Not really…

I have always been a big propionate of stating that all photography is “manipulated” in some fashion no mater what the era.  The photographer controls the composition, angle, subject matter (including or excluding),  pose, lighting, and mood or conveyance of a scene or person before pressing the shutter button.  When pressing the shutter button the photographers choice of shutter speed, aperture, film speed (ISO),  film type, camera format all influence the final image of the negative or digital file.  This doesn’t account for the “manipulative” tools employed in the darkroom, printing, and retouching, whether it be film or digital.  For example, is HDR photography some new invention from those image manipulation programs?  Think again. The concept runs all the way back to 1850 with Gustave Le Gray using multiple exposures to render seascape pictures.

But hasn’t Photoshop given photographers too much power  in altering the image?  It depends on the context and this is where all photographers have to draw their own lines.  For me, my Shenandoah, nature, and abstract work are processed in Adobe Lightroom 2 and those images stay in there.  By using Lightroom as opposed to Photoshop, I feel that my workflow more closely resembles the enlarger and film darkroom experience.  Now when it comes to client portraits,  almost every image will be processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.  My clients expect and often request for the photos to be retouched.

Photography is the manner in which we as photographers interrupt the world around us.  All photographers have their own vision and style in creating a photograph. It is up to the viewers of the pictures to determine their worth, whether it is partially manipulated or extensively hacked contrived with tools beyond the camera. So if anything, let us not criticize the tools for ruining a photograph but the people who use them poorly.  If we blame Photoshop, then we might as well hold flickr and the Internet accountable for allowing people to upload hideous pictures. Let’s face it, people have been creating bad photography ever since the inception of the first light sensitive tools.

If there is additional interest on the topic, check out these posts by Chase Jarvis and Scott Kelby.

Grace and Peace

Anyways, so I was getting my yahoo fix today when I saw this video with the title:

“Couple sue over nightmare wedding pics”

Ouch!  This photographer (videographer?) creatively re-shooting the couple-less limo was downright silly. But there are a few lessons to learn:

Photographers:

Protect yourself!  Get everything in the contract, what is expected of you and what you will deliver.  Purchase the necessary backup gear.  Have insurance, this covers you in case your gear gets stolen or broken but also if a couple tries to sue you.  If you really botch the wedding photographs, do whatever you can to reimburse the couple. Do a re-shoot or refund some or all the money (depending on how badly you botched it). Yes I know, surrendering all that money seems crazy, but dwell on it for a second.   This photographer is the subject of an international news spotlight because the couple didn’t receive  proper photographic records of a once in a lifetime event. This will do wonders for his business.  So photographers, if you mess up,  do whatever it takes to satisfy the wedding couple, including giving them your left leg.

Wedding Couple:

Pick your photographers carefully!  Interview and get to know them. If you don’t click with the photographers personality, don’t hire them.  Also,  a monkey with a camera can  produce ten masterpiece images out a million photographs,  so ask to view photographs from an all day wedding event (bride getting ready, formals, ceremony, reception, etc.)  This will give you an idea of how a photographer covers the entire wedding and not just the photographers best all-time pictures.  And on that note,  couples, you get what you pay for.  $200 on a photographer =  $200 photographs (and yes, there are exception but don’t risk it.)

Grace and Peace

More expensive, higher mega-pixels, bigger sensor, quicker frames-per-second is always better, right? I will argue that when considering the best photographic “upgrades,” equipment that seems lacking technically may be the most appropriate.

From roughly the 1890’s to about the 1950’s, large and medium format cameras were the mainstay of photographers. Names such as Ansel Adams and Richard Avedon deployed these cameras in and out of the studio. The common 8×10 inches, 4×5 inches, and 120 format films provided an enormous amount of information and detail which allowed for large, occasional life-sized, tack sharp prints. But while these film types and cameras rendered superior quality, they were clumsy, large, heavy, and slow to deploy. These characteristics made for capturing spontaneous and fleeting moments almost impossible to photograph without much forethought and preparation. But during the 1920’s-1930’s, a new line of cameras and a French photographer were dedicated to capturing the “decisive moment.”

Although the 35mm film was in use before the now legendary Leica cameras, it was the Leica that popularized it. While the Leica’s optics and quality made it suitable for professionals, its compact size made it easy to carry and deploy (“point and shoot” if I might say). This quick fire camera was ideal for master photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson who desired to capture the what he called the “decisive moment.” Cartier-Bresson, with his Leica and 50mm lens, has been credited with creating what many photographers refer to today as “street photography.” Prowling and stalking the streets, he would search for interesting moments while maintaining supreme composition. One of his greatest images, “Behind the Gare St. Lazare,” which depicts a Frenchman jumping over/into a large puddle of water, was taken through a gap in the fence. Imagine attempting to capture that spontaneous moment with a large or medium format camera. For Cartier-Bresson, the 35mm Leica with a smaller negative format, made it possible to photograph his many iconic images.

“For us the camera is a tool, the extension of our eye, not a pretty little mechanical toy. It is sufficient that we should feel at ease with the camera best adapted for our purpose. Adjustments of the camera – such as setting the aperture and the speed – should become reflexes, like changing gear in a car. The real problem is one of intelligence and sensitivity.”

-Henri Cartier-Bresson

Now I understand that digital sensors are a newer technology which have quickly evolved, making the “lacking” 3 mega-pixel sensors obsolete. But with the average consumer point and shoot camera floating at 10 mega-pixels, is being able to print solid 4×6 and 5×7 prints a concern? How often does the average photographer print over 5×7 or even print at all? Does even a 10 mega-pixel sensor matter if the pictures are to be uploaded to Flickr at 600×400 pixels (which by the way isn‘t even equivalent to 1 mega-pixel)? So let us forget about mega-pixels and focus on the other technical limitations of the camera.

We need to remember that photographers create photographs. This seems obvious, but often when it come to equipment, we tend to be collectors of “toys“ rather than creators with “tools.” All photography equipment contains weaknesses, so is imperative that we consider the technical limitation of every piece of equipment and choose the most appropriate piece for our purpose just as Henri Cartier-Bresson did with his 35mm Leica and 50mm lens. Sometimes this will mean purchasing relatively less capable equipment that better suit’s a given photographic situation. So as I opened, when considering the best photographic “upgrades,” equipment which seems lacking technically may be the most appropriate. If your current equipment is appropriate and changing settings has become an extension of your arms, then “feel at ease” and don’t upgrade. Go capture those “decisive moments” until that camera breaks, then upgrade.

“Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important.”
- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Grace and Peace

Knowledge

Equipment in and of itself will not make anyone a better photographer or for that matter a compelling photograph. “Compelling” begins to form when the photographer uses his skill and knowledge of photographic principles to compose and direct an image.

When I’m ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my mind’s eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I’m interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.

-Ansel Adams

Are you “just extract[ing] from without?” Why spend thousands of dollars on a pro camera which will be parked in automatic mode? Those expensive pro cameras have never included a “compelling” button for adjusting the lighting, composition, color, and emotion to create the perfect image. It will, however, provide similar results to that of an entry level D-SLR or compact camera’s auto feature. So realize that you, the photographer, adjusts and constructs lighting, shifts the composition, dictates color tones, and captures emotion. The camera and photography equipment are just tools to provide the means to an end product of the image that you, the photographer, create.

Bad metaphor alert:
Why buy an Indy 500 race car only to drive in rush hour traffic on I95? To pick up the ladies, of course! Although with only one seat in that Indy car, I doubt there will be any “picking up.” Same goes for photography equipment; it might get the attention of clients (”ladies”) and could possibly put a couple of clients in front of your camera, but that “Indy car” attention wears off quickly when your images have only “one seat” and aren’t compelling.

So if you “…see in [your] mind’s eye something that is not literally there…” and you have the skill and knowledge to build it “up from within” and portray that vision, then it might be worth your money to invest in new and/or better equipment. If, with your current equipment, your vision does not equate to that which was captured on the camera, then spend your money improving your photography by taking classes, workshops, reading books, researching the internet, and, most of all, practicing before you upgrade. Once your vision is equal to the images produced on the camera, then consider upgrading your photography equipment.

Grace and Peace.

Falling by Mary Gallagher Stout

I had the pleasure and opportunity to photograph several pieces by Mary Gallagher Stout, an acrylic and mixed media artist.  An artist which has substance beyond the brush strokes is always a delight, and Mary is just that. The ‘meaning of life’ and the ‘vanity of ones existence’ are thoughts that could pass through ones thinking cap.  Just ask her about vacuums. On a side note,  if a history lesson in music is desired, just ask Mary to shuffle play her iTunes list.

Please visit Mary’s websites at:

www.marygallagherstout.artspan.com
www.decorativepanache.com

I will be posting on the importance that a professional photographer can have on photographing art.

Grace and Peace

-Images used by permission from the artist,  copyright is solely of Mary Gallagher Stout.  Please do not use images without expressed written consent of Mary Gallagher Stout, the artist.

White Wall Snow Photograph

Welcome to my blog.  It is exciting for me to have it up and running.

While I am not entirely certain what I will be writing about, I do have many ideas which will evolve overtime. For sure this blog will be a location for the stories and tutorials behind the creation of my photography.  Also it will be an area to present new ideas and the experimentation of my style.   Most of all I hope to show interesting and beautiful pictures in addition to the photos located on my main site JohnRobertPennington

My other goal in this blog is to inform and teach others.  This will include guides on how to choose a portrait or wedding photographer.  What are the qualities that make a good photographer?  What equipment should your wedding photographer have?  Post-processing, what is it and how important will it be to your photographs?  These are just a few of the questions I will dive into.  Wonderful photography can be a journey of enjoyment and pleasure and I hope to make its trek a bit easier.

So please, sit back and enjoy my blog.

Grace and Peace