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Contents LETTER FROM KEN
MOVING YOUR VIEWER TO THE SUBJECT The Quest for Great Foregrounds
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ACCENTUATING AND CREATING MIST AND FOG Photoshop Post-Processing
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THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE New Zealand Aurora
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MASAI MARA MIGRATION SAFARI PHOTO TOUR Small Group Tour in August 2021
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CAPTURING AMAZING UNDERWATER IMAGES An Interview with Don Silcock
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COMPELLING ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAITS Capturing Emotion in Your Subjects
LINKS TO PREVIOUS ISSUES OF INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Cover Photo: Ancient Bristlecone Pine 2
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Letter From Ken Disruptive Workflow
With image processing, it is easy to get settled into a routine workflow and process your pictures one after another using the same old techniques. I have definitely gone down this “auto pilot” path which can make processing a little... well, routine. The same can be true for composition, lens choice, and other aspects of photography. While some of you might work best using a self-taught approach, I have generally picked up pieces of what a few of my favorite photographers are doing and incorporated some of their techniques into my own workflow. However, I recently decided to completely disrupt my processing and go about things in a new way. I studied an approach used by a photographer I respect a lot and essentially adopted a new workflow altogether. This involved both tweaking my former techniques and incorporating some new ones. While I don’t recommend this to everyone, for me it was a breath of fresh air and led to some better processed images and a faster and more streamlined workflow. For example, I dropped my Orton, vignette and contrasting adjustments and am using new ways of accomplishing similar effects. There are many photographers that offer processing videos nowadays and so finding one that you like and picking up a couple of their videos can be helpful. Even if you end up only picking up a technique or two with each video, you have added some new skills. Whatever workflow you have, it is a good idea to start by looking carefully at the image and deciding what you want the end-game for that picture to be. Thanks for reading Inspirational Photography! Ken Koskela http://www.kenkoskela.com To receive this magazine FREE click HERE 3
Not Pointing, But MOVING Your Viewer to the Subject The Quest for Great Foregrounds
Photographers are obsessed with finding good foregrounds. Go to any national park and you’ll see them out in the middle of the day hunting for the perfect vantage point for their sunset shoot. And for good reason... a good foreground can turn a snapshot into a work of art. If you stop these photographers and ask them what they are looking for, you’ll hear answers like “leading lines” and “foreground elements that complement the background”. Finding great foregrounds is not easy and often simply not possible for a particular scene. I think of foregrounds on a continuum: First, there are foregrounds that complement and balance the image but might be somewhat stagnant. Second, there are foregrounds that point their viewer to the subject. 4
Third --- and this is what many great foregrounds do --- there are foregrounds that move their viewer through the image to arrive at the subject. Foregrounds That Provide BALANCE The image of the mountain and fjord at the top left of the next page is in my portfolio. However, I would not classify the foreground as great. It certainly provides balance to the image, but does not really lead the viewer anywhere and so results in a bit of a stagnant feel to the image. The viewer doesn’t really start in one place and end in another. This was really my only foreground choice that morning and happened to float by for just a few seconds. While the foreground isn’t fantastic, it turned a tosser into a keeper.
The above foregrounds provide balance to the image, but do not move the viewer through the frame. The Canadian Rockies image adjacent to it is in the same category. It is a beautiful place and the rocks balance the subject, create a nice shape and help frame up the image, but nothing more. Foregrounds that POINT the Viewer to the Subject A good foreground can direct the viewer’s eyes
to the subject. However, a big log at the bottom of the frame can do that and not necessarily be a good foreground element. So, it is more than just pointing the viewer in the right direction, but also complementing the subject. The multiple leading lines of the lighthouse image below do a good job at directing your attention to the fishermen in the distance.
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Similarly, the foreground stairs in the adjacent image direct all your attention to the model. The viewer has no choice but to look directly at her. The wide angle perspective accentuates the leading lines created by the rails and stairs, pulling your eyes straight to the middle of the frame. Foregrounds That MOVE Your Viewer Through the Frame While it is not possible to achieve in every setting, what I am really after are foregrounds that move the viewer to the subject. The header image to this article is a good example. This image has a great amount of depth that is created by the path of rocks on the beach. The bigger rocks transitioning to smaller rocks (exaggerated by the wide-angle lens) really moves the viewer along into the distance. The rocks aren’t just leading lines, but a path to the subject. The aurora image below also has a great foreground
in my humble opinion. The stream has a fantastic shape that winds its way into the distance, again starting big and ending small to create a sense of depth. Ironically, this image sat in my Lightroom catalog unprocessed until a couple of weeks ago when I happened to notice it. In fact, this image almost didn’t happen. My friend Mirko and I arrived at this location (Landmannalaugar, Iceland) by bus and it was raining sideways. It was early September and the roads there were closing so we only had 24 hours there. We were told upon our arrival that the weather was expected to stay horrible. We had two minutes to decide whether to stay or to get back on the bus. We stayed and it really paid off. The image above from the Pacific Northwest is one of my favorites for the same reason. It has great leading lines, but what really makes the image interesting is the moving water that creates a sense of motion that moves the viewer along from front to 6
back. The fact that the water is also moving in from the sides helps create symmetry in the image. More Than Just a Pattern I want to make sure here that I don’t make it appear that it is just a nice shape or pattern that we are looking for in a foreground. A good way to illustrate this is to imagine the header image and the three images on this two-page spread without any significant variation in tone or color. The patterns are good, but they are only a building block for tonal and color variations that go into a great foreground. I have written at least one article, maybe two, in previous issues that talk about creating transitions in your images. Each of these four images involve moving the viewer by transitioning them through the image, in addition to having a compelling pattern. Some of these transitions are more obvious than others, but here are some examples: •
In all four images, the brightest area is in the distance. Imagine if this was reversed and the brightest spot in the image was in the fore-
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ground. The result would be that your eyes would get stuck in that place, distract from the subject, and not transition you to the distance. So, this transition from less bright to more bright is an important part of making a great foreground. All four images generally have a cooler (i.e. more blue) foreground that transitions to warmer as you move to the back of the image. This transition is most pronounced in the above image, but is certainly present in all four. For the image above, imagine if we swapped the warm and cool tones. The foreground would be distracting and your eyes would get stuck at the bottom of the frame.
There are other types of transitions that can move a viewer from front to back. Some of these transitions happen naturally, but some are created or enhanced in post-processing. My point here is that a successful foreground is partly achieved through standing in the right place and aiming your camera at just the right angle, but is often greatly enhanced by how you handle the transition from front to back in post-processing. 7
Accentuating and Creating Mist and Fog Post-Processing in Photoshop
All photographers know the feeling of photographing in beautiful atmospheric conditions and then being disappointed when seeing the resulting images on the computer. Our cameras simply don’t capture the scene the way that our eyes see it. Moreover, unprocessed RAW files look flat. So those beautiful light beams and the fantastic morning fog often isn’t fully captured. Fortunately, a bit of processing can help bring our image closer to what our eyes saw. This article will give a how-to on bringing back or adding a bit of fog and mist. This is really easy in Photoshop. In fact, there are multiple good options for doing so. To simplify things, I will show you one way of doing this which involves using layers and masks in Adobe Photoshop. For purposes of this exercise, here is the image with some of the haze removed from the final edit. I 8
used the Dehaze slider to get us back to how things looked before I accentuated the mist. When adding mist, we will target areas of the image where the misty conditions would be most pronounced, namely the darker regions around and between the falls, but not the water itself. And it should be subtle. With that, here is a step-by-step:
First, create a duplicate or stamp-visible layer If you have only one layer in your layer stack, then simply duplicate that layer (Layer - Duplicate Layer). If you have multiple layers, then first make sure the top layer is active by clicking on it.
The shortcut to create a “stamp visible layer” (a copy of the image as it appears now) is, let’s just say, not intuitive. With the top layer active, press “Cmd-OptShift-e” (Mac) or “Ctrl-Alt-Shift-e” (PC), making sure all four keys are pressed at the same time. A new layer will appear at the top of the stack that reflects all the layers below. I have retitled that layer “Mist”.
Next, slightly reduce the saturation, bring up the exposure, and adjust the temperature slider (towards blue for cooler haze and towards yellow for haze in areas hit by the sun -- I usually go blue). Below is an example of the types of slight adjustments you might make to the haze.
Second, make the new layer very hazy Adobe Camera Raw - Dehaze Technique With the new top layer active, choose Filter - Camera Raw Filter. That will open up the familiar Camera Raw workspace that you likely worked with before opening into Photoshop. Take the Dehaze slider and move it all the way to the LEFT. Your image should look something like this: 9
A Note on Other Techniques There are multiple options for getting a similar fog effect: • • •
You can use Gaussian Blur with a high radius and then adjust the layer to de-saturate, etc. The Nik Collection has a fog filter in Color Efex Pro. Or, if you want to challenge yourself, you can try this technique which I used on an image recently: 1) take a picture of “soupy” clouds with a bit of texture to them; 2) bring the image into Camera Raw and de-saturate it a bit; 3) put that image on top of your layer stack; 4) change the blending mode to “Hard Light”; 5) use adjustment layers to get the desired effect.
Now, back to the step-by-step... Third, add a black mask to the hazy layer Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and click on the “Add Layer Mask” button at the very bottom of the layer stack. This will add a black mask to your mist layer and return your image to how it looked before:
Fourth, decide on your plan for adding mist Decide on what it is you want to accomplish. Generally, you should target areas where fog and mist would appear. For waterfalls, I don’t brush over the water, but over areas immediately around and between the falls, especially the lower and darker areas. For shorelines with moving water, I go over some of the shoreline where water is splashing. For me, the most important areas for this image are the darker areas between and around the falls: 10
The above are not all of the target areas, but examples. Fifth, brush white onto the mask at low opacity Select the brush tool and make sure white is your foreground color (hitting “d” should get you back to your default colors of white foreground / black background). Set the hardness level to 0%. You will be adjusting your brush size as you paint.
This is one case where you might want to set both the Opacity and Flow of the brush. I would recommend starting with a Flow of 3% and Opacity of 10%. This means that every pass of the brush adds 3% white up to 10% until you pick up the brush. The key is to not add too much. You are just looking for a marginal addition of fog and mist that is noticeable when you click on and off the layer. Also, don’t try to be too precise, as fog and mist are not very precise. Sixth, fine-tune Turn the hazy layer on and off and check your work. You can switch your brush to black and brush back over areas where you went overboard (or use history). You might want to increase your flow and opacity when fine-tuning with the black paint.
The Story Behind the Picture Once in awhile, you get truly lucky and are in the right place at the right time. While capturing this image was not something I expected or even imagined, the process of getting there was not exactly easy. Renee Doyle and I were leading a photo tour to New Zealand in April of 2017 and were after the Milky Way behind this beautiful stone church. We had two nights at this location. We had been to this spot the year before and so expected some people. However, this place had apparently become quite popular for a very populous country and it was packed out with tourists. And they had brought flashlights. Worse yet, it had also become a popular place for nighttime wedding photos. Pretty much the worst case scenario. Our first evening of shooting was so awful it can be described as nothing other than a very bad joke. In addition to the flashlight-equipped tourists walking around the church, there were three wedding photo shoots going on, so flashes were going off constantly. With the beautiful Milky Way behind the church, nobody was able to get a single 20 second image with a clean foreground. The entire evening, there was a frustrated photographer yelling very loudly “no light! no light!” which only added to the “enjoyment”. The next evening, we were back. Somehow, the tourists were not out in droves like the night before and there were no wedding shoots. The Milky Way arrived on schedule, but there was one big problem. There was a red glow from off to our right which I concluded was a tour bus with its tail lights on. It was putting a red glow on the church. After the lights had stayed on for at least 5 minutes, I was getting ready to walk to the parking area and politely ask the driver to turn them off. Just then, these “bus tail lights” formed beams that stretched straight up into sky in a matter of a second or two. The aurora australis (a.k.a. the southern lights) were on the right and the Milky Way on the left. It was an amazing show that only lasted 3 or 4 minutes, but long enough to capture this image. Two truly memorable evenings and for different reasons. 11
JUST ANNOUNCED! JUST 3-4 SPOTS LEFT!
2021 MASAI MARA MIGRATION PHOTO SAFARI w/ Renee Doyle & Ken Koskela Note: This tour is operated by Renee Doyle Photography w/ Ken Koskela joining as co-leader On this safari we will have excellent opportunities to photograph the famous big cats of the Masai Mara, amongst the excitement and thrill of hopefully witnessing the great Wildebeest migration, which is without a doubt one of the most exhilarating and emotive wildlife photography experiences for any photographer! There are many wonderful game reserves existing within Kenya but by far our favorites are the Olare Motorogi located within the Mara Conservancy and the Naboisho Conservancy, located adjacent to the Masai Mara National Reserve. The Olare Motorogi is actually the first private Conservancy within the Masai Mara eco-system and with its strict limit on bed numbers offers a unique safari experience. Wildlife is plentiful in the 35,000 acres of rolling grasslands, hills, escarpments and Motorogi plains. The Mara Naboisho Conservancy is 50,000 acres. Both conservancies offer generous personal space and freedom. Combine this with a high concentration of wildlife, we are able to obtain exceptional wildlife encounters. Both conservancies strictly monitor the number of tourists in the area and therefore reduce the number of vehicles and human impact on the environment and wildlife. The Kicheche Camps in both conservancies are second to none. They are hosted by wonderful people who take a great deal of pride in running a friendly, relaxed yet luxurious camp in amongst the wilderness. The camps themselves have 6 amazing tents complete with ensuite and good solar electricity. There is Wi-Fi access in the main tent, and charging outlets are also available in the main common tent as well as in the vehicles and private tents. We will enjoy a 3-course gourmet dinner and in the morning, your early morning wake up call comes complete with your order of hot tea or coffee and a biscuit served in your private tent. One of the benefits of being located within the conservancy is having the ability to go off-road for important subjects – like the abundance of big cats. Among the big cats that you more than likely will have an upclose encounter with are lion, cheetah, and possibly leopard along the banks of the river. We will also be on the lookout for the smaller servals and caracals. There are of course many other wildlife to witness and enjoy … giraffe, zebra, topi, wildebeest, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle, impala, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, elephant, hippopotamus, a great variety of bird life and much more! Another benefit of being in the conservancy is the low number of game viewing vehicles. We also have the complete flexibility to stay out all day should we wish giving us the opportunity to enjoy breakfast and picnic lunches out under the shade of a beautiful tree on the plains without having to drive back to camp. Of course, the option to return for a delicious lunch is always there – totally up to the group to decide. This safari is designed with getting quality images in mind, versus quantity, and photographers of all skill levels are welcome. Our aim will be to spend as much time as possible out in the field and we will endeavor to witness as much wildlife as possible, but at times it is important to sit and wait for those special moments to unfold and therefore patience is the key. This safari is not designed to simply run around and check off a list – but rather to capture the best images possible in the best light, and at times that will mean waiting and watching an animals behavior. By doing this you will be rewarded with amazing story-telling images! Most of our time is spent out in the field so there are no formal lectures or slideshows, but we will be available both out in the field and back at camp offering tips, advice, critique and guidance throughout the safari. 12
MASAI MARA MIGRATION PHOTO SAFARI TOUR
http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/photo-tours-workshops/
KENYA PHOTO SAFARI w/ RENEE DOYLE & KEN KOSKELA August 13-21, 2021
Join Renee Doyle and Ken Koskela for an incredible small group photography safari experience in the Masai Mara. We will be staying in 5-star luxury tents in top conservancies located outside of the Masai Mara National Reserve. We will have exclusive use of two vehicles in areas of high concentration of wildlife, allowing participants exceptional wildlife encounters. The conservancies strictly monitor the number of vehicles in the area. Participants will also have the option of reserving their own row in a vehicle. Non-photographer rates are available. https://www.kenkoskela.com/product/2021-masai-mara-migration-photo-safari-tour/
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Capturing Amazing Underwater Images An Interview With Don Silcock
It takes a certain type of person to capture closeup images of animals that can eat you. Don Silcock is not only that type of person, but also someone that will keep you laughing constantly. So far, I have photographed in China and Norway with Don and always look forward to spending time with him as well as to seeing him post new underwater images, which are absolutely stunning. Don is originally from the north of England but left a long time ago and after working in the Middle East Oil for 14 years moved to Australia with his young family. That led to a career with an American corporation covering Asia and India for almost 20 years. According to Don, his main claim to fame is being able to order a beer and say thank you in every Asian language! These days he is (normally‌) based from the island of Bali, but is currently hunkered down in Sydney waiting for the world to return to something like we once knew it‌ 14
How did you first get involved in photography? Did it start with underwater or something else? I have always been interested in photography, particularly travel and landscape photography which I think comes from the intense desire I have always had to see the world. My brother is over 20 years older than me and was in the British merchant navy when I was growing up. I am pretty sure it was his stories of the exotic places that he visited was the catalyst for that.
There are basically two main genres of underwater photography – macro and wide-angle. Macro is very popular as it is easier to get results initially and is all about the smaller and often very weird creatures of the oceans. It has really developed in recent years as digital and imaging technology have enabled innovation on a scale just not possible a few years ago. Wide-angle is more complex because it involves balancing the foreground and background exposures – the former using underwater strobes (flash) and the latter with ambient light. That is technically challenging and similar in ways to landscape photography, but has the added complications that you are underwater with a limited supply of air and need to be careful of decompression sickness! How did you become interested in underwater photography? Was this a natural extension of diving or was this something completely new that you wanted to try? The underwater world has always fascinated me, and I vividly remember being completely captivated by the Jacques Cousteau documentaries years ago. I first learned to dive back in 1978 and managed to buy my first underwater camera (a Nikonos III) in 1984, with intense aspirations of conquering National Geographic! It was so hard to get anything like a decent result back then. You could, and I did, go off on a two-week trip to somewhere exotic and return with dozens of rolls of Kodachrome that were useless because you had made the same mistake on all of them! Something about it all made me keep going though… But consider this, with underwater photography you need a similar level of equipment as for landscape photography. Then you need to house is all to take it in the water, which is at least 2x the cost of the camera and lenses. Then you need the strobes and arms they are mounted on - 1x the cost of the camera… Then you need all your diving gear and then… you need to go on trips to take those exotic images. I sincerely hope my wife does not get to read this!
Wide-angle has two sub-genres – the big pictures and big animals… Big picture images are basically underwater landscapes, be that reef scenic or wrecks. While big animals are everything from sharks, manta rays, whale sharks to unique aggregations of huge numbers of a specific species. Big animals are my personal favourite as it is a unique combination of technical and artistic challenges combined with an element of danger – but not as much danger as most people often assume… Tell us about your first time photographing sharks. What was the experience like and what was going through your mind? I used to be completely terrified of sharks and I eventually started to understand them better after I did several Great White trips in South Australia about 15 years ago. Great Whites are an apex predator no doubt – but seeing them first-hand in their
What are the different types of underwater photography?
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Good autofocus and high frame rates are the key things you need, and my best results have been with the Nikon D500 and the 8-15 Nikkor zoom, which on the DX sensor gives me an effective 14-22 because of vignetting. If you are lucky, the animal will show a degree of curiosity and approach giving you a brief but extremely memorable encounter!
natural environment made me realise just how cautious they are. Sharks are to the ocean what lions or tigers are to Africa – they keep things in balance. The basic role of sharks in the oceans is to clean up the dead, the dumb and the dying so that ecosystems stay healthy. Once you understand that mechanism you can begin to act with confidence underwater. Which is very important because if you do not exude confidence, sharks will assume you are dead, dumb or dying and the dynamics change rapidly! For me, the greatest danger with sharks is complacency… They are wild animals and you must always be aware of that – like dogs they can sense fear and will challenge. So, I never assume or take things for granted and I try to use body language that exudes confidence. So far… that has kept me safe! Describe an underwater big animal photography experience --- what gear is used, how are the sharks attracted to the cage? It all really depends on the animal… If it is whales or whale sharks for example, then it would normally be at the surface and you will be snorkelling rather than diving with a tank of air. Typically, it will also be ambient light photography as it is just too hard to try and use strobes when swimming at the surface. The encounter is always on the animal’s terms and you are relying on being in the right place at the right time - intuition and experience helps a lot with that, but there are never any guarantees with wild animals. 16
With sharks it is always diving, and bait is required to get them to come close and, apart from with Great Whites, this is done in open-water and can be quite intimidating at first. But really the greatest dangers are complacency and stupidity such as getting too close to the bait! With Great Whites there is no choice but to use a cage as the risks are too high. The most intimidating underwater photographic experience I have personal had was with the American Crocodiles at Chinchorro in Mexico. Big animals like sharks and whales behave in a reasonably linear manner and rarely stop moving, however crocodiles are motionless but resonate a kind of coiled-up energy with very few indicators of their intentions! COVID-19 aside, what are your future travel plans? I have more or less written off my plans for this year, but remain cautiously optimistic I may be able to do the Blue Whale trip in Timor Leste I am booked on in November. I have done two trips there previously, but it was for diving – this is for in-water snorkelling and free diving with the world’s largest creature! I have several trips booked for 2021, starting with Blue Sharks and Makos in Cabo San Lucas in Baja California followed by the Grey Whales of Magdalena Bay.
I try to document and share as much of my underwater experiences on my website www.indopacificimages.com – for two reasons… I enjoy writing about the stuff I have done as it makes me look back and really understand the experience. Secondly, I think it is good to share experiences so other people can benefit from it. Whether anybody actually does is not really clear, but I do get a lot of emails from strangers thanking me for doing what I have…
In May I am going to Tubbataha, a very remote part of the Philippines that you can only access for a couple of months a year. Then in July and August I am snorkelling with Beluga Whales in Canada, diving with Sand Tiger Sharks in Carolina, going back to Chinchorro in Mexico to snorkel with American Crocodile and the down to Argentina to snorkel with Southern Right Whales. Where can people see more of your work?
If your readers are interested in “big animal” encounters then I would suggest this link to Exceptional Experiences in the Americas which covers Tiger, Great Hammerhead and Oceanic Whitetip sharks in the Bahamas and why they are there. Plus, Whale Sharks and American Crocodiles in Mexico and the incredible Florida Manatee in the Crystal River. More shark stuff is documented with the Australian Great White and Grey Nurse Shark. Then there are my all-time favourites the Humpback Whales of Tonga which is an incredible big animal experience!
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COMPELLING ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAITS CAPTURING EMOTION IN YOUR SUBJECTS
One of the many things I love about photography is that it takes me to places I would not otherwise go and allows me to meet interesting people I would not otherwise meet. This is especially true with environmental portrait photography. For someone born in the Chicago suburbs, it is a privilege to spend 20 minutes with a rural villager in China in or around their home. There are many effective ways to shoot and process environmental portraits. Personally, I like creating stylized, surreal portraits that capture the emotion of everyday people. I say “everyday people,” but the truth is that I seek out intriguing looking people that have something special or unique about them. And then I try to capture their emotion and unique characteristics in a picture. In this article, I will summarize the techniques I use to capture emotion in my portrait subjects. 18
Choosing My Subjects and Backgrounds For me, the choice of subject is critical. I look for people that look like they have “experienced life”. To date, I’ve never hired a professional model. I especially like shooting portraits of older people in rural areas. This is because the subject, the clothing, and the background are all more likely to work well together. Children may not have experienced as much of life, but also make great subjects. If I am traveling overseas and don’t speak the local language, I have a local guide with me who can help arrange some short photo sessions. The usual strategy is to simply walk around and ask where the older people in the village are and even knock on some doors. Usually, a foreigner walking around in a rural village with a camera gets attention and I have little problem arranging sessions. I am also looking for good backgrounds as I am
walking around. In some cases, I find a great subject and just have to do my best with whatever background options there are. Sessions are usually in or around the subject’s home in a familiar setting for the subject. Clothing is very important. I try to avoid people wearing clothes with writing or familiar slogans on them. If this fantastic looking guy on the lefthand page was wearing a Nike t-shirt, it just wouldn’t be the same picture. I also don’t like to take pictures of people wearing bright traditional costumes as the pictures can look touristy and the people are often not as relaxed in their poses when wearing their favorite traditional outfit. Shooting to Capture Emotion My basic formula for capturing portraits with emotion is to shoot wide-angle, get close to the subject, get the hands in the picture and use a mix of natural light with some minimal diffused flash lighting. I like a separation between the subject and his or her background.
Shoot wide-angle, get close I should say “somewhat” wide-angle because I generally shoot at around 24 mm and usually no wider. I find that range is a good balance of the reality you get at 50mm and the distortion you get at the wider extremes of wide-angle lenses. Because I am shooting wide, I get quite close to my subjects. I usually warn them ahead of time about this. It has been said that the eyes are the “window to the soul”. For me, the eyes are a critically important part of the picture and must be sharp. I focus on the closest eye and re-focus frequently as I move around the subject. Being close to the subject with a wide-angle helps bring attention to the eyes. Putting subjects at ease I am not a professional portrait photographer and don’t pretend to be. There is not a lot riding on whether a session is successful other than it is great for everyone to get some good pictures. So, with that in mind, I like to create as relaxed atmosphere as possible and have fun.
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at an angle to the camera and, if they are standing, to put their weight on one of their feet. I don’t want the subject standing flat footed and perpendicular to the camera. I generally have the subjects looking directly at the camera, following it with their eyes, for the majority of the session. I usually start moving slightly left or right, asking them to keep their head still and just follow the camera with their eyes. I find that this often results in a more interesting look than straight on. I usually shoot from slightly below eye level but be careful not to shoot too low. Include the hands In many cases, I like to include the subject’s hands in the composition. With a wide-angle lens, their hands in the foreground will look large, so I try to strike a balance with the hands being prominent but not too big. Or, the arms can be folded (with one or both hands visible) and the arms used to form a frame around the subject. I usually direct what I want the subject to do with their hands and pay close attention to how the elements that are closer to the camera (often the hands) look. One thing I like to do when first talking with a possible portrait subject is to show some of the processed pictures I have taken so that they can see what I am after. If I have a local guide, I will sometimes let him or her know that they should feel free to chat with the subject during the session. The idea is to help the subjects relax and be themselves during the shoot. I tell my subjects that most of the pictures will have them not smiling. They will be doing extremely minimal posing that I will help with. The session will last for just 10-15 minutes. This all works together to put the subject at ease during the shoot. The idea is to put them at ease and to get a natural expression, even if they are posing. Nothing will drain all of the emotion out of a portrait than an awkward, forced smile. While talking with the subject, I am setting up the flash (more on that in a minute) and then advising and/or showing the person how to stand, typically 20
Complementary Background Without Distractions Part of capturing emotion in the final image is avoiding having elements that distract from your subject. When shooting wide-angle, you need to pay extra attention to this. When I am looking through the camera at the beginning of the session, it is typically with the background in mind. The usual suspects for distracting elements include trees behind the head, straight lines or shapes that
capture attention, bright lights, colorful objects and garbage on the ground that distracts. If the sky is bright and cloudless, then I try to keep the sky out of the image. Lighting I almost always use a mix of natural light and flash. Because I usually shoot while traveling, I just bring 1-2 off-camera flashes and a trigger. I use an umbrella or softbox, placed generally at a 45-degree angle to the subject, above them, and angled down. The idea is to mimic some natural light coming down from above. It is important not to overpower your subject with flash. You want the shot out of the camera to not look obviously like flash was used.
f /5.6 or 7.1 and a shutter speed of around 1/160. I then make the necessary adjustments to get a slightly underexposed background, perhaps ½ stop. As for the adjustments, rather than just adjusting one setting (ISO, for example), I’ll usually make slight adjustments to each. When indoors, I start compromising on settings. I generally don’t go wider than f/5.6. While the flash will freeze your subject in place, you still can’t go too low with shutter speed. I will go to 1/40 if necessary. ISO is, of course, is a key way to control the background light. Although higher ISOs are not desirable, blurry pictures are worse and so compromise on ISO first if your camera handles it well.
Although I will shoot any time, I usually try for earlier or later in the day, or else overcast conditions to avoid bright sunlight on the subject or background. Camera Settings I always shoot portrait sessions in my camera’s manual mode. I first get my exposure correct for the background, without adding flash. If the session is outdoors, I usually have my camera set to ISO 100, 21
Processing In the last issue of Inspirational Photography, I did an extensive article on processing techniques, so I will only summarize here. I start with a single RAW file in Lightroom and make all the adjustments to both the subject and background. However, this first processing is with the subject in mind. I start with global adjustments and generally decrease lights, bring up shadows, increase clarity (quite a bit, depending on subject), decrease saturation slightly and increase sharpness. Using adjustment brushes and gradients, I then make a number of local adjustments, primarily to smooth out bright spots, sharpen key features of the face and draw attention to the subject. Next, I create a virtual copy of that file in Lightroom and reduce clarity and sharpness and usually also slightly decrease saturation or exposure. This becomes the file I use for the background. I then bring both into Photoshop as layers and create a mask to separate the subject from the background. This dual processing and masking allows me to draw
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more attention to the subject by using the sharper layer for him or her and especially the eyes. In Photoshop, I use a combination of masking, brushes, gradients and luminosity masking techniques. Saturation adjustments usually involve de-saturation of brightly colored objects, such as clothing. I often add a color fill layer at low opacity and then experiment with a few Nik Filters that I like, almost always at low opacity. Then, back to Lightroom for a subtle vignette.
MISS AN ISSUE OF INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY? Click below to read past issues. March 2016 • Pushing blue into the shadows • Smoke composites • Guilin, China • Including motion in your images • Wide-angle portraits • Backing up your pictures • Big impact with small subjects
April 2016 • Complementary colors • Dealing with foggy lenses • Effective silhouette images • Gradient vignettes • Watch the windows • Shooting into the sun
May 2016 • Solid neutral density filters • Web sharpening using TK Actions • Following and breaking the rule of thirds • Packing for an outdoor photography camping trip • Pictures that make people think
June 2016 • Using a circular polarizer • Intro to luminosity masking • Oil and water pictures • Minimum shutter speeds • Coastline moving water images
July 2016 • Exposing flash and ambient light separately • Incorporating opposites into your images • Venice during Carnival • Orton effect • Including reflections in your pictures
August 2016 • Shooting the Milky Way, Stars and Northern Lights • Cathedral images • Controlling tonal contrast with a histogram • Focusing strategies for moving subjects
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September 2016 • Post-processing Milky Way shots • Controlling motion in landscape images • Increasing water texture with Nik • Shooting cities at night
October 2016 • Shooting and processing star trails • Eliminating distractions • Dramatic side-lighting • Creating a texture layer in Photoshop • Inconvenience leads to better pictures.
November 2016 • How to use an ultra-wide lens • Search Engine Optimization for Images • Photoshop’s Smart Objects for 2nd Chance Adjustments • Leading Lines
December 2016 • Natural vs. Artificial Light Portraits • Blurred Water Creek Images • Layer Adjustments for Printing • Don’t Miss the Shot
January 2017 • Eliminating Camera Shake • Location Feature: Cinque Terre • How to Create Starbursts in Camera • Photoshop’s Blend If Feature
February 2017 • Making the Hands Prominent in Portraits • Hummingbird Photography - Guest Article by Jim Zuckerman • De-Mystifying Image Sharpening • Precise Camera Placement
March 2017 • On-Camera Fill Flash • Vignette and Aura Post-Processing Techniques • Exposing for Snow • Low Perspective with a Wide-Angle Lens
April 2017 • Identifying Foregrounds in Nature • How to Eliminate a Halo • Location Feature: Canadian Rockies • Interview with Jack Brauer • Should I Zoom In To focus?
Click HERE to join the Inspirational Photography email list. May 2017 • Edge Selections in Photoshop • Camera Setup: Important Menu Items • Seeking Out Great Subjects
June 2017 • Window Lighting for Portraits in Dark Environments • Frequency Separation in Photoshop • Wildlife Photography in Africa: “The Mara”
July / August 2017 • Avoiding Distractions in Landscape Images • Introduction to TK Actions V5 • Interview with Tony Kuyper
May 2018 • Photographing the Aurora • Post-Processing Creative Portraits • Featured Photographer Sean Bagshaw • Portraits and Focal Length
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