Taking Your Photography To The Next Level

By: George Barr

Part One of a Three Part Series

Introduction

Photographers go through stages of development, and while we don’t all follow the same path, an understanding of our current level of skill, creativity and artisty is, I think, an important exercise. If we know where we are and we have an idea of where we want to be, it becomes a lot easier to determine the path from here to there and to take steps to get us there. Most of us have never given much thought to where we are in terms of skill, creativity and artistry, and even if we did, are not necessarily good judges of our own skills and levels so this is not a trivial process. While gradually and continuously striving to improve does in the end result in progress, I propose that we find a better and perhaps more direct route to becoming better photographic artists.

So, how do you assess your current level? What are the levels? Do all photographers go through the same levels in the same sequence? Is it a sequential process or can you skip steps and go back to a previous level? All good questions!

Even if you do understand your level, does that automatically imply you will move to the next level or is there some magic involved, or heaven forbid, some sweat equity to moving on? I hope to answer these questions in a series of articles, starting with this first article on discussing what are the different levels, in the second article discussing how to assess which level is yours, and in the third now to use this information to move to the next level.

Before describing the various levels, let me make clear that in fact I don't think this is a linear sequence from neophyte to grand old master, not for an individual photographer and certainly not for all. Depending on how you come into photography there can be huge differences in the sequence of steps, and at any point steps can be skipped only to be visited later on. That said though, here's a breakdown of the steps photographers often go through.

Rather than define levels by the equipment you use (which has more to do with style, habits, budget and the desire for toys, I will instead look at the quality of images you produce. Perhaps this doesn't address the photographer who only publishes to the web and never makes prints, but let's define their level by the kind of prints they are able to make (even if they don't normally make them).

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Measuring Print Quality

Quality of prints can be measured in two basic ways, by the technical quality and the aesthetic quality. I think these two levels definitely do not go hand in hand. I am therefore going to describe them separately and fully anticipate that any photographer is likely to find himself at different positions down the two lists.

Right, time to make the lists. Let's start with the list that is almost certainly going to be the easier, that of defining one's technical level. Note that it's possible to be at two different levels of technical ability at the same time since they sometimes describe different technical issues.

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Technical Levels

Level 1 Technical

4X6 drugstore prints are frequently flawed. Many are blurred, others are underexposed, horizons aren't level, heads are cut off, trees stick out of people's heads, prints look muddy or soot and chalk. People and mountains look miniscule. These are the kind of images which even beginners recognize as flawed. In a set of 20 prints, 12 – 15 are rejected by the photographer as duds. It’s actually hard to be this bad in the age of auto focus and auto exposure but some find a way.

Level 2 Technical

Drug store prints are starting to look technically ok if not great. Self made 8X10 prints however show technical flaws – poor focussing, camera movement, colour balance issues, contrast problems. The photographer is sometimes disappointed in the results and other photographers spot the flaws easily. Any print adjustments made are not helpful.

Level 3 Technical

The prints look o.k. to your friends, you are starting to garner some nice comments, but when someone with experience looks at them, they note highlights that are blocked or muddy, shadows that are either solid black or unrelieved gray. Prints often show sharpening artifacts or colour saturation that is 'over the top'. Print controls are applied with a ‘six inch brush’ and the images show it. There remain small issues of sharpness and resolution.

Level 4 Technical

The prints are basically o.k.– focused, camera steady, overall right tonality, yet don't have that rich three dimensional look that expert prints seem to have. It's getting harder to describe the defects but when viewed next to good prints, definitely lack a certain something. Highlights are still not rich, shadows lack depth. Local print manipulation is fairly effective although sometimes too much or too little. They are adequate for a photo album but not to hang on the wall.

Level 5 Technical

8X10 prints look terrific and can't be criticized on a technical basis. There are some presentation issues – high gloss plastic prints, unattractive borders, borderless prints, prints too large for the equipment used to make them. Photographers at this level often insist on printing larger than the image can bear, relying on trick uprezing and sharpening algorithms to save them – they don’t!

Level 6 Technical

There's nothing to criticize about either the image itself or its presentation. Print manipulation is competent and invisible. Prints show subtleties and have depth. Tones are rich and absolutely nothing is overdone. Unfortunately that just leaves the aesthetic issues, a much more challenging problem to solve.

So to the aesthetic levels. Again levels are not necessarily in sequence and more than one level can apply.

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Aesthetic Levels

Level A Aesthetic

Images don't seem to have a point, they don't show things to advantage, they don't capture the peak action or the best pose and are the kind of pictures that only a generous person would complement. It takes no photographic skill or artistic experience to know these don't shine. We're talking the typical snapshot here that disappoints even the photographer and doesn't often make it into an album. The photographer wonders why he bothered to take the picture.

Level B Aesthetic

Images make decent shapshots – as memories of events and people and places they serve well even though they don't excite. No wow factor. The photographer is comfortable showing the prints around to friends who want to know what your holiday was like but he’d not likely take them to other photographers and the images don’t reflect the excitement at the time of taking the image.

Level C Aesthetic

Images do generate admiration by friends but perhaps not photographers or artists. They capture peak action, best poses, dramatic lighting. They begin to show some awareness of composition and are almost good enough for the "New Sarepta Tire And Girdle Company' annual calendar. They have no artistic merit at this point and can be generally described as ‘pretty pictures’.

Level D Aesthetic

Images are starting to show value in and of themselves rather than as a reminder of something or someone special. It's easy to see that some effort has been made to compose the picture in ways that are interesting and that the photographer is being creative. There are elements of the image which don't quite work and it's the kind of image which makes you think that this would have been a great image if only I could reshoot it and fix X and Y. Some of the compositional elements work but not all. The photographer is within a few feet of the right place, a few hours from the right time. The image isn’t strong however and it’s message is not clear. There are elements in the image which distract from it’s power.

Level E Aesthetic

Images are generally admirable and most photographers would react with 'wish I had taken that picture'. Composition is spot on, the subject interesting, the presentation of the subject effective.

The only thing missing is an emotional response to the image. You're inclined to say 'well done' rather than 'oh my god...' or 'wow' or 'that disturbs me', or some kind of emotional expletive. Images are starting to work on more than one level. Composition shows careful attention to detail, things are lined up exactly right in several planes. It takes more than 30 seconds to take in all that the image has to offer.

Level F Aesthetic

These images are very strong – they generate emotional responses. You might not mortgage the house to get one and they don't leave you weak kneed but they are wonderful. Most of us would be delighted to get a handful of images a year into this category. These images show us things we didn't know, they make a point, they illustrate and elucidate. Most of the images of the great photographers fall into this category. Responses to these images are ‘awesome’, ‘right on’, ‘great’, ‘damn that’s good’ and like. it’s possible to spend 20 minutes looking at a single image and still find new things worth seeing, new connections, new messages.

Level G Aesthetic

These are the great images of history – the ones, that make you weep or cry out or swear. These are the handful of images so exceptional that even the best photographers in history have only able to make a few at best. Here lies 'Pepper Number 30', but not many other Edward Weston images, this includes the best of Ansel Adams but not all. It doesn't mean that we mortals can't create an image that fits this category, we’d count ourselves lucky if it happened once. These are the magical images, the ones that glow, that so perfectly get the message across they become icons of photography. They might be 'Migrant Mother' by Dorothea Lange or the Steve McCurry Afghan girl portrait, the 'napalmed girl running' image, Winter Storm Clearing by Ansel Adams, and several Henri Cartier Bresson images.

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Finding Your Level

Perhaps by now you have an idea of your level both technically and artistically and if so the next step is to use that information to move on to the next level. Since you can look at the definitions of the two levels, you can quickly get an idea of what it is you need to acquire, practice, learn, improve and generally brush up on. On the other hand, you might be kidding yourself or you may simply not be sure and so next time I’m going to discuss the ways and means to come to an accurate understanding of ‘where you’re at’.

George Barr
January, 2007

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About George Barr

I am a 57 year old family physician. The switch to digital a few years ago was like a light going on – my creativity was unleashed to a degree I'd never had before. It opened the possibilities of colour work after almost 40 years of black and white only. A weekend workshop gave me the courage to show my work and has since led to being published in Lenswork, Black And White and also Black And White Photography Magazine from Britain and Focus magazine in the U.S. My website is http://www.georgebarr.com and my blog is at http://www.georgebarr.blogspot.com.

婚礼摄影师的背后。。。

转载一个拍婚礼的摄影师

(数据有稍微修改,一些摄影人(专职)工作耗时数据未必雷同,但也相去不远)


摄影师由早上6/7am必须预先准备就绪，在拍摄前务必和新郎哥和新娘有良好的沟通。
一直忙到1-2pm，为半天的工作。
休息了一段时间，很快就到了傍晚喜宴的时候，6/7am之前就必须在酒家准备就绪。一直拍到10/11pm左右才完成。(邻国新加坡的晚宴多数超过11pm)
前前后后工作约10-12小时。

还有后期制作。(这是最多人不了解的一节 )

一般上一个婚礼拍上700-1500张照片是很普遍的事。
耗时地选出300张比较理想的， 整修300张图，需要不少的精力与时间吧？
就说修一张图最快大概1分钟，修300张图既是4小时！
可能那么快修好一张图吗？恐怕仔细的修图，也要花上3-5分钟吧？
也许8小时内也未必能完成。
除了准备印照片的300张，还有另外的数百张呢？总会选出一些比较好的图吧？
相信也会连同一起烧在光牒给新人吧？
少少修图总是难免的,如此又会花多少时间呢？
就说修图和完成后期制作前前后后估计花了约10小时吧？
新人结了婚，总是会很期待尽早看到自己的照片吧？
所以摄影师一定是漏夜赶工，尽快把后期工作完成。
而摄影师一定很期待见到新人在观赏到照片时脸上泛起其喜悦与感动。

那么我们来估计专业人士应有的基本收费。
一个专业电脑维修人员，最便宜每小时收费RM60-150不等。
反观摄影师只值得每小时RM60而已。
RM60 X 20小时 = RM1200
这里还未包括冲洗照片的费用，RM0.50 X 300张 + 特定相簿，大约也要RM200左右。
还有来回两次的车油费。
还有要消费的电池，光碟；等等。

一个专业的摄影师，至少也要拥有两架相机。以免一旦出问题随时有另一架顶替。
尽可能减低失误的可能性。
每个器材，都是成本。
要是要用来计算，恐怕要扣除15%预算是在器材修理费和杂费。
每次出动都杀1000张，相信用不上一年，相机的快门就会出问题。
扣扣埋埋也是一笔费用。
还要保留30%为本钱来未雨绸缪，升级器材。
最后努力工作赚到的，究竟有多少盈余呢?

所以，不要说摄影师收费贵利润高，背后的辛酸又有多少人了解？
每小时RM60至100已经是最低的价钱了，要是连一个电脑维修员都不如，恐怕摄影师这份工作实在是前途无亮了。。

。
其实啊，所谓的数码化之后啊，就是多了这些所谓后期的工作，
而又是常人所看不到的。
他们还认为说照片为何拍到不美，这个那个啦~。
的确,以一个摄影师而言收费往往比不上当天为新人服务的其他行业了,举个例子:-
1)化妆师-化出门妆及晚宴妆,工作4~5小时,收费约RM600~800.
2)大妗姐-随新郎出门到把新娘迎娶会来,工作6~8小时,收费约RM1200 (我遇到的那位)
3)宴会司仪-从宴会开始到敬酒结束,工作3~4小时,收费RM500
4)宴会音响灯光-从宴会开始到酒席结束,工作4~5小时,收费RM800~1000

算算看她们每小时的工资都过百的,而且当天工作一完毕就可走人,没有后制,后修的烦恼.
(除了这些以外可能还有其他相关行业我一时想不起
别糟蹋自己。别破坏行情。别让这行业成为夕阳工业。

别人看不起，自己千万要有尊严啊。

现在的顾客只是“价钱价钱价钱~”从不会因为你的作品来落定的。（很少咯）

价钱是代表你的“专业”。
1.值不值的先自个衡量。如果没这料的话又开高价这就高价了，（顾客会投诉,做不长的）
2.如果有料的话但开的低价那就自己吃亏咯。（好像做廉价劳工似的）
3.所以自己的专业是什么价钱就值什么价钱。

如果顾客因为价钱而不顾专业的话，这种生意不要也罢，千万不要觉得可惜。

我一直再问一个问题，
为何以前菲林时代的相机最贵的5， 6 千元吧？当时买的人都不多。
但到了数码之后最贵的十多千，但是新机一出买的人在排队。
？？？

现在连不怎么会摄影的人也来参一份羹，造成市场有太多岑差不齐的摄影师。也造成市场烂价。

这行啊，也真的越来越难咯。

People & Portrait Photography Tips by Robert Caputo

From: Photography Field Guide: People & Portraits
By: Robert Caputo

Photos by Thomas Tam, Maxtography

People pictures fall into two categories: portraits and candid. Either can be made with or without your subject's awareness and cooperation.

However near or far your subject, however intimate or distant the gaze your camera casts, you always need to keep in mind the elements of composition and the technique that will best help you communicate what you are trying to say.

Get Closer

The most common mistake made by photographers is that they are not physically close enough to their subjects. In some cases this means that the center of interest—the subject—is just a speck, too small to have any impact. Even when it is big enough to be decipherable, it usually carries little meaning. Viewers can sense when a subject is small because it was supposed to be and when it's small because the photographer was too shy to get close.

Don't be shy. If you approach people in the right way, they'll usually be happy to have their picture made. It's up to you to break the ice and get them to cooperate. Joke around with them. Tell them why you want to make the picture. Practice with people you know so that you are comfortable; people can sense when you aren't.

Settings—The Other Subject

The settings in which you make pictures of people are important because they add to the viewer's understanding of your subject. The room in which a person lives or works, their house, the city street they walk, the place in which they seek relaxation—whatever it is, the setting provides information about people and tells us something about their lives. Seek balance between subject and environment. Include enough of the setting to aid your image, but not so much that the subject is lost in it.

Candids: Being Unobtrusive

You may want to make photographs of people going about their business—vendors in a market, a crowd at a sports event, the line at a theater. You don't want them to appear aware of the camera. Many times people will see you, then ignore you because they have to concentrate on what they are doing. You want the viewers of the image to feel that they are getting an unguarded, fly-on-the-wall glimpse into the scene.

There are several ways to be unobtrusive. The first thing, of course, is to determine what you want to photograph. Perhaps you see a stall in a market that is particularly colorful, a park bench in a beautiful setting—whatever has attracted you. Find a place to sit or stand that gives you a good view of the scene, take up residence there, and wait for the elements to come together in a way that will make your image.

If you're using a long lens and are some distance from your subject, it will probably be a while before the people in the scene notice you. You should be able to compose your image and get your shot before this happens. When they do notice you, smile and wave. There's a difference between being unobtrusive and unfriendly. Another way to be unobtrusive is to be there long enough so that people stop paying attention to you. If you are sitting at a café order some coffee and wait. As other patrons become engrossed in conversations or the paper, calmly lift the camera to your eye and make your exposure. In most cases, people either won't notice or won't mind. But be judicious. Don't keep firing away and become a nuisance. They will mind. You can also set the camera on the table with a wide-angle lens pointed at your subject and simply press the remote release when the time is right. Modern auto focus and auto exposure cameras make this easy to do as well.

Anticipating Behavior

An important element in people photography is knowing your subjects well enough to be able to anticipate what they are going to do. It's the only way you are going to be able to get pictures of it. If you wait until you see it, it's too late. The key is to watch people carefully. Always have your camera ready. If you're going to be shooting in one situation, set the aperture and shutter speed in advance so you don't have to fiddle with them while you're shooting. Watch people through the viewfinder. If you're paying attention, you'll sense what's about to happen.

Predicting Relationships Within the Frame

A great deal of people photography is understanding human nature and being aware of how people usually react in given situations. If someone is sitting in a café he will usually look up when the waiter approaches. People will generally smile when they see a baby or open a present. Crowds rise when a batter smashes a ball that looks like it's headed for the seats. Think about the situation you are photographing and how people are likely to act in it. Then prepare yourself for the moment.

Candids With Consent

Unobtrusive candids seek to be fly-on-the-wall images that catch people going about their business seemingly unaware of the camera and the photographer. This yields images that are more toward the objective end of the objective/subjective continuum, though there is not, of course, any photograph made by a human that is completely objective. Candids with consent, made when the photographer is actively engaged with the subject and the subject is conscious of this involvement, are very different. Photographs are records of the photographer's relationship with his or her subject. In consensual candids, the relationship can be either obvious (the subject looks directly into the camera) or subtle—the relationship is implied because the image feels more intimate. We sense that the photographer was physically close to the subject and that the person was aware of being photographed.

Engaging Your Subject

The first order of business is to engage your subject. This is where we all have to learn to overcome our shyness and approach people in an open and friendly manner. Be up front about who you are and what you're doing. Don't just barge into a scene with your cameras blazing. In fact, it is usually best to leave your camera in its bag when you first approach people, so as not to frighten them. Take time to engage the person in conversation, just as you would if you didn't have a camera. Remember the Golden Rule. Think about how you'd feel if someone approached you and wanted to make a photograph. How they did it would determine how you would respond.

Approaching Unfamiliar Cultures

One of the keys to success in photographing cultures different from your own is doing as much research as you can before you go. Talk to people who have been there and get their recommendations. Find out if there are any taboos about photography, and if so, what they are. Another key to success is to be sensitive to local customs and the different reactions people may have to you and your camera. Learn a few simple phrases in the local language so you can at least say hello to people and ask if you can make photographs of them.

Some people have no problems with photography, and you should treat them in the same courteous and respectful way you would treat people at home, by engaging them and seeking their permission. Others have objections to photographs being made of certain individuals or groups. Some people object on religious grounds. Some feel that you want to make fun of them, to show their poverty or some other aspect of their lives to the world. Other people believe that when you make an image of them you are stealing their soul or in some other way taking something away from them.

They are right, of course. Photographers talk about capturing the essence or spirit of a person or place. We do take something, and we profit by the taking. You should always respect people's feelings and beliefs. There are selfish reasons for this—you don't want to be beaten up or thrown in jail. But the main point is that people are always more important than photographs. You don't want to abuse people, and doing something against a strongly held belief is abuse. And the photographs would probably not be very good anyway.

You may be asked to pay for photographing certain people. My advice is to comply with such requests. You pay for a postcard when you travel, why not for an image you make? It is usually not much money to you, but may be quite a lot to the people you want to photograph. If you do not want to pay, you can always move on.

The Casual Portrait

Wherever you are with your camera, always be on the lookout for those moments when a person's character shines though. If you have a formal portrait session with someone, make some frames of him while he straightens his tie or while she brushes her hair before the formal sitting. Walk back to the car with her and shoot her on the street. If you are on a spring picnic with the family, look for that moment of bliss when your wife leans back, sated, to enjoy the caress of the warm sun. If you're on the street, look for the impatient expression on a pedestrian's face as he waits for the light to change. Always be on the lookout for the telling moment. Every person has a story, and every picture should tell part of that story.

Environmental Portraits

Portraits are about people. Environmental portraits are about people and what they do with their lives. They are about the kind of house a person lives in and how they decorate it; about what kind of work they do and where they do it; about the surroundings they choose and the things they surround themselves with. Environmental portraits seek to convey an idea about a person by combining portraiture with a sense of place.

Group Portraits

Group portraits are hard to do well, and the larger the group, the harder they are. It's not easy to get a good, telling photograph of one person, and the problems are compounded exponentially with groups. We have all had the experience of trying to get the family or the ball team to pose for a picture. Just getting all of them arranged so you can see their faces is hard enough. Then, of course, you want an image where everyone looks good—no one's eyes closed, no grimacing. Making group portraits takes imagination, patience, and diplomacy. Use your imagination. Find a way to relate the group to an environment that expresses something about what kind of group they are. Do it literally, humorously, dramatically, or by complete contrast. Get ideas from them.

Familiar Subjects

Our family members are the people we photograph most frequently. We record the momentous occasions and the occasional moments. Albums full of baby pictures, first steps, Little League games, Halloweens, Thanksgivings, and weddings mark our passage through time. These photographs are our memories made real and are probably the most important pictures we will ever make or have. You should apply thought and technique just as rigorously, if not more so, to photographing your family as you do to any photo assignment. There is no better group on which to practice photography. No others will be so trusting or willing to indulge your ever present camera, your fumbling around with lights, and your mistakes. When you are photographing strangers, you either get the picture or you don't. There is no going back to a fleeting moment. With your family, you can work on getting a similar moment again, and again, and again.

Hands and Other Details

The hands of a farmer, a pianist, a baker. The feet of a ballet dancer, a long distance runner, a place kicker. The belly of a pregnant woman, the bicep of a weight lifter. Hair caressing a pillow, fingers clutched in prayer, a peering eye. The details of the human body make great photographic subjects, either as expressions of ideas or emotions, as graphic shots, or as a way to say something about an individual. Whenever you are photographing someone, try to think of details of their body or dress that would get your message across in an indirect way.

Are there particular parts of their body or items of what they wear that are important to what they do for a living or a hobby? Does some part of them really stand out? Can you find a way to abstract what you want to say about the person by using one of these elements?

The point is to use your eyes and your imagination, whether you want to use detail and abstraction to say something about an individual or about the beauty of the human body. If you are making photographs of details of the human body, you will be working intimately with people and will have to direct them, tell them where to pose, and how.