2011
© tim Pannell
Find photographic inspiration, but for heaven sakes don’t just copy it after you find it. If you happen to copy it as a self assignment just to see if you can do it….that’s fine, but then don’t pass it off as though it’s your own unique vision and work.
I see so many blogs now from so many people and the photographs are practically interchangeable. Not cool…….
I don’t really know if the world needs another 2,000 Anne Geddes wannabes out there. Be unique…..be daring….be bold…..don’t just be the same. Figure out what you’re all about and develop that….be that…..be you…not someone else.
© Tim Pannell
Find inspiration in art, music, movies and other photographs. Use it as a springboard, as a starting point and put your own take on it. Don’t be afraid to fail because you’re trying new things. It’s ok if it isn’t perfect right off the bat.
It will almost always take time to develop your own individual style, but it’s worth the time and effort it takes.
Why would anyone hire you over someone else if you all look the same? You want to be your own person with your own vision…..your uniqueness will be what sells you and sets you apart from everyone else.
My stuff isn’t rocket science. I understand light and how to use it and manipulate to do what I want it to do. Other than that, I just relate to people and try to get them to actually have a good time. If I’m successful at achieving that then the shots will look real, fun, spontaneous and not forced. If I fail at it….then the shots will look overly staged and manipulated and overall like crap.
© Tim Pannell
I’m still up here in Utah with 40 degree weather. Pretty sad when it’s towards the end of May. I think we’ve had 3 or 4 warm days this year….that’s it. Thank goodness I’ve had some assignments in Arizona, Miami and Los Angeles since the beginning of the year so I’ve seen a little bit of warmth and sunshine.
I shot some images for some friends the other day….it was pretty out, but the kids were freezing. Windy, cold, frustrating.
The shots turned out nice though…..in the end……that’s really all that counts.
© TIM PANNELL
One of the best photography tips I can give anyone for shooting in the snow is to become familiar with your histogram.
I have an image I shot for an iPad commercial that is running on tv at the moment. If you’ve seen the ad you’ll recognize this image. It was shot in the snow and consequently I had to make sure my exposure was dead on to avoid either blocking up my shadows or blowing out my highlights in the snow.
When you have your camera set on automatic and you shoot in the snow, there is an extremely good chance that the camera will underexpose your image. An oversimplified explanation is that your camera sees all that white from the snow, assumes it’s supposed to be a light gray and adjusts the camera’s exposure accordingly, which makes the rest of your image darker than what your eye is seeing.
This, in and of itself is not the end of the world as long as that exposure doesn’t “clip” your shadows…..meaning underexpose your shadows to the point where there is no detail or information in that range of your photograph.
You can always bring the image into correct balance in post production as long as your shadows aren’t completely blocked up. Simply put, you can’t add information to an area of your image where there is no information to begin with. This works or doesn’t work both ways, whites and blacks. You can’t add detail back into your whites once they are overexposed with no detail at all. You can’t add detail back into your blacks once they are underexposed or clipped with no detail to begin with.
The best way to avoid this kind of problem is to become familiar with the histogram
on the back of your camera. Ideally the left and right side of the graph on your histogram will come short of the frame edges. If the histogram actually touches the left or right side of your frame, then you are “clipping” that part of the image.
If it hits the left side, you’ve clipped your shadows. If it hits the right side. you’ve clipped your highlights.
So…..whenever you shoot in the snow, be sure to check your histogram carefully and be sure that you have detail and or information in both your highlights and shadow areas of your image.
If you see that you’re clipping either of these areas, you can adjust your exposure by just tweaking your exposure compensation setting up or down. There will be a dial with a +/_ on it and adjust itaccordingly. If you’re clipping your shadows, adjust the exposure to the plus side (overexposure). If you’re clipping your highlights, then adjust the exposure compensation dial to the negative side until you are no longer clipping those highlights.
The trick is to find a balance for your image. If you can’t avoid blowing out your highlights without clipping your shadows you will need to find a way to add more fill light to the shadows in your image. You’ll have to use lights or fill cards or reflector boards or disks.
If you don’t have any of those things then you’ll be in a position where you have to decide which part of your image you’re willing to clip. In this case, you have to choose which part of your shot is the most important….the highlights or the shadows. The answer to that question will vary from image to image. It’s subjective…..your choice and your choice alone.
The cool thing about shooting in the snow is that you probably won’t have that problem. The snow naturally provides a lot of fill light for you, so the chances of having your shadows to dark with no detail are slim as long as you’ve adjusted your exposure properly.
