Tag: photography

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Trapped!

Well as for most everyone this pandemic has proven to be a challenge on many levels. We as a society were forced to limit our activities and large gatherings quickly became a thing of the past. This isolation not only directly impacted my ability to get out and do much photography, it severely impacted my desire to do any photography.

As the weather has been warming in Colorado it seemed to light the fire to begin doing more photography, but the big question “What to photograph?”. With restrictions still in place this has proven to be an even bigger issue.

The answer came from following one of my high school classmates on Facebook who had joined a weekly challenge called 52Frames. After looking at the website I’ll admit I was intrigued but wasn’t sure if it was something that I wanted to participate in.

After about a month of contemplation, I couldn’t stand the idea of my camera equipment just sitting storage so I decided to take the plunge and join the challenge starting in Week 15. The challenge was titled “Trapped” and the intent was for the photographer to capture the emotion of being isolated or trapped. How appropriate is that for the times we’re living in?

Creative ideas can be a challenge and this one certainly had me scratching my head as to what I’d shoot. So to start off this adventure the image of our dog Bandit popped in my head. He loves hanging out in my office while I work and looks out the window. I thought if I could capture that it would certainly fit the challenge. Here is the image I submitted for the weekly challenge.

While it’s not the easiest task to get him to go outside the look on his face makes it looks like he’s sad because he’s not in the yard.

So now it’s onto the next challenge, “Edited By Someone Else!“. The subject is pretty open so hopefully I’m come up with something interesting. Once I have the image I will provide it to another “Framer” (the term used for people participating in the challenges) to edit.

If you’re like me, at a loss on what to shoot, I highly encourage you to check out the site. After all everyone needs a nudge now and then.

Check back next week to see the challenge update.

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Simple beauty

Sometimes single objects can make some of the most interesting photographs. With the studio now set up I’ve been looking for any opportunity to do some photography.

Simple low-key setup

For this shot I chose to use a single object, a head of garlic. Because of the small size of my subject I knew that I would have to not only use a small light source but also control the direction for the light in order to minimize unwanted lit areas.

Setup:

  • Backdrop – Black Savage paper backdrop
  • Platform – Posing table
  • Flash – Nikon SB-800 speed light with snoot* made from a koozie
  • Light stand for flash – Located right of subject

*Snoot – In photography, a snoot is a tube or similar object that fits over a studio light or portable flash and allows the photographer to control the direction and radius of the light beam. These may be conical, cylindrical, or rectangular in shape. Snoots can isolate a subject when using a flash. Wikipedia

After taking a couple of test shots I found that because of the light position and narrowness of the light I needed some way of lightening some of the shadows on the left side of the garlic.

While there are many fancy ways that this could be accomplished the only thing that is required is some way of bouncing light back on the subject. For this particular shot I used a simple sheet of paper. This proved to be ideal to bring just enough light back onto the garlic head to help soften the harsh shadows.

Although not necessarily intentional, the posing table provided a slight reflection. For this particular shot I think that this really helps the image so it doesn’t look like the garlic is just floating in mid-air.

So as you can see with a small setup and just a simple subject you can achieve some really images. I highly encourage everyone to do whatever you need to in order to continue to hone your photography skills.

In the coming weeks I will be doing some low-key portrait photography as well as continuing to do some more still-life shots. Anyway, thanks as always for checking in at our site and if you have any questions or comments please be sure to reach out to us.

Thank you,

Sharon & Doug Shatto

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Studio update

Well as we stated last month we’ve been working on building out some studio space for DS Visual Art. It’s with great satisfaction that we can say that the studio is finally nearing completion.

Studio space with new flooring

It’s been almost a year in the making, and years of dreaming, but the studio is almost complete. The photo above shows about 2/3 of the space. Since this image was taken we have installed our backdrop hanger (which will hold 3 different backdrops).

In addition to backdrops, we’ve started moving lighting equipment up to the space. One thing that makes this space unique is the fact that with the studio being in a loft area, we have build in the ability to photograph from the loft to the lower level of the building. While the primary space will be used for portrait and other types of photography, we will also have the space to accommodate vehicle photography.

Other features we will be adding in the very short term will be themed backgrounds and lighting supports to reduce the need for light stands which will help increase shooting space.

That pretty much sums up this update. Thanks for continuing to follow our journey. Stay tuned as we’ll be looking to start providing more instructional posts now that we have a space to do them.

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Expanding to Portrait Photography

When Sharon and I decided to establish an online presence for DS Visual Art the initial thought was to provide a “Fine Art” gallery showcasing select prints on museum quality mediums.  After several conversations and much introspection we came to the conclusion that we wanted to offer so much more to our customers.

While we continue to showcase a wide selection of photographs that are available for purchase on higher end mediums such as giclee canvas, premium papers and metals we’re now offering lower cost materials as well.  In addition to that we’re expanding our services to include Senior Portraits, Families, Children, Commercial and Event Photography

You might be asking yourself “Why the change?”  That’s a great question and one that deserves an honest answer.  Regardless of the subject we have a strong passion for providing people with the highest quality images that they can proudly display in their home, office or any other location.  Being creative spirits the thought of limiting our photography to a single area seems too confining.

With the ever increasing number of “photographers” in the market these days how does our approach to portrait photography differ?  One of the primary differences is lighting.  Lighting is just as important for an outdoor location shoot as it is in the studio.  Certainly outdoors there is a huge light source called the sun but it is a challenge to control without the assistance of lights.

Most photographers will rely solely on the sun to light their subject.  Others will use handheld reflectors to either block the sun or redirect light.  While these are both options, Sharon and I feel that in order to provide the most pleasing light it requires studio lighting with the appropriate light modifiers (e.g. beauty dish, soft box, grids, etc.)

Let’s take a look at a few examples to help demonstrate the difference.

It’s clear that this image was taken outside with no lighting or reflector other than the sun lighting the right side of her face.

While the shadowing on her face certainly lends itself to adding depth, notice how the lack of light on her face makes her eyes look very shallow.

Another issue with this photo is that there is almost too much contrast in lighting between the right and left sides of her face.  This is where a reflector would have helped balance out the lighting.  Now let’s take a look at a photograph using studio lighting.

As with the previous photograph this photo was taken outdoors but a light with a soft box was used for the main light and the sun as a back light.

Placing the subjects with their back to the sun eliminated any squinting due to bright light while providing a beautiful rim light.  Notice how the subtle lighting on Mike’s green shirt helps provide separation from the grass in the background.

You’ll also notice that while there is some shadowing on their face to provide depth the lighting is more evenly distributed providing a more pleasant look.  Another thing you’ll notice is how the light helps eliminate unwanted shadows.

In the first image I talked about how the lack of light made the subject’s eyes look shallow or vacant.  Let’s look at a another photo to show how lighting helps in this area.

Let me begin saying this is not how I would normally have cropped this image, but in order to help demonstrate my point it’s cropped in very close.

As you can see from the background this was an outdoor shoot in a very shaded area.  There are two things I would like to draw your attention to.

    First notice how nicely lit the boy’s face is.  Now look at his eyes.  Those little bright spots are called “catch lights”.   Notice how much these little bursts of light bring life to his eyes as opposed to the first image with no light?
    Rest assured, when you hire DS Visual Art we will use every tool at our disposal to capture that “heirloom” quality image.  After all it’s your complete satisfaction that we are striving for.
    We invite you to visit our newly added portrait gallery along with all of our galleries at our website.

Portrait Gallery

DS Visual Art Galleries

    In closing Sharon and I would like to say “Thank you” for reading more about DS Visual Art.  We hope that we’ll have the opportunity to assist with your photography needs in the near future.
    Best regards,
    Sharon and Doug