The Photography Smith

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Art of Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:36:00 +0000

Vision For Music, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

What separates professional and avid photographers from the rest of the pack is their ability to envision a concept, follow through on the execution and refine their vision through the post processing phase of their work.

This is the art of photography that so many professionals use as their tag lines in their branding. In the end, a good professional photographer is an artist at the very core; and the products you produce as a photographer will define your true measure as an artist -- tag line or not.

Photography, in the eyes of professionals and avid enthusiasts, is not just about picking up a camera and grabbing a shot of the physical reality before you. It is about achieving a vision that alters the image before us into our own reality!

Everyone has cameras now-a-days and snap...snap...snap...away we go! However, a camera is only a mechanical device that records an image; emotionless and without prejudice. And with so much digital photography produced right out of the camera these days, the typical observer has become saturated in candid images short of vision and expression beyond the scope of what is. They have sort of become "dumb down" in their appreciation of the art of photography.

When I photographed the young woman you see above, I had in mind a PAINTING of a young talented musician looking off in the distance; confident, vibrant and engaging. To achieve the vision, I needed to first place her into a profile position and light her up in a way to give us a fresh-youthful and vibrant look. I used three lights; the main light off to our subjects left to give us a "loop lighting" pattern, a fill light placed directly in front of the subject to open up the shadows, and a kicker behind the subject's right shoulder for highlights and to separate her from the background.

I wanted the long look to afar, so I knew I would need to create a little negative space to my subject's right; adding the illusion of some breathing space for my subject. We also need to be mindful that a strong base, lines; especially diagonals make for a solid composition. Of course, to be engaging, we need our subject to offer up a nice sincere smile -- I asked her about her last visit to the beach; CLICK!

Finally, to achieve a painterly effect, the post-processing phase incorporated the use of Photoshop textures and Nik Color Efex Pro filters.

50mm, ISO 100, f/5.6 @ 1/200s.

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Embracing The Silhouette

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:20:00 +0000

Photographer Silhouette, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

It's mid-afternoon with clear skies; the sun is high, creating a hard light to photograph under. But you're determined to shoot in these conditions, or you may have no choice to shoot in these conditions -- if working for a client. So, what do you do?

Well, if you're like me, you attack the sun head on! Are you curious as to why the latest phenomenon in wedding photography are high-key compositions with washed out light in the background? I don't know the true facts behind the craze, but I do have a theory.

Most weddings take place during the late mornings to mid-afternoons when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, creating harsh lighting conditions for photographers. And with a plethora of "pro" photographers out there taking short cuts; not having the right equipment or just plain getting the exposure wrong, they'll take an image, jack-up the high keys and call it artistic edits for the day.

Now, don't get me wrong. A good many of these images are truly intentional by some very talented photographers and there are quite a few images processed like this that I really do like. Heck, I've even jumped on the band-wagon and produced a few of these images myself.

However, you can tackle the sun head on without having to blow the highlights in the background or even worse on your subject! With respect to the sun, if you can't beat 'em...join 'em! And, unless you are lugging around some serious lights with heavy wattage, your just not going to over compensate the sun on any shoot outdoors.

So what do you do to tackle this great bright orb in the sky? Plenty, there are still ways to properly expose your images by compensating for extreme lighting conditions, proper use of equipment and correct composition techniques to get your image right every time with each shutter release. Not by happenstance or hoping that one of the last 20 images you just shot will get you that one great image!

And, of course, there are all sorts of modifiers and tools to use to help tame the sun or mold the light as best you can. But for me...hell...bring it on! One of my favorite images to shoot is the silhouette and what better time to shoot one than during the middle of the day with clear skies and a bright sun.

Placing the sun behind my subject is always one of my first considerations in such conditions. Secondly, I'll often make use of the sun in the composition; frequently setting my aperture to f/22 to get a star-burst effect out of the sun's rays; squeezing the sun just beyond the outside of the subject's physical outline.

Using a low perspective, you'll often get great composition results and a beautiful silhouette. Of course, lines, angles, rule of thirds, etc., etc., still apply! Sometimes we forget that proper techniques will provide us with our best photography. So go ahead and tackle that sun! Your camera can take it -- all you need to do is trust your training and rely on solid practices to get you that winning composition every time; not by accident!

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Competition Hazards

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:49:00 +0000

Refinements, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

Entering a competition is all about understanding critique and how you can improve your craft based on another's interpretation. Usually, a competition judge is a highly regarded photographer, an expert in the field, educator in photography or a combination thereof. In any case, a competition judge should command a level of knowledge, expertise and professionalism.

Now, like all competition judges, there is the human condition to consider and therefore personal biases will play into a judge's critique and decision. Just to name a few of them, approach to your subject, lighting techniques, style, creativity and most of all genre! So what do you do, when a judge is downright bias or lacking in expertise? You take it on the chin and move on...accept the results.

The problem that most photographers have when entering a competition, is that they truly believe that their composition is top notch -- right? I mean, why would we submit an image that we thought wasn't that good? We all need to understand that photography goes beyond technique...it is an art. And because it is an art, the subjective bias of the human condition will always become the ultimate factor in a final decision; determining which composition gets a ribbon and which one gets thrown out.

Obviously, good competition judges will first consider technique; is the composition technically sound? But equally at play is the "WOW" factor. Does the image draw the eye in? Is it interesting enough to engage? You'll note that the latter two are for the most part, subjective.

The image you see here was recently entered into an open competition, knowing that the competition judge was a "Fur and Feathers" photographer. But, I wanted to know what the judge, whom had little interest in people and portraiture, would have to say about my flawless [ego insert here...] composition. You know what her answer was? The subject doesn't make any eye contact with the viewer; as a result, the image was thrown out in round two with no further explanations. You know what I did? Nothing...I took it on the chin and chalked it up to pure subjective analysis and maybe a little lack of professionalism.

Its the hazards of competition. Unfortunately, with judges like this, it's hard to improve your craft when your left knowing that the judge's credentials are inferior to your own and leave you with no constructive criticism of value. In the end...its what you like and what you don't like.

SMITH'S WEEKLY: A Day With My Son

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:19:00 +0000

A Day With My Son, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

Last weekend I took my son to a local play ground; he just loves play grounds. Of course, what 3 year old wouldn't? Well, it just so happened that I brought my camera with me. "No...you don't say?!"

Anyway, mom's always ask, "How do you get such beautiful pictures of your son?" Of course, one obvious answer -- I'm a professional photographer. But quite a few mothers don't know that until I tell them. There are some simple concepts that any mother with a camera can put into place to take great pictures of their children.

My favorite technique is the a-la-Cartier Bresson technique that so many photographers claim to use, but never clearly understand the approach that Cartier Bresson used. For children, this approach to taking pictures just fits so well!

So, who is Carier Bresson some may ask? A world class twentieth century French photographer who helped developed the concept of "Street Photography". If you're really interested in knowing more about this photographer, simply hover over his name and click on the link.

The idea behind his approach was quite simple: Set up in an area that sets the background as a stage to tell a story and wait for that "quintessential moment" after your subject enters on to the stage and then, as my son would say, "Say click...take a pic!"

Children are always on the move, so if you are moving with them at their speed, you are not going to get very good pictures and most likely will end up with those stereo-typical washed out and/or grainy candids. Sure, you may get lucky once in a while and you even might be the mother who sits with the camera and goes, click...click...cklick...in hopes of capturing that right photo.

But, it's better to find a spot where you know your child is going to be, set up, frame your background and then the hard part....W-A-I-T... for that moment!

This is the quintessential Cartier-Bresson! Subjects came to him, he would find a spot, set up and WAIT. And it is so easy to do; you just need patience. Now, you're not going to become a Cartier-Bresson overnight. After all, this guy was a professional on top of his game and had a superior insight into composition, lighting and all those other factors that makes a photographer a professional.

But, if you take his approach to setting up and learn a few basic things about composition, like filling the frame and rule of thirds; you'll be taking great photos in no time. Oh...and it also helps to know a little bit about the camera your using.

For mothers in the Hopkinton MA area, I am in the process of putting together bi-monthly seminars on how to take better pictures of your children. And the best part of it is, these seminars will be FREE! Space will be limited to the first 12 mothers who respond.

So how can you sign up? Easy...just go to my fan page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePhotographySmith and "LIKE" our page. Once you've done that you will be eligible for our FREE promotional offering -- "How To Take Great Pictures Of Your Children". We'll be putting the promotion into effect soon, so keep your eyes out and looking! There will be more to follow.

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Groom Work

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:48:00 +0000

Last Tuesday, I received a phone call from my friend Dana of Dana Lane Photography in need of a second shooter for a wedding he was covering on the following Saturday. It turned out that his original second shooter twisted his ankle pretty bad and was unable to work the wedding for Dana.

So, being the good friend that I am, I happily accepted and was rewarded with the beautiful wedding of Tien and Danny Meehl. You can check out their wedding web-site here.

As the second shooter for this wedding, I was assigned to cover the groom preparing for his wedding day; among many other things. Danny was cool, calm and collective; his father, however, was the nervous wonder -- trying to keep busy, trying to be helpful when no help was really required and telling his jokes.

But, he was a very happy and proud father...you could just see it in his eyes. His boy grew up, fell in love with a beautiful woman and is a success. You could not be any more proud as a parent. Your child's happiness and success is your own happiness and success!

The groom's party was made up of five men all together; the best man, being Danny's twin brother. They were a lot of fun to photograph! Men in general, don't like the details of weddings and especially having to have their pictures taken when there is a party waiting for them to partake in. But these guys were troopers and hammed it up for the camera!

The slide show, I present here, is a small sample of the work I did that day covering the groom and his boys prepping up for the big day. Thank you again to Dana Lane Photography for allowing me this opportunity, and to Tien and Danny Meehl for allowing me to be a part of their special day!

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Promoting & Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Recently, I had the honor of presenting a more in depth look into our business with a local business networking chapter I belong to. What I presented there for a slide show was a much shorter version of the one you see here due to some circumstances beyond my control.

I had wanted to present this specific material at that meeting, but time and lack of having a lap top due to a recent misfortune drove me to a lesser standard than what I normally provide for potential clients, sales teams etc.

Anyway, here is the promotion slide show as how it was meant to be. Enjoy!

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Raising The Stakes

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:43:00 +0000

Dead Man's Hand, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

Hey everybody! Have some really great things happening soon here at Photography Insider. First, our studio is expanding beyond a two member team; we've gone ahead and hired two Photography Assistants, Brian and Sandra, to bring on board to The Photography Smith.

Secondly, we're gearing up for the coming holiday season with some really cool promotions for families and friends. So stay tuned in to us and check out our fan page on Facebook to get the soon to come details. But to give you a little inside information before we hit the general public with our promotion, if you LIKE our fan page before October 31st 2011, you'll be eligible for one of our free gift give-aways.

What sort of gifts you may ask? Hmm...did you see our Senior Year Portrait Promotion? It was a big success! Discounts, savings and gifts to give away...the stakes have been raised!

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Not So Weekly

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:14:00 +0000

As many of you may or may not know, I have propelled my part time business into a full time gig as a professional photographer. And to my surprise, business is taking off like wild fire! So much so, that I have not been able to drive the social media engine of much lately. I'm sure that as things begin to become more routine, I'll be able to drive the social media engine much harder. But as of right now, our SMITH'S WEEKLY publication is not so weekly; and I do apologize to our readers. That will change -- I promise!

I've just been so busy over the last 60 days, that my days are running late into the evening hours and I'm still never done. I even have to make "To Do" lists now! I've never made a "To Do" list my entire life! My business has evolved beyond the capacity of a 2 member team; myself and my wife.

I am the creative talent -- obviously, and my wife is the "operations" side of the business. Basically she runs the marketing, branding and the business side of The Photography Smith. But, with increasing commitments to networking, social media, business events, accounting, marketing, branding and a happy increase in client sales and jobs, I have been put into a position to hire additional talent.

Next week I'll talk more about our new hires to the team as well as some additional services we'll be offering to our clients. But for now, here is a little promotion skit that I and another hopeful hire, Andy Bell, put together as a test drive to demonstrate to potential clientele a new service and product. It's a rough draft -- it is not the final product.

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Squaring It Up

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:57:00 +0000

Woman: Corporate Head Shot, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

Quite simply, when doing a corporate head shot for an officer of some company, keep it simple. No fancy artistic lighting and/or poses are necessary, unless, of course, the industry calls for it; like the music industry or an industry whose niche is with the artistically talented.

Corporate executives want to appear confident, professional, yet sincere and approachable. As a customer, they need to look you squarely in the eye and size you up...so to speak. This sort of portrait calls for the traditional, hum-drum, full face view. Hum-drum...you say? Well, hum-drum in the manner of the type of pose, but not easily done. Especially when you still need to convey a mix of confidence with approach-ability.

So what do you do? After all, this is a head shot and we're going with a full face view. The answer is, it's all in the eyes with a twist of body language. What body language can you possibly have with a head and shoulder shot? Well, the answer is in the question in addition to using the hands. Yes, the way you tilt the head, square the shoulders and grace the hands can all be used to convey the emotion you need from your corporate client to get the portrait they desire.

So keeping it simple isn't really that simple after all...but isn't that what separates the pros from the amateurs? In the corporate photo above, we have a simple full-face, head-shoulders portrait of a woman. This client insisted on a professional look with an easy-going, approachable feel to her portrait. Setting up one soft-box at about 20 degrees camera left; a slight shift in the client's shoulder (weight on her back foot) and a genuine smile -- not a "cheese" smile, I was able to achieve all of my client's needs. In all your portraits, make sure you have highlights in your client's eyes -- it gives life to the soul behind them!

ISO 100, 35mm, f/6.3 @ 1/250.

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Inspired by Karsh

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:08:00 +0000

Refinements, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

Like any other professional photographer, we are always looking for ways to improve our art, our style, the way in which we take photographs and process them. And, of course, a major resource to help improve our photography is to study from the greats -- both past and present! It is, without question, one of several resources for inspiration right? We all have photographers we admire, and to admire is to emulate their work in photography -- to become inspired by their creativity.

There are several photographers whom I admire greatly; well more than just several...but you get the gist. And I have in my possession an ever increasing library of works from these great photographers. In my opinion, studying from these great photographers is probably the most important piece in the puzzle to improving your own photography; if at the very least, become inspired. And, If its not the most important piece, then it is definitely one of several pieces you can't survive without.

Like today's best chess players who study the great games from the likes of Bobby Fischer, Capablanca, Alekhine and Kasparov to become Grand Masters [GM's]; we too, as photographers, must study the great portraits and compositions derived from the likes of Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Yousuf Karsh, Henri-Cartier Bresson to finesse our technique to a higher standard and refine our skills as photographers.

The process never ends, and as Zack Arias was quip to mention in a not so recent video clip he created for Scott Kelby's guest blog back in 2009, "Am I so arrogant to think that I'll have it all figured out at age 36? I won't have it figured out at age 56." To sum it up, as artists, we are always our worst fan and harshest critic. We constantly second guess our creative works, our talent and push ourselves beyond exhaustion to obtain the unattainable -- always asking, "Is this all that I have? Is this all I can create? Am I nothing more?"

The answer, as Zach has figured out, is no. But, you need to remain current, you need to continue shooting, studying, creating, processing, reading and yes, even writing! And you need to know that the true artist in all of us, will never be satisfied -- we'll never have it all figured out; the day we do, will be the day that our photography dies.

This week's photo comes from a recent executive series I put together for a client and was inspired from one of my all time favorite photographers, Yousuf Karsh. I love his portrait photography with deep-rich tonalities, cunning use of both available and artificial light and his amazing ability to pull out of his clients hidden personalities rarely seen in the public's eye. In particular, the photo you see here is sort of a tribute to Karsh's portrait of Ronald Reagan back in 1982. You can try this link to see the Reagan portrait I'm referring too.

How did I take this portrait? With one speed-lite, an SB600 diffused through a Wescott Mini Apollo soft box placed about 45 degrees to the left of the subject. ISO 200, f/6.3 @ 1/250s, 44mm.

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Father's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:19:00 +0000

Father's Day, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

My father-in-law came up to visit his daughters and grandson for Father's Day this last weekend. It was a great weekend to celebrate and he was quite the happy man when he left to return home. Retired now, he was a medical photographer for most of his life. He shares the joy of photography with me every time he comes to visit; and this year, I recruited him to do a few weddings with me.

He brought with him a Sony DSLR camera he was thinking about using for our upcoming wedding gig. As we sat around the kitchen table inspecting his camera, we decided to take a few test shots of each other under available light conditions. He, using his Sony and myself using my Nikon D300.

The full face portrait you see here is obviously a candid shot; but when you know the principles of photography, even a candid shot can look like a pro shot. Here, we have window light coming in from camera left. Nothing else, no artificial lighting, no strobes -- just window light.

Technically speaking, I was using the available light from the window as a big rim light and compensated the exposure by about -1/3; as to not lose any details in the highlights.

No post processing here. What you see is what came out of the camera using my Nikon D300 with a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 lens at 50mm. ISO 800, f/4 @ 1/160s. Yes, the lens is tact sharp!

If you're interested, you can read about my watered down review of this lens here.

SMITH'S WEEKLY: TPS Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:52:00 +0000

TPS Studio Loft, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith

Now that I've embraced photography as a full time profession, it made sense to seek out some commercial space for a studio. Granted, I've been doing on-site/location photography for some time now, but as a full time photographer, I need a place to work, create and hold seminars as well as private sessions.

But, I needed a situation...after all, I am young in this career endeavor and money will be short for a while until I can ramp up my services and clientele. There is no way I am willing to shell out the crazy rent prices that commercial realtors are asking for. I think someone forgot to tell these people that the economy is quite sluggish.

Anyway, a recent situation did present itself with the help of my wife's friend! With a little bartering and some negotiating, we struck a deal; and now I'm in business!

Welcome to TPS Studio! Follow along as we build out our new studio space and watch the excitement evolve. The space we're using is part of a barn divided into 3 floors and more than a half-dozen partitions. We are building in the front two partitions; the first floor and the loft above.

Entry into the studio is through a set of French doors that opens up into a wide space. This space will be partitioned into two separate studio set-ups and an entry-way. The second floor loft will be built out into a make-up and dressing room area. Off to the side of the second floor loft will be the bathroom.

Here's to our success; I can't wait to see the space when it is complete!

2012 SENIOR PORTRAIT PROMOTION

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Fri, 27 May 2011 22:17:00 +0000

Originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

Hey there Seniors! It won't be long before your graduation day; and with your latest achievement comes a world of opportunity! You deserve nothing but the best and nothing is more important in your successes than your first impression.

Whether its your first day at college, the first time you walk into the recruiter's office for military service or start your own business, that first impression will last a life time. So why not look your best! Have something different in mind? Something that pushes the boundaries, casual, sexy, classy or sporty? We'll bring out the personality in you and make you look like a star!

So don't think about it....DO IT! Give us a call and get the ball rolling. Your first impressions and the memories that a great photo of you can bring to family members later in life is a precious gift not only to yourself, but those you call friends and family.

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Holy Light

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Mon, 23 May 2011 22:18:00 +0000

Holy Light, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

I love working with light to create drama. To sculpt out of the shadows from your imagination a story. I love that metaphor, but in truth, it is quite fitting. As photographers, we sculpt the shadows around our subject to bring forth dimension, interpretation, mood and thus, our story!

As a kid, I read a lot of fantasy novels and adventure. I was also a stage actor for a period of time between the ages of 9 to 27. Needless to say, I love drama, adventure and mystery and a lot of my photography reflects this. I like a lot of contrast and deep rich tones and I like to mold light around my subjects to tell a story!

Take Amanda here; a beautiful young model, who I'm sure has done a lot of various poses for different photographers. But I could tell that she was having a lot of fun posing for me. She could sense the passion I have for photography; the actor inside of me took over and my appeal for the dramatic burst out as I set her up for the next shot. Basically our conversation went something like this:

"Okay Amanda, so we're going to take a couple of profiles shots of you. Basically, I want you to engage God with a conversation!"

"What!?"

"Yea, I want you to have an intense conversation with God, but you're angry with him; don't get too angry with him, because, after all, I am a religious person and I don't want lightning striking down on me."

Amanda laughs...

"Remember, I don't want to see the flat of your hands or the back of them. Start with your arms up in front of you as if you are appealing to God's mercy and then continue going through your poses; changing up your hands as if you were actually in conversation with him. Shake your finger at him and show some intensity -- but don't tense up."

"Okay...", slight laugh, "...this ought to be interesting."

"Yea, its going to be really cool and then when I say 'ZAP', I want you to turn your palms face out towards the light and give me an expression of awe as you witness the Lord's response to your conversation."

"Wow...Okay!"

I shot this using my Nikon D300 with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. With my shutter dialed into sync speed and a set ISO of 100, my exposure reading gave me an aperture of f/16. Ah...but remember, I want drama! I want deep velvety tones! I want a story!! So I stopped down about 2/3 to f/20.

I gave Amanda her queue and off she went with it! She was so into it; just fantastic. She went through her conversation with God and when I said, "ZAP!", I clicked the shutter button again to get the shot you see here! Add a little Gaussian blur to her hands in Photoshop and wha-la!

What did I use for lights? One softbox as the main and a strip light grid set to 1/3 ratio of the main light for accent and background separation. Here is the lighting diagram:

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Communicating With Your Subject

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:22:00 +0000

Clipboard Moment!, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

Last weekend, I participated in our camera club's monthly group portrait-session involving two beautiful models. The premise behind the shoot was to allow photographers to enhance their Glamour & Beauty portfolios. Most of the photographers attending this session were amateurs, and that's okay, because these sessions are designed for photographers wanting to learn and enhance their skills.

Interestingly enough, as I watched fellow photographers engage our model subjects throughout the session, I quickly realized how difficult it was for quite a few of them to communicate with their subjects and get them into the poses they wanted. This is a basic and necessary skill if you are going to be successful in portraiture as a photographer; yet so many photographers are unable to grasp this basic skill and even more are unable to do it with enthusiasm and charisma.

Remember, that how you engage someone is directly related to how that person will reciprocate in kind with you. If you are enthusiastic, full of passion and can pull off a little charisma, I will guarantee that your subjects will be uplifted, comfortable and enthusiastic! If you come across as mechanical and/or vague, well then your subject is going to come across as uninspired, hum-drum -- just going through the motions and sometimes lost.

Now, rather than reinventing the wheel on this topic, I did a little research on the internet and found this informative video to help those photographers with some basic communication techniques in gaining that successful interchange between photographer and subject.

Joe Edelman is top notch professional photographer and quite the instructor! I love his photography; its just off the charts! I believe you'll find this simple but very informative video instructive and will immediately gain you confidence and results when engaging your subjects!

SMITH'S WEEKLY: Things Come In 3's

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Fri, 06 May 2011 02:41:00 +0000

Barn Yard Dreams, originally uploaded by The Photography Smith.

Welcome back gang, and welcome to our new blog - Photography Insider! Hope you like the new look. For those of you expecting to find 52MONOCHROME at this blog address; the publication no longer exists. All blog entries under that entity have been archived and no longer in public domain.

Why the switch? Quite simply, I'm moving on with my professional career. 52MONOCHROME was an experiment and a tool to help further my own understanding of photography and to offer an opportunity to photographers from the Flickr forums to have their works published in a public space outside of Flickr. As such, the forum existed under non-profit terms.

This new blog will exist to promote my own business and to become an established resource of information for up and coming photographers. More importantly, it is my hope that Photography Insider will establish business credibility and provide an additional means of income for my business.

So what should you expect as a reader? Well for starters, I plan to commit myself to one weekly publication called, SMITH'S WEEKLY. Eventually, I'll work in another publication, but this will get us going for now. What will this publication entail? Funny you would ask; looks like you'll have to stop on by and read our publications from time to time to find out. But lets just say, that with each publication, it would be my hope that the reader will walk away with a little bit more knowledge and/or insight than when they arrived. Lets get started with our first publication!

Houston, we have a problem! Last weekend, I participated in an on location model shoot with fellow photographers from my local camera club -- Boston West Photographic Society. It was a great location; a local farm house with vast fields and farming equipment littered about to use as props. The weather was mostly cloudy, which was nice because I wanted the large soft box in the sky. My intent was to use a speed lite to bring a little pop to my models while shooting under this great big natural soft box.

Well, they say things come in 3's. The day got off to a rough start right out of the gate. As I began to set up for my first shoot and put my equipment to work, I realized that I forget to bring my speed lite/umbrella adapter for my light stand. D-oh! No problem, my home is less than a mile away. I'll just run home quickly and get it. A few minutes later, I returned to the photo shoot with my adapter in hand and proceeded to set up.

The set up I had in mind was quite simple; one off camera SB600 flash unit and a silver umbrella attached to a light stand. I was using the latest pocket wizards for Nikon equipment to fire off the flash; a TT1 in the hot shoe and a TT5 attached to my speed lite. Once I was set up, I did several test fires to make sure my equipment was talking to each other and proceeded to shoot my first model, Katie -- the woman you see here in the photo.

She was already under way, modeling for several other photographers in front of a barn door. As they were shooting, I went ahead and placed my light source camera left to get a little bit of loop lighting onto my subject. I metered the environment and set my exposure one stop down for a little bit of drama and began to pose Katie when suddenly -- it hit! A great burst of wind blew over my light source; flash and all hitting the ground. Aaaargh!! In some way, it was embarrassing; I knew there existed the possibility of wind, moreover, I didn't even fully expand my light stand's base for a solid foundation.

Anyway, picked up my damaged umbrella; which I was able to salvage later on, and pick up my flash unit from the ground, proceeded to place a soft diffuser cap on the speed lite and try again. Guess what, the flash wouldn't fire...I had nothing -- zip! I tried everything in the field for a quick fix; but to no avail I was left to shoot this model under natural light only.

So, I re-positioned the model against the barn door and put her into a simple S-type pose, having her look off into the fields. I shot from from a low angle and framed the model to use the curve of her hips and upper body as leading lines into the composition. It was a grey day and not a lot of color in her outfit, so I naturally went with a B&W for this particular composition. It wasn't what I wanted going into this session, but I was happy with what I got considering the circumstances.

A GRAY FLANNEL IMAGES PRESENTATION: SILENT BEAUTY

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:29:00 +0000

Originally uploaded by Gray Flannel Images (Sailing)

I've decided to publish these types of works as presentations for our "Spotlight" features; provided such works can demonstrate to my readers an insightful display of technique and/or educational benefit in the fine art of monochrome photography.

This presentation has a lot to offer the B&W photographer; it is essentially a mini-study in photographing flowers in B&W. I strongly recommend playing this slide-show twice. The first time you watch it, just sit back and enjoy the artist's presentation. Once your done, play it again, only this time pay close attention to the lighting and how it effects each flower's texture and dimension.

The rest, I leave to the photographer to explain his approach, choice of music and personal insights:

"Black and white flower photography provides one the most sensual and elegant representation of flowers. This slide show contains a small collection from my portfolio of a flower study in black and white. The simplicity of black and white photography allows the eye to rest and focus on the refined textures and shapes of these beautiful specimens. In this body of work you will find a particular focus on the contrast between shadow and light. Often it is the relationship between these two elements that create the drama in the image.

It is my belief that great black and white photography transports us into another dimension and on an artistic journey, which is an ongoing exploration of the beauty, simplicity and wisdom of nature. It is a continuous learning process, inspired by a passion and love of life.

My photographic inspiration for this study was Imogen Cunningham's black and white flower work and my musical inspiration, from my dear friend Keri Le Blanc's song titled, 'Silent Beauty'" -- Ian Graham

WALKING WITH FLICKR WALKABOUT

noreply@blogger.com (Warner Smith) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Back when I was flirting around with the idea of 52MONOCHROME -- my first blog as a photographer; one the motivational factors driving the concept to reality was the overwhelming success and popularity of Flickr Walkabout by Bill Cross.

So what is Flickr Walkabout all about? Well, to paraphrase the author himself; it is a place where only the most artistic images discovered on Flickr are put on display with minimal commentary. It is intended as a showcase for the finest images in imaging art, encompassing a wide array of various styles and subjects.

From my own personal experiences, via many walks through Bill's elite gallery of photographic wonders, I'll admit that this particular blog is all that and more!

Yahoo's Flickr, in and of itself, is a phenomenal resource for photographic excellence. And there are many ways in which a photographer's image can gain exposure, no pun intended, outside of the member's photo-stream, such as Flickr's groups, galleries and Explore. But, the artist's work will rarely reach an audience outside of Flickr's complex matrix. At least not without the artist having to do some additional grunt work of their own.

Moreover, Flickr's Explore page has little to be appreciated when it comes to the fine art of photography. But that's a debate for another time. Anyway, this is where great blogs like, Flickr Walkabout, come in!

Let's go for a walk shall we...

When we first arrive, the visual senses are pleasantly saturated with colored links of blue and yellow and artistic icons made of deep red and vibrant magenta upon a black canvas. The immediate stimulation comfortably excites the mind as we enter into a genius gallery of online imaging artwork.

True to the creator's word, it is a collection of the best images Flickr has to offer, all beautifully streamlined in medium format with minimal commentary. Each image capturing the imagination and exciting the senses.

Moreover, each image is properly tagged into various genres and subject matter. Just navigate over to the side bar, click on a category that interests you and you'll soon be scrolling through a series of images relating to that category.

And, of course, all images are properly credited and link directly back to the original source on Flickr -- rest assured that each image has explicit permission for its use. All copyrights are fully respected by Bill Cross.

With ease of navigation, sleek appeal and a collection of images from some of Flickr's best artists, it is by far one of the best mediums displaying true imaging art of a higher standard.

It is a forum that honors the talents of photographers and imaging artists beyond the reaches of Flickr for all to appreciate. It is the photographer's online museum of imaging art!