Digital Art Photography For Dummies
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Digital Art Photography For Dummiesby Matthew Bamberg, MA
Digital Art Photography For Dummies®
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP- RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDER- STANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COM- PETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMA- TION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2005924614
ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-9801-2
ISBN-10: 0-7645-9801-5
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1K/QR/RS/QV/IN
About the Author Several years ago, Matthew Bamberg began to photograph for the articles he was writing while working for the alternative paper, the Desert Post Weekly. His writing focuses on popular culture: essays about topics from the Santa Cruz, California surf culture to the mid-century modern architecture revival around the world. Curious by light striking his lens (direct and bold or soft and willowy) and the sounds (especially of the shutter opening and closing), he struck a relationship first with film and then, like so many, with the digital camera’s sensor.
Aside from writing about f-stops, shutter speeds, and the fabulous job the digital camera manufacturers have done that permit photographers to take almost noiseless pictures in the dark at high ISO speeds, Matt has written content and provided photographs for articles on Homestore.com, America Online, and The Weather Channel.
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Dedication I dedicate this book to my parents Harold and Estelle Bamberg, who as pho- tographers themselves collected and stored hundreds of negatives, positives, and prints that I took as a kid and that they took themselves. They also sup- plied me with every trendy camera that came onto the market, which provided me with a foundation to have an additional set of eyes to capture the world.
Author’s Acknowledgments First, cheers to Nicole Sholly and Teresa Artman, who guided the progress of this book and offered dozens of solutions and ideas in its development. To them, a heartfelt thanks. Thanks also to: Robert Stone for his patience teaching me the ins and outs of landscape photography in Paris and Vietnam; Robert Jones of Insightful Solutions for guidance for Internet and Web site photography; Roger Vail for his wonderful nighttime carnival photography (http://we.got.net/~rvail/recent/recent.html); the expertise of sports photographer Drew Brashler; and Rich Glass and infrared photogra- pher, Robert Contreras (www.robertcontreras.com) who helped widen the book’s focus. Also of assistance were the Borgan, Taylor, and Bodon families whose ideas, photos, and patience modeling for dozens of shots made the process not work but fun. I can’t forget the valuable assistance in shooting provided by Dr. Suellen Evavold, Trixie Mauleon, and Kelly Lewis and son, Chase. And keeping me on track, offering aesthetic advice on hundreds of photos as they progressed through Photoshop and moved onto the printed page, was Todd Larson. My experiences with all the staff of City Art (Van Nuys, California) helped to make this book a completed cycle by giving insight to one of the most important stages of the art photography process: framing an image. Selling the image, too, needs to be recognized. To that end, I thank James Claude and Miguel Linares of Palm Springs Consignment, a mid-century modern gallery in Palm Springs, who took me in as a street photographer by selling my mid-century modern signage series, a series that took me to some dicey neighborhoods all over the world to capture a piece of the past. Thanks also to John Bernard and Beverly Walker of the modern furnishing gallery, Room Service, who brought and sold my work to the big city (Los Angeles) and Jay Nailor of M Modern Gallery (Palm Springs) who took my work to the gallery level and who was never more than a phone call away.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Project Editor: Nicole Sholly
Technical Editors: Jonathan M. Wentworth, Wentworth Images; Maureen M. McCarty
Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner
Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Project Coordinator: Adrienne Martinez
Layout and Graphics: Mary J. Gillot, Lauren Goddard, Barbara Moore, Heather Ryan
Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Laura L. Bowman, Leeann Harney
Indexer: Lynnzee Elze
Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher
Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director
Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director
Publishing for Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
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Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................1
to Enhance or Create Art Photos......................................................3 Part IV: The Final Output: Gallery-Worthy Prints...............................3 Part V: The Part of Tens.........................................................................3 On the Web site.......................................................................................3
Chapter 1: Digital Art Photography 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Defining Digital Art Photography ...................................................................7 Mastering Five Steps to Creating a Gallery-ready Art Print......................10
1) Define yourself, your subject matter, and your audience...........11 2) Master your craft and hone your photographic skills ................11 3) The trek from camera to computer ...............................................11 4) Printing images ................................................................................12 5) Framing your masterpiece..............................................................12
Composing an Art Photograph.....................................................................12 Simplicity...............................................................................................13 Balance ..................................................................................................14 Rule of Thirds........................................................................................15 All about light, shadows, and shades ................................................16 Recognizing lines, shapes, and forms................................................18 Subject placement................................................................................21 Deciphering color.................................................................................23 Understanding positive and negative space.....................................24 Foreground, background, and depth of field ....................................26 Perspective............................................................................................28 In-camera cropping and framing ........................................................29
viii Chapter 2: Making the Digital Leap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
The Digital Path..............................................................................................31 Film versus Digital..........................................................................................32 Digital Camera 101 .........................................................................................36
Storage space........................................................................................56 Monitors ................................................................................................59 Calibration.............................................................................................61 Go-getter graphics add-ons.................................................................62 Choosing a platform.............................................................................63
Choosing a Printer and Paper for the Results You Want...........................66 Finding a printer that’s right for your work......................................66 Paper and friends: Selecting the best medium for your prints ......70 Finding the right image size for your print .......................................72
Exploring the Ins and Outs of Scanners ......................................................73 Choosing a scanner..............................................................................73 Configuring your scanner....................................................................74
Chapter 4: Defining Yourself and Your Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Defining Yourself as a Photographer ...........................................................76
Shoot what you like..............................................................................77 Study the masters ................................................................................77 Right-brain, left-brain...........................................................................78 All a matter of perspective..................................................................80 Finding the unusual..............................................................................83
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ix Part II: The Photo Shoot ...............................................95
Chapter 5: Composing a Shot Outdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Shooting with Natural Light..........................................................................97
Proper exposure ...................................................................................98 Using auto settings when shooting outdoors.................................100 Using manual settings for creative control .....................................102 Foreground and background.............................................................102
Augmenting Natural Light ...........................................................................119 Using flash fill......................................................................................120 Shooting bright lights in daytime.....................................................120
Chapter 6: Composing a Shot Indoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Setting Up to Shoot Indoors........................................................................122
ISO speed.............................................................................................122 Manual versus auto settings .............................................................124 White balance .....................................................................................124
Traditional posed portraits...............................................................139 Candid portraits .................................................................................147 Capturing portraits of inanimate objects........................................149
x Chapter 8: Shooting for Color in Art Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Discovering How Light Makes Color..........................................................154 Positioning yourself and your camera.............................................156 Using complementary and contrasting colors ...............................157
Using an f-stop to Enhance Color...............................................................167 Advanced Color Techniques.......................................................................168
Chapter 9: Crafting a Quality Black-and-White Art Photo . . . . . . . . .173 Why Shoot in Black-and-White? .................................................................174
A brief B&W perspective ...................................................................176 Shooting architecture ........................................................................176 Shooting portraits ..............................................................................181 Shooting for journalism .....................................................................183
Capturing Black and White .........................................................................185 Creating a B&W image .......................................................................186 Manipulating a color image to become B&W .................................187 Getting the best quality image..........................................................189 Understanding the 256 shades of gray ............................................190 Defining highlights, midtones, and shadows ..................................193 Printing for best quality.....................................................................197
Chapter 10: Night Art Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199 Taking a Shot in the Dark ............................................................................199
Creating a blur-free, flashless night photo ......................................204 Using fast film and high ISO settings................................................210 Shooting with a flash..........................................................................211
Other Nighttime Art Opportunities ...........................................................212 Light your subject from beneath......................................................212 Shoot the moon ..................................................................................212 Seek nighttime landscapes................................................................215 Use reflections ....................................................................................216 Seek out shadows and weather ........................................................216
Chapter 11: Achieving Creative Results When Shooting . . . . . . . . . .217 Tweaking Automatic Modes and Settings
to Achieve Creative Results ....................................................................218 Playing with Light.........................................................................................222
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xi Come Get ’Yer Effects Here! ........................................................................223
Double exposures...............................................................................223 Panoramic shots.................................................................................224 Reflections...........................................................................................225 Zooming while shooting ....................................................................225 Intentional lack of focus ....................................................................226 Intentional underexposure/overexposure ......................................227 Making flowing water turn to silk .....................................................228 Using filters .........................................................................................230
Part III: Photoshop Art: Using Software to Enhance or Create Art Photos .................................235
Chapter 12: Adding New Life to Old Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237 Using Automatic Adjustments to Refresh Older Prints...........................237 Using Manual Adjustments for Fine-Tuning..............................................240
Dodge ...................................................................................................240 Burn tool..............................................................................................242 Smart Sharpen/Unsharp Mask commands......................................243 Sponge tool .........................................................................................243 Dust & Scratches filter .......................................................................244 Blur tool ...............................................................................................244 Color Balance......................................................................................245 Removing a horrible shadow............................................................246
Chapter 13: Combining and Manipulating Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259 Preserving Detail ..........................................................................................260 Making an Image Whole Again with Photomerge.....................................261 Seamlessly Introducing Backgrounds in Photographs............................266 Creating Art Photos through Symmetry ...................................................268
Chapter 14: Using Layers to Create a Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271 Using Layers in Photoshop.........................................................................271
Feathering............................................................................................272 Creating a simple two-layer project .................................................273
Table of Contents
xii Chapter 15: Using Photoshop for Special Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283
Photoshop Filter Effects..............................................................................284 Gaussian Blur filter.............................................................................285 Unsharp Mask filter............................................................................286 Plastic Wrap filter ...............................................................................288 Glowing Edges filter ...........................................................................288 Watercolor filter..................................................................................288 Sketch filters .......................................................................................289 Emboss filter .......................................................................................291
Part IV: The Final Output: Gallery-Worthy Prints .........299
Chapter 16: Managing and Preparing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301 Transferring an Image from Your Camera to Your Computer ................302
From film/scanning.............................................................................302 From a JPEG file ..................................................................................302 From a Raw file....................................................................................303
Resolving Resolution Issues .......................................................................309 Interpolation .......................................................................................309 Resampling an image .........................................................................310 Changing resolution without resampling ........................................312
Chapter 17: Printing Prep and Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313 Discovering Proofs and Printing the Final Product .................................313 Preparing for Output ...................................................................................316 Making a Contact Sheet ...............................................................................317 Previewing Your Print..................................................................................319
Chapter 18: Framing and Matting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .321 Takin’ It to the Mats .....................................................................................322
Comparing mat options .....................................................................324 Cutting your own mats ......................................................................324 Creating a mat in Photoshop ............................................................325
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xiii Part V: The Part of Tens .............................................341
Chapter 19: Ten Photo Digital Art Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .343 Create with Classic Lines and Colors ........................................................343 Start with a Good Camera ...........................................................................345 Exploit the Right Light for Your Photo ......................................................345 Keep It Small and Spectacular ....................................................................346 Balance Items Onscreen and on Paper......................................................346 Organize Your Photos into Sets by Themes .............................................347 Know the Art Techniques of Thine Masters .............................................347 Create a Story or Message ..........................................................................348 Capture the Unexpected or Unreal ............................................................348 Always Have Your Camera with You..........................................................349
Chapter 20: Ten Digital Art Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .351 Overexpose and Underexpose ...................................................................351 Emulate the Masters ....................................................................................352 Shoot on a Cloudy Day ................................................................................353 Create a Matching Background ..................................................................354 Meld Layers to Create Motion ....................................................................355 Build Your Archive of Backgrounds...........................................................355 Don’t Overdo Effect(s).................................................................................356 Use the EditFade Command ....................................................................357 Keep Your Image in High Res on All Platforms.........................................357
On the Web
Bonus Chapter 1: Telling (And Selling) a Story Using Photo Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .On the Web
Crafting a Photo Set from a Storyboard......................................................B2 Classifying Your Shots...................................................................................B5
xiv Preparing a Set of Prints for Sale ...............................................................B10
Size.......................................................................................................B11 Printing/polishing in an image editing program ............................B11 Text ......................................................................................................B12 Framing/matting.................................................................................B12 Pricing .................................................................................................B12
Bonus Chapter 2: Enhancing Art Photos with Text . . . . . . .On the Web Fonts 101.......................................................................................................B14
Serif and sans serif.............................................................................B16 Font styles...........................................................................................B17 Font size ..............................................................................................B18 Font color............................................................................................B18 Mixing fonts ........................................................................................B19 Using fonts effectively .......................................................................B19
Index........................................................................359
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Introduction
In this book, I cover the art form of digital art photography. I start by giving you an introduction to the world of film-based photography and how it
relates to digital photography. From there, I go on to cover the whole gambit of digital art photography, from shooting great photos to tweaking them in Photoshop to producing final output fit for a gallery wall. If that sounds intrigu- ing, this book is for you whether you’re film-based or digital-only or both.
About This Book Here are some of the things this book will help you do:
Get a fabulous, well-exposed photograph, no matter what your shooting conditions
Tweak, edit, and enhance your images to create something entirely new — or just simply better than what you started with
Produce gallery-worthy art prints
Find out when it’s time to upgrade your computer to handle graphics work
Foolish Assumptions I don’t like to be foolish, but to use this book, I assume that you know the basics of photography, whether digital or film. (I do sprinkle loads of photography tidbits throughout, so no one is stranded.) I also assume that you know how to use a computer and have maybe played around with Photoshop or some photo editor application. Most important of all, I assume that you have a burning desire down deep inside to unleash your creative side by producing — and even selling — truly artistic, awe-inspiring photographic prints.
Conventions Used in This Book By conventions, I simply mean a set of rules that I employ in this book to pre- sent information to you consistently. When you see a term italicized, look for its definition, which I include so you know what that term means in the context of digital art photography. Sometimes, I give you information to enter onscreen; in those cases, I format what you need to type bold. Web site addresses and e-mail addresses appear in monofont so that they stand out from regular text.
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2 Digital Art Photography For Dummies
What You Don’t Have to Read Because I structure this book modularly — that is, so you can easily find only the specific information you need — you don’t have to read whatever doesn’t pertain to your task at hand. You also don’t have to read the Technical Stuff icons, which parse out uber-techy tidbits (which you might or might not be interested in).
How This Book Is Organized Digital Art Photography For Dummies is split into five parts. You don’t have to read parts sequentially; you don’t have to read each chapter in each part; and you don’t even have to read all the sections in any particular chapter. (But I think that you’ll want to look at every picture. . . .) You can use the Table of Contents and the index to find the information you need and quickly get your answers. In this section, I briefly describe what you’ll find in each part.
Part I: The Art of a Digital Picture This part serves as an introduction to the world of art photography and how it relates to digital photography. In Chapter 1, I detail the five essential steps to creating a digitized masterpiece and provide a few essentials of composition. Chapters 2 and 3 cover the digital side of digital art photography; I have to admit, this information can get a little dry and techy. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you.) When it comes time to purchase a new digital camera or to upgrade your computer to handle all the heavy-duty graphics work you’ll be doing, however, you’ll be glad you have these two chapters by your side. In Chapter 4, things get fun again while…
Digital Art Photography For Dummies®
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP- RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDER- STANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COM- PETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMA- TION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2005924614
ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-9801-2
ISBN-10: 0-7645-9801-5
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1K/QR/RS/QV/IN
About the Author Several years ago, Matthew Bamberg began to photograph for the articles he was writing while working for the alternative paper, the Desert Post Weekly. His writing focuses on popular culture: essays about topics from the Santa Cruz, California surf culture to the mid-century modern architecture revival around the world. Curious by light striking his lens (direct and bold or soft and willowy) and the sounds (especially of the shutter opening and closing), he struck a relationship first with film and then, like so many, with the digital camera’s sensor.
Aside from writing about f-stops, shutter speeds, and the fabulous job the digital camera manufacturers have done that permit photographers to take almost noiseless pictures in the dark at high ISO speeds, Matt has written content and provided photographs for articles on Homestore.com, America Online, and The Weather Channel.
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Dedication I dedicate this book to my parents Harold and Estelle Bamberg, who as pho- tographers themselves collected and stored hundreds of negatives, positives, and prints that I took as a kid and that they took themselves. They also sup- plied me with every trendy camera that came onto the market, which provided me with a foundation to have an additional set of eyes to capture the world.
Author’s Acknowledgments First, cheers to Nicole Sholly and Teresa Artman, who guided the progress of this book and offered dozens of solutions and ideas in its development. To them, a heartfelt thanks. Thanks also to: Robert Stone for his patience teaching me the ins and outs of landscape photography in Paris and Vietnam; Robert Jones of Insightful Solutions for guidance for Internet and Web site photography; Roger Vail for his wonderful nighttime carnival photography (http://we.got.net/~rvail/recent/recent.html); the expertise of sports photographer Drew Brashler; and Rich Glass and infrared photogra- pher, Robert Contreras (www.robertcontreras.com) who helped widen the book’s focus. Also of assistance were the Borgan, Taylor, and Bodon families whose ideas, photos, and patience modeling for dozens of shots made the process not work but fun. I can’t forget the valuable assistance in shooting provided by Dr. Suellen Evavold, Trixie Mauleon, and Kelly Lewis and son, Chase. And keeping me on track, offering aesthetic advice on hundreds of photos as they progressed through Photoshop and moved onto the printed page, was Todd Larson. My experiences with all the staff of City Art (Van Nuys, California) helped to make this book a completed cycle by giving insight to one of the most important stages of the art photography process: framing an image. Selling the image, too, needs to be recognized. To that end, I thank James Claude and Miguel Linares of Palm Springs Consignment, a mid-century modern gallery in Palm Springs, who took me in as a street photographer by selling my mid-century modern signage series, a series that took me to some dicey neighborhoods all over the world to capture a piece of the past. Thanks also to John Bernard and Beverly Walker of the modern furnishing gallery, Room Service, who brought and sold my work to the big city (Los Angeles) and Jay Nailor of M Modern Gallery (Palm Springs) who took my work to the gallery level and who was never more than a phone call away.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Project Editor: Nicole Sholly
Technical Editors: Jonathan M. Wentworth, Wentworth Images; Maureen M. McCarty
Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner
Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Project Coordinator: Adrienne Martinez
Layout and Graphics: Mary J. Gillot, Lauren Goddard, Barbara Moore, Heather Ryan
Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Laura L. Bowman, Leeann Harney
Indexer: Lynnzee Elze
Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher
Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director
Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director
Publishing for Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
01_598015 ffirs.qxd 10/31/05 9:23 PM Page vi
Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................1
to Enhance or Create Art Photos......................................................3 Part IV: The Final Output: Gallery-Worthy Prints...............................3 Part V: The Part of Tens.........................................................................3 On the Web site.......................................................................................3
Chapter 1: Digital Art Photography 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Defining Digital Art Photography ...................................................................7 Mastering Five Steps to Creating a Gallery-ready Art Print......................10
1) Define yourself, your subject matter, and your audience...........11 2) Master your craft and hone your photographic skills ................11 3) The trek from camera to computer ...............................................11 4) Printing images ................................................................................12 5) Framing your masterpiece..............................................................12
Composing an Art Photograph.....................................................................12 Simplicity...............................................................................................13 Balance ..................................................................................................14 Rule of Thirds........................................................................................15 All about light, shadows, and shades ................................................16 Recognizing lines, shapes, and forms................................................18 Subject placement................................................................................21 Deciphering color.................................................................................23 Understanding positive and negative space.....................................24 Foreground, background, and depth of field ....................................26 Perspective............................................................................................28 In-camera cropping and framing ........................................................29
viii Chapter 2: Making the Digital Leap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
The Digital Path..............................................................................................31 Film versus Digital..........................................................................................32 Digital Camera 101 .........................................................................................36
Storage space........................................................................................56 Monitors ................................................................................................59 Calibration.............................................................................................61 Go-getter graphics add-ons.................................................................62 Choosing a platform.............................................................................63
Choosing a Printer and Paper for the Results You Want...........................66 Finding a printer that’s right for your work......................................66 Paper and friends: Selecting the best medium for your prints ......70 Finding the right image size for your print .......................................72
Exploring the Ins and Outs of Scanners ......................................................73 Choosing a scanner..............................................................................73 Configuring your scanner....................................................................74
Chapter 4: Defining Yourself and Your Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Defining Yourself as a Photographer ...........................................................76
Shoot what you like..............................................................................77 Study the masters ................................................................................77 Right-brain, left-brain...........................................................................78 All a matter of perspective..................................................................80 Finding the unusual..............................................................................83
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ix Part II: The Photo Shoot ...............................................95
Chapter 5: Composing a Shot Outdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Shooting with Natural Light..........................................................................97
Proper exposure ...................................................................................98 Using auto settings when shooting outdoors.................................100 Using manual settings for creative control .....................................102 Foreground and background.............................................................102
Augmenting Natural Light ...........................................................................119 Using flash fill......................................................................................120 Shooting bright lights in daytime.....................................................120
Chapter 6: Composing a Shot Indoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Setting Up to Shoot Indoors........................................................................122
ISO speed.............................................................................................122 Manual versus auto settings .............................................................124 White balance .....................................................................................124
Traditional posed portraits...............................................................139 Candid portraits .................................................................................147 Capturing portraits of inanimate objects........................................149
x Chapter 8: Shooting for Color in Art Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Discovering How Light Makes Color..........................................................154 Positioning yourself and your camera.............................................156 Using complementary and contrasting colors ...............................157
Using an f-stop to Enhance Color...............................................................167 Advanced Color Techniques.......................................................................168
Chapter 9: Crafting a Quality Black-and-White Art Photo . . . . . . . . .173 Why Shoot in Black-and-White? .................................................................174
A brief B&W perspective ...................................................................176 Shooting architecture ........................................................................176 Shooting portraits ..............................................................................181 Shooting for journalism .....................................................................183
Capturing Black and White .........................................................................185 Creating a B&W image .......................................................................186 Manipulating a color image to become B&W .................................187 Getting the best quality image..........................................................189 Understanding the 256 shades of gray ............................................190 Defining highlights, midtones, and shadows ..................................193 Printing for best quality.....................................................................197
Chapter 10: Night Art Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199 Taking a Shot in the Dark ............................................................................199
Creating a blur-free, flashless night photo ......................................204 Using fast film and high ISO settings................................................210 Shooting with a flash..........................................................................211
Other Nighttime Art Opportunities ...........................................................212 Light your subject from beneath......................................................212 Shoot the moon ..................................................................................212 Seek nighttime landscapes................................................................215 Use reflections ....................................................................................216 Seek out shadows and weather ........................................................216
Chapter 11: Achieving Creative Results When Shooting . . . . . . . . . .217 Tweaking Automatic Modes and Settings
to Achieve Creative Results ....................................................................218 Playing with Light.........................................................................................222
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xi Come Get ’Yer Effects Here! ........................................................................223
Double exposures...............................................................................223 Panoramic shots.................................................................................224 Reflections...........................................................................................225 Zooming while shooting ....................................................................225 Intentional lack of focus ....................................................................226 Intentional underexposure/overexposure ......................................227 Making flowing water turn to silk .....................................................228 Using filters .........................................................................................230
Part III: Photoshop Art: Using Software to Enhance or Create Art Photos .................................235
Chapter 12: Adding New Life to Old Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237 Using Automatic Adjustments to Refresh Older Prints...........................237 Using Manual Adjustments for Fine-Tuning..............................................240
Dodge ...................................................................................................240 Burn tool..............................................................................................242 Smart Sharpen/Unsharp Mask commands......................................243 Sponge tool .........................................................................................243 Dust & Scratches filter .......................................................................244 Blur tool ...............................................................................................244 Color Balance......................................................................................245 Removing a horrible shadow............................................................246
Chapter 13: Combining and Manipulating Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259 Preserving Detail ..........................................................................................260 Making an Image Whole Again with Photomerge.....................................261 Seamlessly Introducing Backgrounds in Photographs............................266 Creating Art Photos through Symmetry ...................................................268
Chapter 14: Using Layers to Create a Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271 Using Layers in Photoshop.........................................................................271
Feathering............................................................................................272 Creating a simple two-layer project .................................................273
Table of Contents
xii Chapter 15: Using Photoshop for Special Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283
Photoshop Filter Effects..............................................................................284 Gaussian Blur filter.............................................................................285 Unsharp Mask filter............................................................................286 Plastic Wrap filter ...............................................................................288 Glowing Edges filter ...........................................................................288 Watercolor filter..................................................................................288 Sketch filters .......................................................................................289 Emboss filter .......................................................................................291
Part IV: The Final Output: Gallery-Worthy Prints .........299
Chapter 16: Managing and Preparing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301 Transferring an Image from Your Camera to Your Computer ................302
From film/scanning.............................................................................302 From a JPEG file ..................................................................................302 From a Raw file....................................................................................303
Resolving Resolution Issues .......................................................................309 Interpolation .......................................................................................309 Resampling an image .........................................................................310 Changing resolution without resampling ........................................312
Chapter 17: Printing Prep and Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313 Discovering Proofs and Printing the Final Product .................................313 Preparing for Output ...................................................................................316 Making a Contact Sheet ...............................................................................317 Previewing Your Print..................................................................................319
Chapter 18: Framing and Matting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .321 Takin’ It to the Mats .....................................................................................322
Comparing mat options .....................................................................324 Cutting your own mats ......................................................................324 Creating a mat in Photoshop ............................................................325
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xiii Part V: The Part of Tens .............................................341
Chapter 19: Ten Photo Digital Art Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .343 Create with Classic Lines and Colors ........................................................343 Start with a Good Camera ...........................................................................345 Exploit the Right Light for Your Photo ......................................................345 Keep It Small and Spectacular ....................................................................346 Balance Items Onscreen and on Paper......................................................346 Organize Your Photos into Sets by Themes .............................................347 Know the Art Techniques of Thine Masters .............................................347 Create a Story or Message ..........................................................................348 Capture the Unexpected or Unreal ............................................................348 Always Have Your Camera with You..........................................................349
Chapter 20: Ten Digital Art Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .351 Overexpose and Underexpose ...................................................................351 Emulate the Masters ....................................................................................352 Shoot on a Cloudy Day ................................................................................353 Create a Matching Background ..................................................................354 Meld Layers to Create Motion ....................................................................355 Build Your Archive of Backgrounds...........................................................355 Don’t Overdo Effect(s).................................................................................356 Use the EditFade Command ....................................................................357 Keep Your Image in High Res on All Platforms.........................................357
On the Web
Bonus Chapter 1: Telling (And Selling) a Story Using Photo Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .On the Web
Crafting a Photo Set from a Storyboard......................................................B2 Classifying Your Shots...................................................................................B5
xiv Preparing a Set of Prints for Sale ...............................................................B10
Size.......................................................................................................B11 Printing/polishing in an image editing program ............................B11 Text ......................................................................................................B12 Framing/matting.................................................................................B12 Pricing .................................................................................................B12
Bonus Chapter 2: Enhancing Art Photos with Text . . . . . . .On the Web Fonts 101.......................................................................................................B14
Serif and sans serif.............................................................................B16 Font styles...........................................................................................B17 Font size ..............................................................................................B18 Font color............................................................................................B18 Mixing fonts ........................................................................................B19 Using fonts effectively .......................................................................B19
Index........................................................................359
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Introduction
In this book, I cover the art form of digital art photography. I start by giving you an introduction to the world of film-based photography and how it
relates to digital photography. From there, I go on to cover the whole gambit of digital art photography, from shooting great photos to tweaking them in Photoshop to producing final output fit for a gallery wall. If that sounds intrigu- ing, this book is for you whether you’re film-based or digital-only or both.
About This Book Here are some of the things this book will help you do:
Get a fabulous, well-exposed photograph, no matter what your shooting conditions
Tweak, edit, and enhance your images to create something entirely new — or just simply better than what you started with
Produce gallery-worthy art prints
Find out when it’s time to upgrade your computer to handle graphics work
Foolish Assumptions I don’t like to be foolish, but to use this book, I assume that you know the basics of photography, whether digital or film. (I do sprinkle loads of photography tidbits throughout, so no one is stranded.) I also assume that you know how to use a computer and have maybe played around with Photoshop or some photo editor application. Most important of all, I assume that you have a burning desire down deep inside to unleash your creative side by producing — and even selling — truly artistic, awe-inspiring photographic prints.
Conventions Used in This Book By conventions, I simply mean a set of rules that I employ in this book to pre- sent information to you consistently. When you see a term italicized, look for its definition, which I include so you know what that term means in the context of digital art photography. Sometimes, I give you information to enter onscreen; in those cases, I format what you need to type bold. Web site addresses and e-mail addresses appear in monofont so that they stand out from regular text.
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2 Digital Art Photography For Dummies
What You Don’t Have to Read Because I structure this book modularly — that is, so you can easily find only the specific information you need — you don’t have to read whatever doesn’t pertain to your task at hand. You also don’t have to read the Technical Stuff icons, which parse out uber-techy tidbits (which you might or might not be interested in).
How This Book Is Organized Digital Art Photography For Dummies is split into five parts. You don’t have to read parts sequentially; you don’t have to read each chapter in each part; and you don’t even have to read all the sections in any particular chapter. (But I think that you’ll want to look at every picture. . . .) You can use the Table of Contents and the index to find the information you need and quickly get your answers. In this section, I briefly describe what you’ll find in each part.
Part I: The Art of a Digital Picture This part serves as an introduction to the world of art photography and how it relates to digital photography. In Chapter 1, I detail the five essential steps to creating a digitized masterpiece and provide a few essentials of composition. Chapters 2 and 3 cover the digital side of digital art photography; I have to admit, this information can get a little dry and techy. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you.) When it comes time to purchase a new digital camera or to upgrade your computer to handle all the heavy-duty graphics work you’ll be doing, however, you’ll be glad you have these two chapters by your side. In Chapter 4, things get fun again while…
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