Photographic Artistry » Education and Photography

A video of coolness!

edvydas — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:46:32 +0000

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We’ve been working at incorporating a small bit of video in our wedding day coverage, more as a kind of extra than anything else. But this time we let our beautiful Montana-based couple Laura and Terry give us a few words about their special day.

Let me tell you a little about this awesome couple. First off, they chose us to cover their fantastic day — an honor and a privilege! They only recently moved to Montana — you could say it was their permanent honeymoon away from their old home base of Chicago, Illinois. They both have fantastic — and loving! — families who helped create this very special event. They are both ardent environmentalists — I have to say their was the first wedding I have ever attended where pretty much all the guests received canvas bags for their groceries along with a set of seeds to plant. Very cool. And very non-traditional!

We love non-traditional.

They took over pretty much entirely Robert Allerton Park near Monticello for their celebration.

The really cool thing — most of their comments had to do with how special the day was due to friends and family. Even though the day was all about them, it wasn’t.

That’s just plain cool!@

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Mist on Clinton Lake

edvydas — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:51:56 +0000

Mist on Clinton Lake, originally uploaded by EMCStudios.

There are times when creation is nothing but beautiful. I arose early (or was it I couldn’t sleep. . . ) and was wandering around our campsite at Clinton Lake near our hometown of Clinton.

And saw this. I’ve had people tell me you need expensive and special equipment to capture scenes like this. And this is just not true.

Now – I did “fool” the camera’s settings to capture this. I had to underexpose what the camera thought was correct, I had to white balance in a different direction than “dawn” and then had to convince it I wanted to shoot a portrait and not a landscape. And then I shot it in “automatic.” Have to laugh.

But, I think it worked. Enjoy!

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Bridal pricing?!

Krystal — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:20:41 +0000

One of our beautiful brides, Julie, poses near her church in Normal, Illinois shortly after her wedding ceremony this July.

Ed and I have gone through many web pages that brides are on, and the most recent that I’ve read and really caught my attention was a woman complaining about photographers’ websites.

She had some legitimate complaints, one was some photographers just plain have bad websites. Very true. I know I’ve seen some. And I’ve shown Ed what I like and don’t like about fellow photographers sites, and I think we have made a good-looking web site.

The other gripe was, photographers not placing pricing on the web site. Well, I can see both sides of the argument, so here it goes.

I don’t want a bride, or a family, or a corporation to not call me just because the price point I have is $100 dollars higher or lower than my competition. I want them to call, or email me, because they have seen my work and would like to know more about what we do.

Every photographer is different, photography is an art and the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’ve seen some amazing photographs, and I’ve seen a lot of OK shots that had a great subject, which made the photograph seem so much better than what it is. I’ve also seen a lot of very bad photography.

I worry that a bride is going to choose a photographer just because they were a few hundred dollars less expensive than we are. Then the day she sees her photographs from her professional photographer, she is disappointed in the results. Sorry, price does matter!

I don’t want to be the lowest bidder, I want to be the one that is within the price range they have allotted, and they love my husband’s artistic ability. I love that my brides consistently tell me how much they loved how we captured their day, and thank us for all of the effort we put into making their day go as smoothly as it did.

I do understand that having a price range is important, because if you are planning on an allotment of $800 for a full day of photographs, in our area, you are either going to get a shoot and burn photographer, or someone that is still training to become a professional photographer.

Ed and I are professional photographers, we are affiliated with major photography associations, have taken hundreds and hundreds of hours of course work and seminars to be a better photographers. Spending at least 100 hours a year in training, as well as thousands of dollars on equipment, dues, and insurance (yes, we are a business, and we are required to have insurance).

Ed and I both enjoy continuing education, Ed has spent the past four years teaching seminars and college courses to help photographers improve themselves and at the same time we are keeping up with the technology around us. I believe that real professional photographers do continuing education, with emphasis behind both the camera and the computer.

Ed has been behind a camera for more than 29 years, and I have been shooting since 1996 as a semi-pro, and moved into the professional range in the past two years.

By the way, our most popular package is includes nine hours of coverage, and it is $2500. It includes a number of things that would actually cost a lot more if they were all done a la carte.

Our prints are $22 for a standard 8×10, with canvas available starting at $145, and we do have on line viewing, and do allow our images to be placed on Facebook, we even put a few on ourselves! Our after the wedding prices are sometimes far cheaper, sometimes far more expensive, sometimes the same as our competition. But how can a bride learn that looking at just the package prices? She can’t.

I do wish brides had more time to contact more than 3 photographers, and choose the one that best suits their needs, not the lowest bidder for the day. Some brides will spends many, many hours choosing their dress. It makes a splash for just a few hours. The photography of you in your dress, timeless.

Krystal

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Terry and Laura – touring their Windy City

edvydas — Fri, 07 May 2010 02:50:13 +0000

We headed back to the friendly confines of Chicago with another fantastic couple — Terry and Laura who are getting married in just a couple of months in our neck of the woods. They live in Chicago but plan to marry in Central Illinois.

This pair of doctors are getting ready to move to Montana shortly after getting married, but wanted to be sure to tie the knot before heading west. Both of their families live in Illinois and the surrounding states and it would have been bad to go out there and then get married.

This couple is made for each other — and lots and lots of fun to work with!

They put up with me (as many of our couples do) with my suddenly stopping where we were going for a quick shot as I was (as usual) in visual overload in the city.

We did most of the shots at Jackson Park where the Osaka Japanese gardens are located and then headed for Promontory Point. Both places are special for these two — with the Point being where Terry slowed down during a walk and proposed.

I love those romantic spots!

We will be seeing them at Illinois University’s Allerton Park later this year and very much look forward to working with them again!

Pair of lovebirds captured in on the bridge and in the water while at the Japanese gardens.

Special moments near the lake

Laura pulls Terry along as they walk the paths at the beautiful Japanese gardens in central Chicago.

Laura flashes her smile as Terry has some fun

We stopped midway a tunnel to grab a quick -- and very unplanned -- shot near the Museum of Science and Industry.

Laura takes a bite out of Terry's ear while having fun at Promonotory Point at Lake Michigan

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Wow! Four years of teaching coming to an end

edvydas — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:27:21 +0000

Members of the Art 127 class don't exactly know what to do with Ed as he proceeds to play dead.

My last day of teaching at Richland (at least for now!)

My last group of students (at least for now!)

I don’t know if I’ll be back or not, so I don’t know if I should celebrate, be maudlin, rant and rave or just go out and have a party!

I officially gave notice and was replaced, I’m happy to say my business is active enough that I don’t easily have time to do this.

Four years, eight semesters and I don’t know how many students.

I don’t remember all the names — yep, still horrible with that. But I truly appreciate the fact that many of my students are still shooting and are now even earning money for doing so.

Keenan Adams (Keenan Adams Photography), Valerie Cook (Valerie Cook Photography), Mary Lehman, Jason Smalley, and so many others. They may or may not be doing it full-time. They may or may not be supported by their spouses. But, I’m very proud of all of them. There’s probably others, but not even sure who they are.

Yeah, pretty bad on this keeping in touch stuff. Always have been.

But I also hope they remember me and my classes.

I vividly recall my mentors in photography — Bill Gillette formerly of Iowa State University, Dennis Garrels formerly of United Press International, John Gaps III formerly of the Associated Press (and the guy who asked me the classic question while I was shooting of “why are you taking photos?), Ed Porter formerly of the Sioux City Journal, Tom Gapen of the Los Angeles Daily News and others.

My current “heroes” of Bob Davis, Kevin Kubota, Doug Gordon, Clay Blackmore and David Ziser. Oh, and the irrelevancy and insanity of the boys of TriCoast Photography of Texas!

Each one of these guys has completely different styles and different approaches. They all share a love of shooting from the heart. I’ve attempted, somewhat successfully I’m told, a fusion of many styles. You take what fits you.

Shooting from the heart is what it is all about for me. I have been known to wear my emotions on the outside — and I don’t consider that a disadvantage.

Absolutely no respect for the near comatose and confused!

These last four years have taught me much — and I will miss the semester long classes. I will continue to present seminars via Richland’s continuing ed program and now the Decatur Area Arts Council. So, I refuse to give up teaching entirely.

I’ve honestly learned as much from them as they might have from me. I believe that a teacher who thinks they know it all is pretty much useless. They won’t teach since they actually can’t learn. You need to constantly advance and constantly be challenged and keep striving.

Hated a DJ by the name of Casey Kasem — but loved his message — Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

I also have to give a huge round of applause to adjunct faculty. I definitely know you aren’t in this for the money. I think that when I added up the actual hours spent in class and prepping for class, I’m earning quite a bit less than I would at McDonalds or Burger King.

Yikes.

I’ve always said there is something wrong with a system where teachers are paid less than executives of companies.

Now — I do know that I’ve also created my share of headaches and pains in the ass for Richland. I’m outspoken and have a tendency to protest when I see the need. So — to those whom I’ve offended, I apologize. And get your damn act together! Oh, great now I probably need to apologize again.

So, to all my former students! Thanks for some good times! And some headaches, backaches, worries, stress. . . . Oh, right. . . .

This was supposed to be a good, goodbye!

Lindsey (#1), Abigail, Nicole, Andrea, Charles, Lindsey (#2), Tucker, me, and my wife (who I convinced to audit my final class cause I’m awful at teaching 1 on 1!) Thank to Tonya for taking these pics (now staff at Richland.)

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Engaged at Starved Rock

edvydas — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:20:32 +0000

Jennifer and Chris took a trip back to one of their favorite places at Starved Rock near Oglesby, Illinois, while seeking the photos that would say it all about their engagement.

The Chicago-couple (okay — actually Frankfurt couple but Chicago sounds much nicer to me!) found themselves all over the place in a short period of time as we attempted to capture their essence as a couple.

You could say they’re a bit in love. Well, maybe a lot in love! And the day proved to be perfect for capturing that intensity. It was a bit wet (muddy) for our trip but this did not do anything to lessen the fun.

This is the place where Chris proposed to Jennifer — and where they said they make a yearly pilgrimage. Who can resist? It is a gorgeous, gorgeous place to visit. Water, trees and lots of beauty. And they had no problems fitting in.

She teaches photography at a high school while he is a pipe fitter. I have to admit, this combination seemed a bit unusual to me. Silly me. It’s pretty obvious they were meant for each other.

They are getting married just a bit later this summer — so watch out for more photos coming in the not too distant future of this beautiful couple.

Jennifer and Chris share a moment under beautiful skies while visiting Starved Rock for their engagement session with us.

Chris can't resist just a little nibble on his bride!

Okay -- just a simple shot of this cool couple.

Who can resist a bit of time playing in the park.

A spot near Lover's Leap at Starved Rock in Illinois is a perfect destination for romance.

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Pageant Experience This Weekend

Krystal C — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:43:43 +0000

I had the opportunity this weekend to do something that I never thought I’d be doing. I was on the panel of judges for the Miss Teen Bloomington pageant for the Nationals. The show was broken up into four age categories. The little ones were 7 to 9, then 10 to 12, 13-15 and 16 to 19. So there were winners and runner-ups for each age group. I was very impressed with the poise the girls had. The judges were seated in a large room with just our table and a seat on the other side for the contestent. The girls walked in, introduced themselves, shook our hands and sat in front of us. I was amazed at the ability for them to be as comfortable in their outward apearance as they were. I could tell some were very nervous, but they all did this.

Part of being a judge was to, as a panel, do a three-minute personal interview with the girls. I spoke with and listened to about 50 of the contestants. The judges were divided into two groups, half of us taking the older girls and the other half taking the younger age groups.

This was not a Glitz pageant, where the girls were all dolled up, like the show Toddlers in Tiaras, but more realistic in terms of outfits and makeup. I was amazed at the girls being able to walk into a room with 6 total adult strangers and have the confidence to answer questions and maintain eye contact with us. Quite a few of the girls stated they enjoyed singing as part of the ‘hobby’ question and four of them actually sang a note for us. I personally can’t carry a tune in a bucket. So I’m always impressed with someone that can.

One of the questions that I gravitated toward was what is your favorite subject in school, and I was very impressed with as many girls stating that Math or Science were the top listed fav’s. Many of the girls are interested in the fields of medicine, either as a doctors, nurse, anesthesiologist, or helping with the animals and becoming a veterinarian. I think back to even 15 years ago where, as a whole, girls were not looking at jobs that needed science or math as a primary classes.

Overall the girls that were part of the pageant had a sense of helping others, they understood volunteering as part of life, either through a school club, church group, or on their own with help from family members. I heard about girls assisting at the soup kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, picking up trash along the roads, working with small children at churches, orphanages or head start programs. A few worked with the elderly and a couple had gone on Mission trips with their families.

This was a great experience for me as well as for the girls that were involved.

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Latest and greatest — Photoshop CS5

edvydas — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:12:15 +0000

Okay. I can officially say it. I’m a beta-tester for Adobe Photoshop CS5.

There, I got it off of my chest. Wow. Huge relief.

No, this isn’t an addiction although at times I think some people must think so. How many people want to subject their computers intentionally to something that can crash them? And crash it often and with some severity. (If you ever heard screams late at night emerging from my home, now you know why. And no, I was not sacrificing animals!)

But – wow! The folks at Adobe (Adobe.com) have come up with some fantastic changes. Lots of these changes are subtle, improved performance, more logical defaults, etc., and may give the idea that it is not worth updating. Of course, there are people who believe the earth is flat, also. So, let me work on telling you more about this.

I’ll tell you now — the program continues to grow more complex yet more capable. For Apple users, there is a subtle yet large change that has made the program seemingly more stable and faster on these systems. They changed the language over to Cocoa and that has given the user interface a much better feel. The interface still looks similar to CS4 but it works more smoothly.

They have also incorporated more and more to take full advantage of 64-bit operating systems. What does this mean? Well, for Apple users not as much as for Windows users — as Apple already allowed you to take advantage of it.

Windows, on the other hand, operates normally at 32-bit which has always meant that not as much RAM memory can be used as is possible and it operated slower. For most Windows users this will make no difference as they don’t operate with 64 bit machines but for those who’ve upgraded, its nice. On the other hand, if you use lots of plug-ins with Photoshop many of those developers are still playing catch up to allow you to use the system as a 64 bit. (As a note, I refuse to get into the debate on which is better, PC or Apple – as I find both systems do certain things well and other things poorly.)

I was also a beta tester for the last version that came out — and must say that I am more impressed with the current version.

Now, let’s dig in and see what has changed, at least a few items.

The user-interface is much like CS4s — but there are differences! One of the first and most visible is a little symbol at the top that now says mb — standing for mini-bridge. This allows a browser like device to open inside of PS4 to help you locate images. Why — you might ask — not exactly sure and it is not something I have found useful, yet. Sometimes it takes me some time to find a reason to do something.

One of the biggest tools is a concept called Content Awareness — I had planned on doing my own little tutorial but one of the other testers created such a good example that I am going to give you the link instead. Check out: Content Awareness

What content awareness does is create more of an image by figuring out what the surrounding area is like and then creating new parts. If you are familiar with a concept called cloning, then think of this as cloning on steroids. Cloning can create repetitive patterns very easily that someone can see in an image that makes it known that the photo was altered, no so with Content Awareness. Check out the video and you’ll learn more about it. However, when it messes up it really messes up.

Another big change is that for years Adobe has ceded the painting world to Corel — no more, they have upgraded and changed and improved the paint brushes and paint brush features to the point of where you won’t recognize what to do immediately.

For photographers who want to seek the ultimate in non-lens distortion, Photoshop has added more to the lens correction feature — and now have the ability to correct distortions created by a variety of different cameras and lenses. There are many profiles already part of the system, more on the way and there is even a tool that you can use to create your own lens profiles.

For the first time in ages Adobe is actually radically improving their noise reduction filters — actually using what many plug-ins have used for years with a better ability to address luminance.

I have to say — in some ways I almost feel like Adobe has been watching all the success many companies have with selling their plug-in products for Photoshop and trying to incorporate those changes so you don’t have to buy the plug-ins. I doubt you will ever see that comment emerge from Adobe — but I do know that I might not want to buy a new plug-in or upgrade if my Photoshop version already handles what I wanted.

They also have continued to refine their ability to create masks — adding a smart radius feature that gives a better ability to mask complex subjects (hair!)

For those of you shooting High Dynamic Range (HDR) images, you’ll find a whole new set of controls. They have created better algorithms for better aligning images and — what I love! A tone-mapping feature. Now — I have add, I still like what Photomatix does better. But, if you did not have Photomatix this gives you a whole new choice and better tools to make your HDR images sing!

Another large change is a new camera-raw processor — love the refined brush and graduated filters along with a noise-reduction feature that removed noise that I did not think was possible earlier. They also fine-tuned the vignetting adjustments so you have more control and can create more natural looking vignettes.

For those who can’t do without the liquify filter (hey, a great way to reduce those double chins or love handles) then you will be fascinated by something called the puppet-warp tool. I’m not big into making some of the changes that some photographers do — so I can’t say too much about this feature as I have a feeling I’ve only scratched the surface. I can say that the feature is cool but I find it more complicated to use than I want to spend the time doing.

There is a lot more than what I’ve mentioned so far. When looking at the Extended version of PS5 you will find a whole new chapter being written for 3D projects and 3D workflow. I’m not a user of the 3D side of things, so I did not do much with seeing what was possible. But, from reading comments from other testers, they are impressed.

Finally, the biggest thing I like is that the program has seemingly grown friendlier. Things like a clickable button on Do Not Show This Message again so you don’t keep answering the same message time after time. Or an actual Straighten button when using a ruler to straighten out an image. It not only straighten the image but does the crop for you also! You can still use it the way you used to. Gads, to explain how to do this to students otherwise always was an adventure.

There is a new piece that allows you to create your own interface — called Configurator. Now, there is a bit of work to make it your own and you have to know Photoshop fairly well to do so — but you can create your own custom interface and not even leave your tools on. I have created one that has only the tools that I use often along with some different actions and such. And I can go with just that up on the screen. This can help eliminate clutter on the screen/desk top.

Finally — I have one big complaint and I frankly don’t think this will ever be addressed to my satisfaction. Realize, I have been teaching digital photography for four years now at a community college (Richland Community College) and each year I have two sets of new students. Some are very unfamiliar with Photoshop. What I find is that Photoshop as it continues to improve, makes it more and more difficult for new students to learn. But, Adobe does see this as a problem and has expanded their help sections and video sections to attempt to address it.

Of course, part of the problem is that my school is using an antiquated version of photoshop (CS2) so that the interface has changed enough to be confusing by just in going from CS2 to CS4 (or CS5 now!)

I will be throwing up some images and more details in the next few weeks for you to see — but I wanted to get at least something up and running on the blog as I have been working on this beta testing for months and had to bottle up my comments!

If there are specific questions, please contact me! I know I wrote a lot and it might not make much sense but I’ll try and clear up any confusions. Photoshop CS5 may be far more tool than you need — or ever will need. Or it might be just the upgrade you need. But, be prepared, the learning curve includes new features, new shortcuts and new adventures!

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Oh, my! Where did our standards go. . .

edvydas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:58:02 +0000

Believe it or not, this has nothing to do with morals or values or anything like that.

It has to do with what people perceive as “good photography.” I’m constantly amazed at what people can accept as good images.

I recently was sent a video that was both funny and sad at the same time. Funny, because it a good representation of what comes from choosing a “cheap” photographer and sad because these “pro” photographers actually thought it was a good image to give something that was out of focus. Wow! Even sadder, if their claim is that they have shot hundreds of weddings with this standard, why weren’t they getting more complaints? Just watch and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Now — whether or not you agree with the verdict and such, this is a fascinating lesson in photography. And there are points I agree with and points that I very much disagree with in terms of what the judge said! But, the judge is still attempting to apply a standard to the photography.

In my photography classes at Richland Community College I define good photography. And I have to — otherwise it is a bit tough to judge images for grading. Here’s a simple way — does the image succeed in communicating? Does it tell you something? And how well does it do the job? A sharp, technically correct image will easily tell a story. A blurry, out-of-focus image may give you an idea but it rarely tells a story.

At one point in time, before the digital age, it was common to shoot fewer images. After all, who had the money to spend thousands of dollars on using lots of film. I’m not advocating that we head back in time whatsoever. What I am advocating is that we start learning how to edit and throw away bad images. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but the out-of-focus and badly posed image of your daughter’s most precious wedding is just not a good way to remember the event. Cheapness has a cost.

Another, Wow! How can anyone actually call themselves a professional and not even know what equipment or lenses they are shooting with? Or what effect cheap equipment has on the final images? If you spend any time on sites such as Flickr you will see some absolutely wonderful images. And even more not so wonderful images.

I’m constantly amazed at what some people will accept — and that I can’t even get to the point of being able to show! I had a bride and groom several weeks back absolutely gushing over an engagement photos a friend shot. It was blurry (motion blur) and it had things growing out of their heads. I’ve always thought that flag poles should stay in the ground and not grow out of a person’s head. Ouch! And, to top it all off, it was greenish! And this is where it gets difficult, how do you tell someone that a shot is bad when they think it is wonderful?

If you want to learn more, you are also very welcome to come to one of our seminars on basic photography.

Give a call to Richland Community College (217) 875-7211, ext. 265 -or to the Decatur Arts Council (217-423-3194) to see what I’m up to in teaching!

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HDR Imaging — A different way to capture images

edvydas — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:25:24 +0000

When teaching photography classes, I teach the absolute importance of getting exposures correct.

After all, you can immediately tell when there is a problem with an image due to bad exposure. It looks too light or too dark. And you can tell when someone has attempted to correct the problem (or let the “auto” mode on their computer software correct it.) The pictures start getting this grainy appearance. And programs like Adobe Photoshop can only make so many changes to an image before things start falling apart.

But there is one way around this — and depending on whom you speak with, it is either the greatest thing since sliced bread or just another tool of the devil. It is called High Dynamic Range photography (HDR for short).

I enjoy playing with it. What you actually do when creating an HDR image is take multiple photos of the exact same thing at different exposures. And then combine the results in programs such as Photoshop or Photomatix.

Let me explain further — when you normally shoot an image you create a single exposure. HDR depends upon your taking more images — one that is at what can be considered the correct exposure, another over exposed and then another even more overexposed. Then going the other direction and creating one that is under exposed and then even more underexposed. Five photos seems to be the common number but you can create with as few as three or as many as nine.

It does take a special program to combine the images — and I prefer Photomatix to Photoshop for this currently, but some of the changes coming to Photoshop may change my mind on this.

Now — the ideal way to capture these types of images is using a tripod. I have some strange aversion to using tripods (I think I’ve actually lost too many of them) so I try to find ways around this. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But I find that it is possible to create something a bit different.

I’m going to post a bit more on this on my next blog, but here are some teaser photos taken this past week while on our pilgrimage to the annual WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) conference in Las Vegas! And I’ll explain further the remark of “greatest thing since sliced bread or another tool of the devil!”

If you’d like to see more, please visit our main website at EMC Photography or at Flickr