VerveCast

I love this article… Need Extra Money for the Holidays? Just Become a Photographer!

Why do I love it? Because it’s hilarious…

Most of us in the creative and/or technology industry have had to deal with this.

Designers, web developers, photographers, you name it.

Since the price of computers, software, cameras, and other previously expensive or specialized equipment has come down to the level that the average person can afford them, everyone thinks they are a designer, or web developer, or photographer.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for people learning new skills and trying their hand at making money with those skills, but if it were that easy, we’d all be doing it, and we’d all be rich… or broke… or something.

And I’m not about to tell people they are ruining an industry. If you love doing something, then you should do it. If you can provide amazing work cheaper than someone else, go for it. It’ll be up to you to decide if you’re ruining an industry. But keep in mind, after years of honing your craft, someone else will come along and offer to do what you do even cheaper. That’s just how it works.

Whew, I didn’t mean to get all heavy there… What I meant was, Happy Holidays! And if you need extra cash this holiday season, you might have better luck looking for loose change in the couch cushions than you will if you have no photography skills and try selling portraits of people after the fact.

Happy New Year! :)

Interesting post, suggesting that smiling isn’t conducive to creating a good portrait.

Of course, in the olden days of painting (and the early days of photography) you had to remain still for quite some time. Smiling is something best done quickly, not over long periods of time. Even trying to smile for more than a few minute isn’t enjoyable. (I don’t know how some people in the service industry do it!)

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of smiling for photos. I know that everyone wants a smile when there’s a snapshot being taken, and I have to assume it’s because people associate smiling with being happy… But I think you can make a great photo (and/or portrait) without a smile.

There’s a new camera, which is (supposedly) revolutionary, and this time, it doesn’t come from RED.

The Lytro sounds too good to be true, sort of. I mean, they do use the word “magic” in their marketing copy.

Here’s a description:

Lytro lets you take pictures like never before. Unlike a conventional camera that captures a single plane of light, the Lytro camera captures the entire light field, which is all the light traveling in every direction in every point in space.

Yeah, this sounds like magic. I know a lot about photography and I’m still not 100% sure what they mean by this. Luckily, you can read about the science they are using.

There’s some quotes on the web site from mainstream media and some tech blogs, but no photography sources. This one from the New York Times is interesting.

“For a photographer, whether amateur or professional, the Lytro technology means that the headaches of focusing a shot go away.”

I know a lot of photographers, and none of them consider focusing a shot a headache. In fact, a good photographer consciously chooses what they want in focus and what they don’t want in focus.

The Lytro method seems to assume that you can’t decide what should be in focus when you are shooting, so you should decide later, with software, or just let the viewer decide. This might be good for consumer cameras, but I just can’t see pro photographers jumping up and down with excitement over it.

In this butterfly shot, you can have the butterfly be in focus, or you can choose to have the flowers behind it in focus. You can check out the gallery to see how it works and try it yourself.

I’m still pretty curious about this camera. The simplicity of its reminds me of an Apple product, but I still can’t see anyone with professional Nikon or Canon gear dumping it to use one of these.

When you’re making a film you need to deal with things like technical accuracy, especially in Hollywood films where there’s the need to tell a compelling story. (Just take a look at the notes for Apollo 13.)

Incidentally, in advertising and marketing we’re also beholden to accuracy. I’ve heard it said many times in this industry that while an agency can make a company look great, it’s up to the company to deliver stellar products and services. Without those things, all the marketing in the world won’t help.

So the photo above is one I took while in a welding class last week. It’s one of those classic shots of a welder wearing a mask with lots of sparks flying. It makes a great photo, but as I learned, it’s not exactly what you want to see as a welder. The instructor told us that all those sparks are a bad thing, and the way you know you’re doing a good job welding has to do with minimal sparks, and the sound, which should resemble sizzling bacon.

Since you can’t convey the sound of sizzling bacon in a photo, and a photo with a small amount of sparks looks less exciting to most people than a photo with lots of sparks flying… this is what we end up with for many welding photos.

In the end I think we walk this fine line (just like Hollywood does) of telling a truthful and accurate story, that is also interesting and compelling.

I really like photographers who share… not just their images, but techniques behind how they create their images.

Alex Koloskov (who I first discovered on Google+) has a nice blog where he gets into detail of his shots, and shows some of the setups he uses.

He’s got a good post about Professional photography without professional equipment, that shows how you can get some good shots with cheapo stuff.

Oh no! He’s giving away all the secrets! :)

I’m mostly kidding… In reality though, it really is the person behind the camera, and their years of experience, that contribute to the photo more than the gear. Our studio is full of stuff like foamcore boards, DIY diffusers, aluminum foil, and even 50 year old barn wood, as well as expensive lighting gear. We mix it up, and come up with what works.

It’s the “what works” that is the real secret… or maybe it’s no secret at all. It takes a lot of practice, so if you’re wanting better photos, don’t worry about the gear that gets you there as much as you worry about the light, and creative ways to manipulate the light.