Teachings
Foundations Workshop: November 5th
That’s right folks, after some expressed interest toward a workshop centered on pushing your basic understanding of photography and visual storytelling, my good friend Brian Hirschy and I are going to do just that November 5 in Dallas, Texas.
What and Why:
Foundations workshop is focused on strengthening your abilities to see and create images that utilize an advanced understanding of where we start out with our cameras and vision. The all-day workshop moves beyond just learning how to make your camera work, and into an area that emphasizes producing images that marry our abilities and technique in creating compelling, attractive, and interesting photographs. More importantly, Foundations workshop is geared toward hands-on instruction in how to create images that say something more than a snapshot.
In one day, we’ll cover in-depth the following areas:
- Seeing Light I: Color & Shadows
- Storytelling Composition & Depth
- Competence with your camera
- Assessing Images: Conducting useful, real-world edits and critiques of your work
- Seeing Light II: Portraits
- Engaging Basic Off-Camera Lighting Setups
- Getting Comfortable With Digital Workflow Using Adobe Lightroom
Where and When:
Foundations workshop will be held at QuadPhoto Dallas, a large commercial and editorial studio managed by my good friend and outstanding photographer, R.J. Hinkle. The address for the studio is:
16650 Westgrove Drive, Suite 175
Addison, Texas 75001
We’ll start at 8:30 a.m., on Saturday, November 5, and wrap up on or a little after 5:00 p.m. We might just squeeze in a TweetUp after the workshop as well!
Price:
The price for Foundations is $325.00 (catered lunch, model fee, and all the coffee you can drink included in the price), and you can register on Brian’s site here: FOUNDATIONS REGISTRATION. You can also contact me through my site here (just put Foundations in the subject field).
Foundations is also sponsored by BlackRapid camera straps, and that means some free gear from arguably the best camera strap manufacturer out there!
If you really want to start moving beyond the basics and begin to build the way you see and achieve your images, Foundations workshop is purposed with that in mind: growing your photographic eye, deepening your understanding of light, and creating a workflow that complements your style of shooting.
Who:
Here’s a bit more about the Foundations instructors:
Brian is a working travel photographer living in western China who has a passion for teaching photography, participating in the growing photographic community in China, and helping NGO’s in Southeast Asia communicate their amazing stories when possible – all in an effort to actively do good rather than simply complain.
In late 2009 Brian helped start a company,Plateau Photo Tours, that facilitates socially-conscious one-of-a-kind photo tours throughout Tibet, China, and Hong Kong – providing socially responsible and culturally non-destructive photo opportunities throughout the region.
Brian has been shooting the Tibetan regions of western China since 2005 and has travelled extensively in these areas.
Brian’s photography can be seen at brianhirschy.com (500px, archives). You can also follow him on Twitter.
Jerod is an editorial and natural history photographer based in Lubbock, Texas. Starting out as a student of celebrated Texas photographer, Wyman Meinzer, Jerod quickly developed a passion for visual storytelling and educating future generations of shooters. His work ranges from environmental portraiture and travel imagery to conservation photography and photojournalism, and it can be seen in a variety of regional and national magazines and book publications.
In 2006, Jerod began teaching photography courses at Texas Tech University, and since then he has led students in a variety of course topics, including domestic and international field courses. He is a regular contributor to the Manfrotto School of Xcellence, and he is set to release his first book focused on visual storytelling with PeachPit/New Riders this winter. He is also a partner in Badlands Design and Production, a publishing house for high-end coffee table photography books.
Jerod’s photography can be seen at www.jerodfoster.com. You can follow his blog here, and catch up with him on Twitter at: @jerodfoster
Field Lighting #20: Know What Time To Shoot
One quick tip from Sevilla for the Field Lighting series: know what time to shoot! I invited the students a few days ago to meet around the Geralda Tower that is part of the Catedral de Sevilla (yes, that’s spelled correctly). During this time, we photographed the comings and goings of the area, largely populated by tourists and out-of-towners. The light was fairly muted when we arrived, so we focused much on detail work, and around 9:00 p.m., the sky cleared up, and we were able to focus on the smoothly warm light hitting the spires of the cathedral. This is such an impressive building, I wish I could have seen it hundreds of years ago absent of the surrounding construction!
One of the more typical (yet beautiful) shots of the building is the one above on the left, with the Geralda Tower lit at dusk. The Geralda is a beautiful, soaring tower, constructed generations before the cathedral during Moorish rule, and you can definitely see the artistic influence in the symmetric preciseness of its construction. The key to this shot is to be within relatively close proximity to the tower when the lights turn on in the evening. As soon as this happens, whether by design or not, the fleeting light in the Western sky is relatively close in value as the artificial light hitting the tower. The result is a nice blue hue in the sky juxtaposed with the orange-ish tint to the structure’s lights. When confronted with this situation, simply meter in the area where the light is hitting the subject, much like you would at any time, and as long as you are shooting within 10 or 15 minutes of sunset, sometimes longer, you will be able to balance out both exposures.
Just a quick tip from Sevilla! I hope all is well, and I should be checking in a couple more times before I head to Scotland!
The Evocative Image: New eBook from Andrew S. Gibson and Craft & Vision
Andrew S. Gibson is not a new figure to Craft & Vision’s lineup of extremely resourceful eBooks. His previous writings include Parts One through Three of The Magic of Black & White, each widely popular among the Craft & Vision readers. His most recent addition, The Evocative Image: A Photographer’s Guide to Capturing Mood, is a deviation from the field of black and white and a venture in to the world of color. By doing so, Gibson puts together a vibrant eBook chock full of useful information regarding technical use of the camera and having control over the images that you envision as a photographer. More importantly, the author does a great job in encouraging the reader/photographer to carefully consider what each technical choice delivers in regard to mood (something that’s increasingly important the more and more we spend shooting).
Many of my readers know that aside from working as an editorial and natural history photographer, I teach photography courses at Texas Tech University. If I were to recommend a book that compliments the lectures based on technically operating the camera, it would be The Evocative Image. Gibson puts together an eBook that addresses the most basic of camera mechanisms–shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and focus–in a way that introduces the beginning photographer to the next step in a never-ending set of steps that culminate ultimately in creating compelling, meaningful, evocative images. For the more experienced photographer, the book is certainly a refresher, aiding in the re-alignment of why we’re behind the camera in the first place. I’m a fan of reading books like this, and even though you might be a fairly advanced, seasoned shooter, it never hurts to be reminded about how to capture our vision with what we have. You’ll always discover something new, no matter how much you think you know about all that is photography.
Gibson also combines thinking conceptually about using the camera as a tool to achieve a vision with working in an environment naturally engineered for creating the evocative image. Coupled with reinforcing imagery (if you simply just like viewing really well-made images, this book will hit the spot), he discusses shooting during the right times of the day to add strength and mood to your images, including pre-sunrise/post-sunset and what has affectionately become known as the Golden and Blue Hours. As a teacher, I certainly appreciate the emphasis and time Gibson spends on discussing light, especially in regard to how it achieves emotional attraction and vision fulfillment.
The Evocative Image also includes several well-placed sidebars outlining exercises related to the very concepts Gibson addresses in his writing. These exercises encourage the reader to move beyond the thinking and in to the doing. The overall mission is to create images that are felt, by the photographer and the viewer. The exercises outlined help the reader do just that! Again, these exercises, just like the book, are applicable to shooters holding a wide range of experience and technical proficiency.
Overall, this is an attractive eBook! Craft & Vision offers yet again a valuable resource at the price of a cup of hand-pressed Brazilian coffee. The Evocative Image: A Photographer’s Guide to Capturing Mood is available for $5.00 even regularly, but from now until midnight February 28, you can purchase it for $4.00 using the code: EVOCATIVE4. If you purchase five or more books at Craft & Vision, use the code EVOCATIVE20 to receive 20% off your entire purchase.
Thanks goes out to Andrew S. Gibson for producing this useful and aesthetically beautiful resource, and to Craft & Vision for making possible the creation and distribution of such resources. Great job everyone!
I’m teaching a video course in Junction, Texas.
That’s right, an HD video/documentary course, in Junction, Texas, Texas Tech University satellite campus, May 12 – May 27. If you are frequent readers, you know I’m a photography instructor (of sorts) at Texas Tech University, and for five years now, I have been teaching a field photography course with Wyman Meinzer at the Junction, Texas, campus. This year, we’ve decided to test out a new course in high-definition video. I’m basing it off of the foundations of the photography course, which is “get your feet wet working like a professional.” For 15 days, students and instructors alike work tirelessly, pursuing the story of the land and the people on it. Each year is a treat, finding ourselves with a new bunch of students and some familiar and veteran areas of the state to point our lenses. We travel well over 1,000 miles during our 15 days, and we see a lot of country. If the video/documentary course turns out anything like the photography course, and it should (we’re going along with them), then it’s bound to be a challenging, yet inspiring, experience for all parties involved.
If there’s anything that can be said about our classes in Junction, it’s one of the only times you can receive that much one-on-one mentoring for the price (which by the way, is a great deal more affordable than other workshops). Also, you don’t have to be a TTU student now to take the course (that’s right, this is sort of a pitch). However, before you sign up, you will have to submit an application to Tech, a formality, to be enrolled in the course. If anything (if you have a degree or not), you’ll get three hours of college credit in 15 days. How cool is that!?
If you’re interested, please shoot me an e-mail. I’m sure there’s some technical details I left out, but I can dig up anything!
Big Light is Good Light!
Like a lot of photographers out there, I’m addicted to big light! For most of the portrait work I do, the sun is just not big enough, relatively speaking. I like explaining this to students. The sun is a huge star, not the largest in the solar system, but no lightweight either. However, since it is over 90 million miles from Earth at any given time our orbit, it’s safe to say that the sun acts like a bare strobe combined with a small reflector, which doesn’t throw off the most flattering light in many cases.
Enter the softbox. Ah, yes, that wonderful enclosure of diffusion, that for many photographers starting out is the end-all-be-all of light modifiers. Most softboxes force light to pass through a number of diffuse materials that essentially take a good deal of the initial kick out of the light, and just like clouds do for sunlight, spread the light out. In essence, this creates a larger light source, characterized by softer shadows and more wrapping transitions in to those shadows. Of course, the softbox allows the photographer to more accurately “place” the light in a more focused direction than a shoot-through umbrella (not that there’s anything wrong with this modifier. My go to for a long time was a 50-inch shoot-through).
I mentioned in a post a while back that I would offer some how-to on the above author shot of Stayton Bonner, a colleague and one heckuva writer! This is another benefit of big light: just move that source in close and expose for it. The larger the light source, the more wrapping the light, and moving it in closer or further away dictates its size relative to your subject. This particular shot was made with a 48-inch rectangle softbox placed just outside the frame, camera right. Notice that nice wrap of light around Stayton’s face.
The same feel can be found in this particular photograph of a wedding couple I photographed recently. Big light is a quick, and often easy, source of illumination to go to, and in this case, it was such a source while still providing that quality look to the portrait. This was shot with an Elinchrom 39-inch Rotalux Octa softbox, a modifier that I’ve been shooting with more lately. Of course, that super modernistic, ultra trendy, silver chair they’re sitting on adds to the aesthetic as well!
If you’re looking to getting in to artificial lighting, or looking to diversify your lighting with natural light, look for those cases where a big light source can be used. I’ll post more on natural sources of big light later. However, if you are getting in to the game of strobe lighting, a softbox or large shoot-through umbrella should be something you consider having in your toolbox!
Five assets each photography student needs!
This post should really be titled “Jerod Foster’s opinionated list of what photography students need, besides a camera and MacBook Pro.” At the risk of being too forward, this is a small compilation of what I believe takes a photography student from someone that is just simply attending class to becoming an individual storyteller. I have taught photography now for a little over two years at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and over the course of those semesters, I’ve noticed certain characteristics in students that make them more successful in and outside the classroom. I like to think of this list as a work in progress, and by no means should you take this to be THE exhaustive list on being an “A” student (apply this as a metaphor if you are not in school). However, it’s a good head start in choosing photography as a career path.
*Disclaimer: I left out passion and vision for reason. Developmentally, these are what we as photographers strive for, and at the same time, we inherently use to communicate with our cameras. Without these, the following list would be truly difficult to adhere to, however, the following five items may spark or reinvigorate one’s own residing passion for the craft!
1. Willingness to learn
“Be open-minded” is a cliche phrase, but it’s true! Not one successful photographer has ever developed his/her style without experimentation and creative exercise. Many did not have the time or resources students have in an institutional classroom, however, they developed their style and craft as a result of eagerness and focus. If you are a student passionate about this line of work, take full advantage of where you are, ask all the questions you want answers to, pick your instructor’s brain about communicating with the tool we call a camera, and take notes (mentally or physically). All the while, adapt this knowledge to your style, your vision, and be ready to learn more. It does not end when you have a diploma or certificate in hand.
2. An eye for others
“Who is your favorite photographer.” I ask this question of all my students at some point in their first semester as a photo/visual communication majors. I’m often answered with steady stares, but no answers. This is not all that surprising if you think about it. For one thing, it’s not as if photographers’ bylines are printed in large, bold font next to their photographs in the standard magazine. And in today’s fast-paced media world, who really has time to search for the byline in the first place, right? I’ll tell you who: other photographers. Students have the best opportunity to become totally infatuated with their field of study, and really delve deep in to classic works such as those of Adams, Bresson, and Newman (my favorite portrait maker), to more contemporary images made by folks like McNally, Cowart, and Orwig. Just as important as studying work of “big names,” is the effort put in to studying, critiquing, and appreciating peers’ images, and local/regional photographers, as well as those photographers make “paradigm shifting” changes in the convergence of stills and video, such as LaForet. Take the time to visit a different photographer’s portfolio everyday. You never know what you will find or what will inspire you!
3. A good ear (for the classroom and for others)
I’ve heard countless times the significance of the eye in photography, and by all means, there would be no images without a strong vision! I’ve also heard successful lifelong photographers speak of having a good ear. If you were to sit down with an editorial photographer, an environmental portrait maker, or a photojournalist, listening to who they are photographing is just as important as the eye is in telling their story through images. I’d be willing to bet that even fashion photographers have a similar relationship with listening. Be able to communicate audibly with your subjects, not only visually, and your images take on a new life: their life meshed with your vision. Of course, listening in the classroom would be helpful as well.
4. A story
No matter what type of photography you study or pursue, in school or otherwise, you are communicating something. Whatever the format of the story, whether it is extremely tactile such as the victims of the devastating destruction in Haiti’s capitol, or abstract art, it is crucial to the message of the image, and the core of why we become photographers. Study other stories, learn to look for them, and listen and watch for their appearance. The human race has always been made up of storytellers. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at ancient art and writing, and then listen to your grandmother “spin those yarns.” You’ll notice the stories, and as photographers, it’s our job to learn how to further communicate their message in to visuals!
5. Influence
Where would we be without it? I once heard that creativity is half stolen. Whether this is true or not, I do believe that nothing begets nothing, and influence develops into much of those characteristics I’ve already outlined. Find a mentor, it doesn’t even necessarily have to be a photographer, that inspires you to pick your camera up every day. Find multiple mentors for that matter. You will always be influenced by something, no matter how much of a rogue photographer you might think you are. Here’s the catch: influence is not a bad thing. It’s something to take into account each time you make a new photograph, and then you massage that influence to fit your own style and voice as a visual storyteller.
New Lights, Familiar Face…
It’s always good to have a brother that has gold, curly hair, like any surfer would want to have as he runs down a beach with board in hand… Anyways, Seth was subject to a quick test run for the new Elinchrom Ranger Quadra’s I procured yesterday. These little (and I mean little) lights can punch out some light! I’ll post a more thorough review later, after I’ve had more than a few shoots with them (just finished with a shoot where I used them with some bigger units, and they came in dang handy), but right now, they are looking like the ideal lighting setup for 80% of my work! If you’re in to portability, then this is it!
These are just a couple test/fun shots we played with yesterday. The top photograph was with a 39″ Elinchrom Rotalux Octa camera left with a shoot-thru umbrella back and camera right. The bottom photograph is the Rotalux Octa actually behind Seth, and the umbrella turned the other way around, camera left. Color in Lightroom 2 (Lightroom 3 beta is cool, but there are a couple export issues I want to conquer first before running a lot of photos through).
More to come!
Waresville Cemetery
It’s not like me to take photographs of a cemetery (maybe it’s just getting close to Halloween, no offense). I feel that cemeteries are shot quite enough (mostly in black in white for that matter), however, when a particular cemetery is old enough to sport some pretty interesting heritage, it’s always worth looking in to!
One of the locations that we took our past Junction Intersession photography students was to the Waresville Cemetery in Utopia, Texas (Uvalde County). The founder of the town that the cemetery is named after, Captain William Ware, was a Texas revolutionary, and shortly after he built his house in the area, he passed away. He became the first resident of the cemetery in 1853! That’s an old cemetery in Texas! The cemetery has since grown, but the original allocation of plots is still surrounded by a rock fence, indicative of rock fences of the area.
Like I said, it’s not necessarily my style to photograph cemeteries, but I do have some neat images from years past of this particular one, and this year, I decided to isolate head stones with lights. It’s not common you get a chance to do this, and it was almost like photographing figurative portraits, of course, of the head stones.
I especially like the newer head stones that include a photograph of those that have passed away. This tells so much about this particular person, and if you think, this is what will be viewed as ancient one of these days!
More to come!
Do something with FOG!
I was poking around on David duChemin’s blog, The PixelatedImage, and ran up on his post about the weather outside. This reminded me of our most recent weekend in Lubbock when tons of fog set in for a few days (quite unique in West Texas). For you photogs, this is not a time to set around much! When you are given fog, you, you…well, there’s no adage here to relate. Basically, the point it is: fog makes things look interesting, presents them in totally different light, and adds an almost captivating experience for the viewer.
My favorite fog image is the one above. I like to call this “Tractor Graveyard.” From the first time I saw this small field of dilapidating machines, I knew this place as a cemetery. However, it wasn’t until it was smothered in fog did it FEEL like a tractor graveyard!
More on fog and water later!
A Little Texas Tech Shine!
I have become a jewelry photographer here of late. From previous posts, you’d probably think I don’t photograph too much product work, however, this work is just as enjoyable, and honestly, when you have this much control over your subject, you tend to be fairly creative compared to some shoots with people…some.
I recently photographed senior rings for the Texas Tech Alumni Association. They told me I had a good bit of rein on how they look, just that they needed something fresh. Of course, you have to show how cool the rings are as well, and these are beautiful rings! What to do, what to do? Find a bit of black felt that you buy for a previous shoot, and create some big edgy light (big for the rings that is). It’s not every day you get to turn product photography into macro photography, letting the lack of depth of field you get when you throw on a macro lens or extension tubes play as much a great aesthetic component of the shot as it is in photographing flowers.
The idea behind the shots was to really highlight the individual parts that make up the attractiveness of the rings, and shooting with extension tubes allows you to jump right on top of the raised ridges and stones. Extension tubes are very handy pieces of equipment to throw in your camera bag, allowing you to switch a medium to telephoto lens to a macro-ready lens in no time. Plus, they are relatively inexpensive compared to a nice macro lens, and yet, as far as glass goes, you don’t sacrifice any quality because there is no glass inside the tubes. Extension tubes are not, however, to be confused with teleconverters, which allow you to multiply the focal length of a lens. Extension tubes allow you to focus closer, much closer, but not multiply focal length. Search B&H Photo or Adorama for extension tubes that might fit your rig.
The lighting for the shots was fairly simple. I didn’t need much space, so I just set everything up in the office on an antique card table (never seen a card table quite like it). You can see from the rugged setup shot that the light was pretty diffused from the two Westcott diffusers. The umbrella camera right serves as a bounce for the diffused light to throw some fill on the shadow side of the ring. This aspect was later assisted with adding a regular white piece of paper folded vertically in half, acting as a very small bookend, placed on the shadow/back side of the rings, just of a little more fill. This is the best part of shooting product like this. You have more control to get the light just right! You don’t always have this much time to experiment, but it is a nice opportunity to also learn from your lighting technique for future shoots when you don’t have as much time.
I have another post coming about photographing jewelry soon, one that combines creativity and systematic approach! More to come…
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About Jerod Foster
I'm an editorial and natural history photographer based out of Lubbock, Texas, as well as a photography instructor at Texas Tech University. My work primarily focuses on features and environmental portraits for magazines, books, and commercial purposes, and I'm available for both domestic and international travel.
I'm a regular contributor to the Manfrotto School of Xcellence, an educational resource for amateurs and professionals alike. I'm also a partner and editor for Badlands Design and Production, a publishing house that focuses on high-end coffee table photography books.
- jerod.foster@gmail.com
- (806) 789-6850
