by Gavin Seim: Hey folks. I’ve decided to share some archives and post all the recordings from my LIVE Lightroom Power workshops. These cover nearly every critical facet of Lightroom, in order, from start to finish. Last year I hosted this online series and it went well, so I figured you would enjoy them.
Bear in mind these were live shows, so there’s questions and small interruptions mixed in. If you want faster more structured lessons, check out my studio recorded, LR Ninja Series. It’s chapter divided by topic and polished like my other video collections – Either way, whether you use LR already or are just getting started, you’ll get something from these videos.
I’m adding all five videos below. Also direct links should you want to bookmark them to watch later. Each is about 1.5 hours long. Note, that these were recorded using LR3. But while a few features have changed, the significant tools and concepts behind using LR are the same.
This is a total freebie. If you like what you see please share check out the the homepage for my editing collections like Power Workflow 3 and my other workshops like EXposed, a new video series about light that is seriously like nothing else you’ve seen. Check out the trailer below and get the download it here or DVD here. But without further adieu, lets hop to Lightroom videos. Enjoy… Gav
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Want more? Watch the trailer and see why Gavin’s EXposed workshop is getting such rave reviews.
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The videos – 5 segments, approx 1.5hr each – Follow links to view in HD.
Please share this post – View Gavin’s art & projects on his homepage. And follow his art studies in the Light Letter.
Workshop #1 – Lightroom Essentials. Getting into basics, catalogs and managing images.
– What is Lightroom all about –
– Understanding the Catalog –
– Importing Your Images –
– The Basic Grid Edit –
Workshop #2 – Everyday Lightroom. Getting into folder, develop module, presets and more.
– Folders, collections and V copies –
– Develop Module Essentials
– Leveraging the power of presets –
– Image exporting & watermarks –
Me with a framed 30x46 limited edition on traditional canvas of Doorway to Winter. Just the start of a long study in how we can better present and display images.
by Gavin Seim: A lot of photos are being made these days. Some bad, some good, some amazing. But what gets me is how little we’re doing with them. Art seems to have become something that lives on Facebook. Most the worlds photographers seem to not even be selling prints to their clients. They just hand them digital file and the cycle of images that exist in nowhere but bits goes on. A few Facebook likes and comments later, the image disappears into the mists of digital bliss.
When we do make prints they tend to be small and cheaply presented. We find the cheapest company to make a gallery wrap that can be bought at WalMart. We buy a plain print, or whatever cheap new product the labs are kicking out in bulk. We take whatever is available. Often it seems we’re not selling heirlooms, we’re selling throw-aways. Has the beautiful art of printing and presentation been lost? Is this good enough?
I say no.. Most images mean nothing until their properly hanging on the wall.
I’m not trying to slam anyone here. I just think serious photographers should think more about the potential of their images and how well their using it. On the business side this is very relevant and wall prints can make a major diffence is sales and profits. Read, Wall Portraits. Why the 8×10 Is Stealing Your Impact & Profit. This stuff matters to our craft.
Sure there are commercials jobs and stock, there are a few projects where prints are not as relevant. But most of the time that’s not really the case. In truth I think we started doing all this because it was easier. It’s a lot of work to make and sell great prints. So we’ve lowered expectations.
Printers and paper options are getting less expensive and have countless choices of presentation and creativity. I bought a Canon 8300 wide format printer last year and just making my own prints has changed the way I think. I no longer just settle for what’s easy. I study mediums, mounting and presentation. I’m getting into mounting prints myself and looking at how I can stand out with unique offerings. While I still offer digital files if needed, my focus has shifted almost entirely to making and selling prints. And it feels so good.
So what does all this mean. Not that you need to go buy your own printer right now, or take your work in an entirely new direction. But you might find you want to do both. My bottom line is that we owe it to ourselves and our clients to start thinking about how we can be better presenting images, what sizes are appropriate. About how we can make more than a digital file and start producing furnishings for walls. Very few people are making really quality wall art. It’s about the only photo market that’s not over saturated right now.
It’s not easy and it’s not cheap to make and display great prints. But so few are doing it anymore that it’s not only satisfying, it’s become a great opportunity to set yourself apart and stand out in a crowded industry. Doing it well is more than just making an 11×14 and buying a frame at Target. It takes time, study and planning. But the reward is like nothing nothing else.
I hope to post an article soon looking in detail and at the mounting and presentation options I’ve been studying and working with. But what do you think? Am I crazy, have you found presentation ideas that are unique and working for you. Share your thoughts in the comments… Gav
Something one often hears tossed around in this industry is the word ‘style.’ “It’s my style” or “love your style.” Sometime it can get pretty funny: “My style is, uh, everything.” Now, this is not a bash session. We’re all at different levels, and that’s OK. This is just another post to get us thinking, something to get us all to raise the bar. I think the idea of style bears consideration and refinement. So let’s start where I often start, with the word, itself.
Webster’s Dictionary – Style. 1. a distinctive manner of expression (as in writing or speech) 2. a distinctive manner or custom of behaving or conducting oneself 3. a particular manner or technique by which something is done, created, or performed.
Hunters Bridge - 2009, HDR Portrait.
SO perhaps a photography style is just what you thought it was. But look carefully. “Distinctive, distinctive, particular.” I see photographers (especially new ones) frantically trying to define their style. But they don’t. It may change from week to week and month to month. If you go to their site right now, that high contrast, over saturated look is their style. But really, it’s probably because they know nothing else or saw someone else doing it. Your style is a big part of your brand. But developing it is not quick or easy. It’s a process.
NEXT let’s get one thing out of the way. Just because you do something does not make it your style. The most common “style” I see is “high contrast” or “edgy” or “bold” or “fun”. Now all those things can be a style, but they’re generally non-distinctive and used by people who don’t really know their style. Sometimes these vague styles are used by photographers who are inexperienced and use “art” or “style” as an excuse for their work. (I.e. “The high contrast look is my style” or “The flat light is my style” or “The blown out highlights are part of my style”)
NO. Those are not your style. You just don’t know what you’re doing. The first step in developing your style is to STOP trying to be something you’re not. It takes years and years to become a good craftsman. If you’re a new photographer, stop trying to fake a style that you don’t really have or convince people that that thing you do (because you don’t know any better) is your style. Don’t do it. Using style as an excuse just slows your career because it allows you to make excuses and avoid learning to things properly.
BUT can’t high contrast, blown out, journalistic, be a style? Sure. But often it’s not, because people who are comfortable, experienced, and have really found a style generally know better than to take the cliches and call them a style, because the result tends to appear like a generic copy of everyone else.
SO WHAT makes a style? Sure, it can be somewhat subjective, but let’s go back to the dictionary for the facts. A style is “distinctive.” It’s “particular.” That means it has the ability to stand out on its own. So based on that, if your style looks like 80% of the rest of the world’s photographers, it’s not much of a style. That is, not unless you call your style generic, which does not sound too appealing.
Now, I’m not saying a style can’t be inspired by the work of another photographer. In fact, it’s almost impossible to do something completely new. But there’s inspiration, and there’s outright copying. Most photographers don’t have a style because they have not yet taken enough time to refine their craft and develop that style. This can apply to a newbie as easily as to a 25 year veteran.
A STYLE is not simply taking photos. It takes something more. It requires thought, planning, and skill. But even further, a style is your brand. It can be combined with your personalty, the products you make from your photos, and the way you present them on your website. It does not mean being in a rut or always being the same or applying a particular technique to everything. It’s a process.
WHAT is my style? I’ve been making photos for over 14 years now, and in just the past few, I’ve started feeling I understand my style. It took me that long. I know what I do, and I know how to make it come out nearly every time. I feel I have a style, but I’m still improving on it.
If you were to go to my portrait or wedding site, you might see me describe my work as “A natural cinematic style inspired by the masters and tempered with modern flair.” But the text is merely the beginning. I have an visual in my mind of the kind of image I make, and while every one is different, I have a focus. Also, the way I display my final prints as carefully crafted wall portraits is a very relevant part of my style. It’s taken me about 13 years to pin myself down this much. And I’m still discovering and refining my style.
WHAT does all this this mean? Well, my goal here today is not to say you can’t have a look, or that you can’t describe your work. It’s not to make this style thing abstract and confusing. Maybe you’ve truly found your style, maybe not. But my intent is to get us all thinking. To raise the bar on our style, study, and practice, and become such proficient craftsman that we truly understand our medium and our style. Maybe you’ll be faster than I was, maybe not. But either way, it’s a process. A valuable one.
SO, STYLE is important. But it’s not something you can simply make up. Before you can really define your style, you have to know your craft well enough to understand what you’re doing with it. You have to have worked enough to find that distinctive consistency in your images. Imagine a singer. A singer does not have a style until they learn to sing and perform. It takes time. They have to work it out. Photography is no different.
WHY do most NOT have a style? Because they’ve not refined their craft . It does not mean they’re all bad photographers. But in truth a lot of photography today lacks distinction. Admittedly, it’s hard. Finding your style take more than just doing a wedding every weekend. It takes more than copying the latest trend you see your friends using.
I often see photographers who are really busy with jobs, but it’s all they can do just to keep up and get the jobs out. They’re generic. If you’re paying the bills that way then fair enough. If volume is your business approach, it may work for you. But it’s not usually distinctive. Rushing offers too little time to experiment and define your work. You probably want something more. To define a unique style, you have to take your extra time to study and refine what you’re doing until you draw out something unique about it. Until there’s a pattern. Until it becomes a style, not just the latest fad.
How to Find Your Style. A style is images, personalty, presentation, branding, and more. Really finding it takes enough experience to know what you do and how you make it unique. I think the way to find your style is to stop looking so hard. Stop trying to rush to having it all figured out, and spend more time figuring. Study your craft and be content with the fact that you’re making good images and improving. Forget about your style for a while and learn how to style better. In time, you’ll find your own unique approach. You’ll find your STYLE naturally.
WHAT AM I GETTING AT? Stop having confidence? Stop charging for quality? Heavens, no! I’m not even saying at what point you have a style. I’m just saying slow down and think about it. Take the time to make images just for the joy of it. Explore ideas and techniques, read books, go to workshops. Do that, and your style will blossom, as will the quality of your work. Photography is not a quick journey. It’s a long one. It’s OK to be starting out. Just be honest with yourself. Keep working on your craft and always raise the bar.
On this weeks roundtable we talk about perspective and starting out. Then we put ourselves under the time gun as we speed through questions and answers. PS. This episode is not about storms. Though that is an awesome idea 😉
by Gavin Seim: I’m a Lightroom fanatic, but with my recent expansion into projecting proofs to sell larger prints and increase my sales, I started looking at software for projecting scaled images using my digital projector. The choices were limited. Whats being using now, is expensive software like Prism Projector, or Pro Select. These are good for some, but cost hundreds of dollars and have a bigger problem in that it throws a curve ball into a well planned workflow. They make us entirely leave Lightroom for the sales presentation. Not cool.
At first I couldn’t find a way, but I kept experimenting and finally I figured it out. I found I could make special print templates in Lightroom that could be scaled to the screen size and project images to size without ever leaving Lightroom. I call them Projectics.
I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. I’m now actively using Lightroom for my proof sessions with great results and no need for external software. No it does not have all the gimmicks and frills that some other sales apps do, but I for one don’t need those. I just need to project various images and sizes easily and effectively and that’s what LR can do. Using the scaled presets I can change sizes instantly. Then since I’m still in LR I can pick favorites, add things to collections, and even do edits without every leaving my workflow.
In the past I’ve written about using a separate Catalog for each job. There’s no rule you have to do things this way, but it makes more sense all the time. Since I’m sometimes in the studio and sometimes taking my Canon LV7370 on location, it keeps things really simple. I can simply copy the entire catalog for the session onto a portable drive and off I go.
Yes, I’ve made a collection of these presets to sell. Hey it’s what I do. You could make some yourself, but if that does not sound fun, I’ve done the math and tedious stuff and made a simple set that just works and will continue to be updated. Either way Lightroom is a powerful sales tool and I need no other sales software to proof, project and sell large prints. Oh and if you want to learn more about the sales concepts of all this, check out this article about selling large Wall Portraits.
Whether you get my presets or not I suggest you head over to the Projectics page and watch the video because it will show you how it all works and how I’ve integrated it into my workflow. The power of Lightroom keeps growing and I thrilled. Time is money, and projecting proofs is a key element in great prints sales and placing beautiful prints on your clients walls… Gav
by Gavin Seim: Hey folks. I’ve decided to share some archives and post all the recordings from my LIVE Lightroom Power workshops. These cover nearly every critical facet of Lightroom, in order, from start to finish. Last year I hosted this online series and it went well, so I figured you would enjoy them.
