The Art Of Photography

The controversy about whether photography is art is one that has been raging in the art world for a long time and we are not likely to totally solve it here. But it can be an important decision you have to make if you are considering a career in photography with the goal of producing quality art works. If that is where you are, the idea that someone would say “That’s not art, you just took a picture” is pretty disturbing. So it’s worth looking at the question from several different angles before we pick which side to weigh in on.

Of course, art is a subjective thing. Many people would look at a Jackson Pollack “splatter” artwork and determine most definitely that modern art is not art because it “doesn’t look like anything.” And if you spend any time in the modern art world, you will definitely see something at some time along the way occupying space in a perfectly respectable art museum that, to you, could never be considered art.

So is it just a matter of opinion? To some extent, yes. But there is an art world and an industry behind it that depend on there being some standards upon which art is judged. One such standard is the intent of the artist. If you produce a photograph or an art work derived from a photograph that is intended to be viewed as art, then the viewer is obligated to try to see the artistic merit in it. Whether the viewer sees that merit or not may depend on the viewer’s abilities, how good you are at getting your artistic message across or many other factors.

But just wanting something to be art doesn’t make it art does it? As a layman in the art world, I sometimes go with the “I don’t know art but I know what I like” system of evaluating pieces I see. Art, after all, has a tendency to touch us in another place that is above and beyond the image. It is an emotional place, a place of reflection and understanding. Maybe we would say it touches our “soul”. For a work to be art, there should be a message, a feeling, a reason the artist made the work because he or she wanted to say something, even if how I interpret the statement is different than what the artist meant.

So that might also be an evaluation of a photograph as to its artistic merit or not. Now the primary objection to whether photography is art sometimes is that a photograph is often a realistic depiction of a moment taken with a machine and some would say that “anybody can take a picture.” The implication is that the same mechanical skill it might take to paint a picture of sculpt a statue is not needed for photographic art.

It’s true that the mechanical skill that the guy at Wal-Mart might need to take baby pictures may be the same as a great photographic artist might need. But the objection doesn’t hold up because the same human language is used to create great poetry as it takes yell out obscenities at a baseball game. So it isn’t the skill that makes it art.

Good evidence comes from the credit some great art experts have given to photographic exhibitions in the fine museums in the world. The very fact that photography is considered art by those who know may be evidence enough. So the conclusion must be that because the arguments against the artistic value of photographs are weak and people who know consider photography to be art, then we are safe in viewing what we do artistically too. And that opens up that side of your soul to express yourself through the medium you love the most – photography.

Tips For Still Life Photography

There are many mediums to choose from in photography. Often a person will begin with still life photography and work their way towards portraits, wildlife, or landscapes depending upon their interests. Still life photography teaches a person to use light and shadows to find the emotion of the object. Here I will discuss many different aspects of still life pictures.

Still life expresses the photographers self while using in animate objects such as pottery, flowers, candles, leaves, and fruit. The first step in still life photography is the lighting. You will want the object to have light from a single direction, so that you can cast shadows as well as light on the object. This will give it a depth of field, and dimension. You will need to choose whether you want a soft or harsh light. The more harsh the light the more shadow you will have. Often in still life reflectors are used to tone the light down. The best type of lighting for still life photography is side- lighting because you will attain more contrast between the object.

With still life photography, you have color control. You can choose the colors of the objects you use. When choosing the colors say with leaves and fruits you will want a contrast in colors, but retain a natural look. Harmony is the best word to use when attaining color control. The color will attract the viewer’s eye, so if it is displeasing to you the chances are your viewers will find it just as displeasing.

With still life, you can choose an abstract motif. You may choose to put two objects together that do not make sense, but create a moving picture. You might have an interesting cut on fruit, such as a melon to reveal the inside core. The angle of the cut and the meaning of the picture will require thought from the viewer. Some viewers see different from what another viewer might see. This happens in the art world daily. What one thinks represents art another finds unappealing. Never let these influence your dreams and stop you from becoming even better in your work as a photographer.

You can also have control of variations. You can use the same subject repeatedly with different backgrounds, arrangements, and other objects. The key is to avoid clutter while creating contrast. The rule of thirds of composition is a great way to utilize still life objects. You can create a pattern based on the rule of thirds. Setting up the arrangements and trying several shots will lead you to finding the harmony between the objects.

You may think still life photography lacks the depth of other mediums; however, it can be used as a stepping-stone to greater photography. Still life can include an arranged garden to please the eye or a natural look. You can use natural light to offset the shadows and find the contrast. Still life inside or outside creating the arrangements is just one way to find pictures you will wish to display or give to friends. Remember lighting, color, and variations on arrangements will provide you will tons of subjects.

Applications for still life photography can include taking photographs for magazines. Often magazines have still life photos to show flower arrangements or decorating ideas for the home. With the many choices in photography, still life takes a special eye for arranging objects and understanding lighting techniques. With all of photography being art you need to pick the subjects that will speak most to you and make them speak to others. These types of pictures go well when deciding to sell your photos or display them for the public. All pictures whether you think it or not may be just what someone wants to display and may offer to buy it. This helps you start a real goldmine of a business if you feel confident with your work.

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How To Take A Great Landscape Photograph

Landscape photography is widely popular. I am sure if you look around your home you will see at least two landscape prints that spoke to you. Photography is an art that has a message. As a photographer you have to find the message you want to portray. If you specialize in landscape photography you might think your task is easy to complete. As with any photography you have to pay attention to the details, the lighting, shadows, subject, and the equipment.

Black and white landscape photography is the hardest section to attain true artistry because you are not relying on the colors as much as the lights and shadows the image will create. Composition is very important. Composition in photography means to look for sharp edges, tones and textures. The basis of black and white photography is getting the camera to see what your eye sees in color; to bring the highlights and shadows forward with the angle of the picture. Typical subjects for black and white photography are buildings and water. Water gives the surrounding trees and rocks a contrast while drawing the eye. Landscape can encompass buildings or bridges among other subjects. Buildings lend to the angles and contrast you seek when trying for definition and emotion.

When landscape photography is your subject in color you will need to have contrast between the colors. If the sky is blue and you have blue water below chances are the picture is not going to have the contrast you are hoping for. Like black and white photography you need to have definition or composition in the shot. You will need to take a few minutes to set up the shot and perhaps take several frames before being satisfied. Color photography takes less skill than black and white photography so if you have master the last you will succeed at the first.

Lighting for landscape photography is natural rather artificial. This is important when setting up your shot. You will need to have filters for the sunlight if it is a bright day, perhaps a tripod to set up the shot and a professional grade camera to create professional prints. Studying your subject from all angles is also important. You want to make sure you are picking the best angle for the shot. Remember the message is brought forth by the skill of the photographer.

You abilities should be honed and practiced. Digital photography makes landscape photography easier because you can assess the photo before you leave a site. Again the LCD screen isn’t going to show you every aspect of the print so you will want to take a few shots of the same site to ensure a perfect picture.

Even being an amateur photographer you can gain professional looking landscape photography. The best way to gain great photographs is to practice with a subject. Going back to the same site during different seasons can help you hone your skills and net you an even better print the next time around. All photographers’ start at the same level, some may have innate skills and an eye for the photo, but practice will lead to the best print. Landscape photography may not require the skills of wildlife photography with panning the subject or portraits where you have to enliven your subject; however, it does require skills and practice.

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How To Photograph Explosions in the Sky

How do you photograph an explosion? Well, when it comes to a fireworks show, it takes plenty of planning and anticipation of what you will need. Despite the fact that a fireworks display is a preplanned event, that spectacular moment when the fireworks explode in the sky is still a split second when everything has to work right for you to get the perfect photograph.

Now obviously, there are some equipment issues that have to be prepared to have your camera not only set up and ready but at the proper settings to capture that moment when all glory cuts loose in the sky. So from an equipment stand point…

. A tripod. The activity of the fireworks is so dramatic that unless you stabilize your camera, the shot will be blurred and unacceptable to you and to whoever you may wish to sell it to. The tripod should be easily transportable and adjustable so you can make adjustments on the fly.

. A shutter release that functions externally.

. Equipment to work at night as that is when your subject is going to occur. You can get a head mounted flashlight at any camping store so you can direct the light at the camera and still have both hands free to handle your equipment.

. A portable chair as there will be some waiting. Anything else that will help you ride out the wait such as food, water, music etc. should also be part of your preparations.

Because the fireworks explosion is sudden and fast, you need to be able to adjust the shutter speed and have the camera set up to react to manual focus so you can use your eyes and ears to know exactly when to snap that shot.

The key to a great or a series of great fireworks photographs is location. You want a location that has an outstanding vantage point view of the piece of sky where the most action will take place. This means you may need to take a position on a bridge, on top of a building or on a hill away from the crowds that come to see the show. This is not going to be easy to find so start early. It is not out of line to “scope out” your location days in advance and arrive hours in advance to secure that spot as yours.

Experience is going to be one of your best teachers as to not only the right location but how to set your camera focus and shutter speeds and how to position the view from the secured location so you can capture the rocket at the moment of explosion. So find ways to do some practice shoots at other fireworks displays before you set out to do the “keeper” shot. Many times minor league baseball clubs have fireworks shows and they would happily let you take photographs of the show in exchange for a few free shots. Here you can experiment with your experiment and get your bearings before setting up for a larger show.

Once the show gets underway, anticipate the explosion that you want to capture. Don’t snap the first five minutes of the show but use that time to confirm that you have the right sky location scouted. The best times to capture the shot are right before the explosion which you can time by the sound of the rocket going up and the expected time before eruption.

With some experience you will get your sixth sense about where and when to snap that perfect photo and when you are done, you will have some spectacular shots to include with your portfolio or to display proudly. And this will lead to even more work photographing explosions in the sky.

Have You Tried Street Photography?

One of the most candid styles of photography is street photography. It consists of candid pictures taken of people in public situations. Street photography was done everywhere on the street and now has moved to the mall, at clubs, streets, parks, and practically anywhere. A street photographer never asks anyone to pose, and he or she does not want anyone to act as if he or she knows what might happen next. This takes away from the natural look needed when using the technique of street photography.

Street photography stems from another type of photograph that called documentary photography. Documentary photography once said to be the most honest and true to life picture taking. There are professional and amateur brands of documentary photography, as well as street photography. Street photography reflects society in its untainted state. This accounts for many pictures we see on the internet and television that reflect what was happening at the time.

Pictures of this genre use black and white film. Street photography often shows irony in situations. Many street photographers use wide view lens cameras to capture a wider area. The shots usually have the appearance of a screen or a window viewing the human state at a particular moment. The photographer becomes removed from the scene. This type of picture taking captures the most honest moments in life.

Some photographers who specialize in street photography take their cameras to public events like conventions, meetings, and tragic sites. Others simply photograph life around them. A famous street photographer named Garry Winogrand was well known for capturing New York everyday for years. He was interested in shedding light on the contemporary social issues of his time. He became prominent after the 1960’s. He shot about one hundred photographs a day for about thirty years, and left over three hundred thousand unedited exposures.

One interesting thing about street photography is that sometimes a photographer might capture things on film that they were not even focusing on. Strange and funny things might be happening in the background or the foreground of a photograph that they do not even notice. When the film is developed, they often find things within the scope of their shots that are ironic, interesting, or funny. Many times, things are seemingly unrelated to the rest of the shot, but because of this factor, one can say that street photography is one way that we use to capture the moment.

The genre of street photography started between the end of the 19th century and the mid to late 1970s. One of the assisting inventions of this type of picture taking was 35-millimeter film. Thirty-five millimeter film was introduced towards the late 19th century. Photographers from both Europe and North America spread the popularity of the genre and developed the art behind it. Including in the early development were photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson of France and Robert Frank of Switzerland.

You do not have to be a professional to take on street photography. You do not necessarily have to use black and white film either. All you need is a way to take pictures. You can make your own documentary film series. The pictures you take can comment on society. Your photographs can record people doing mundane activities like eating or sleeping. It is important to remember, however, that you should not publish pictures of people without their consent.

Becoming a street photographer can be a great hobby. You can donate your pictures to museums and websites, or you can start your own website. There are also photo archives that consist of collections of pictures that are available for public use. This is also a place that you may have your pictures displayed. Street photography is one way to capture the real moments of life. Thanks to technology, film editing is easier than ever. Once you try street photography, you find yourself caught up in the real world. The pictures reflect the everyday life and times.

Top Tips To Shoot A Great Wedding Video.

If you have been hired to create a video of someone’s wedding and reception, it can be a really fun job. Not only is there a lot of joy, laughing and fun moments during a wedding celebration but it is really gratifying to know that the video you are creating will be part of family celebrations of these people for decades to come.

Naturally, you want to do a good job. But whether you are just getting started or have been shooting video for years, you know things can sneak up on you and make your job more difficult. So there are some “insider tricks” that you should keep in mind especially on the big day so the wedding goes off like clockwork and you get that great video without disturbing the joy and fun of the family.

The first few precautions actually happen long before you drive up to the church and that is a thorough equipment check. Check and double check your equipment and then check it again. It can’t hurt to be a bit compulsive about this. Also, check that all of your supplies are new, in good shape and that you have back ups of batteries, bulbs, tapes or whatever recording media you are using. If you know your equipment is in good shape, you can walk in there like the professional you are.

Next, be everywhere early and well prepared. In fact, it can’t hurt to scope out the church and reception hall the day before to check the lighting and do some planning on where you might plan to get your best video from. If Martin Scorsese can preplan all of his shoots, so can you.

Now be sure everybody knows who you are. Meet the bride, groom, the wedding party and others close to the planning. If there are security people, be sure they know who you are as well. If there is a need for passes or badges of any kind, be sure you have one well ahead of the wedding day.

Part of networking with the key players includes getting some face time with others who may be supporting the wedding. Many weddings have a wedding planner who must know everything that is going to happen. Be sure he or she knows who you are and what you are going to do before you start disturbing their domain. It is also a great idea to meet the other photographers and do a bit of preliminary choreography so everybody can get their shots. Be aware that you really don’t want to do such a great job of videotaping the wedding that you damage the experience of the wedding guests. This all takes lots of planning.

If they rehearse, you rehearse. The rehearsal is one of the great missed opportunities that wedding photographers and videographers have to step through the wedding with the party and plan where you are going to be. Now secure permission to be there as you never want to surprise a nervous bride or her mother. But if they know you are working as hard as they are to get ready, they will be thrilled and you may find them giving you directions on shots they want included in the video and where they want (and don’t want) you to be at strategic moments during the wedding. This information is gold on producing a high quality video for your customers.

Once everything is ready, jump in there and enjoy the wedding right along with everyone else. You know you are ready and you like what you do so you can celebrate this big day and produce a top-notch video that will be a treasured memory for this bride and groom for many years to come.

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How To Start A Photography Business

When you are a kid and thinking about the many ways you can make a living when you grow up, what is the advice your elders always gave you? It was, “Do what you love to do and you will always be happy.” And that has to be true because if you can spend your work week doing what you love the most, it really won’t be work as much as it will be play that people pay you to do.

So if your passion is photography, it makes sense to start your own photography business. But how to go about it? You see so many small photography shops that seem to spring up from nowhere. What is the best way for you to go about starting your own business like this?

The first thing to think about when starting a photography business is how to do it in a legitimate way. You want a business that will last a lifetime so you want to start it out right. So don’t fall for the “get rich quick” internet schemes or books that claim they will spill the insider secrets of other successful photography business. There are no insider secrets to this business other than what you need to know to run any business. To succeed you have to…

* Pay your dues * Get your education. * Learn from the pros. * Know your stuff. * Network * Value your customers.

You can accomplish the first five of these objectives by going to school and working part or full time in somebody else’s photography shop. You may despair at the idea of more school. But your photography business will be about more than just cameras, photo shoots and dark rooms. You have accounting principles to comprehend and execute, taxes to be paid, a facility to rent, employees to pay, insurance to worry about, contracts to sign and all of that other “stuff” that goes with running a business. So start early and get some basic business classes under your belt such as accounting and economics. It will benefit you dozens of ways as you march toward success.

Many trades have an apprentice system where you tutor under a master of the craft. But it might be a good thing for you to take this matter into your own hands. Plan to work for a photography shop long enough to learn the ins and outs of running a small business and of running a photography business. This gives you the chance to build your knowledge and exposure to equipment, learn technique and how to work with your subjects.

In fact, it might be a good idea to deliberately apprentice at a number of different types of photography studios before launching out on your own. So you can learn the ins and outs of wedding photography, baby photography, fashion photography and others from specialists all before you spend a dime of your own money to start your own enterprise. In this way, you build skills, you build knowledge, you build experience and you can watch and take notes of the great things others do and the mistakes to avoid.

Your employers will be thrilled to share their real world knowledge with you if you are open to them that you want to learn from the masters how to do this with the goal of becoming their competition in the future. Above all, you can build a client base from the many customers you work with before you start your own business. Buy taking care of someone else’s customers, they can become your customers when you hang out your shingle. And that is good business.

The Demand For Stock Photography

Sometimes we associate stock photography with some negative concepts such as the photos you see in frames that are on sale at a department store or the photo that comes in a new wallet. Sure, those images did come from a stock photography library but there is so much more to stock photography than that.

You can put a lot of creative energy into building a solid stock photography library that will draw customers who need these images and like your creative eye. Really, if you think about it, stock photography is no different from doing a shoot for a customer. It’s just that you are taking the photos in advance of finding the customer and you can sell the same stock photo a multitude of times. And that last part is what makes running a stock photography service a lucrative business to operate.

The demand for stock photography is ongoing and increasing. But in the economic “model” of any marketplace, supply is as important as demand. So to compete for business you need a good, diverse supply. That means your first step in building your stock photography business is to build the “stock”. In this situation, quantity counts.

When you start entertaining customers, you want to be able to show them a strong catalog not only of many genres of stock photos but of a good variety of photos for each genre. So if the buyer is looking for floral shots, you don’t just have three or four stock photos in that category. You should have dozens for them to pick from. By building a large collection, you vastly increase your chances of making a sale with each customer you entertain.

Don’t think that taking stock photos takes the creativity out of the process. In fact, the opposite is true. Really great stock photography screams personality, even if it’s just an assortment of floral scenes you are taking. The buyer is looking for a photo that seems to have a story to it, that draws the eye and makes the viewer want to ponder the meaning of that photo.

Sounds a bit like art photography, doesn’t it? Well, in a way, it is. Just because you are selling the photo as part of your stock collection, doesn’t lower the artistic value of what you are doing. And if your art is going out the door to be used by a customer, it is still being seen by people who will reflect on what you are trying to say with that photo. So to you, the photographer, your artistic calling is satisfied and you have a nice chuck of change in your pocket to boot.

Along with building a strong portfolio of quality pictures of each category, make your categories as diverse as possible. View other stock collections and gather ideas for the genres they have represented and of the diversity of shots and settings they have included in their collection. You are not plagiarizing other photographers work if you are letting them inspire you to do your best work.

A good discipline to build your stock photography gallery is to take a day each week and go out and build one category of stock photos all day long. So you may do floral shots all day one week, photos of automobiles the next and pictures of college students the next.

Now don’t forget to get your releases signed if you use human subjects. Even if you just hang out on a college campus and talk students into posing for stock photos. Be sure you pay them something for their work and get a release. In that way if their picture ends up in some very public setting because of how a customer uses it, you are protected from them coming back with their palm up wanting more.

Finally, trust your instincts on what to include in your gallery. Your artistic “eye” for what you like is probably pretty reliable and will reflect what interests your customers. Once the gallery is built, then you can go about the “business” of putting together a physical catalog to sell from. And don’t forget the option of building an online gallery to sell from. You will need some technical help to get your site up and learning how to sell from it and collect money that way. But this can be a great expansion of your successful and growing stock photography business.