 in Cool Photos, Featured[ 4 Comments ]

Farms are a great spot to get some great photographs, and while sheep aren’t usually held up as the most photogenic of subjects the results of shooting them really are up to the skill of the photographer. We think they can be as fun a subject as any other and this collection was certainly fun to put together too."

Okay so I'm not a fan of looking at sheep photos, but these were definitely amazing... I took a few and analyzed why the photo looks so cool, guessed at how the photographer got the effect. :)


Monochrome effect, with barest hint of green; possible using Photoshop and decreasing vibrancy + increasing contrast

Err... natural beauty of landscape? :D + sharp contrast; grainy effect from exposure setting

Photo's proportions, 1/3 = grass; green hint shown in sheep fur (Are the sheep just green?)

Contrast between bright light (bottom half) with upper clouds: slight overexposure + upped contrast settings

Greyscale + high contrast, and a beast sheep facial expression (no pwn intended)

Experimentation

2011-03-27T22:11:00.001-05:00

Tried out the color range feature on Photoshop... always thought the monochrome + one color dealio looked cool. :D Took me forever how to remember to do this... in the middle of working, the internet at Banes died, so I had a huge "oh crap" moment when I realized I couldn't use my instructions video anymore. Oops?

So I feel like I'm involved in some ad campaign for my sister's flip flops...

Before and After

2011-03-27T22:11:00.000-05:00

Fixing photo quality with Photoshop... <3 lifesaver.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

...BLACK AND WHITE!

Pseudo Reject Pile: My Excuse To Be Lazy

2011-03-27T21:02:00.003-05:00

3/20/11, playground with the sis. :)

It basically took me 140 photos to fiddle with camera settings.. the light was horrible that day, so cloudy. These are the pics I didn't bother photoshopping. I'm so lazy :D

I also discovered that photos on my camera screen appear brighter than they actually are...

So this is 9 out of 16 pictures I liked, the rest will be photoshopped. 16 out of 140 photos. Heh. the scary part is how normal these stats are.

Lenses (of knowledge? jk)

2011-02-16T04:13:00.000-06:00

That "amazing thing" about dSLRs that sets them apart from your point-and-shoot cameras is the fact that they use interchangable lenses. Photography is basically the science of optics, and thus, a good lens on a semi-decent camera can take a better picture than a horrible lens on an amazing camera.

However, as I experienced first-hand, the type of lens on the camera is rather important... :P

Taken from my cell phone, macro setting


Taken from a Nikon D300 with an 18-135mm lens

Lens info: http://gizmodo.com/#!5331109/the-3-dslr-lenses-you-need-and-2-more-youll-crave

Moolah

2011-02-16T04:07:00.000-06:00

My mentor Eric highly emphasized the business aspect of photography. Likewise, through various blog posts, photojournalist Mark M. Hancock (.blogspot.com) again emphasizes the important of business skills, as well as discusses the logistics of a photojournalist's income.

Articles: Negotiate A Good Staff Deal - Fixed Costs, Negotiate A Good Staff Deal - Variable Costs, Transition from Staff to Freelance

Hancock reminds his blog visitors that photojournalism is not a well-paying field. Photojournalists choose this job to follow their passion, their art, and they (should) find joy in their work, despite the income. Thus, Hancock offers his description and advice on how to secure enough money to get by.

One thing I can't stop thinking about is just how... expensive photography can be. Buying equipment, updating equipment, it's almost cruel -- a photographer practically has to shell out so much cash to work. While photographers do get to use company equipment, Hancock emphasizes the importance of one's own tools that one can carry and add to throughout life. Thus, Hancock says that even early on, when photographer does happen to have a staff job at a corporation, it's fundamental to save up money for equipment. It almost feels counter-intuitive to me, yet the logic makes sense.

Photojournalists basically have two career variations: steady-income jobs with a business, or freelance work. Another interesting tidbit is that Hancock urges photojournalists to negotiate for contracts with good benefits and if necessary, lower income than a contract with a higher income without benefits. Meanwhile, even at staff jobs, photojournalists still rack up bills for their work, such as travel fees, repairs, etc. and those costs come out of their own pocket.

It's daunting for me to imagine willingly subjecting myself to a life without stability -- what can I say, I'm a control freak. Yet to me, if someone feels so much passion about something that they're willing to, that's the bravest and more admirable thing in the world.

Aperture, Shutter Speed, Exposure

2011-02-16T03:08:00.000-06:00

So I played with my camera today! Exposure is defined as "the total amount of light allowed to fall on a photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph." My mentor, Eric, had previously instructed me about how three characteristics combine to create light effects. I set the ISO, the measurement of the camera's sensitivity to light, on auto and messed around with aperture, the amount of light through the lens (aka how wide the lens opens) and with the shutter speed (how quickly the lens opens and closes).

low shutter speed + high aperture = underexposure

balanced aperture and shutter speed

high shutter speed + high aperture = overexposure

insanely low shutter speed + high aperture = underexposure

low shutter speed + insanely high aperture = overexposure

With a constant ISO, the effects of aperture and shutter speed on exposure depended on their relative degrees. The main difference between aperture and shutter speed, which would be the function of shutter speed to capture movement is not necessarily related to exposure: it's another effect and consideration. However, for my purposes, I was not working with motion shots.

Magic.

2010-12-14T19:42:00.005-06:00

Pointless, but maybe that's the point. So I stopped and stared.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yahooeditorspicks/galleries/72157625550600212/

Macro photography has always been a favorite of mine just because it's so cool to look at. This whole gallery of close-up stilled shots (although not all of them are macro) is just.. cool. These photographs make me go "wow." And in the midst of studying the industry and feeling the stress of incomes, number-crunching, it's easy to forget that sometimes, the "best" photographs aren't the ones that tell the deepest stories or win the highest prizes. I like these photos because they're creative, they depict situations, while totally pointless, still aren't normally encountered in daily life and therefore, interesting. In my project proposal I asked something along the lines of what makes a good photograph. There's the manipulation of light, perspective, creating angles, etc. all the little intricacies of portrait photography. There's the awe factor associated with action shots, the shots that capture a moment, the ones you might have to stand in thirty thunderstorms, waiting for that one perfect lightning bolt, to capture. All of those demand respect, and can make or break careers. Yet there's this fun, quirky gallery that is just something... different?

Applying stuff I've learned:
So, these photographs are possible using insanely high-speed shutter speeds. The lens of the camera opens and closes so quickly that for example, the fall of a water droplet is captured. In comparison, lower shutter speeds "blur" motion. Shutter speed becomes a vital part of sports photography, where photographers dictate how "still" players appear, compared to how blurred the environment around them is.

Turkey Day

2010-11-28T00:37:00.002-06:00

"Thank you for becoming a part of my life."
"Thank you for coming and staying in my life."

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So it was Thanksgiving Day, with a wind chill factor of over 9000. Jess wanted to do a photoshoot that involved yellow trees and falling leaves. It. was. COLD. and the falling leaves yellow trees thing failed. But I really liked this photo I took. a bit of photoshop for a more autumny feel and tadaaa!

How To Make A Wedding

2010-10-30T23:40:00.071-05:00

It goes something like this... Girl Meets Boy, Boy Asks Girl Out, yada yada... Boy Asks Girl a Question...

Kidding. Well I mean yeah, that's how a wedding happens (basically :D), but I'm into something a little cooler... Wedding photoshoot, anyone? So I met with the awesome mentor yesterday, Oct. 29, and he filled me in on everything that goes on in the studio, nutshell version. Holy crap, mindblown. so. freaking. organized.

<timeskip>

Yo, it's Amy and it's Nov. 27. I most definitely put off finishing this blog post, oops? Anyways, so I left off on how organized Studio563 is... uhm yeah. They're really organized. So after a wedding, where hundreds, if not more, photos are taken, everything's uploaded to the computer and converted from RAW files to JPEGS. All of the files are named by year, date, event/client, photographer (in that order). Every little detail is plotted out - the files are named by year so month and date names don't get confusing (111 could be January 11 or November 1, for example).

Next the photographer will view all the images through this program that lets him color-code tag the photos he wants to keep. Then all the tagged images are filtered into categories something along the lines of "Pre-Reception, Reception, Post-Reception, Ceremony, Post-Ceremony, and Details." Detail shots would be the cool artistic shots with shoes, jewelry, etc. They're probably my favorite photos to view. :D Teaser images may be put onto the photographer's Studio563 blog, to "keep the clients happy" and showcase Studio563 on the web. (or give a silly procrastinator like me photos to look through when I'm avoiding euro notes...)

Photos with similar lighting/locations are mass-edited in Adobe Lightroom, with maybe 10% of photos edited with Photoshop. Most photo edits for weddings are outsourced, with profit built into client fees, and outsourcing for profit, in Eric's words, is the best thing I, or anyone, could do in a business.

With yet another nifty program, photos are resized and uploaded to an online gallery for clients to select to buy. Studio 563 also offers professional photo albums, etc. and if that was the case, the photographer would have been working on the album cover throughout the photo editing process.

Tying the whole process together is a magicalll whiteboard. This magical whiteboard is divided into two sections: the top refers to wedding photoshoots, the bottom, family shoots, senior pics, etc. Categories for each step of the process, from camera to finished product, are listed, and as a photographer finishes say, tagging or editing or even uploading pics to a blog, he or she writes his/her initials to keep track of what needs to be done. So yeah, organization insanity. Every part of the process is tracked, and every part of the process has reason and logic behind it.

I asked Eric where this system came from, and he told me that when he and fellow photographer Andy founded Studio563, they sat down and planned their system all at once. Talk about impressive. Andy had heard about a similar system at a photographer's seminar, and he and Eric adapted it for themselves. Eric could not stress enough how important it was for a studio to have some sort of method behind everything, and all I could think of was "no kidding? and why had I never thought about the logistics of these things..."

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On the same day, Eric also showed be the basics of using my dSLR. Still have yet to find time to experiment. But the basics of it all is that the the aperture, the amount of light that goes through the lens; shutter speed, which determines how much blur; and ISO, the measurement of the camera's sensitivity to light are all in a balancing act that a photographer controls to achieve a desired effect.

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Back to the whole discussion on photography degrees. Another point Eric made is that he felt a lot of times, photography majors get burnt out, and this art we're all supposed to love becomes a chore. I wanted to put what he said somewhere, it holds truth.

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FINALLY DONE WITH THIS BLOGPOST. BYEBYE.

Look at this photograph

2010-10-20T23:21:00.010-05:00

Every time I do it makes me laugh

How did our eyes get so red

And what the hell is on Joey's head?

totally stuck in my head. =P


My eraser

;)

Blogger killed quality... oh well. And as fun as pushing random buttons was, now I'm really looking forward to learning the ropes around a dslr from Eric. I'm working at the studio for the first time next Friday, totally can't wait <3

Through The Looking Glass

2010-10-13T17:52:00.002-05:00

So my plan for this ISP is to intern with Eric Voh Lehmden at Studio 563 in downtown Austin, roughly every other week or so. Unfortunately, October is a busy month for the photographers (and me, I realized. Region's this Friday, oops?). So, Eric and I've worked it all out. Yeah, we're good. :) I've been emailing him interview questions--thank you, technology!--and shall be experimenting with a dSLR on my own. Come November, Eric and I will pick up progress on that internship. <insert evil laughter here>

Interview Questions Set #1

Q: Is October an universally month busy for photographers, or just Studio 563? And why?

A: October is a busy month for most wedding photographers in Texas. It has been that way for the 10 years that I have been photographing weddings. It has to do mostly with the weather. It is a nice time of year and people like to get married outdoors. Same is true for the spring months.

Q:What other times of year are busy for photography studios and why?

A: Very busy in April - June. Those are high volume wedding months. People tend to want to get married in either the spring or fall here because the weather is pleasant. No one likes to get married outside in 100+ heat (ie July and August).

Q: What are some different careers and salaries within the industry?

A: There are a ton of different careers in the photography industry. Most of them are broken into a few different categories though - Weddings, Portrait, Commercial, Editorial, Journalism. Weddings and Portraits are pretty explanatory. Commercial and Editorial can cross over a bit, and within Commercial work there are a ton of different things you can specialize in (ie food, product, beauty, fashion etc). Editorial can also be fashion but is generally considered a photo shoot that tells a story. Journalism is working with news agencies (news, sports, entertainment etc). I really don't know salaries that well because it all depends on the person and how busy they are and what they charge specifically. Everyone does it differently so it is hard to say one one person makes over another. That is one of the challenges of this industry...there aren't really any pricing "standards". And even if there are then people undercut or overcharge which be detrimental or beneficial to another photographer (depends on your outlook).

Q: How important is it for an aspiring photographer to obtain an university degree in photography?

A: I don't think it is important at all. I think if you want to make a living doing photography then you may take a few classes in photography, but your main focus should be in how to run a business. Marketing, advertising, knowing your costs and how to make money doing what you love is the most important thing. So get a degree in business or marketing. It will benefit you so much more.

Q: Studio 563 is a very well-established and successful studio; what were some of the key aspects or actions involved in gaining this reputation?

A: Well...it is a lot of hard work. you have to get your name out there. That involves marketing and marketing to the correct people. Those people are your target clients or the people you hope do business with you. But you have to have an ever present approach to getting a good reputation. We try to give each of our clients a great experience which will translate into them telling a few of their friends about us. So word of mouth is a very large part of a successful studio. The best marketing is happy clients.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of automatic settings on a camera?

A: The only automatic setting on my camera I ever use is "A" for aperature priority. That is good to use when you are shooting something when the lighting changes frequently (ie when a bride & groom leave a venue from dark shade to bright sunlight then back to dark shade). That can be a challenge if you are shooting in full manual mode. Other than that I think it is all disadvantage to shoot in "auto" or "program" mode. There is no creativity or allowance for the photographer to make a decision on how they want the photo to look.

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Eric's given me so much to think about... I think the most surprising thing he said is that a business or marketing degree would be the most beneficial to a photographer. I mean, when I think about it, it makes total sense. "Good photography" is ultimately based on a person's creativity. A person can learn to use the settings of a camera, with all the gizmos and shiny buttons, but anybody can flip a switch. Behind an awesome photograph is a person who has to choose the angle, the frame of the picture, the lighting--all the things that make an awesome photo awesome. Great photographs do more than push a bunch of buttons. Great photographers form images in their minds and capture that desired outlook, all in order to tell a story, to make a person feel something. It's like playing the violin. With my instrument, I have to imagine the emotion I want my listeners to feel, and then I have to convey that emotion through my music. And... emotion can't be taught.

Okay, metaphor over. I think I'm loopy today. Anyways, it's totally possible to learn how to use a camera simply with an instruction book. And just the other day, with my bff Google, I was stalking different photographers' blogs, and I read a bunch of neat tricks. It's not until a photographer experiments on his or her own, playing with light, shadows, exposure, that a photographer finds his style, his brand of totallyawesomecool photos. And that wouldn't be found from a lecture. So if a photographer doesn't necessarily need a teacher to show him how to self-experiment, then wouldn't it be logical that what a photographer really needs is a way to learn how to run a business? Because if the best photographer can't make money, what's the point?

Compare and Contrast

2010-10-13T17:51:00.000-05:00

The dSLR instruction booklet is twice as fat as my English reading assignment.

Hi, my name is Amy...

2010-09-20T20:05:00.000-05:00

I'm a short (not little ;P) girl with big dreams. And I'm still looking for the courage to pursue them.

I love taking pictures. Ask my very camera-stalked best friends. I'm possibly considering a career in some form of photography (most likely photojournalism), and that's one of the main reasons I want to study the industry for my ISP. That, and, the whole photography's really, really cool part.

Throughout the year, I plan to research and practice different camera techniques, as well as study the different branches of photography. Off the top of my head, I can name photoj, art, food, still life, commercial, portrait, and landscape photography... probably a few more if I bother thinking about it. But I know absolutely nothing about the processes behind the camera, and since I don't want to fail English, I have to change that. This blog will house my endeavors. Oh, and I'm super excited about learning to use a dslr camera. Talk about legit.

But in the end, photography's all about capturing the moment. And an expensive camera is definitely not a necessity.

Brushy Creek Lake Park. photographed by me... with a cameraphone. ;) No photoshop.

"A photograph's a paradox. The inanimate becomes the animate as a moment becomes frozen in time."