This is one from Brianna’s portfolio. There were so many good ones to choose from it was too hard to decide, so I showed this one. She could be famous in the next few years, so watch for her. Brianna puts together simple but very effective outfits. I wish I could make her famous. She is a very good model.

Composition- standard portrait/model set-up. No wasted space. Barn door doesn’t clash with her.

Lighting- Diffused, the sun was out, but not where we were.

In Photoshop I increased the Saturation (which I usually don’t do) and gave more contrast in Curves. They were both Adjustment Layers. I made a layer (Cmd/Ctl J) made a selection of her face and sharpened with Unsharp Mask.

Camera- Nikon D-50
ISO- 200
Shutter Speed- 1/100
F-stop- 5.6

Woob Lot

First off, this is not a misprint. I shot this at a virgin wood lot called Tipton Woods in the fall of 1983. Those who have taken the Photoshop class have seen this slide, but not all green like this. Back to Woob Lot, the sign at the entrance of the virgin wood lot (all those years ago) said: virgin woob lot. Hence the name.

The composition is some kind of balance or some kind of line, but it probably doesn’t fit into basic elements of design. The lighting was diffused.

I turned it green in Photoshop a long time ago and to be honest, I forgot what I did. I probably changed it in Channel Mixer. Which can be used as an Adjustment Layer. Recently I opened it and wanted to change it. I used New Adjustment Layer>Curves and pulled up the highlights. This changed the whole curvature of the photo, so to speak. It made the whole photo lighter, but made a pleasant change to the tones.

Sometimes with the passage of time a photographer will look at a photo and want to print/process the image differently. You can look at a print for years and then it hits you. You want to make it different. Woob Lot is an example.

Camera- Canon FTb
Film- Kodachrome 25
ASA- 25 yes 25
Lens- Canon 28mm
Shutter Speed- 1/2 ish
F-stop- 11ish

The second one is down the road looking back to where I was when I shot the first one. This one seems more dramatic. Nice frame and thirds. ISO- 200 SS- 1/15 f18 32mm

Here is a series of photos. Sometimes it’s where you shoot. I live about 9 miles from a place called Hidden Lake Gardens. It’s a beautiful arboretum type place, outside of Tipton Mi. I have been shooting there since 1980. I shot many senior portraits there. Since then, other senior portrait photographers have gone there. Years ago, I went on the paths and shot what I thought was good. I figured that I’d covered the place.

In early April of this year, I got in the mood to walk outside and went to Hidden Lake, and got on trails that I’d never seen before. (They have really opened up where people can go). I found a cross country skiing trail that used to be a road in ancient times. I found places where I wanted to shoot and returned and shot them, in some cases a couple of times. I wanted to shoot on an overcast day, with no leaves on the trees. A different season would make these look totally different.

The first one is of the old road, it is framed by the many trees and the road curves nicely and somewhat thirds. ISO- 200 Shutter Speed- 1/15 Aperture- f18 Lens- 52mm

Does a photo have to be perfect to be effective? I don’t think a photo has to be perfect to be effective. Most everyone wants to improve their photographs, someway, somehow. This photo is from Jamie’s portfolio from the summer of 2003. I wanted to shoot later, but we didn’t have later. I had to shoot in brilliant sunlight. I would have liked to have shot her with softer light. Not necessarily diffused light, but softer sunlight. Two hours later would have been good, but would the position of the sun been as good?

I could have used some sort of softening device, but I didn’t have anything that reached that high. The light on her is too harsh. You are seeing the photo as shot, with no Photoshop manipulation.

Now, what makes this photo good? I do like the sideish lighting. I used a reflector to fill in the face. Those two elements make the photo good. The look on Jamie’s face is great. The feeling of the photograph is great. The mood is great. Oh yes, black and white worked better for this than color.

Sometimes a photo may have flaws, but can still be very good.

Camera- Canon FTb
Lens- I think a 135mm telephoto, Canon
Shutter Speed- 125/250
Aperture- f4ish
Film- T-Max 100

This photo has made a comeback with me. This photo is called either The Dancer or Lori. It was shot January 29, 1977 in her basement. (It looks like it was shot yesterday). I used one bulb in a cheap reflector (the clamp type). I backlit her (I had SOME idea what back light was). A year later, I had some people tell me to turn it horizontally, so it looked like she was flying. I still don’t know about that one.

This was a situation where the darkroom improved the photo. I printed the photo down (darker than it was exposed) and I dodged her face, you can probably tell. I tried to improve the dodge in Photoshop, but I couldn’t. The original was fine.

Could you get a similar look digitally? Yes. You could probably duplicate this scene very easily. See above. In Photoshop use Curves, or Levels, make the density darker, add a little contrast and dodge the face.

What really makes this photo is the look on her face. She was not a professional model, but she projected a great look. Great mouth. Sometimes you just get lucky. After looking at the contact sheet, there are at least 3 more that need to be revisited.

Camera- Canon FTb
Film- Ilford HP4 I thought I pushed it to ASA 800, but there is no record of that, so probably ASA 400.
SS- 1/30 I might have used a tripod, but I don’t remember. If I didn’t, I can’t believe how sharp it is.
f- 2.8
Lens- 50mm
Paper- probably a grade 3 contrast

The equipment used was very simple. You don’t always need something complicated.

KT

A few words about using your camera manually. Remember, we are not talking about manual focus.

The figurines on your mode dial are all automatic modes. I think we understand that.

Maybe camera manufacturers are adding to the confusion. Some camera manuals call the P (Program) TV/S (Shutter priority) AV/A (Aperture priority) M (Manual) creative modes, or something like that. They are NOT creative. All of these except M are AUTOMATIC MODES. The camera operates AUTOMATICALLY.

Program- camera sets both the shutter and aperture.

TV/S- Shutter Priority- you set the shutter speed, the camera sets the aperture.

AV/A- Aperture Priority- you set the aperture, the camera sets the shutter speed.

I have had an increasing amount of students do the following, thinking they are using the camera manually. (DO NOT DO THIS). Set the Mode dial to M. Then set the Mode dial to TV/S and set the shutter speed, then set the Mode dial to AV/A and set the aperture, then shoot. THIS IS NOT SHOOTING IN MANUAL!! Repeat DO NOT DO THIS. Use Manual the way it is described below.

This is how most cameras operate in the Manual mode. Set the mode dial to M. Look through the viewfinder. Press the shutter release button halfway, to activate the light meter. Turn the command dial with your forefinger or thumb. That changes the shutter speed. Press and hold the aperture button while turning the same dial. That changes the aperture. There is a graph like area where you want all the green bars to disappear or go to the middle. When that happens you have the correct shutter speed and aperture combination.

Don’t forget to use your Gray Card.