January 11, 2024

2

art study, beauty, Gavin Seim, inspire, Lighting, master photography class, special effects, travel, workshop

Photographic tone. It’s the least understood skill in photography that’s nearly been lost.

I’m on a mission to change that and I want my first video of the year to do that. Most photographers don’t realize that photographic tone is the secret skill that makes them understand every shot. Today we learn it…

This video would have saved me years if I had known.

But videos like this did not exist when I was starting out. These are the 3 keys of tone in photography so you can master them fast regardless of your experience level. And they will change how you create photos.

Step it up… Join my next Shadow Hackers LIVE workshop. Also in the video, I mentioned Filmist film presets, Silver 5, Natural HDR, and Lumist Actions.

The unabashed flaring of the sun gives a natural haze to this morning street that can’t be done with a single slider. It was processed gold using GoldChrome

The stuff that great photos are made of.

The photographic tone is the foundation of great photos. But the tone is a wide-ranging one that comes from the painters and the way they learned to understand shadow and contrast long before cameras.

This is the lost skill in Photography that I go on deeper in my workshops and today I’m sharing the keys to unlock this door in the simplest way I know how. IN consists of 3 elements that lead us to what tone does for us and why it is important.

Here’s how I explain photographic tone. But it’s more important to show!

  1. Shadows create contrast
  2. Contrast reveals tone
  3. Tone creates atmosphere

These 1,2,3 lists mean little to your photographic tone without context. So in the video, we’re comparing different photos to see how not only edits but how shadow contrast and ambiance in each will define our result.

IN another Xpan style crop we see light creating bloom and reducing contrast. The net result is that tone is more subtle and more contrast is created in the overall image. Edited with Street’ist.

Most photographers don’t even know what it is

In my Exposed Master class, we learn everything about exposure and zones. Those are the technical aspects. But if you’ve been to Shadow Hackers or seen the Photo Perfect workshop you know that combining those with the artist’s aesthetic is what makes a great photo.

In the end, the tone is pretty simple and yet subjective. But if you constantly remind yourself of the three factors. Shadow, contrast, and tone, which is the combination of all the light and dark and mist and color. All of them combined create a tone in your own style.

We see the contrast between the burned tree and the tone of the model. Then edited with a David Hamilton-inspired process to create softness with contrast and balanced photographic tone.
We see the contrast between the burned tree and the tone of the model. Then edited with a David Hamilton-inspired process to create softness with contrast and a balanced photographic tone.

Less contrast is often more contrasty!

As much as I use sliders and settings and layers inside and out in my tool packs. Tone-like shadow is not created by the slider it’s just moved around.

When we use contrast to just create hard lines we lose tonal nuance and atmosphere. In the end, the contrast of the overall scenes is less, and viewers don’t see the nuance you wanted to show.

If you missed my video on why you should STOP using contrast sliders go check it out and also read my post about how to use the Zone system in digital to hack shadows. You’ll find more on my channel.

As I keep building these free resources and simplifying the process of understanding tone I help myself learn more and hopefully, you as I realize a dream that’s spanned 20 years to make a simple process for those of us who want to truly master our style in photography.

We compare two of these in the video. Note how the tone of this one is softened but less distracting than what might be called the contrast image.
We compare two of these in the video. Note how the tone of this one is softened but less distracting than what might be called the contrast image. Edited with Filmist.
 Read More

December 31, 2013

0

art study, beauty, color, f164, Fine Art, line, National Park, travel

The Last Dance – Yosemite NP

 

Amazing Sunset Yosemite National park

As the sun sets on an old year, lets remember the best of sunsets — Here’s a brand new release from this Fall in Yosemite National Park. What color that night and a great reminder that there’s another sunrise just around the corner. The last vestages of light were there and gone, but the next morning dawned bright and colorful once again. This was one one of the best skies I’ve seen all year, these stunning bands of color adding magical to a beautiful place.

Here’s to 2014 everyone — Gav

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

Released prints….

For Photographers. How it was made…

Read More

November 24, 2013

0

art study, beauty, color, f164, Fine Art, journal, signature, technique, travel, workshop

Autumn’s Secret, Zion National Park

 

the subway zion national park

I’m excited to finally announce this new release and it has quite a story behind it.

It was the first time we hiked the Subway, a rather legendary, if hard-to-reach spot in Zion NP. Nathan and I started that morning with packs full of gear, three cameras (including our cinema rig) first aid, water purifier and flashlights. It’s around 9 miles round trip and the first three-quarters of a mile takes you down the side of a cliff  into the valley.

Now when they say this is a strenuous hike, that is the rating of the terrain. The distance is not considered in that classification. There were no groomed National Park trails or picnic tables. Most the time you were finding a route around (and over) boulders and across creeks. It was a long hike with all the gear and between that and the stops we made to film for PHOTOGRAPHICS, we did not reach this grand destination until about 4PM.

I knew we would be walking back in the dark, but it also put us in this carved channel of rock when the light was at it’s most glorious. The other hikers were headed back and we were utterly alone as the creek moved across the slippery rock and the leaves fell down from the cliffs above. I did not make many exposures. I just took a breath of awe and took my time considering the shape, line and color and how to best to do it justice. In fact, Nathan was filming the making of this image and and I hope to include it in the new PHOTOGRAPHICS series.

The result is just what I wanted. This place is truly incredible and well worth the effort. We made it back mostly in the dark and while we had lights, it was a challenge. I never thought I would be so happy to find that final trail that lead up the side of the cliff. We were in fact so late, that the park ranger was waiting for us when we reached the top wondering if something had gone wrong. But we got the image and much more.

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition mounted prints above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

Released prints….

For Photographers. How it was made…

Read More

October 22, 2013

0

color, f164, Fine Art, journal, musings, Nature, signature, technique, travel

Final Embers – A Pastel Sunset at Mount Nebo

Final Embers - Pastel clouds drift by mount Nebo in Utah reflecting light onto the snow capped peaks.
Final Embers – Pastel clouds drift by mount Nebo in Utah reflecting light on to the snow capped peaks.

We camped for a few days up on the Nebo Loop, enjoying the late Fall color and the crisp sunny weather. On this particular night I had a plan for the mountain, but the sun did not do what I expected. I was about to give it up when I realized the clouds were reflecting the fading light back down onto the mountain from above.

I remember looking behind me, seeing the glow and thinking. That’s Ansel light!  Backing up the truck, I hopped out and quickly set up, prepped and made a long second exposure that would convey the pastel clouds whisking over the mountain tops. I got this one frame that conveyed just what I wanted, but that was all I needed. Soon after I made tthis image, the light faded away and the mountain slipped into night.

Gav

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

Released prints….

 

For Photographers. How it was made…

Read More

October 13, 2013

0

beauty, color, f164, Fine Art, journal, Nature, signature, travel

Dawning Of Fall – Bigwood River Idaho

Dawning of Fall - Bigwood River Idaho - Gavin Seim

This was a great free camping area right here and we stopped for the night just before sunset, hopped in the car and went out filming for our new PHOTOGRAPHICS film and looking for landscapes. I had not done enough pre-scouting and did not find anything. After sunset I did further scouting for morning and found this little spot tucked down a steep trail.

Nathan and I both walked in early the next morning after a cool fall night and a bit of sleep The light cam over the trees and gave us a beautiful illumination of the Fall color before quickly becoming too harsh. But that’s the things about stunning light. You just need to be there at the right time.

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

Released prints….

For Photographers. How it was made…

Technical Notes: Canon MK2, 24mm TSe II @ f9, 15sec, ISO160, Induro Tripod
Processing: Lightroom 4, Photoshop, Seim Effects tools.

I processed with a quick application of the Super Simple preset from Power Workflow (https://seimeffects.com/pw). The finishing was mostly tonal in nature using careful burns and dodges like what talk about in the EXposed Workshop (https://seimeffects.com/exposed).

Controlling the values to keep the brilliant color of the trees at around Zone 7+ and the shadows in the 2-r range helped bring out the depth and line.

The skit while not filled with clouds as we often look for is smooth and brilliant, resonating the feel of a a crisp fall morning. I composed so that not too much sky showed however to prevent the space from becoming a distcation.

 

 Read More