Monday, March 17, 2008

Taking Silhouettes - Digital Photography Tips

Don't you just love silhouettes? If you've ever seen those investigator movies you cognize what silhouettes are. The investigator only shown as a dark figure talking is the silhouette. The silhouette photograph is a great image that tin be very astonishing and visually appealing. These photographs can do for mysterious, commanding, gentle, and challenging photos. It can be a great manner to set accent on a subject.

The most common and easy manner to utilize a silhouette is when there is a single primary topic of interest. This is the easiest manner to illume as you simply light it from behind the topic and thus the topic will be turned into a silhouette. Of course, you can seek more than than originative things like having silhouettes of 100s of people but that'll be much more difficult.

When taking silhouette images the word form and form of your topic is critically important. You will not see any of the inside information within the topic and only see their outline. The lines of the topic go very prominent. When taking photographs of people as silhouettes, it can be very utile as you are seeing them as lines and shapes. Taking these types of photographs of people can greatly better your photographs of people and posing them properly.

The background of your silhouette is extremely important. If your background is as dark as the silhouette it will be very difficult to see the subject. The background colour should be somewhat contrasting to the silhouette. This volition do the topic base out.

When taking silhouette photos, seek to maintain everything simple. Think of simple conceptions to portray in your images. Because the silhouette strips the topic of all inside information it is a much simpler word form of photography. Taking a silhouette against the sky can work very great and you most likely don't even necessitate any other lighting. Simply put the topic against the sky and the seeable light will do them go dark and silhouetted where the sky will be fully visible.

Silhouette photographs can be very emotional photos. It can demo very at odds and deep emotions such as as fear, sadness, grief, etc.

To drill silhouette photographs simply seek looking at a topic and see their lineation and shape. This volition give you a good thought of what they'll look like when silhouetted.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Action Stock Photos

You're walking around taking images and suddenly you see a very big and very intend looking prehistoric dinosaur haste past times you. You draw your photographic camera out and take the image but recognize that the shutter velocity was put at a incorrect velocity and the image is fully blurred. Now you have got got no grounds that you saw the dinosaur and when you state everyone you won't have any evidence!

Action stock photographs can be very profitable. If you take the image right and compose it right your photograph can be deserving quite some money. Action picture taking is primarily done with physical objects that are in motion. Obviously! For action stock photos you necessitate an action going on and must hit the action.

There are primarily two different ways to capture movement when taking photographs. One manner is to utilize halt motion. What halt movement photos make is freezing the motion. If you had person tongue and took a photograph that used halt movement the tongue would freeze in mid air. To accomplish halt movement in picture taking simply se the shutter velocity very fast. Stop movement photos can be very cool looking and very profitable. If you utilize halt movement creatively you can return some very interesting pictures.

Rather than take the stereotyped halt movement photographs of people jumping in the air be creative! Think of everything in your life that have movement and see how it'd look with halt motion.

Another manner to capture movement is by using a very slow shutter speed. A very slow shutter velocity will do the movement in the image expression blurred. It is of import to utilize a tripod so that the movement is blurred but the overall image isn't. Slow shutter velocities can do your stock photographs of running H2O expression as if the H2O was floating. They can do waterfalls look mystical.

As with halt motion, be originative when taking images of action using slow shutter speeds. Probably one of the most common stock photographs I see that usages a slow shutter velocity is with cars. They are the nighttime photographs that have got autos driving by and creating fuzzes of bright lines. This is frequently used with stock photos. There are, however, many other ways to utilize slow shutter speeds. Think about using slow shutter velocities for air airplanes instead of cars. Maybe of boats at nighttime with their lines creating blurs.

Friday, February 22, 2008

In the moment - SFMOMA celebrates Lee Friedlander

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Can Spike Lee Friedlander do a bad photograph?

Perhaps, but if he did we probably could not tell, so completely have his work redefined, for those who cognize it, the sense of what do a image worth taking. If his retrospective, gap today at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, have a downside, it may be to give false assurance to inexperienced photographers. Friedlander do everything photographic - from lament to cultural observation to landscape and self-satire - look easy.

Friedlander's images hang arrayed here in thematic groups, in roughly chronological order. Some groups, such as as self-portraits, come up labeled, echoing their aggregation in book form. Vitrines in the exhibition incorporate pristine transcripts of Friedlander's most of import publications.

Other bunches challenge the viewer's oculus to link them, including four in a perpendicular row that have got mental images of things blown into, or out of, shape: a ill-proportioned tree, a wind-wrecked hairdo, a headland of cloud and a downy dog, images taken old age and many statute miles apart.

Did Friedlander recollect or seek out these household resemblances among mental images as he carried on working? Did he topographic point them only later? Or makes their grouping here merely stand for the intercession of Simon Peter Galassi, picture taking conservator at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, which originated the retrospective?

Such inquiries substance because, looked at individually, none of the four images amounts to much. We might state the same of many other person mental images on view. Give Friedlander recognition for never overestimating the significance of a single shot. He apparently experiences no ambivalency about the Romaic nature of his medium. Yet viewed en bloc, his images arouse a distinct, possibly personal, manner of encountering and remembering the world.

I state "encountering" the human race and not "seeing" it, because Friedlander have practiced picture taking openly as a constructive fine art almost from the beginning.

I state "possibly personal" because Friedlander understands both by experience and inherent aptitude the fluctuating, perhaps inestimable, objectiveness quotient of photography.

The photographic camera work stoppages a short letter of impersonality, of automatism, every clip it operates. A astute photographer such as as Friedlander, who learned his chops doing magazine work and street picture taking at the same time, works back from the baseline assurance that the photographic camera inspires in its viewing audience - or inspired, before digital engineering cast of characters a shadow of intuition on all things pictorial.

We accept an mental image such as as "Nashville, Tennessee" (1971) as an instantaneous written document of societal world because everyone in it - maybe even Friedlander himself behind the lens system - looks taken by surprise. And because it looks to do no averment about what it records, unless we care about the importance ascribed to highly coiffed hair at a certain American topographic point and time.

But expression at a recent picture, such as as "New House Of York City" (2002) in the Fraenkel Gallery's coincident Friedlander show, "America by Car," and you recognize immediately that his photographic camera have constructed a minute of layered, colliding ocular positions that the oculus unaided could never assemble, allow alone fix.

We might see "Friedlander," the retrospective, as trailing a career-long disproof of any presumed equality between seeing the human race and seeing the human race as photographed. Yet Friedlander works as if he have no ideological interest in this truth, merely a captivation with it, a captivation continually reawakened as different topics come up before his camera.

He have frequently returned to or stayed with the same or similar topics for a stretch of time, as in his series "American Monuments," "Nudes" and shots taken backstage behavior at a manner show, an improver to this locale of the retrospective's tour.

In the manner series from 2006, we see glamor getting fabricated, as hairstylists, constitution people and chests of drawers waver around waifish theoretical accounts like a race path cavity crew, readying them for the runway.

The fulgurant formalism of "The Desert Seen" series suffuses the manner pictures. They nearly disperse the unfamiliarity of their societal content through shots so brilliantly timed and aimed that they asseverate themselves as abstract structures.

Friedlander's wont of identifying his images only by topographic point name calling and days of the month makes the feeling of an creative person perpetually on the road.

Yet the retrospective neither shows nor brings on restlessness. Just the opposite. It do you experience that if you analyze Friedlander's work carefully enough, you can larn to see as he sees, even without a viewfinder. To make this feeling may be his true artistic magic act.

Friedlander: photos and books. Through May 18. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St., San Francisco. (415) 357-4000, .

Lee Friedlander: United States by Car: photographs. Through April 26. Fraenkel Gallery, 49 Geary St., San Francisco. (415) 981-2661, .

E-mail Kenneth Baker at .

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

All About Photo Mosaics

Believed to be first created in the early 1990s, photograph mosaics have got quickly gained popularity because of their alone and interesting ocular appeal. What exactly is a photograph mosaic and what do it unique? A photograph mosaic is a bigger photograph comprised of littler person photos. In another light, a photograph mosaic is a photograph which is divided into littler squares. Each square is actually it's have person photograph which closely resembles the colour of which the existent rectangle once was. If this sounds sort of confusing, the best manner for you to understand what a photograph mosaic is would be to actually see one for yourself. Head on over to Yokel Image Search and expression up photograph mosaics.

This volition output you plenty of consequences of which you will instantly be able to state what a photograph mosaic is. One of the original laminitises of photograph mosaics is Henry Martin Robert Silvers. He patented the production of photograph mosaics and also legally have the name photomosaic. This, however, can't legally halt the many other companies around the human race which go on to do their ain alone photograph mosaics - a beautiful fine art word form which cipher can really legally own.

There are a few different ways you can make your ain photograph mosaic if you are intrigued with them and have got a small originative spirit. The first method is somewhat clip consuming, but gives you the most control over the concluding result. Simply take your favourite photograph editor and continue to copy and paste littler mental images together to do one bigger image. Some software system have been developed which tin do this procedure a batch easier, which conveys us to the 2nd method. Search online for your favourite photograph mosaic software system - there are a smattering of programmes online that tin aid you make your ain photograph mosaics. While they make take some clip to acquire used to, you should be creating your ain plant of fine art in no clip at all.

Monday, July 30, 2007

The "Everywhere Girl" Phenomenon

There are many land sites where you can post your photographs for resale to corporations, advertisers, and other publishing houses of magazines, newsletters, and web content. One photographer, Stephen A. Douglas Menuez, have made a little luck with a few shots he took in 1998 and listed on Getty Images. He took some posed mental mental images of a immature woman, Jennifer Chandra, in presence of an American college, Reed College in Portland, Orgeon.

There is nil dramatic about his images, they are just an norm looking student, wearing a woolen cap, in presence of the old college building.

But those images have got been picked up and published tons of modern times by major corporations, and many other businesses, worldwide, for usage in advertisements, brochures, and web sites.

The Everywhere Girl Phenomenon was basically created by a technical newsletter, called The Inquirer, which is published day-to-day and supplies short short letters about occurrences in the computing machine and telecommunications area. One editor noticed that a photograph of the same female pupil was used by two computing machine makers at the same time. He wrote about it in a newsletter article, calling her "The Everywhere Girl", and soon people started sending in silver screen gaining controls of ads worldwide screening the same smiling face.

The Everywhere Girl is listed in the Urban Dictionary, and was listed in Wikipedia, until some techno-geeks objected and marked the article as self-serving and a campaigner for deletion.

From a photographer's point of view, there is not a batch to separate this photograph from the one thousands of others. She have a wholesome, smiling face, almost plain, and is wearing a wintertime woolen cap and a cowry shell necklace. She is posed in presence of an old college edifice and the full photograph is tilted, which many people might happen annoying. The background is out of focus, as the photographer intentionally shortened the depth of field to stress her face, which is crisp and detailed.

The photographer states there were respective other pupils in his shoot that day, but none have had the popularity of The Everywhere Girl. This peculiar photograph have been an outstanding success.

What it makes turn out is that submitting photographs to stock mental image land sites works, and sometimes works exceedingly well. And you, as a photographer, probably are not the best justice as to what will sell and what won't. The best advice is to pick your best shots, submit to as many stock photograph land sites as clip permits, and make it often.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Oil Paintings - Tools And Techniques For Making An Oil Painting From A Photo

n recent old age many people like to have got their ain oil paintings. There are few companies in the marketplace who offers 'a picture from photo' services. The whole procedure is done online when the client directs his digital mental image directly to a studio who paints it. Once the creative person coatings the painting, he will direct it to the customer.

A picture from photograph is highly complicated it is one of the most hard style of painting. An creative person who paints according to a given photograph should be highly adept and must have got a long experience in paintings. There is no other style that necessitates such as high degree of technique. Any error in the picture may do the client to reject the painting. If a client directs a photograph of his daughter, hoping to have got an oil portrait of her, he anticipates that all his daughter's inside information will be gaining control carefully in the painting. If the creative person do a flimsy alteration in the facial details, it may change the whole visual aspect of the child. Therefore, the creative person must have got tools to assist him to do the right proportionalities of the subject. When we speak about pictures from photos, we must retrieve that proportionalities are the rudiments to a successful painting.

The creative person have assorted tools that he can utilize in order to begin a picture according to a given photo. If the creative person doesn't utilize any tool and paints only according to his intuition, the picture will have got a more than artistic feeling but on the other manus it will be less accurate and may demo the topic in the incorrect proportions.

Listed below are some of the most popular tools an creative person can utilize while making a portrait from a photo:

Roller: a roller is a particular tool designed for people to enable them to pull the outer lines of the topic to the canvass according to the proportionalities in the original photo. This particular roller is placed on the photograph and on the canvass at the same time, when the creative person travels the roller on the topic in the photo, it moves in larger proportionality on the canvas. The side of the roller that travels on the canvass have a pencil attached to it so when it moves, it pulls lines on the canvas. This is an accurate tool, it is inexpensive and it is easy to use.

Copy paper: some people will publish the photograph on a paper which is in the same size as the canvas. They set a transcript paper between the canvass and the printed mental mental image so when they travel a pencil on the printed image, it is transferred lines of ink to the canvas. This is an accurate tool, it is relatively expensive but once you have got the printed mental image it is fast to paint the proportions.

Printed canvases: in the last few old age a new technique have developed to assist the people to capture the mulct inside information and colors in the painting. This new method is very simple, The creative person black and whites the mental image directly on the canvas. After the photograph the creative person will paint over the print. The quality of the picture is related to the figure of layer that the creative person utilizes to cover the print. The black and white is a tool that shows the creative person the right proportionalities and colours of the original photo. however, if the creative person usage only one ore two layers to cover the print, the picture may deficiency the artistic feeling because it will be very similar to the photo. Another disadvantage of the black and white is that if there are not adequate layers to cover it, the oil paints might melt or interruption after few years. The ground is that the ink layer doesn't have got good reaction with the oil paint. The length of service of an oil picture is determined by the quality of the canvas, the oil paints, the black and white thickness and the Numbers of layers. (which should be 3-4 layers for an oil painting). To work out the job cause by the ink, there are new pressmen which bring forth black and whites based on watercolours.

Projector: this tool is preferred by many artists. The creative person sets inside a particular projector which projects the photograph directly on the canvas. The mental image is shown on the canvass in full colors and the creative person utilizes a pencil to tag of import inside information on the canvas. This method lets the creative person to see and pull the right proportionalities of the photograph directly on the canvas.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Four Tips for Great Antelope Canyon Photos

In May 2007, I made my 4th visit to Antelope Canyon near Page, AZ.

Antelope Canyon is an unbelievable slot canon cut through Navaho sandstone. At certain modern modern times of the twenty-four hours at certain times of the year, the sunshine comes in the top of the canyon, illuminating it with a aureate light. The canon have been featured in many magazines, sometimes with shafts of visible light capturing atoms of dust set in movement by the cool breeze. Everyone who sees these photographs dreamings of taking photographs just like them.

The sad world of Antelope Canyon is that it's a major tourer attractive force that have 100s of visitants a day. The premier noon clip slots are especially crowded, with tons of photographers vying for place to capture the perfect image. Add to that the normal tourer crowd with their flash photographic cameras and you have got a less-than-perfect photo opportunity.

That said, I'm proud to state that during my May trip, I took some of the best photographs I'd ever taken of Antelope Canyon -- despite the fact that I had never before seen so many people there. The "serious" photographers were especially obnoxious, blocking the narrow canon with their tripods, making it adjacent to impossible for anyone to travel forward. Yet there was only one individual within sight when I took my photos, and I did it with a point-and-shoot digital camera.

Here are my secrets.


  • Don't be in a hurry. The circuit groupings visiting Antelope Canyon come up in truckloads of 6 to 18 people each. In most cases, grouping members are in a haste to acquire through the canyon. The truth is, the first two or three Chambers are the most beautiful and usually have got the best light. By hanging back in the group, you can have got these Chambers all to yourself — before the adjacent grouping come ups through. (That's how I establish myself alone with just one other photographer for a full five proceedings with this beautiful scene in presence of me.)

  • Turn off your flash. Flash light will rinse out the colours and cast of characters deep shadows where shadows simply don't belong. If your photographic camera have an "automatic" or "program" mode, it should be "smart" enough to acquire the exposure right. All of my photographs were taken with natural visible light — and it shows!

  • Use a tripod. This is must. Don't trust mental image stabilisation features. I mount my photographic camera vertically on the tripod and widen its legs while I'm calm on the truck, so I'm cook to travel right away. Then all Iodine make is distribute the tripod's legs, embed its feet in the farinaceous flooring of the canyon, and fine-tune to frame in my subject. And, in lawsuit you're wondering, my tripod for this duty is a $10 theoretical account that was thrown in as a giveaway with my picture photographic photographic photographic camera — in other words, a piece of junk.

  • Use a cablegram release…or your camera's self-timer. Pushing the button on your camera will agitate it — possibly adequate to film over the image. That's why you should utilize a cablegram release to catch the photo. Your photographic camera doesn't back up that? No problem. Set the camera's ego timer to one or two secs and fourth estate the button. Your button-pressing finger will be safely out of the manner when the photograph snaps.

Not planning a trip to Antelope Canyon? Not a problem. In general, these tips will use to any low-light location that's A favourite among tourists. Just travel when you anticipate the visible light to be best and have got patience.