Photographs are made rather than taken. In other words images are created by the photographer through the lens and in the darkroom – or the lightroom – by several stages of evaluation.
This was the basis of Gary Early’s session of Evaluating Photographs and HDR.
The images that we take do not necessarily appear on the screen or as a print as we remember them. When the camera takes a picture, it is not how we see it – it is not how we remember it. Almost all elements are different in colour and composition. Gary emphasised the importance of pre-visualisation during the actual taking stage, ie to know how we want the final image to appear. Looking through the lens we need to check the black areas and how they balance with the rest of the picture. Does the picture need cropping? Do the highlighted areas have detail, and should the white in the picture be pure white? So many things to think about before we’ve even clicked the shutter!
Tones
Gary continued by giving an example image on the screen, and helped us to really look at the image, to really see it, and to evaluate which areas needed to be looked at more carefully. Some of these are listed below:
- Check mid tones – If too dark the picture will look muddy, if too light, the overalll effect will be washed out.
- Check dark tones – Do these areas maintain detail? If too light, the mood of the image may be affected.
- Light tones – If too light or too dark they will lose detail.
- We need to analyse the picture and imagine these different tones.
Colour and Sharpening
Gary also talked about colour casts on images. For example, some whites may have a blue tinge to them. He pointed out that generally women are better at seeing colours than men – black and navy is a classic example. We need to check that the colours and the hues are correct.
Many people use digital cameras these days. Gary said that film is always sharper than digitial, and that every digital image will need an element of input sharpening when first opened.Output sharpening depends on the type of medium being used to print on, in which case it may also need output sharpening. The biggest problem for many beginners when sharpening is to over-sharpen.
Picture Balance and Elements
The human eye has a much larger dynamic range than a camera and images taken with a digital camera always tend to come out on the flat side. Two good reasons, explained Gary, to check the balance of the picture and areas of over-saturation – the colour of grass is often a big offender.
Sky, sea, buildings, etc are all elements of a picture, and for that picture to stand out we need to find a way to create emphasis within that picture to make it stand out, to give definition and to be more dynamic. A good example would be the eyes in a portrait.
These are just a few of the areas touched on by Gary in the first session. His aim was to make us question what and why we are doing certain processes – to make us evaluate our images and ultimately to get the best out of them.
After Tea and Coffee …
Gary is always eager to share his knowledge of new software and explaining new techniques, and this lecture was no exception. His enthusiasm for the FREE software available for creating High Dynamic Range images was evident, and his respect for the possibilities to be attained by using Vivazer 2 NX Software was not to be ignored. He went through the software with us and explained how it all tied in with his work in the first session.
FREE HDR Software – Picture Naut – www.hdrlabs.com/picturenaut
This free software does not need installing as it is a stand alone .exe file. Gary explained that the purpose of HDR imaging is that you can use a series of images with one stop difference, best taken on a tripod, and combine them into a final image. In effect, you have every aspect of the image, all the tones and detail, to create a near perfect (well it should be perfect!) shot. All the colours, tones and hues should be spot on.
Viveza 2 – NX Software
Unfortunately this software is not free but it’s applications are quite exceptional. Gary had the software on his laptop and swiftly demonstrated some of its capabilities – and I think we were all suitably impressed. You can take one part of an image, let’s say a washed out blue sky, click a pointer in that spot, and edit just that particular spot to make the sky a deeper blue, brighter blue etc. In essence, it is precise, selective photo editing.
Gary’s aim had been to help us to create the best possible pictures by making us think about out all aspects of our images before, during and after we have taken them. Through critical evaluation, and by using a combination of software we can achieve the perfect balance of a picture.
One member commented that he preferred to use Photoshop and that he enjoyed editing his images using this software. As a professional photographer Gary processes thousands of images and needs to be able to do this quickly and effectively. He acknowledges and respects that some people may prefer to use more traditional and popular software packages. The software he uses best suits his working practice.
I think that we all benefit from Gary’s personal experience, and his knowledge and use of photographic software.
