Photo Idea Index

by Jim Krause

  Photographs are constantly finding their way into advertisements, articles, brochures and promotional material of all kinds. Many graphic designers pull their images from online sources (often referred to as “stock image” sites). Consider looking into the processes by which stock-image companies go about reviewing and accepting submissions from photographers. In particular, aim for sites that carry images that are in sync with the types of photos you shoot.

  Need something to say when there's nothing to say? According to the 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins, the word you're looking for is “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” An extremely condensed typeface was used to squeeze all thirty-four letters of this mega-word into this spread (they're all there — though about half the letters are hidden between model's ears).

  The creative possibilities are infinite when typography meets photography. You are probably well aware of the endless range of conveyances and messages that can be achieved using the camera. Are you also aware of the scope of expression available through fonts? If you enjoy combining words and images, consider expanding your collection of typefaces to include a serviceable assortment of styles. There are numerous online font resources.

  Not to put down the images on store-bought cards, but don't you think your friends and family would really rather see your photos on cards from you? If you have a good quality ink-jet printer, you can easily print cards in advance of upcoming events — or spontaneously, if an event takes you by surprise.

  Feeling entrepreneurial? What about creating sample greeting and holiday cards and seeing if local shop owners are interested in offering them for sale? If you do get orders for your custom-made cards, be sure to print your website on them — it just might lead to some freelance photo assignments.

  The opening lines from the children's book I Can Fly, (published in 1951 by Ruth Krauss and Mary Blair) caption this image. The typographic message has been positioned within the scene as though it were a quiet but firm thought rising from the subject's head.

  Any Scrabble junkies or crossword aficionados in the house? Here's a project idea for you: Create a set of photo-and-text images that highlight some of your favorite little-known and seldom-used words. How about creating a handmade coffee table book or a set of flash cards based on this idea? The words' definitions could be printed below (or on the backsides of) the images for the benefit of viewers who are attracted to the photos and the idea of expanding their vocabulary.

  How about haiku? The first line of a typical English-language haiku contains five syllables, the second contains seven, and the third contains five. What about captioning some of your photos using this age-old form of poetry? Explore different ways of linking your text and image. Should your haiku verses be printed below or alongside your photo? How about integrating them into the image itself (as seen in these samples)?

  Do you write poetry or know someone who does? What about looking through your cache of photos and tagging images that might pair well with a poem or a few lines of prose? To improve the readability of the text in this image, the photo was darkened in the area beneath the text using a masked CURVES adjustment layer. You may need to similarly restrain the contrast in a portion of your image if you want to add text over the top of it.

  17

  Multiple Personalities

  The main goal of this book is to spark picture-taking ideas in the mind of the reader. And, in order to convey this goal in its clearest, most uncluttered form, the majority the images in Photo Idea Index: People feature just one person.

  This chapter is the only one in which all three models appear together. The purpose of this section is twofold: to help generate ideas for multi-person photoshoots, and, just as important, to serve as a reminder that the conceptual and technical ideas that have been applied to this book's single-person photos are just as relevant to images that contain two or more people.

  Not only did this colorful climbing structure at an elementary school give my subjects a chance to climb around and have some fun while I shot photos, it also offered me the chance to record their portraits from a vantage point that included the interesting visual texture of the clouds overhead. How about taking family members or a group of friends to a play area where they can situate themselves in out-of-the-ordinary ways on non-everyday props?

  To highlight the bright hues of the climbing structure in the foreground, colors elsewhere in this scene were muted using Photoshop's HUE/SATURATION controls. Green and blue hues were de-intensified by selecting “green” and “cyan” from the HUE/SATURATION treatment's pull-down menu and lowering these colors' saturation levels. “Yellow,” “magenta” and “red” were given a boost using the same pull-down menu and saturation controls.

  An intriguing environment goes a long way when it comes to creating an eye-catching image. This photo was recorded in the vacant basement level of a downtown office building. Know of any vacant homes or abandoned buildings? Know anyone who can grant you access to these spaces?

  I decided to use this empty office space for two kinds of group photos: a minimalist composition (opposite page) and a shot that filled the space to the max (near page). The second shot was created by setting the camera on a tripod and recording a number of photos of the three models. The various shots were compiled using the layering and masking capabilities of Photoshop. (The multi-exposure images were also created in this way.)

  In the past, scissors, paper, glue and tape were required to build collages from stockpiled images of friends and family. These days, software can be employed to compile assemblages, and desktop ink-jet printers can be used produce the ready-to-frame results. Compilations of photos can be created using Photoshop, as well as numerous other illustration and page-makeup programs.

  When the circular images for this collage were first selected, some were black and white, some were in color and some were tinted. If you are concerned about the clash of styles in a collage you're building, consider applying a style-merging tint to each of the photographs (a single tint could be used, as seen here, or a set of harmoniously related hues could be applied). A heavy dose of Photoshop's PHOTO FILTER effect (set to “underwater”) was used to color these images.

  If you live around deciduous trees, then you know all about the photo opportunities of autumn. Here, a brightly hued maple provides colorful backdrop for a human pyramid (situated atop a carpet of recently fallen leaves). The image's colors have been intensified using HUE/SATURATION controls.

  Photoshop's BLACK AND WHITE treatment bases its grayscale conversion options on the colors it finds within an image. Therefore, as contradictory as it may seem, the most interesting and attractive monochromatic conversions often come from originals that contain the greatest range and intensity of colors; more hues equals a greater variety of conversion choices. Clockwise from top left, the following selections were made from the BLACK AND WHITE treatment's pull-down menu: “none,” “green,” “blue” and “red.”

  The inside of a car can make a fine setting for a group shot — especially if the interior is as visually appealing as that found in a 1964 Volkswagon Beetle. Since the VW's interior was relatively cramped, and because I wanted to shoot the images from close range, a 12–24mm wide-angle lens was used to make sure the camera's field of vision included all three subjects. (Each of these photos was taken from just outside the car's opened or closed windows.)

  How about pushing the values in your image to greater-than-normal highs and lows? A CURVES adjustment layer was employed to give the upper photo on this page a high-contrast appearance after its colors were muted and tinted with BLACK AND WHITE controls. The contrast in the lower image was boosted through a CURVES adjustment layer. A HUE/SATURATION adjustment layer was used to intensify this photo's colors.

  The images on this spread were shot using a 50mm lens — a type of lens well known for its excellent aperture control. The first two photos were taken with the lens' aperture set at f2. This large aperture opening was able to confine the lens' focu
s to both near to and far from the camera. The third and fourth images in the set were taken with the aperture set at f11 — a narrow opening that allowed the lens to record all aspects of the scenes in sharp focus. (Another depth-of-field demonstration appears.)

  In addition to being able to record images with both shallow and deep depths of field, most 50mm lenses are also able to record images in low light. The near photo on this spread — with all three models tucked under an umbrella — was taken with surprisingly little illumination. Even with its aperture closed to f8, the 50mm used for this photo was able to take in enough light for a clear shot of the scene.

  In spite of the many miles — and months — that separate them, the two models on this spread interact via a shared prop: a tincan telephone. The general concept behind this pair of images could be taken in many different directions. For instance, what about taking a series of photos of different people and creating a conceptual link between the images using an in-common prop such as a toy, stuffed animal, book, handheld sign, hat or piece of clothing?

  When taking a picture of a subject set against an extremely bright backdrop, you often must choose between properly exposing the subject (and overexposing the sky) and properly exposing the sky (and sacrificing clarity in the subject's form). Photoshop's SHADOWS/HIGHLIGHTS controls can often be called upon to rescue unevenly exposed images, but not always; sometimes you just have to go with the flow and let the blown-out areas of a photo bask in the expressive glory of its overexposed brilliance.

  How about setting up a faux photo booth (a.k.a. “fauxto booth”) in your living room and using it to take pictures of friends the next time you have a gathering at your place? The setup is simple: place a camera on a tripod; aim it toward some curtains or a similarly non-intrusive backdrop; put a bench or some chairs between the curtain and camera; set the camera in timer mode (this will allow a participant time to get back into the frame once the shutter button has been pressed); and encourage your guests to help themselves.

  After the festivities are over, and the contents of your data cards have been downloaded and sorted, consider altering the look of your images in ways that mimic the photos taken by older-generation photo booths. The contrast in these images was heightened with CURVES controls, and a red tint was added via a PHOTO FILTER treatment adjustment layer.

  18

  Anonymity

  What about using the effects of distance, the presence of obstructions, the absence of light or an intentionally unfocused camera to record images of unrecognizable people? And how about starting a folder on your hard drive that contains nothing but photos of this kind?

  What purposes could be served by a collection of identity-free photos? For one thing, a theme of anonymity could make for an intriguing link between a series of images — a series with plenty of potential in terms of a coffee shop or gallery showing. Photos of non-recognizable subjects could also be offered to graphic designers and advertising artists (perhaps through a stock image outlet) since images of this kind may not invoke the complications and costs associated with model release forms.

  Shot from the top of the Mangia Tower in Siena's historic Piazza del Campo, this scene is filled with people whose identities are obscured by the effects of distance. The image was recorded using a fully zoomed 70–200mm telephoto lens. The shallow depth of field apparent in the photo — and the miniaturized look generated by this narrow range of focus — were introduced digitally in Photoshop (explained, opposite).

  In general, the eye is accustomed to observing a shallow depth of field in the context of scenes that are relatively near and small. Therefore, when a large-scale view is presented with a shallow depth of field, the eye can be fooled into thinking it's looking at something tiny. This effect can be achieved in Photoshop by creating a duplicate layer of the base image, blurring the new layer, and using a mask to cancel the effects of the blurred layer within a soft-edged horizontal band.

  If I'm out taking pictures and come across a view I like, I often stand and wait until just the right sort of person — or group of people — enters the scene before snapping a photo. Each of the images on this spread was shot in this way, and each was intentionally recorded so as to hide the identities of the people in the scenes (thus making the photos viable for publication without having to worry about getting permission from the people who appear in them).

  When waiting for people to enter a scene in a way that complements the image you hope to record, spend your downtime fine tuning your camera's settings. Snap test shots and, if needed, make adjustments to the camera's exposure, focus, aperture and ISO settings. That way, you'll be able to capture the best possible image when the perfect moment arrives.

  I stood — camera at the ready — and watched a stream of cars, pedestrians and cyclists pass through this sunlit gap between the pillars of a Florentine underpass for many minutes before I finally saw something that really appealed to me: an elderly local pedaling a classic two-wheeler atop the cobblestone street. Later, when I was reviewing the shot, I also noticed the shadowy figure appearing at the extreme left of the image — an addition that seemed to add a hint of intrigue to the scene.

  If your subject matter is of a relatively timeless nature — as in the case of a white-haired gentleman pedaling through a historic district of an ages-old city — consider converting the image to a sepia-toned monochrome and boosting its contrast in a manner reminiscent of classic black-and-white photography.

  Three ways of obscuring your subject's identity are demonstrated on this spread: Shoot under low-light conditions using an exposure setting that guarantees a blurred image; take the picture using a Lensbaby (a type of lens mounted on a flexible stalk that allows you to blur certain portions of the scene); or record your photo when the subject's face is hidden behind something like a helmet, costume or cloak.

  The colors and contrast in the near photo were altered by adding a BLACK AND WHITE adjustment layer (set to “high contrast red”) and selecting “screen” from the adjustment layer's pull-down menu. CURVES controls were used to fine tune the photo's contrast. Try out this sequence of treatments if you are looking for a way of desaturating a photo's colors while boosting its contrast. Experiment with different settings within the BLACK AND WHITE controls, as well as from within that adjustment layer's pull-down menu and its opacity slider.

  I usually arrive at a photoshoot prepared with at least a vague idea of the kinds of photos I want to take. Along with this “Plan A,” I also like to keep my eyes and mind open to alternatives and, time permitting, snap some of these “Plan B” shots as well. One category of alternative images I like to record are those that obscure the model's identity. The hidden-identity photos on this spread were taken during photoshoots involving the recognizable woman you've been seeing in this book's previous chapters.

  The next time you're out taking pictures of a friend or client, how about taking a few shots where the subject's identity is suppressed? For instance, what about draping a sheet of ornate fabric over the subject's head and taking a photo? Or what about cropping an image so tightly that only a portion of the subject's face shows? And what if you asked your subject to pose in a way that hid her identity? How about taking a blurred action shot of your subject? Could shadows be used to obscure her identity?

  As mentioned in both of this book's companion volumes (Photo Idea Index: Places and Photo Idea Index: Things), I enjoy taking pictures of the coffee I'm about to drink and the food I'm about to eat. When shooting pictures of either, I sometimes try to include anonymous people in the scenes. Why? Because I like to present my beverage and food photos as sets of images, and the inclusion of people in at least some of the photos invites a feeling of shared experience on the part of viewers.

  Tourists, as photographed by a tourist: At left, a conscientiously chosen camera angle obscures the identity of a photographer taking pictures of the same skyline I was interested in a moment before. In the near photo, sightseers ring the observation deck
of Florence's Duomo. This photo was taken from the same vantage point as the picture. This image was recorded with a 70–200mm telephoto lens.

  This spread features Americans enjoying a couple of favorite American amusements: a demolition derby and a county fair. The sunlit areas beyond the grandstands in the near image made it difficult to find a camera setting that would properly expose both the bright distance and the dark foreground. I ended up choosing a setting that adequately recorded the brighter portions of the scene, and relied on Photoshop's HIGHLIGHT/SHADOW controls to rescue detail in the photo's darker regions.

  Believe or not, the two photos on this spread were taken from the same spot (the only difference was that I was sitting when I recorded the far image and standing when I snapped the near photo). This pair of images provides a nice illustration of the benefits of bringing multiple lenses to large-scale events such as these. A 12–24mm wide-angle lens was used to record the sprawling panorama on the far page; the compressed view of distant amusement rides in the near scene was recorded with a 70–200mm telephoto lens.

  Providing scale: The silhouetted figure glimpsed in this page's top photo gives the viewer an idea of the large size of the cobblestones at a main entrance outside Rome's Coliseum (where the stones are worn to buttery smoothness by centuries of hoof, boot, shoe, foot and wheel traffic). The legs extending from the top of the lower photo's frame give a clue as to the typically much smaller size of cobblestones used on less heralded, and more recently cobbled, Roman streets.