Some Visuals for a techincal lesson

I thought some visuals would be nice. I can describe things as best as I can, but visuals make it much easier to understand what I'm trying to get at! Though I can't possibly give a lesson on how to properly use a camera since there is WAY too much information and, well, that's what courses are for! But in this digital age where so many people are trying to have a business selling nothing but snapshots, I wanted to point out some things to help anyone starting out to see where problems tend to lie in the beginning stages. Learning technical skills is NOT easy. Not in the least. It takes lots and lots of time and practice. Here are some samples using my daughter. These are basically "do not let your images look like this" photographs!

This one is very overexposed. It also shows those harsh shadows. Fine for snapshots, HORRIBLE for professional photographs!

Close-up of the out-of-focus eye with the flash pin dot.

Completely out-of-focus image. Actually, the focus fell on the chair and background.

This should be obvious, but yet there are actually people trying to charge money for images like this. VERY underexposed, and orange. I have seen lots of orange people, yellow people, blue people, purple people, bright red people, and even green people. It's called "White balance". When an image is underexposed, it is usually orange or yellow.

Even if an image is exposed correctly, if it is lowlight, the AWB (auto white balance) will make the image yellow. Here is an example of my new backdrop with lowlight on AWB, and then with my custom white balance:

Ok below is yet another image of my daughter. Aww, sweet picture, right? Some people would see this as print-worthy to hang on the wall. Would I print this picture of my sweet baby girl and hang it on the wall? Not a chance! It is underexposed but more importantly, there is NO light in the eyes! The hollow-looking, raccoon-like eyes would make this image recycle bin-worthy.

And I must add my most HATED effects! These pet peeves of mine are things I see constantly. Now, if you are just an average person who likes to play around with your images, of course that's OK! Whatever floats your boat! :) But if you are calling yourself a professional photographer and charging for your talent and expertise, your images should NEVER EVER look like this. Many people try to fix their under exposure, over exposure or other flaws with effects like "glows" or "surface blur" which makes the skin horribly plastic. Also, I see a lot of out of focus or unsharp eyes which is a super no-no. The worst for me to see, is the fake, incredibly overdone eyes. Here are my samples of these types of things:

If you are a professional and are reading this, I guarantee you are nodding!!


And my hated muddy black and white! This occurs with a bad technique such as grayscale, an image with too many midtones, or both.
And here is how it SHOULD look:





Now, all the above images (except the last B&W) are snapshots. When you rely on the camera to make the technical decisions for you, these are the results you get. Even if you use manual but don't know how to use it, you will still get these results. Now even though 99% of the time the eyes should be in focus, there are certainly times when selective focus can be used artistically. For example, champagne glasses in front of the bride and groom. You put the glasses in focus, and throw the bride and groom out of focus. This is controlled by the aperture. I like creamy "bokeh". So more often than not, I shoot wide open aperture. However, with an open aperture, you need to be extra cautious to place the focus where it needs to be. This is especially hard with a moving target like a child. Luckily for me, all the experience I've had makes this come naturally to me. Now you may be wondering, OK well, with a great camera, anyone can take amazing images. NOPE! The above images were taken with my brand new Canon 5D Mark II 21.1 megapixel camera. I used manual, but I did the opposite of what I usually do, and that is creating amazing images. The above images look exactly as they would with a pocket-sized low megapixel camera. Now, here is what an image SHOULD look like:

Notice, no harsh, ugly shadows. No pin dot. Just flattering catchlights and light in all the right places.
Some great catchlights from my studio lighting softboxes:You can even see dad's silhouette in the light!



And just to disprove the "it's all in the camera" theory again,
here is a side by side comparison with my 12.8 megapixel camera and my 21.1 megapixel
camera:


You can have the best camera in the world, but if you don't know how to use it, it doesn't matter. You can control every artistic and technical aspect by knowing how to use the camera. Silky waterfalls, blurred backgrounds, artistically used sun flare (which I love!) and selective focus, lowlight conditions with beautiful ambient light- the list goes on! And of course, everything needs to harmonize with your lighting. If your images DO look like the snapshots I posted, don't worry! As long as you realize you have a lot to learn and do not start up a website to try and get clients to pay you, it's fine! We all started somewhere. I am horribly embarrassed by my first images. They were much better when I started charging, but the improvements I've made since then are amazing. Don't rush into business, or you will set yourself up for failure. So go out there and learn!!!