{"id":13059,"date":"2013-01-14T00:06:33","date_gmt":"2013-01-14T04:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=13059"},"modified":"2018-08-27T20:57:43","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T00:57:43","slug":"photographic-composition-working-toward-final-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/photographic-composition-working-toward-final-image\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographic composition: Working towards the final image"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photography composition: Working toward the final image<\/h1>\n

When I first immersed myself in photography way way back, it took me a while to realize that what I see in a magazine or book, isn’t necessarily the first image. Those incredible images that can inspire us, (or even make us just want to give up photography), most often are not fully-formed masterpieces.\u00a0Most often, the photograph that we as the viewer are presented with, are but one of a series. One photograph that stood out, or where the elements in the photograph were controlled by the photographer. And even with the work of hardcore photo-journalists, what we see, have been “controlled” and “adjusted”, even if only in terms of lens choice and composition.<\/p>\n

With that realization, I felt less intimidated by the great photographs that I saw. They had become more accessible in a way, and more attainable to me as a new photographer.<\/p>\n

Photographs with impact or appeal could come to be because of serendipity or foresight and careful planning by the photographer. Quite often it’s just recognizing the potential of a scene, and working with it to finesse the elements, such as the composition or lighting or, with portraits, the pose.<\/p>\n

So it is with this photograph of Jessica Joy, taken just before we started the photo-shoot mentioned in the article,\u00a0colored gels with flash photography<\/a>. The final result shown here, is a little bit of everything – a wonderful subject, an opportunity, and then over the course of several photographs, finessing it.<\/p>\n

While I really like this image, and think of this as the final image that I want to present, it didn’t just “happen” as the first and only image. There was an entire sequence leading up to it. It is this first recognition of a potentially good photograph, and then the thought-process in the sequence, that I want to show here.<\/p>\n

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This photograph is one of the last photographs in the series, and another that I really like.<\/p>\n

But this is where we started – the first image. In the dressing area of the studio, there was this usual mirror with the lightbulbs around it. I asked Jessica to turn to her side so I could see her profile. Since I didn’t intend using any other light, other than the bunch of lights behind her, I thought this would probably be more of a sillhouette than a well-lit nuanced portrait where she is looking towards the camera.<\/p>\n

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So that’s the first test shot with her jacket still on. The jacket was too bulky and too noticeable. I wanted the portrait to be about her.<\/p>\n

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With the jacket off, I thought we could simplify it even more by slipping the straps off her shoulders.<\/p>\n

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I really like this photo, but I can see her brightly lit arm reflected in the mirror … as well as myself. Moving to my left would’ve solved that.<\/p>\n

What was missing though was a certain mood. The photo lacked a sense of mystery. \u00a0I asked Jessica to turn around, and look to her left. I had her bring her hand into the frame, to add more of that sensuality to the image.<\/p>\n

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However, her reflection in the mirror was too distracting. It was just too bright, even with the abstraction that a black and white image brings.<\/p>\n

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Lighting & Design for Portrait Photography<\/h2>\n

Lighting & Design<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is a\u00a0follow-up of sorts to Direction & Quality of Light<\/a>.\u00a0It\u2019s a slightly eclectic mix, discussing the thought-process with various scenarios shooting portraits. The examples use available light, bounce flash, off-camera flash as well as studio lighting.<\/p>\n

The idea is that in every one of the 60 sections, there is something to be learnt and applied, regardless of your level as a photographer or where you shoot\u00a0– all\u00a0shaped to form a cohesive narrative arc throughout the book.<\/p>\n

You can either purchase a copy via\u00a0Amazon USA<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or Amazon UK<\/a><\/strong>. The book\u00a0will\u00a0also available on the Apple iBook Store, and Amazon Kindle.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

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Here’s a series of three images as I tried to hide the reflections. The hot-spots in the mirror were distracting in two of the images.<\/p>\n

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It needed me to move subtly to the side, and also have Jessica rotate ever so slightly towards the camera … and there we have it!<\/p>\n

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The photo above still had that reflection of her in the mirror that was distracting. A slight change in pose hid that … and there is the final image.<\/p>\n

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Paradoxically enough, I ended up liking the cooler, blue-tinted B&W version better. It just had that appealing air of sensual mystery about it.<\/p>\n

With this I wanted to show that when you recognize the potential in a scene or the potential with a certain subject – whether a landscape, or architecture, or a portrait – that we shouldn’t just be happy with the first few images. Often enough, we can easily finesse the image until we have something that *really* works. Just don’t give up too early.<\/p>\n

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Camera settings & photo gear\u00a0(or equivalents) used during this photo session<\/h2>\n