Shutter Photo Magazine

Self Portraits – Have Fun and Gain Experience

D. Travis North — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:01:37 +0000

Original Article at Shutter Photo: Self Portraits – Have Fun and Gain Experience

I would have to say that the most fun I have with my camera is when I am doing self portraits. There is no one to offend. You know exactly how far you can push your subject (you). And you don’t mind experimenting on yourself. I also find that my most experimental works, especially in the portrait side of photography, is when I turn the camera on myself. In my portfolio, I have several self portraits, some of which you can see here. I have learned a lot from all of the self portraits I have taken. I would encourage any photographer to experiment with self-portraiture. Here are a few tips on getting started.

What Makes a Self Portrait?

Sounds like a simple question with a simple answer, doesn’t it? The answer would simply be “you” right? Well, yes. But you are able to bend the rules a little bit. You don’t have to show all of you, for example. I would even argue that your face isn’t even a required element. In some cases, it’s more interesting if your facial features aren’t fully discernible. Profile shots, shots where your face is in darkness or even shots where you aren’t the main focus of the photograph may make for interesting photography. I have seen some self portraits by other artists include a crystal-clear shot of someone else’s eye and you can make out the photographer in the reflection. Or there is always a photographic interpretation of M.C. Escher’s famous reflective ball portraits where he drew himself looking into a ball that he was holding.

Tips for Shooting

An emotive self-portrait with my face obscured.

Shooting self portraits can quickly become complicated. You have to think about how best to get on the other side of the lens. If you’re shooting into a mirror (a very popular technique, a bit overdone but fun to do), a flash will almost always cause some unnecessary inclusions or completely obscure your face if the camera is too close to you. Otherwise, you’ll almost always need a tripod. When setting up the tripod, think about angles. A self portrait is usually going to be more interesting if you can incorporate a unique perspective or a bizarre angle. You may want that tripod to be adjusted to achieve such an angle. A tried-and-true method for getting on the other side of the lens is to utilize the timer feature in your camera. Give yourself enough time to get into position and adjusted before the shutter opens. But don’t give too much time – you don’t want to induce impatience or frustration as you will likely want to take several shots to achieve your needs. If you have a remote trigger for your camera (you should get one if you don’t), string that along for ultimate control. I would even go so far as to say that you don’t always need to crop it out of the photograph. It’s just one more clue that it’s a self portrait, after all.

Playing with Light
I like to play around with the light when I do self portraits. Of course I like to explore traditional lighting techniques, or sometimes I like to bend the rules (as I did in my self portrait at the top of this article). I also like to experiment with light redirection or an atypical light modifier. As soon as you introduce a flash or two, it’s amazing what kind of fun you can have. In the case of the photo at the top of this article, I did a simple single-strobe setup shooting through an umbrella. Shooting in manual, I pushed the limits of my camera and flash in high-speed sync mode and I was able to shoot as fast as 1/200. This allowed me to control the room: You may not believe it, but this was shot in my well-lit living room without a backdrop. The reason you can’t see anything else in the shot is simple: I overpowered the rest of the room.

Fun with Post-Processing
One of my favorite self portraits today is Indecisive (below). Without the use of Photoshop, this type of composite photography would not be possible. All together, this photograph was comprised of 7 separate photos. I changed outfits between each photograph, got in different positions and did not move the camera in any way. In Photoshop, I layered them all on top of each other, made any fine tweaks in position to make sure they perfectly lined up, and then used layer masks to place each copy of me over the background shot. I had to be careful to include shadows and reflections and, of course, the dents in the couch. The complete work took me a couple of hours from camera set up to finished product. But I had a lot of fun pulling it together. This type of thing is a great example of how much fun you can have with self portraits. It’s also a great example of how much experience and practice you can get out of a single photograph.

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This article originated at Shutter Photo Magazine. If you like what you have read, please visit our site for more great articles. Original Article: Self Portraits – Have Fun and Gain Experience

“Waving Gold” by Jos (Or Fun With Depth of Field)

D. Travis North — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:01:34 +0000

Original Article at Shutter Photo: “Waving Gold” by Jos (Or Fun With Depth of Field)

"Waving Gold" by Jos

Texture is, in my opinion, always a worthwhile subject in your photography. Compound that with close-up photography, monochromatic color schemes and a tight depth of field, and the results can be quite zen-like. I always love revisiting the works of our past featured photographers, and so I am happy to reintroduce you to a work, Waving Gold, from inspiring and incredibly modest photographer: Jos. Jos is no stranger to abstract shapes and he has proven himself at creating compositions with cropped subjects. But Waving Gold is a clear poster child for depth of field explorations.

A narrow depth of field is not difficult to accomplish, and we see it used everywhere by a great number of photographers. I’ll admit a soft spot for a narrow depth of field, but it occurs to me that I don’t focus enough on the backgrounds when I’m working with depth of field. Sure, in the case of Jos’s photo, it’s all sorts of blurry back there, but the blurry grasses still seem to mimic the pattern in the foreground. The gradual arches in the foreground, the shadowy blurry stalks in the background parrot the aesthetic. The pattern helps to cement the structure into the mind the viewer. But here’s an interesting side effect: I feel challenged to explore the differences in the stalks as each is just a tiny bit more out of focus, and that in and of itself is quite an interest for my eyes. Another interesting aspect is that it’s the colder tones (the pale gold, almost white) that is most obvious on the stalks in focus while the cold edges seem to disappear in the background. I like how the warmer tones are in the background as that is against the norm…it’s usually much colder in the back. Overall, it’s an interesting study in texture. I think Jos did a fantastic job.

Jos is a photographer with an eye for details. Much of his works are studies of textures, details and abstract shapes found in architecture, landscapes and otherwise. He’s quite talented at pulling out the best framing of these details and presenting to the viewer an interest. Jos is, as I mentioned, modest – and so he won’t admit it – but he is an inspiration to many of his followers. You should follow his photostream and be inspired as well.

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This article originated at Shutter Photo Magazine. If you like what you have read, please visit our site for more great articles. Original Article: “Waving Gold” by Jos (Or Fun With Depth of Field)

Photo Todo Lists: A Source of Self-Inspiration

D. Travis North — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:01:03 +0000

Original Article at Shutter Photo: Photo Todo Lists: A Source of Self-Inspiration

This was a bucket list photo that I checked off when I borrowed an ultra-wide-angle lens.

Sometimes it’s difficult to come up with photo ideas. It’s one thing when you’re planning a photo excursion or a day trip somewhere specifically for photography. But those in between times, your hunger for photography will rear its head and you need to satisfy it somehow. What do you do to fill the time in the absence of inspiration? Well, for me, there are two lists that I keep: A Photo Bucket List and a Photo Theme List. These lists help me to identify viable subjects and photo opportunities when I’m out and about (you carry your camera with you always, right?). Now I’ll be honest, I pretty much have my lists committed to memory. But it’s important to write them down so that you can pull it out every once in a while and refresh your memory, maybe kickstart a new idea. And of course you’ll want to append to it occasionally. Personally, I keep my lists in an app on my phone so that I have it with me always (I use a program called Evernote). But you can keep it in your notebook that you carry just fine (I used to do that as well). So what goes in these lists? I’ll speak in greater detail below:

The Photo Bucket List

A Bucket List is generally a list of things you’d like to do before you die. These are usually big ticket items like skydiving, seeing the grand canyon, etc. A Photo Bucket List is much the same, but of course involves your camera. It’s essentially a list of photos that you’d like to take. The items could be a subject, location or even a specific setup. Maybe you want to photograph all of the bridges of New York City. Put it on the Photo Bucket List. Maybe you want to create a portrait of all your living relatives. Photo Bucket List. Or maybe you simply want to capture sunset from a specific point that means something special to you. Yeah, that’s on the Photo Bucket List too. In fact, I checked off one such item recently: A shot of the sun casting through the columns at Philadelphia’s Fairmount Waterworks. The shot has eluded me for years as I was never in possession of an ultra wide-angle lens at the right time, or the light just wasn’t right. But recently, when I was reviewing the Sigma 8-16mm Zoom, everything finally fell into place: I had a wide angle lens, and the sun was just right. I’m really proud of the shot and I think it turned out well. Here’s to patience, and here’s to the Photo Bucket List.

The Photo Theme List

A Photo Theme List isn’t unlike a Photo Bucket List, except that it’s a static list of things that you find interesting. For example, one of the items on my Photo Theme List is misplaced shopping carts. Shopping carts in the woods, on the side of the road, broken in a parking lot. It’s a silly theme, of course, but it gets my creative juices flowing when I happen upon such a subject. To date, I’ve collected a couple dozen photos of misplaced shopping carts. Another common Photo Theme is letters of the alphabet. Some photographers try to capture every letter of the alphabet on signs or otherwise. Maybe they prefer to work in succession, or just isolate specific letters out of an interesting font or sign presentation. I’m sure some have several full alphabets by now. I met another photographer once who liked to focus on Red Doors – some church doors, private doors even closet doors. If they are red, she’s going to capture it. The point of a theme list is simply to have specific subjects to look out for as you wander about your day. In part, it gives you something to work on – an ongoing photo project of sorts – and the results can be quite inspiring. Many have decided to publish their theme projects into books for sale to the general public (and some have gotten quite successful). But it also helps to train you to look around. If you’re always on the lookout for red doors or shopping carts, you’re going to notice other things as well. And maybe that something else will make for great photos as well.

Final Thoughts

The thing I like about keeping lists as a source of inspiration is that they’re all my own ideas. I add to the lists whenever I get the idea – part of the reason I now use an app on my phone – and I can take from it at any time. Some of these ideas, especially the ones on the bucket list, will come to the front of my mind from time to time, and I think about how I would prepare for and set up such a shot. So when the opportunity appears, I have already planned out the shot to the best of my ability, and I have a pretty good idea of what I’ll do. Of course it’s always great to have lists like these to give you something to work on if you can’t think of anything else to do. Shopping carts anyone?

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This article originated at Shutter Photo Magazine. If you like what you have read, please visit our site for more great articles. Original Article: Photo Todo Lists: A Source of Self-Inspiration

“Straight From Camera – Rust” by Sergio Bukini (Or No Need For Post-Processing)

D. Travis North — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:01:35 +0000

Original Article at Shutter Photo: “Straight From Camera – Rust” by Sergio Bukini (Or No Need For Post-Processing)

"Straight From Camera - Rust" by Sergio Bukini

Sometimes I feel it’s a little too easy to depend on post-processing to fix our photos. No, I’m not having an In-Camera Purist type moment as I respect and love the finished product no matter the course to get there. Getting things right in-camera really does make things easier on the back end, regardless of where a photo ends up. Of course, there’s something awesome, fantastic and inspiring about a raw, natural photograph. This week, I’d like to present to you a photograph from Sergio Bukini that is of course raw, captivating, beautiful and also straight from the camera: The appropriately named, Straight From Camera – Rust.

For any great photo, it starts by selecting an interesting subject. Sergio specializes in urban explorations – the photography of modern ruins – and so a rusty old beached ship was a likely subject. But the tonal qualities of rust and water and skies aren’t very forgiving. So to capture such a subject in such a setting without doing any post-processing is a bit of a risk. Even if exposure is absolutely perfect, sometimes you need to push things a little bit further in post. And to be honest, there is some evidence of that in the navigation tower where some of the detail cannot be made out, but that could simply be an exposure choice. There is a give and take with exposures direct from the camera, and the photographer must choose which range of tones is going to be more of more importance. So I suspect that Sergio chose to look at the big picture and provide good separation between the boat and the background and between the clouds and the sky. The clouds and the sky would have been the first to fade if the navigation tower was in perfect exposure.

As an aside, one of the most inspiring features of this photo is the juxtaposition of the rusty old boat against an otherwise beautiful setting. I’ll admit some biased here, I am also a fan of ruins and broken ugly things. I find such beauty in it that many people don’t realize. Yet my biased does not offer any argument against one simple fact: Sergio has certainly made the viewers of Rust reconsider their very own definitions beauty.

So what have we learned? We’ve learned that direct-from-camera exposures can be unforgiving. But most importantly, we’ve learned that there is a give and take relationship between the camera and the competing tones in your photo. And so you must choose which is the most important aspect of your photograph when selecting an exposure pairing. It’s important to practice direct-from-camera exposures. You should do your best to become a master at it because it will ultimately improve your photographs, even if you want to work around in post-processing.

If you like this photo, you will be in awe of the rest of Sergio Bukini’s photostream. As I mentioned earlier, Sergio specializes in urban explorations, and his subjects are utterly fantastic. Furthermore, most of his work does utilize post-processing techniques that really make the scenes and subjects of his photographs pop. But of course his work is impressive because Sergio is a master of direct-from-camera exposures, so he starts with a good base. So head on over and browse his work and prepare to become mesmerized.

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This article originated at Shutter Photo Magazine. If you like what you have read, please visit our site for more great articles. Original Article: “Straight From Camera – Rust” by Sergio Bukini (Or No Need For Post-Processing)

Vanguard Heralder 33 Camera Bag Giveaway

D. Travis North — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:01:44 +0000

Original Article at Shutter Photo: Vanguard Heralder 33 Camera Bag Giveaway

Last week, we introduced you to the Heralder 33 Camera Bag from Vanguard. You’ve read the review, and now you can acquire one for yourself…for free. That’s right, we’re doing another giveaway. We haven’t done one in a while, and so it seemed like a good time to do it. Just so happens we have a great product that I feel many of our readers would love to have.

How To Enter

Entering is going to be pretty easy. All you need to do is reply to this message and answer two questions:

1. What kind of camera do you shoot. If you have more than one, tell us your favorite.

2. Tell us your favorite piece of accessory equipment. It could be a special lens, a flash, or even your remote trigger.

Make sure that if you aren’t replying with your Disqus account, make sure you provide a real e-mail address so that we can get in touch with you. Do not include addresses or phone numbers in your response as these will be public. On June 1, we’ll do a random drawing to see who the lucky winner is.

The Fine Print

Who May Enter: Any resident of the continental US is eligible to enter. Unfortunately, we can’t offer this giveaway to those living outside of the continental US.

Claiming the Prize: Once selected, we will contact the winner privately. The winner will have 10 days to respond. If no response is returned, we will randomly select a new winner. We will ship the bag to the lucky winner at no cost to the winner. Worry not, your information is safe with us – we do not sell or distribute contact information.

The Bag: Please be aware that the giveaway bag is the very same bag that was used in our review. Don’t worry, it was used with kid gloves for a very short time. It is in store-rack condition.

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This article originated at Shutter Photo Magazine. If you like what you have read, please visit our site for more great articles. Original Article: Vanguard Heralder 33 Camera Bag Giveaway