Countdown To 60: After you choose that subject but before before you release the shutter, try taking a full minute to think about your scene and how you’re about to capture it. Really. Don’t just look at it. SEE IT. Sometimes we feel pressured to click. But even with a portrait, learn to take a little time and you’re images WILL improve. With some scenes you can even spend longer. Check out the 111 Project.
Sparks: I stood outside well before the exit. Experimenting, considering the scene, trying to predict the light. The effort paid off with a great candid from a challenging scene.
Cut The Trash: I know, you’ve already taken 60 seconds, you have a plan. But look again. Maybe even take a test frame. Controlling tone, removing clutter and distracting elements is one of the most neglected elements in art making. If something is not adding to the image, it should not be in the frame. Either you move, move it, or it will move the quality of your final image down to LOW.
I’m amazed how often the control of light and dark is ignored in today’s photography. Our tools are more powerful than ever, but most images lack the subtle tonal control that made photographers like Ansel so famous. Such control is essential to making an image look as good as it can.
“Tone” may be the least understood and least utilized factor in composing and finishing images.” That’s a quote from master photographer, Ken Whitmire. He’s eighty-two and one of the world’s most renowned pioneers of wall portraiture.
I wrote an article called 5 Essential Keys to Photographic Perfection on Pro Photo Show. One of these keys is arguably the most important, and that is tonal control. Lights and shadows and how they look in the final image are critical. To best achieve them, you should have a “visualization” for your final image and be a master of essential tone control elements.
Morgan's Song, 2011 - This is an environmental scene so we have a lot of "supporting cast" to deal with. By placing the subject at Zones 6-8 in the final process and the supporting cast mostly in Zones 2-4, I was able to keep the subject dominant and show the scene I had envisioned.
An image can look good with just a quick global correction process, but not nearly as good as it could be with proper tonal control. It starts in camera as you see the scene in your mind’s eye . The way you expose and set up your image can control those values. The best way I have found to see this in my mind is by using the Zone Scale (see Fig. 1).
For example, a perfect light is splitting through the clouds and shining on your subject. You expose for the subject’s skin, visualizing it for Zone 6. Perhaps that bumps the foliage and other elements (the supporting cast) of your scene down to Zone 4. That could be perfect because it makes your subject dominant. Perhaps the light is more even, however, and to achieve that visualization, you need to do tonal corrections later to bring that foliage down to Zone 4. It could be done in many other ways, but you get the initial idea. For an in depth look at Zones check out, Why You Need the Zone System for Digital.
Following are three things to watch for when visualizing and mastering an image to control tonal values. If you understand and apply these principles at every step, your images will improve by giant leaps. Follow through on tonal values and your images will sing.
Figure 1: The Zone scale from 1-10. Middle grey is Zone V (5). This shows the darkest dark to the lightest light and is invaluable for simple visualizing and exposing a scene. Each step represents a stop, making it easy to move your exposure up or down and place an element in a given zone.
Updated 12/11. Never has raising the bar on quality been so relevant to photography than in today’s crowded market. But never have the tools at our disposal been so powerful either. So today I want to share a few quick ideas on inching that bar up, each time we release the shutter. And few tips to help us shoot better and make our images as perfect as they can be.
1. Visualization. Really seeing.
It’s often said it starts in the camera. Well in truth it starts before that. I’m certainly no pioneer in visualizing, but I’ve learned how valuable it is. Sometimes our digital generation brushes aside with a chuckle the tried and true techniques, as if they were insignificant. As if because we have cameras with screens, it’s no longer necessary understand such things. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in nearly 15 years of pursuing photography. It’s don’t ignore the techniques of the old masters. My generation sometimes thinks they have a better way. They usually don’t.
I recently recorded a short podcast on how I use visualization right here. But the bottom line is you have to do more than just look and click. Visualizing takes practice. It’s NOT about not just seeing something that’s in front of you, or even just seeing an object or composition. It’s about seeing what you want in your final image. Everything you want. The objects, the lines, the tone light and dark of various elements, the colors, the composition. Even down to seeing in your mind the edits you plan to do in the real, or the digital darkroom.
I find using the Zone System to help visualize your scene and place the tonal ranges helps a great deal. Not to mention helping you expose better. But even if you don’t use the Zone System at every step, the zone scale can be invaluable in visualizing. And with practice will become second nature and will effect your work at every stage. You can learn about the Zone system in my article about Zones. Also here’s a classic video with Ansel himself talking about it.
Sunsets Hidden Falls, 2010. Having a pre-visualization of the scene I wanted helped me plan the exposures and edit this properly. More on this image at.. http://bit.ly/bVa0hm
2. The Camera.
This is step 2. These first two could go together. But visualization deserved that first category. Do it before you raise that camera, because it’s easy to get caught in the moment and forget about truly visualizing. But after that visualization, the camera is where a great image is captured. Not the computer. You have a visual for what you want to capture, now you need to use your tools to make it happen.
Consider what you’re trying to do and how you need to leverage your equipment. Shutter speeds, supports, aperture, focus, timing, light. Read the Six Keys To Photographic Image Quality for more thoughts on the technical side of this. And of course, don’t forget your visualization and composition to help make it all happen. This is something to think about in a digital age where we tend to spray and pray. I’m a firm believer that as a whole, our industry needs to slow down. More images does not make better quality and I find taking your time with your camera and image setup makes a great deal if difference in your final result.
I was playing round in LR this morning as I often do, trying different presets and processing. This is the Great Fountain Geyser in Yellowstone, captured at sunrise while dormant. Behind it the White Dome geyser shoots into the sky. I used the Subtle things from Color Fantasies LR presets and a few burning brushstrokes. A very quick process.
Subtle things imparted nice color tone and a certain magical quality, without being overbearing to this serene place. Remember when using presets to stay flexible. Try different effects and look for things that work. Then don’t be afraid to refine a little more, especially on your best work. I’ll likely refine this further if I decide it’s good enough for my official fine art collection, but U like where it’s going. You can see the before and after below. Click either image for a larger view… Gav
by Gavin Seim: I have to say I’m pretty excited. Seim Effects tools were just featured in a glowing review by Joe Farace, in his Digital Innovations column inside the September issue of Shutterbug Magazine. It was a nice bit of recognition, by a great photographer, in a magazine that’s nearly as familiar to the photo world as the camera itself. Gave me a really nice bit of exposure (no pun intended). Below is a capture of the page 41. Go pick up the latest issue and take a peek.
I confess. When I started making all this stuff I was determined to make it really good. But I can’t say I expected it to take off so well. It’s been a few years and a lot of work, but I feel the system is really solid now and getting better all the time. This part of my job is almost like being a scientist. I sit down in my little test lab and just start trying things, searching for little nuances that do something remarkable. After the dust settles and I get it refined, I get to share what I discover with photographers all over the world.
Now I’m a huge proponent of getting things right in the camera. But when we get in right in camera, then get it right in post. We can make something magical. Being able to make these tools has really been a blessing and I want to give a shout out of thanks to all of you for helping it happen. Not to mention one to Joe, and Shutterbug for taking the time to notice this little punk fish in a big sea… Gav
