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Elements of Design: Value and Texture

Lesson 9 from: Intro to Adventure Sports Photography

Jay Goodrich

Elements of Design: Value and Texture

Lesson 9 from: Intro to Adventure Sports Photography

Jay Goodrich

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Lesson Info

9. Elements of Design: Value and Texture

Lesson Info

Elements of Design: Value and Texture

All right, so value now think about contrast right lights typically stand out to us darks typically recede in the middle we're kind of in this zone of confusion, so to speak uh, but if we know that, then we can use it to our vintage ok, all the fishermen on they're in a performance in china on the lee river actually know very few people now fishing these air cormorant fishing fishermen the way they fish fish now is very different where actually they don't need to fish now because they're part of this performance all of them like this is crazy there's like three hundred there, so if you go to the side of the river seemed going out at night to fish, he'd really I don't see them because they're here kind of interesting take on the way things are changing, so we either see, you know, think face surveys we either see the light texture of the mountains or the dark line band of the trees below again the light blue or the dark pool light line of the river cascading through patagonia mountains.

Probably we're seeing the vertical lines of the trunk because they're brighter than the green so even tones and balance foreground background being balanced out it's actually one exposure when light room four came out I process this it was also a wedded but not totally silhouetted and I could get mohr information have a single photograph, so that was something kind of cool that we didn't have available to us before they before they change their camera. Raw algo algorithm just this palette of medium tone color here we've got a lot of hot brights and a lot of dark darks, and it kind of becomes this very monochromatic scene, right? It's very balanced here graduated mutual density filter holding it over, making sure not to clip his head with it. So right by behind him, it actually becomes a little bit brighter, but at the same point he's exposed properly so it works. We don't need to see that this is crazy. Sunset light. We've got some of that going appear our mind kind of fills in the blanks, right? Overcast light can't do this in the day again over castlight. Very vertical over very vertical lines. Very quiet, serene scene in the mountains and snow darks recede. Do we focus more on this side of the photograph? Probably, but there's a progression there and layers of the moisture. Pretty cool, huh? This's windows arch. Most people photograph it from that side, shooting through this one to get turd arch and he's, the twelfth photographer of twelve photographers going up to do that. And when I saw it happening, I was sitting in the parking lot I'm like, oh that's my shot I don't want the I don't want the standard shot I want that shot, the guy going off the edge, the last guy he got this is kind of funny they all just kept going over and I couldn't get my gear out fast enough to get them the last guy stood at the top because when he got to the top he looked over and he's like there's only a little edge that they can stand on, so he was like, uh where do I go? And I got then I took the show and he disappeared, so there was that moment of hesitation where he didn't know where to go, where I actually looked out no hotel room and in thailand's looking out the window in the morning, so notice how are are? We may focus on this, but we may focus on this textural quality of the element right here graduated filter going to make him silhouette this time going to show you that kind of rugged mountain environment by my home in jackson and I'm ok with him being so what? I don't need to see all the detail that freaking orange helmet those stands out, no matter what doesn't, it becomes about kind of that translucency of the of the seal tank of a seal on and it's my wife so what if it's all opposite so here we have a very bright field are subject actually becomes the dark element in it but it's the dark element that's different than the pattern I've set up right our eyes go to the light even those of very dark friend so I can you can play with that you can include lightness or you can include darkness lots of highlights and shadows here at the same time though that's really setting up this layering effect of the coast in oregon so here very monochromatic seen the failure this is a failure for sure is that he's up here not being really separated if he were somewhere in this zone I think it would be much more successful photograph so what how can I fix this? How can I better myself again always trying to make it different love the trees but what happens if we just become it just becomes about the scheer and this is to me skiing in the cascades a good part of the winter you know we scheme very white out conditions so to me that was like ok, this ability is always zero here so let's illustrate that should perform will put the red hat on the skier and bam and here's the here's how we can control it not only in the field but in post okay so what happens if I take the shot with the graduated filter? We get this kind of effect dark sky what happens if I take it without it exposed properly on the bison's to be noticed that that's how the subject really didn't change but the complete feel the photograph has this is important, so that's kind of where you start leading into this processing idea how do we make the photograph successful after the fact you can we tweak it in the field? And can we tweak it in post so here's some examples of tweaking and post I've lightened a village there normally it would be dark, it would be darker in this scenario sun's going down gotta graduated filter across my frame there and I just lighten it up a bit post so we see that and notice how this sunsetting our eyes kind of just make that right. It doesn't, it doesn't fight our eyes are like it makes sense same here you know this this would you would not see this if I didn't use the filter. Okay, so you wouldn't see that this textural kind of busted up lava see the line right here, right as she rides out of the shadows that's where I want the shot, this is where you need to our frames per second because a millisecond after this she's way too hot millisecond before she's way too dark then again processed out the bright sky over there so you don't see it as much processed out the lighter foreground too so it becomes darker k texture course think course smooth glossy, tangible, touchable things right coarseness of that wind driven snow across just a reflection in water very smooth, glassy weathered it looks like a topo map to me she's sandstone oh, so that little ghostly glacier shot that was a little puddle was taken like right over here that's how smooth the rock is from the pressure of a glacier now if I didn't polarize this, you wouldn't see the color you would just see this reflection of the overcast light on the on the stone so it would all be very kind of monochromatic but by polarizing it the color comes out and the shine goes away. You ski this after all of this happens not before right? So that's my guide and he dropped all of this material down before we skied the slope and this is in alaska and what's crazy is this is about a sixty degree phase to a forty five degree face, but look at house flat the valley looks just in comparison to that transition texture of trees in patagonia cascades about snow stops no going abstract you don't need to know that this is the forced that we've got you know this all about graphically designing something that kind of pleases the eye it's about color it's about the snow falling etcetera and I was just here in bishop I love the texture of the plants around there's just amazing and that's like what it looks like right now before the snow starts falling on it's got this crazy color palette texture of the trees in patagonia you know so wind hammered twisted branches, it's autumn things or losing leaves things still have green leaves duality between motorcycles and mountain bikers yet in the sand that kind of textural sandy element this stuff choose your feet to shreds when you're walking on it new shoes after that one so here's my convergence zone again sunset on the west side rain on top of us essentially amazing amazing light weathered sign in iceland the only thing you could really see his conservation you don't ski here because you just took an edging crash you ski here where the snow is nice and smooth and soft and landed perfectly so at the right moment in time if you pay attention to the way the little sliver of light comes down, you dropped the person in right at that moment when you know they're snow's gonna lift up and get lit by the setting sun the coarseness of thea misses out actually shocks and glacier I think just a very textural landscape shot a week after. If it snows more, you don't get that a week before no snow, it's, all black. So it's, just that fine line between getting a kind of a dusting of snow on top of that stuff, they really make that texture pop.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Jay Goodrich - Lightroom Notes and Workflow.pdf
Jay Goodrich - Intro to Adventure Photography Discount Codes.pdf

bonus material with enrollment

Jay Goodrich - Intro to Adventure Sports Photography Syllabus.pdf
Jay Goodrich - Intro to Adventure Photography Gear Guide.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

Brendan Quigley
 

While I'm new to the world of Creative Live and their excellent series of lecture presentations, I'm not so new to the world of photography. I'm an avid semi-pro nature photographer with aspirations toward expanding my portfolio to include more adventure sports-related imagery. I found Jay's presentation insightful, humorous and down to earth. His classes mixed the art and design of an image with the technical experience and athletic ability one would need to create the kind of image I'd like to be able to make, and he did it in a way that made my personal goal achievable. Jay's images are stunning, and he presents a lot of valuable information in a way that relates to photographers of all skill levels. I look forward to seeing more of what CL can provide to help me become a better photographer, and also to seeing what Jay will present next. I highly recommend this class!

Dámaris
 

Thank you so much for sharing this and for free. I learnt a LOT... and still gotta keep on learning!! I like and agree with most of your points of view, Jay! Love the no-rules approach, photographer's vision, controlling the shot and camera, and doing most of the job with the camera instead of lots of editing, like many do. I honestly didn't know you before this workshop but am now a new follower you've got. Keep it up! You're gonna kinda hate me for kind of pointing something out to you... you kind of say kind of and kinda kind of 'way too much' ;) Not saying it as negative criticism because it is not at all, but as a funny observation (followed HIMYM? You'll understand ;)). Best of luck. Respect. ps. Recommended watch.

Student Work

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