Ok last weeks blog post was on preparation. Specifically preparation to absorb and practice the knowledge you are gaining. This my friends is a life long journey. If you are a hobbyist Photographer and think that Professional Photographers have it all down pat with nothing left to learn?
I’m sorry you are sorely mistaken. Especially in the digital age. With film I was always taking notes because we never got to actually see our results for about three weeks. Then we spent days with a loop and a light-box going over negatives or contact prints.
In the digital age there is even more to learn! We can now process our work with infinite possibilities and styles. You personal attitude and chi can influence your work even more now than it did in the film days.
This Post Will Comprise Two More Topics Of Preparation
Today I had an image pop up from my FaceBook memories from 9 years ago. I looked at the image and said to myself, “is THAT really one of my edits?” Sadly I knew it was, and right away stated to myself that I needed to re-edit the file.
It’s out there in FaceBook land and I really can’t believe I thought the image was good enough to post. However! I also know that nine years ago my Photography editing systems were not what they are today… So I headed down the path of looking for the image, in order to re-process it. This is the image below.
The composition is fine, and at the time I composed this image I remember thinking exactly the title I chose. How many years has that tree defied the wraths of nature in order to survive? Also I remembered how long I had to be patient so that no people would be in my composition, in this very busy location. What don’t I like about the edit? There are too many things to list.
Enter 2020 and Covid
I did some simple math and realized that this image was composed sometime around 2015 or sooner. Well in 2020 Covid hit which also hit my Photography backup systems really hard! At the time I had multiple very large raid systems that backed up ALL of my files! I mean ALL of them!
Not just my Photography but also every single digital file I had ever created. Music, Photography, Spreadsheets, Legal Documents… EVERYTHING! I had major expensive systems in place for this backup system, to the tune of over ten thousand dollars in hardware, and hard drives.
I was all in on a pretty good company at the time called Drobo. I had one 264 terabyte raid array, and three 64 terabyte raid arrays feeding into that one. Geek speak… a terabyte is one trillion bytes. That’s a total of 456 trillion bytes of storage I had. Multiple storage systems with multiple backups.
I thought I was protected with so much redundant backup I’d be in GREAT shape! Right up until the height of Covid hit and Drobo could no longer get computer chips to sell in it’s systems. If we have nothing to sell? Then we have zero income! Couple that with a Black Friday sale where Amazon oversold lots of Drobo’s that they could not produce? Disaster! Drobo had to file for bankruptcy protection.
The once darling company of Photographers and Videographers everywhere with their lightning fast direct attached raid arrays… could no longer survive. Support disappeared. Systems could not be upgraded to ensure the raid drives could be read by advancing software developments…. and now thousands of dollars of hardware and trillions of bytes of my data had become door stops!
In all fairness? Who would have ever thought the very successful company would go out of business? I should have remembered another company that did this as well named Kodak. ^_*
I Got A “Little Lucky”
I was able to save some of my data off of failing drives, but not all of it. I have most all of my raw files, but none of my edits. So now my “bullet proof” system was full of holes big time! I just spent over two hours looking for the image above to re-edit it… to no avail. Yes I will find it, but I have no more time today to look for it.
Learn from my mistakes my friends and followers, learn! Be prepared! Have multiple backups and do NOT use any proprietary software like Drobo employed for their patented systems. You can still do raids now…. simply make sure the software is accessible by anyone!
Also, although the Raws are important, I’m sorry I did not try and recover the DNG files. That’s where all of my work was. Now I get to re-edit decades of work… Every single day I run into Photographers with less than adequate backup systems of their work. Think of this now!… before it’s too late. Be Prepared!
You Can Not Buy Any More Time, And You Can Not Simply Re-Take The Images!
Ok! Subject Number Two…
My last post was about preparation for learning skills. Hobbyist Photographers look to the professionals wishing to learn our skills, and what equipment we use. I’ve stated many, many times it’s NOT about the gear! So have almost every single Professional Photographer I’ve ever encountered.
Yet everyone always asks us “what to buy?” Every single camera manufacturer has a set of Ambassadors that are Professional Photographers, representing their brand. Why? Because you will buy anything that one of these Ambassadors touts as their go to equipment.
If you search YouTube you will find hundreds of Videos on the subject of gear. A camera, a lens, lighting, or camera bags to hold it all. Why? Because it’s hot search topic! This fact alone is why! YouTubers get paid based upon views and time viewed. Nothing more.
This is how they get paid. If they can come up with a compelling “argument” why they are right? They get views and they make money. There are even computer programs out there that will give you a very up to date list of “hot search phrases” for any topic.
This is a game of attracting followers, and time viewed. Nothing more. A YouTuber doesn’t really need to be an expert on the subject at all… they simply need to sell you on the fact that they have some expertise. There are no tests to become a YouTuber. There are no certifications. There are zero accreditation standards. Once you have 100 followers? Your channel is “certified.”
Guess what? There are YouTube videos trying to train and inform you how to actually compose compelling images with heart and soul instead of gear? They get VERY FEW views! Yet they are more important!
Every Single Professional Photographer Worth His Salt
Will tell you that the camera, the lens, the lights, the tripods, the camera bags… everything! Are nothing but tools to accomplish their craft. Most of us simply use tools that are comfortable for us, and get the job done. Nothing more, nothing less.
In my personal case I shoot Nikon and others, for a multitude of reasons… you should use what ever works for you to get the image that YOU wish to compose! Yup, I even have a Canon camera, and also a Sony. You just might use several brands… just like I do. I will use what ever happens to be in my hand, and I will capture the best image I can with it, using and/or knowing what that tools strengths or weaknesses are…
Ansel Adams said “you don’t a take Photograph you make it.” He also stated that “it’s not the camera, it’s the twelve inches behind the viewfinder” Both of these statements are still true today. Another timeless quote… “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” ~Henry David Thoreau.
“If you can not see the passion in your Photography? How do you expect others to see it?”~Garrett Winslow
The above statement has zero to do with gear! Ok a short story… a couple of weeks ago I was on a PhotoSafari with a group of students from my Campfire Group. It was the first day of Spring… and I was less than “springy”… I had not slept well for many days. I was less than “up” for this gig, but did not wish to cancel it because plans were made by several people.
I actually sat in the shade for the entire day, willing to have anyone that wished to, pick my brain. (for what ever that’s worth) Just before this day I was looking for a new personal project for myself. Something just for me, something to strive for. Something to always have on the back burner so to speak.
For the past several years I have not Photographed people. No family shoots, very few Weddings, and even fewer Portraits. Why? Honestly? Several reasons, that I don’t need to go into here. I’ve been searching for a new challenge.
I’ve Photographed dancers and their drive for perfectionism. I’ve Photographed Weddings. I’ve even done “School Photography”… can you imagine Photographing 300 little kids in like five hours and getting them to smile? That’s like one kid every second! I’ve actually had people in the industry time myself and my team doing this!
When doing that type of Photography, after we’ve set up, it’s definitely not about the gear! How are you going to get a cute expression out of a little kid in less than a second? Preparation! That’s how! Along with a huge repertoire of one liners that get the desired reaction, and impeccable timing!
When I teach portraiture it’s always difficult for me to teach the client how to “stay in their camera” and shoot faster. They always wish to look at their shots in the back of the camera. If you say “well I don’t like that one” who do you think the model thinks you are talking about? Them that’s who! These shoots are NOT about the gear! They are Not about YOU and YOUR capabilities. These shoots are about them!
Should you practice on people you know? Your friends and family? Absolutely not! How are you ever going to learn to deal with people that you do not have a relationship with, If you never practice it? Preparation! Big Time Preparation! One thing you should do is to definitely become the subject yourself!
How will you EVER know what they are dealing with if you have never walked in their shoes? This alone makes most Photographers cringe! Photographers are comfortable behind the camera,… not in front of it! But how do you prepare? Get together with some of your Photographer friends and take turns being the model, that’s how! Do this seriously! Try for awesome portraits! Then go find some strangers to shoot with.
The image above is from me being the model, with my best friend and awesome Photographer, Ted Vieira, capturing the portrait in Death Valley. It’s still one of my favorite images of me, and a fondly remembered day of exploring that huge area. Do I look fat? Even though I have a bit of a belly? No… because good Photographers know how to pose for things like this using clothing, position, and light, just to name a few ingredients.
Enter The Forty Over Forty Project…
Ya wanna know who is really hard to book a shoot with? People over forty that’s who! These people think they are no longer “attractive!” “Oh I have too many wrinkle’s, or I’m too fat.” (I have a personal problem with this one myself) Ladies want us to remove every single line in their faces! (this I will NOT do!)
This is my new challenge this year, and come to think of it every year from now on. As someone well beyond forty, I think these opinions of ourselves need to change! We made it! Many of our friends might not have. (over 45% of my high school graduating class are gone)
If you wish a huge challenge try this one. Do you know how difficult it will be to get forty people over forty to shoot with me? Even for free?
My First Over Forty Composition…
And a VERY fine man! Mr Woodrow “Chip” Chisena. A Marine (you are never an ex-Marine) and a survivor of Camp Lejuene. Chip is also a very fine accomplished Photographer, and has studied the Masters of the past extensibly. I’m proud to say that Chip is also in my Campfire Group. Even today he is still studying Photography!
Well we were sitting around that first day of spring and I have zero idea how the subject of Portraits came up. Just the same I took a portrait of Chip. Yes my “big boy camera” was in the truck… so I took it with my iPhone. Timing was everything to get Chip’s expression. He did not really wish to have his picture taken!
Yet right away I liked the Portrait, and ultimately I’m always shooting for my own approval. I edited the image right there using only what Apple provides us with, even though the Snapseed app is also on my phone. I showed the image to Chip and sent it to him via text. Chip showed the image to his wife when he got home.
Chip sent me a text later, stating his wife really liked the image… so? I went further and downloaded the image to my computer with the goal of printing it for her. The image below is that composition edited only in my iPhone.
So I was looking at this image now with the final print in mind. I liked the shot, I liked Chips expression, in his borrowed hat. (another challenge, getting that light right) He was relaxed instead of tensed up. But I really did not like the background, I did not like the table cloth, or the backgammon set setting at his elbow either.
So what to do about these things? Another quote from me is “crop out the crap”… but if I did that what would I have left? Not much that I would like, that’s for sure. So I went to work on the image to make it something that I would personally be proud of. Something worthy of printing.
iPhones can capture pretty good images, especially for use only online. But that tool has limitations. Even though there are like 48 megapixels, those pixels are very small. They also over expose the highlights very often. I knew this and created the image using the tools afforded me in the phone, at capture. Chip is exposed fairly ok. It’s not a big boy camera image… but it is a memory for both of us and deserves more…
So I went about cropping out the crap in another way… the image below is what I came up with.
Now you do not necessarily need a camera that costs thousands of dollars in order to create compelling images. You might not even think this edit is compelling, and that is also fine by me. I personally like it, given the tool I had at hand, and the timing.
Will I go sell my big boy cameras and use the only the iPhone? No this tool has it’s limitations. This image would not be very good printed larger than 12″x18″… yet it is still a useable tool for many, many things! It does awesome 4k video and it’s always in my back pocket! It’s also my go to tool for “picture notes”…
The key here is preparation. I had lots of experience Photographing people in very little time. I knew the limitations of the tool in my hand. Even though I was on little sleep and not feeling well… I was able to simply overcome that for a short time. My experience and training kicked in. I was prepared.
