Of getting recognised and recognition.....

Why do we go for awards? One of my workshops participants once asked. To me its a form of recognition that you collect along your journey as a photographer. It gets you motivated and keeps you going, and it also says that you are on the right track and that your work is being noticed.

For those who claimed that he/she don't go for awards because they are not glamour seekers, not wanting to be popular.....to me these sort of people are just suffering from an inferiority complex and are afraid to lose. Because these same people are also the ones going around collecting post counts in forums and what not. Going for awards is no different than getting yourself into forums and hard selling yourself to be popular. Simply put...people go into forums coz they want to be recognised too isn't it?

So what's the difference then?

My advice to all...there's nothing wrong to be recognised, really. But hard selling yourself and self denial is something else.

For those who wanted to go for photo competitions....don't hesitate.....losing is not the end of the world. Well at least now we know where we stand...and who knows you might win something.

Good luck.

Communicating thru your subject

As photographers we frown and sometimes complaint of the pictures that we took. We complaint about the light, weather, the model. Yes, up to a certain extent I would agree. But in retrospect, if one is shooting human subjects and then frowns at how the picture looks like after wards.....hmmmmmm I would say improve on our communication with them.....it'll work wonders. Tell them what you want........heck tell them a sad story if you have to. If the mood that you want is sad that is....

One thing we need to remember, we are the one who see it all thru the camera's viewfinder not our subject.

Photography in economic turmoil

I was asked by fellow wedding photographers....on how to sustain their photo income in these current economic situations. Well, I simply answered....either u give more added value to your products/services or increase your asking price....however to do that one has to increase their skills as well. The other way is to lower down one's cost without affecting both quality of services and output.

One of the ways that I suggested to them is to shoot indoor (studio) shots using natural light. This in turn will reduce the overall cost in renting a studio. However, the trick to this is to firstly identify the right light to do so. Not all light will replicate studio shots. The angle, time of day, color, temperature etc plays a part as well.

Here's another sample of a shot using natural light to make it looked like a studio shot.

Quality of lights....the importance of.

Having to shoot outdoors in a variety of lights and shooting conditions posed every bit of a challenge to every photographer. Having to identify good light is another. Angle, time of day and strength of ambient light plays a part into every pic. How to blend and mix them to our own advantage takes time getting use to. For me every single lighting conditions (as long as its not totally dark, without the use of a strobe)......will have its own complementing way of using it to our subject. Type of skin, theme etc all takes planning to get it in tune.

For people on a budget, shooting outdoors does not mean that it has to be boring. One can turn it into indoors feel...with some recce-ing and proper planning, this can be achieved.

Here is an example of an outdoor shot trying to make it look indoors.

Gears.....nothing but gears?

Our gears are important. Cameras, lenses, computers, hardware, software etc. We have to know how to use them in order to produce good pics.

However, there are far more important things than the latest technical developments in digital cameras. Yes, there have been some incredible advances in camera technology in recent years and I'm quite sure there are more to come. And as a photographer we should be aware of these advancements, but don't get carried away investing in large sums of money in the latest and most technically advance equipment.

Creating great photographs isn't just about the size of our digital files, but its about the content of the pictures. It's about what we do with our equipment....and if the pictures lack content, then they fail, whatever the resolution of the sensor of our camera wouldn't matter now.

As a photographer, it's important to understand the type and quantity of our equipment we need for the images that we want to make.

Choosing the right equipment is a matter of practical, creative, and personal choices IMHO.

Happy picture making.

Let’s make pictures

Every now and then people came up to me asking why they can’t get photos like the Pros do. In simple terms….their photos sucks (mind my words). They lack the message……no impact.

I would like to sum up the answer in a few words……..’Dun take pictures….make them’.

I found this statement applicable in portraiture photography. As I for once don’t blindly go out for a shoot without a theme in mind. I would then match the model/s to be in line with that theme….the dress, the location, the expression, the mood, the pose, the lighting…..well heck I even go up to the extend of applying the make up on them.

Most people don’t realize the planning process takes more time than the picture taking itself. The thought process behind every shot that involves in them. Well, I guess the term…....’No Pain No Gain’ rings true here.

So to u readers….come and Let us all make (more) pictures.

Character jugdment

There was a man who had 4 sons
He wanted his sons to learn not to judge too quickly
So he sent them each on a quest
In turn to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance a way

The first son went in the winter
The second went in the spring
The third in the summer
And the youngest in the fall

When they had gone and come back,
The man called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted.
The second son said it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son later said it was laden with blossom that smelled so sweet looked so beautiful
It was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them
He said it was ripe and drooping with fruits; full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right
For they had each seen but only one season in the tree’s life.

He had told them that you cannot judge a tree or a person by only one season
And that the essence of who they are and the pleasure,
Joy and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end
When all the seasons are up

If you give up when its winter
You will miss the promise of your spring
The beauty of your summer
Fulfillment of your fall

Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest
And don’t judge life by one difficult season

Moral:

Persevere through the difficult patches
And better times are sure to come

Don't judge a person's character too quickly
Judge them wholly and self reflect

Of rule of thirds and composition...........

Every now and then we've heard the importance of the rule of thirds and their significance in compositing our photos. In bringing out the best in your subject, and making them work.

Simply put, the rule of thirds is placing the subject in question on one of the 4 placements on the imaginary lines in your pic. But, lest we forget that it only covered a third of the photo. So what happens to the other two thirds then?

For me, its about striking a good balance between all of the aspects in the pic that make the composition works. If the FG, BG, didn't work...or even worse, over powering the subject....than to me the picture doesn't work. The other 2/3rd of the pic has to work in tandem with the main subject and vice versa.

Ohhhh btw didn't 1/3 plus 2/3 equals to = 1 ?

Street shooting...a character study.

For me, portraiture is about the character study of the subject in question. Street shoot somehow brings the best in a character.....because there's no pre-planned poses, props or controllable lighting. A good shot brings about the character of our subject in the final output. The 'feel' as some people say.......to show sorrow, misery and hardship in a 2 dimensional art piece needs a bit more patience and understanding of our subject's character. One has to feel their sorrow to transmit that same feeling from the subject onto print.

Of sharing knowledge and art........

There was once this Sifu who instructed 2 of his disciples to each go and seek out a different kung fu style each (one attacking style, the other defensive) so that they can share out and exchange them once they are back. One is a senior disciple, the other a junior. And to motivate them, as part of the task, the Sifu organized a friendly sparring session to pick out the winner among them.

But there’s a catch though……..they can only spar using the skills that the other disciple has taught them.

2 months had past…..and both had past on their knowledge and skills to the other. The day of the test of their new found kung fu skills came by….and they sparred, in front of the other disciples and their Sifu.The match ended with the senior disciple clearly won by a mile…..out witting and out muscling the junior.

Then the Sifu asked the others of their opinion who had won the match……the answer was rather obvious......its the senior disciple.

But the Sifu answered differently…for him, the match was not won by the senior. He actually had lost. The only reason the junior disciple lost instead of the senior is because the senior had not imparted all the knowledge to his colleague but received instead, everything that the junior disciple had learn from the task.

Every one was stunned……later the senior admitted his selfishness and made amends.

This is a real story........

The Sifu is Yip Man.
And the junior disciple is Bruce Lee.

‘Art is the expressing of oneself feelings……honestly and unselfishly’

Do we have to be correct all the time?

Met up with an idol of mine recently, whom I've wanted to meet for quite some time now.....and all I can say of that meeting is that.....my beliefs has been renewed.

We sat down and threw ideas and beliefs at each other and I came back satisfied. His foresights on things are spot on…..and we shared the same insights on things. The only difference is….he did it in a more direct way…no BS kinda way. Which I love and respect.

In photography, some people are just a pain and just need to be correct all the time. Yes….ALL the time! When it comes to giving suggestions, comments or critiques….they just want the last word in everything. It has to be their way….and nothing else.

Do you still remember when your best friend asks you to tag along to advise him on a new shirt/shoe? And he insisted for your advise……on a blue shirt or a red one. …stating that he’s kinda undecided between the two. And being a good friend that you are……you chose RED. But he went for the BLUE!

Suddenly you felt defensive…..why the heck did he bring you along asking to advise him but in actual fact he already has the RED shirt already fix in his mind? Kinda irony isn’t it?

But sometimes we forget……that our advise is from our own perspective and preferences….but not from his. That is what we would have chosen…….if we were to choose between the 2….and if we were the one who’s buying/wearing it.

We forgot that it is merely a suggestion (and nothing else)……it depends for him/her to accept them. Do we really need to be defensive about it? Again at what expense?

Next time if you are the one asking for suggestion……please don’t do that to others if you’ve already set your mind on something else.

‘Sometimes winning is not everything’

p/s…to my new found friend…you know who you are. Thanks for reminding me.

Who is it for? (Photos we took)

When we exhibit/share/show photos of our work.....are we really trying to impress ourselves or others? Who are we to impress or please actually? Its a classic tale of 'The Man, the Boy and the Donkey' from Aesop's fable for me. A case of too many cooks. When one started out into the world of photography......the first thing to do is...of course to snap pictures. The more the better it is.....but sometimes it is a case of one too many snaps. Yes, I agree that one would like to progress swiftly.......but at what expense? We ask for 'Comments and Critics' of our photos from people in the know and rely on those info to improve. But we ask from too many of them.....one get confused. As this 'sifu' says this way and the other says the other.....when confronted.....both then defended the differences in thought as 'Art'. Wow....even more confusing.

My suggestion is to all aspiring photographers out there....get your basics right first, get it sound.....emulate, be open. Choose the style that you want to go for....and a mentor with that style in mind to guide you around. There's no point trying to impress everyone.

'Please All, and You will Please No One'

Sometimes less is more

I feel that whatever we do on camera, has to be in harmony with whatever we'll do on PP (Post-Process). I learn it thru the hard way.....but here are some of my principles when I shoot portraiture:

1. GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out)....IMHO no matter how good ur PP skill is.....it is always good to capture them true to what u want first time around in camera.

2. Always shoot the Object & BG in mind. There are always cases whereby photogs will be so immersed with the model (in cases of leng lui) that they forgot to mind the BG.

3. Mind the lighting......when PP always mind the angle of the natural light when it falls onto their faces. So as not to emulate them on PP it in an unnatural manner.

4. Blemishes............too much of anything is not good. Too much PP of the blemishes is also not good & vice versa.

5. A little of everything will go a long way in PP.

These are all the minor/minute details that I look out for in my portraiture. But it all comes to a lot when it matters most....the final outcome.

Hope you guys benefit. Tq.

Sometimes to learn is to unlearn.....

For me photography its about sharing......of our experiences and of our knowledge.

Coz photography comes from everything...from our surroundings, the environment where we live in. I was trained formally by a Japanese Pro photographer for almost 4+ years in landscape and portraiture. But the first year I was only carrying his gears and stuff....never was I let to touch his camera. Coz for Japanese ppl, they believed that everything has a soul....and should be respected. Only on the 2nd year did he allow me to hold a reflector.

I once asked him.....how did he manage to get his 'photographic eye'....he never answered. It bugged me....A LOT! I pestered him.....and still he didn't budge.

Only later.....and after much later, when I gave up...did he whispered to me...and said....the eye wasn't there by its own. It is the accumulation of years and years of his life experiences....his trials n tribulations. All of that then translated into his photos....bcoz of that he then became sensitive to his surroundings.....

Photography is not about US....its about others....about giving...the ability to see what others can't....and sharing it with them. That's photography to HIM....

I was stunned for words.

It was almost 15 years ago today....and I still remembered what he has taught me.....about giving....UNSELFISHLY!

Sometimes we tend to forget....we always thought that everyone owe us everything. But we are wrong.....its the other way around. Sometimes we want everything to be ABOUT us......well its NOT!

Yes I've won 4 times portraiture awards before...local and overseas.....but for me its not about who we are....or what we have achieved......its about meeting new people and sharing.

Learning will never stop for me........

Coz sometimes to learn is to unlearn......only then one will understand.