Lessons

Lesson Info

Image Review

is there you see how that's the gifts are showing up like they're screaming at you they're just right there you see that right okay this is kind of thing like you went those gifts to show and sing on this is multiple locations stuff this is you have the framing you have the reputation of the squares and you have you have reflection are his hands occupied doing something or are they just hang like a monkey right um which the other chart location charts with you wear just guessed that I took advantage of this photograph er the location is there some background the background is even lit no it's paintings right there's one of the elements paintings and artwork uh yeah you see guys so when I walked into the hotel room I saw this paintings and artwork on dh that was what I used as a gift did I show the rest of the bad or the wall or the bathroom no just stick to the gift okay um do you see how I had a rice locked in and then I made a react you can totally see these first of all I told her t...

o look up into the corner of that window and she was like what I was like look at the corner of the window she was just like I need you embarrass her or do something and this is like right by her ice already locked in what you don't want us to go back home and you do a job and you're like just don't react in the way I want I wanted a lively cool pose how come I'm not getting it you're not locking the ice okay let's see okay what do you see here in terms of the location charts symmetry so I saw the symmetry now let me explain something when you have something very symmetrical in the scene don't put your subjects in the middle is it's like a cliche thing to do you've got to break the symmetry so you have you include the symmetry perfectly in your frame right but then you put the there's your subjects a little off center so you don't you're not doing the obvious like oh look symmetry let's go to the middle do you mean so you put it down you notice her elbows bent it's because I don't want her hanging like a monkey when she goes on the stairs so I told her to please lift up your dress and look to the left I also had a flash right there illuminating her even though there was a window this close to what I just said that's fine but you can always improve the light by putting a flash very light reflector anything you want okay uh let's take a look at uh thisa little creepy side um this is a photo I took to show contrasts now where the contrasts from well she's really bright I mean the colors even just the colors the colors the painting is black and white yeah I'm choosing color didn't by the way hello alike I did not make him black and white and she's not in color that was a black and white photo off because there's more contrast in that he's sad she's happy he's in the top right she's in the bottom left she's more he's big something sense yeah she sees things black and white shoes you got right you have all of this his multiple contrasts going on this is good for the people watching online as well to remember that contrasts doesn't have to mean light and dark could mean smiley not miami you can be big and small it could mean bottom left top right one I mean it's all of these different things this is kind of interesting okay this is very important for me to discuss uh especially from previous experiences that I've had when people say by the time I do other stuff it's so complicated I lose the moments and it's true if you don't practice it will take you along a lot longer to see these things here's an example off something that I truly believe do not let being a perfectionist they take over unless you take over a really great moment if if I see something that's very good for you journalistically speaking I forget all my rules and I just take the picture I don't care about the crazy overblown background I don't care about any of that okay when his daughter walked by and saw his dad again and ready and try to see what he was doing but she couldn't really see and then he was like oh there's my daughter I hear that's a great moment that picture will make them cry so yes I would say a great for journalistic photo trumps being a perfectionist and cleaning up the background the stuff that I'm talking talking to you about today is about when you have control okay okay let's talk about spinal cords in this photograph do you think that happened by accident no no mom is putting on the shoe she was like when the bride is getting or shoot put on she's like but mom okay you need to be in control of your own domain and I was like up stop catched caught that's not working that's just not working so mom you do this you keep your spine straight you put the show without bending your spine daughter you need to lift your elbow because you need to have that waste cap that I talked about in seven seven seven you keep your spinal cord straight when you don't keep your head down you don't dip it by slouching you're back you tip it by tilting your head down okay so that's what's going on here her spine is completely straight even all the way up to here and now this part is the only part that's going down she's not slouching her upper back this is moving this looks beautiful then her mom is straight and the perot just looks like see it's a blown out background but why is that okay because it's even okay this is a really interesting photo the bride came up to me with with a picture so if where she was going to get ready just like roberto like I'm so sorry I want to get ready in my grandma's house she doesn't even in the greatest place she lives in the ghetto I was like okay she's like this is like the photos and she showed me a photo like that staircase and I stopped doing that photo and I said that is the most beautiful staircase I've ever seen and it's just like oh you're totally being polite because I'm your client you're a photographer and you trying to get paid I'm just getting it I said you just totally trying to be polite and I said no it really is a great staircase because that staircase you cannot see here because it's already this is the final four oh but that staircase had that contrast off strong light coming in going into darkness when I saw that I was just like oh my gosh that's like contrast birthday heaven you know I mean I also saw symmetry you see the symmetry the staircase I also patterns and repetitions with the lines I also so balance I mean this little staircase had like eight parts of my location chart so when I saw that I was just like this is like happy birthday to me for a staircase you know and then I told her to walk down and I assumed out my lands as I was taking the photo with with a long exposure this is things you practice during the week on it looks like it's blowing out because I took a picture with a slow shutter and I assumed out the lens I have a stake in it you know how that creates an explosive effect the practice part wass you have to know that that would work here and second you have to know how to hold the land so when you spin and you don't actually move the lance it has to be like spun right on that access okay uh all of these examples on the stuff we did photographed yesterday goes to show you that was in the power of this seven lucky seven stuff the power of looking at the non obvious location gift on the power of being confident lock in the ice and most importantly create good subject emphasis every time okay I really feel strongly with you and with everyone watching that if they start to narrow the under photography to not let the obvious locations guide them like the pretty fountain or the pretty lake your work will exponentially improve really really get better to the point where you are considered a professional artist no just a guy taking a picture of a pretty fountain with the person in front there was a question from david lo ha who said can you do symmetrical pose with two different light sources I eat a light in the room on one side and an ice light on the other like two different temperatures and how you did right no no I did I did symmetrical yeah of course but I mean is that the picture of that girl when she was sitting on the floor that was langston combined with they like balanced so it creates a total contrast to your life by the way playing with jewel why balances is another little thing you can practice at home like put your sister daughter song anyone or a banana like what I do like fruits if you don't have people on try tungsten light with natural life with daylight balance take a photo see what it looks like try different things and get build into your repertoire off tools so if you do see an opportunity you're like that's an opportunity because that's only before see what I mean so yeah cool okay a question from rocky broke which is just kind of ah quick question did you say that the woman should have her chin above the shoulder at all times this was when we're looking at photos are they should should a woman should a female subject have her chin above the shoulder oh no no no no no that was because I was trying to get that sunlight bath in her face remember so when she hugged I said go up so the sun would just hired her hit her in the face and give her a clean light because she needs to be the brightest subject correct forever I said I was gonna feature her and he was just an accessory so that means I have to make the light on her the best here's an example of why that's not here's an example of the chin down same thing going down okay so this time the light was in the in the sand because the sun is here in the sand the san is an actual reflected the natural flight or bunches like right back up so I don't want to lose that so where's the reflector coming from is coming from the ground from the sand up so I told the pride too get hit by that reflected light one thing about the beach the beach gift is the gift off the most amazing bounced light from the sand so I every time I always I don't used to beat you for the water per se I used for the quality of light that it can give you see that's another up known obvious thing off the beach right people say like oh there's the beach water which is fine but if the sun is hitting the sand and you see that reflected light take advantage of it posing away that features one right now I featured the bright again question from uh robert loved to from san francisco how much time do you take to scout locations prior to shooting I know evaluating all of the elements has become more routine and you're always looking for these elements but how much time is dedicated to the scout before wedding um that's a good question because a lot of people ask me that question and I think that's a good one so everyone here rule of thumb is who cares you're supposed to look at the light at a particular time but in my opinion because we have tools to enhance the light like very lights like reflectors on like flashes I don't believe that that's the only way you should go I believe that it's ok to see something that's not late well because you know you can light it well you can create the light so I do walk around maybe for about fifteen two fifteen minutes before a job maybe thirty minutes at the most and I do walk around the rooms I would walk around the lobby of the hotel and I just say that would be a coup for because of this element but I have to add light so you kind of like that uh this photo here let's see if I have it the one that was in the cover of range finder over that this was this was not let very well any more it was kind of like the sun started to fade away so I said instinctively you say the lights don't go it is not gonna work but I say you can improve the light you could make it happen you can create it so I did use a wireless flash to illuminate and I used a high I s so so that light would really influence that painting see what I mean so I had an off camera flash here and I shot him from a forty five degree angle I loved her eyes I loved his size before I made him react and then the painting was the balance point off them so this is an example of where the light was in great but I made it work