WeArePhotogs Blog

Blog: On Approach by Daniel Milnor

Thu, 07/29/2010 - 09:17

by Daniel Milnor
Photographer: Daniel Milnor
Click Photos to Enlarge

I believe personal work is the most important work a photographer can do. Personal work is created without limitations or the needs of a specific client. This work allows the photographer to experiment, take chances, succeed or fail without repercussion. “On Approach” is one of the many bodies of personal work, I have undertaken in recent years.

When I started this project I was looking for something specific, something that required no permission, access or red tape to cross. I was looking for something close to home, something so close that I could work entirely from my bicycle. I was also looking for something different from anything I had ever done before, something graphic and not revolving around people.

Living close to the airport I often found myself on my bike as planes began their approach to John Wayne Airport in Southern California. One day I looked up and watched as a plane descended above a sky filled with power lines. It was then I knew I had my project.

From the beginning I knew I would work in black and white. What I didn’t want was a “pretty” set of images. Sometimes with sky and color the actual content of an image could get lost as the viewer is more entranced by the color than the actual image. I worked in both 6x9 with a Fuji rangefinder as well as 35mm using both a Leica and a Canon.

Within a few months I had amassed a set of images that I thought could make an interesting book. Most of the time, when working on personal work, I’m thinking in story form, or book form if you will. I’m looking for groups or sequences of images that form a body of cohesive imagery.

At the same time I began thinking about the “On Approach” book, Blurb released a new, 5x8, black and white only format. After checking out a sample of the new book style, I realized it was the perfect fit for my plane images. The paper in the 5x8 books, which were originally intended for text only, is a slightly subdued off-white color. I decided to print the images with a very high contrast, which on one hand would counter effect the off-white paper, but would also eliminate all traces of the sky in the photograph. What remains is close to pure black and pure white.

After receiving the first copy of the book I knew it was one of the best publications I had ever created. They say a good book must be more than the sum of its parts. I think “On Approach” is more than just a book of photographs.

FTC Disclaimer: At the time of this publishing, WeArePhotographers.com does not have a commercial relationship with our guest blogger Daniel Milnor and does not receive any consideration from the sale of his book at Blurb.com.

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Blog: Face-ism and Portrait Photography

Thu, 07/22/2010 - 10:43

By Stephen Terlizzi
Photographer: Stephen Terlizzi

Click photos to enlarge

Figure 1 - 38% Figure 2 - 55% Figure 3 - 95%

People love faces. If you want to engage people in your photos, then give them an in-focus face, beautiful eyes and a wonderful smile. And voilà, you have created instant interest. Ever wonder what people are thinking when they are looking at that face?

There have been studies that show that the degree to which a face fills the photograph, influences the viewer's perception of the subject. It is called facial prominence or Face-ism.

According to the Wikipedia entry, "The term “face-ism” or “facial prominence” was initially defined by Archer, Iritani, Kimes and Barrios in their five studies of sex differences in facial prominence (Archer, Iritani, Kimes & Barrios, 1983)."

Face-ism

"In their study, facial prominence was measured by a Face-ism index, which is the ratio of two linear measurements, with the distance (in millimeters or any other unit) in a depiction from the top of the head to the lowest visible point of the chin being the numerator and the distance from the top of the head to the lowest visible part of the subject's body the denominator. It was found that across societies and over time, facial prominence of men has been much higher than that of women (Archer et al., 1983)."

The above triptych includes three different crops of my wonderful friend Lynne at a face-ism index of 38%, 55% and 95%, respectively. Does she look different to you? According to the Archer study, in a photo with a low face-ism index, the subject will look more sensual and the physical attributes will take center-stage while in a photo with a high face-ism index, the subject will look more intelligent and ambitious. Now take a look at the triptych again? Notice the difference.

One can use this to their advantage when composing the photograph. For a more thoughtful theme, come in tight and, for a more sensual theme, widen the shot.

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Blog: Top 10 Must-Have Photography Apps for Your iPhone 4

Fri, 07/16/2010 - 05:56

By: Stephen Terlizzi

It has been about two weeks since I received by iPhone 4 with its improved camera and display. In addition to its new HD video capability, the iPhone 4 has become an important tool of my photography arsenal. I have already taken pictures that I have felt comfortable presenting at my local photography club in Los Altos that I would have otherwise lost since I didn't have my trusty Nikon, such as the above grab shot that was captured on my iPhone - but processed on my Mac.

So what are my top 10 Must-Have applications for the iPhone 4? Three applications are related to the taking and editing of a photo on the iPhone. Three are related to the output and transfer of the photo, and four are tools to assist in your overall photography.

Taking and Editing the Photo

There are many applications vying to replace the standard camera application from Apple and I have tried many, including Best Camera and Camera Pro Plus. However, the one that now gets most of my shutter clicks is Camera+...the ultimate photo app by Tap Tap Tap - iTunes Link ($1.99 - On Sale). Why? It just gets the job done with a very simple workflow. Normally, with my iPhone camera, I want to take the shot and move on or take the shot, do some quick editing and send it off to Facebook, Flickr or email. It lacks any video capability so I still fall back to the default camera app for its HD video.

What about editing beyond the filter capability of Camera+? I use Photoshop.com Mobile by Adobe Systems - iTunes Link (Free). Of course, one can't beat the price, but I really like the ease-of-use and the ability to make fine-grain changes to exposure, saturation, tint and contrast. Of course, it can also crop the photo, has some nice presets, and can upload to photoshop.com, Facebook and Twitter thru TwitPic.

Finally, here is my specialized editing tool. A lot of valuable apps, like ColorSpash, Art of Blur, Liquid Scale and Diptic, didn't make the cut into the Top 10. While I like them a lot, the one I use the most is Pano by Debacle Software - iTunes Link ($2.99). Making Panoramas is very easy with Pano since it gives you an opaque overlay of the previous photo along the edge. Simply, line up the next photo and shoot. The application amazingly stitches the photographs together.

Outputing the Photo

When I care about a photograph and want to store it in the cloud, I don't turn to Facebook. That is just for sharing with friends and family. Facebook also lowers the resolution of the photograph. No, I use Flickr. While not perfect yet, Flickr by Yahoo! - iTunes Link (Free) is how I upload and view my photos on Flickr. What I like is its simplicity and how it gets the job done quickly. If you use Flickr, this is the best way to connect.

So how you do get the photo from the iPhone 4 to the Mac? Well, sync the iPhone right? Yeah and wait for the backup to complete? No, I use Photo Transfer by ERCLab - iTunes Link ($2.99), which allows you to download photos (and videos, too) to your computer and other iPad, iPhone or iPod touch devices using wifi. I am amazed how often I use this software to quickly move photos to my MacBook Pro.

What about sending photos to family? You use Facebook, right? What about print output like a postcard? Yes, people still send postcards and, if you want to do it easily on your iphone, then the answer is Bill Atkinson PhotoCard by Bill Atkinson Photography - iTunes Link ($4.99). At a very reasonable cost of $2 - available through in-app purchases, one can send postcards to friends and family using either your own photographs or some of Bill's amazing pictures. On the reverse side, you can leave a message and customize with stickers and such. Nothing beats a wonderfully done postcard for impact and posting on the family refrigerator. Try that with a Facebook upload.

Photography Tools

Let's get the budget buster out of the way first. DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition by onOne Software - iTunes Link ($19.99) is a must-have for tethered photography - just about anywhere one needs to shoot remotely. After connecting the camera to the computer (yes, you need your computer), one can now adjust the settings, fire off the shutter and review or preview the results with Liveview. It has autobracketing for the HDR fans out there.

Soluna by Danny Flippo - iTunes Link ($0.99) is a one trick pony. It shows the moon phases as well as the predicted sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset times. Most importantly, the software lets you know the times of the Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Twilights - the various degrees of darkness in the sky due to the sun being below the horizon (6%, 6-12%, and 12-18%, respectively). Works for sunrises, too.

While Soluna tells when, Focalware by Spiral Development - iTunes Link ($4.99) tells where. If you want to know the precise location of the sun and moon's position for a given time, date and place, then this application is for you - a must have for landscape and portrait photographers. You can stand at a specific location and know where the sun will be. With the compass, the information is changed in real-time as one moves.

Lastly, Photocalc by Adair Systems - iTunes Link ($2.99) provides exposure reciprocation, depth of field, hyperfocal distance, and flash exposure calculations. A nice tool to have in your basket.

So there you have it. For a little over $40, you can have the 10 must-have photography apps for your iPhone 4. I have put myself out there with these recommendations; please let us know what you think. What are your must-have recommendations?

FTC Disclaimer: WeArePhotographers.com does not have a relationship with any of the providers of these software or Apple at the time of the initial publishing of this blog. We do not benefit from any purchase of the software from the above links.