Thursday, July 29, 2010

Contrast and Drama

Today we have a guest post by my husband, who does wildlife photography as a hobby:

 Contrast and Drama

Contrast and light can contribute a lot to the emotional impact of an image.  Harsh lighting creates a very dramatic, bold feel.  Soft lighting can create an intimate or playful feeling.  Some things to think about when looking at the light for a photograph are how direct the light is and where do the shadows fall in the image.  An image captured in direct sunlight will have tremendous contrast, so that either the shadows will be almost completely black or the highlights blown-out white.  Images created in shade or on cloudy days have a much lower contrast.

Here are a few examples from some of my recent work.  Take this photograph of an American Black Bear:

Not too bad, and he looks appropriately menacing, but the lighting isn't helping.  Compare to this image:

The high contrast here gives the image a much more dramatic feel.  The glint of light on one eye with the other side of the face dark makes the bear seem much more intense.  The contrast better suits the subject.

Here is an alternate example.  Consider the cute cub:



This image has a similar contrast to the previous image, but the effect is not as pleasing.  This guy still looks cute, but again the light isn't helping us.  Compare to this example:


The contrast in this image is similar to the first image in the post, but here the lighting is much more appropriate for the subject.  I think most people would agree that this is the more pleasing image.

In portrait photography, sometimes men look better with a higher contrast lighting which can make them look rugged or dangerous.  Women, on the other hand generally prefer images of themselves with softer lighting.  Although this is often violated for dramatic effect in advertising or sports photography, it is not necessarily the most flattering to the subject.

Hopefully this gives you something to think about when choosing the lighting for your images.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Just a few fun shots

Going back to process a few photos I took just over a month ago...





A lover of the little things...

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Birthday fun

We were at a little friend's birthday party today. Happy Birthday Michael! I took a few photos for him and his family. Here are several (permission granted by his mom to share):
A beautiful cake made by his mom! Little sister really got into the festivities too...


This pinata was made by mom too! Harsh sunlight made for shadows, but we caught Michael in action:


Little sister was willing to play a little peekaboo with me at the end:

On a last note, I try to be very careful to only show photos on my blog of people who have given me permission to do so. While I capture more pictures during the party, I am not posting pictures that include other children.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Summer Fun

I've been taking my children to the Tennis Club of Albuquerque for swim lessons the last two weeks. A friend was taking her children and recommended it. This has been a great experience. I'd tried group and then private lessons with my son 2 and 3 years ago, and it had been pretty unsuccessful. He was terrified of putting his face in the water, and once forced to do that, he gave up. So I gave up on having someone else teach him!
The instructors here are phenomenal. They are incredibly patient and my son has gotten older. Both of my two oldest children have made a huge leap. My son now can't get enough, and he goes right into the water! My daughter finally has worked herself up to putting her face in with the patient work of her instructor.
Here are several snapshots of them in action. I was juggling watching/hanging on to my littlest one and the camera at the same time, but got a few photos while watching them:


We've also enjoyed some outdoor play. Here we enjoy the sprinkler hose in the backyard. In the first, I loved the colors in the sky and in my little one's clothes. I also like the lines of the water and of the balcony pillars behind her. My other daughter had a grand time playing by herself and challenging herself to get in the water!

And last of all, I loved the way the sunlight fell up my littlest one's hair as she played on a riding toy outside. I also like the background colors.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Posing

Posing isn't my biggest strength as a photographer. I also prefer to focus on capturing expressions over perfect poses. I'd rather people look like themselves than a perfectly posed model looking stagnant and with no story to tell. Also, when I am working with a family with small children or babies, I tend to focus on getting the little ones happy and it is easy to overlook the way their parents look! That said, however, some posing is required when you want photos that are flattering and that don't exaggerate in unflattering ways.

Another note is that our camera is translating what we see in 3D into a flat 2D picture. Think about that. While we see an entire person, and know how wide the person is, and can see how nice they look, the camera will only show the angle it sees.

Here I'm going to post a few tips that I try to keep in mind, but remember, there are plenty of times where "rules" are broken for effect, and it isn't wrong.

First and foremost, look at where the light falls. When we look at the human face, it looks most natural to us when the light falls at an angle from slightly above and either in front or to one side or the other. This is the way sunlight falls on our faces most of the time, and it emphasizes the shape of the face - the forehead, cheek bones, mouth, etc.

When I take a picture of the human face it is also more flattering for the camera to be slightly above. I want the eyes to be clear. I don't want to emphasize under the chin, and when someone is looking down, it is easy to produce what appears to be extra "chins"! This, of course, applies more to adults than to children. Sometimes we can produce fun pictures of kids from all angles.

If someone's body is posed slightly at an angle to the camera, the person's width isn't emphasized. Most of us appreciate that. My husband visited India for a month before we met. He showed me his photos. Every one with him in it shows him standing square to the camera in front of some neat place. He is a big guy (he's 6' 4"!) and these photos were not flattering at all. Try to look dynamic in a photo!

Groups: I used to make the mistake of lining everyone up like the old school photos. Tall people went in back, shorter in front. Everyone was in neat straight lines. This produces BORING photos! What you want is the faces arranged in such ways that they aren't in straight lines horizontally or vertically. If every face is at a slightly different level or even angle, the photo is a lot more interesting to look at. On another note, the faces should also all be at a similar distance from the camera, so you can keep them all in focus. It helps a lot to get up on a step stool (or other convenient object) so that you can put your camera at a level that makes the faces approximately the same distance from it.

Hands look better from the side than from the top - they don't look as large or as square.

Try not to cut off hands or feet that gives an "amputated" feel. If you crop, try to crop at a 3/4 ratio (across the upper arm or forearm, or middle of lower leg - but not at joints).

Last of all, You are the photographer. Try different angles, try different croppings. Don't get stuck on thinking you've got it with one shot. Take LOTS of photos, and then look through them to see what you like. It takes experimentation to learn. And have fun!

Family in Action

I enjoy the opportunity to capture families in action. This happy family came up with the idea to play a game while I was there. It was fun watching them interact and have fun together! A few shots I like: