12 Step Project

Hey guys,

So recently I have been focusing the blog in a more educational/ How to do photography kind of way and I wanted to switch it up a bit by also challenging myself. I recently read in this Article about the standards of a great photo. I challenge you and myself to come up with a photo that represents each of the elements mentioned in the article.

Each Friday when I update the blog, I will go over one of the elements in detail and discuss my process and reveal my Photos for that week. I have limited time, money, space, and other resources so this will be a huge challenge for me. I really hope that you, my readers, will also participate in this challenging project! Comment with your images (even if they are from your phone!) and give me advice, professional critique, or just say hi! :)

~Amanda
R.E.A.L. Photography

Here are the elements:

1.) Impact 

2.) Technical excellence 

3.) Creativity 

4.) Style

5.) Composition 

6.) Presentation 

7.) Color Balance 

8.) Center of Interest 

9.) Lighting 

10.) Subject Matter 

11.) Technique 

12.) Storytelling 

Also here is a picture of one of my cats: 

Lara

How to Photograph in Direct Light

Sometimes we have to pick our battles. As photographers some locations and shoots end up with direct, harsh light. Knowing how to work around such conditions is easy, so I will show you the different ways to capture a subject and work around the sun.

When you start out at your location, observe your surroundings. If the sun is above you or mostly above you, you and your subject will be under direct light. My subject for this blog: My unwilling, annoying, prince charming of a fiance. All the images I took are completely unedited with the exception of the watermark.

I started out with my subject facing the sun. In the image to the right, his eyes became more squinty and harsh shadows crossed his face in unpleasant ways. I had to adjust the aperture a lot to overcompensate and it still came out extremely bright.

So I moved my subject to the side where the sun was to the right of us. The image to the left was just a little better with aperture, but cast very unpleasant shadows.


The last  photo I took, the image to the right, I moved my subject to where I was facing the sun. Although it was hard to see for me, my subject was angled properly. The sun wrapped around his shoulders just enough but did not disfigure his face and make the colors funky.


IF you have the option of capturing your subjects in the shade, I highly recommend it. Even then, be aware of the sun's location. In the image to the left, my subject is shaded, but the sun is so bright it comes through the leaves in spots and still casts a shadow.

As a rule when shooting in direct sunlight, always face your subject with the sun behind them, like in the image to the right.

The Challenge

Sometimes as photographers we deal with clients or situations that force us to deal with unexpected or challenging shoots. This blog post will share one of R.E.A.L. Photography's first challenging photoshoots.

A Wedding to Die For: 

One of R.E.A.L. Photography's first wedding shoots was the most challenging and creatively demanding. The clients were extremely flexible because of all the challenges we were faced with: a sunset cosplay wedding, on a boat in the middle of a lake, with three different photographic locations, with three different times in the day with no posed shots. An 11 hour day was daunting to plan out and let's just say, Rhi and I were very nervous.

How did we get through it?

We did a ton of research months in advance: what type of equipment we needed, how to capture images in different (and changing) lighting, how to get the sharpest images in low light. All of the research we did really gave us an idea of what to expect throughout the shoot.

We also ordered the right equipment. Having two photographers we pride ourselves on capturing everything to our strengths. Rhiannon handled up close and I handled distance shots. Therefore we used two different lenses during the shoot that helped get a variety of images. We ordered through a company called Lumoid.com that rents lenses that starting photographers might not be able to afford yet. This was a major help but also a major expense.

We also decided to dress up for the cosplay aspect of the wedding. This is in hindsight a bad idea, specifically because it got in the way and created yet another barrier to get past during the shoot.

Don't get me wrong, Rhi and I got annoyed at each other, frustrated at points, weren't sure how to capture certain things, and ran around like chickens with no pants. We did manage to get through it though with some amazing photos!

Color Vs. Monochrome

The impact of using color photography versus using black and white is situational and brings different elements to your photographs. We see in color so it's our first choice when taking a photo, but photography first started out in black and white. Color photography is based on hues, and can guide your eyes to the subject, such as a woman wearing a bright dress. Monochrome can be striking, and gives off a classic vibe inferring emotion into your images. 

Dodeca Convention- 2016. Nightmare Jack Skellington and Sally cosplay.

I love to love color:

Colors exist all around us but knowing when to use it instead of monochrome can be hard. Color can be contrasting, it can set a mood such as warm or cold tones, and it can bring loads of emotion to an image. If the color in your photos does not pull the eye to the subject or there is too much color, such as a flushed face in summer, trying monochrome might engage your viewers in a better way.

Weaver cosplay wedding-2016. 

Black and white shows the soul:

Black and white photography can be emotional and incorporate a depth to your photographs. Basically you use black and white when the light, form, or texture is more intriguing than the hue. Due to seeing colors constantly in everyday life, changing an image into black and white causes our minds to look deeper into the image itself. Playing around with contrast and light is a fun adventure, but you’ll never know what looks the best in each image until you try it out.

Mixing color and black and white:

Sometimes we get super crazy and decide that we only want the red of her dress to stand out, or the “something blue” in a wedding picture. That is when mixing the two forms of photography gets really fun and challenging.

How?

Some DSLR cameras have a built in black and white feature that allows you to experience lack of color before post production. This feature is useful to some and bothersome to others. Personally I like post production black and white better because I can make sure the image doesn’t become too grainy or have odd lighting that you might not realize was there in the colored photographs. Another tip that I learned the hard way was ALWAYS shoot in RAW or RAW and JPEG format. RAW files give you the flexibility of changing back and forth from color to black and white without losing clarity. In the end whichever way you take the photo is up to the photographer and there is no right way or wrong way. Each image is unique and tells a story.


Photos taken by : Rhiannon Evans

Shout out to bethadilly for the inspiration, here is a link to her blog: http://bethadilly.com/100-photography-blog-post-ideas/