Georgia Focus • Issue 1 2010 • 4

The Georgia Focus is the official magazine of the Georgia Professional Photographer’s As-sociation and is a free subscription. Published six times annually, on the first of every odd month, it is distributed by email blast to more than 5300 photographers in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida. To be placed on our mailing list or for additional details about advertising in this publication, please contact Kash Johnson at kash@clas-sicalphoto.com. Ideas or requests for future articles are also welcomed.

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Inside this issue9 Quick Fix Adjustment!

12 Making Ligh in a Bad Situation

Cover Photo: “Hibernation”by: Jason Smith

Georgia Focus • Issue 1 2010 • 7

Georgia Focus • Issue 1 2010 • 9

Quick fix adjustment!

©2010 Al AudlemanM.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, FDPE, FSA, GFD, BFD

Photoshop’s® “History” feature is extremely powerful. I remember when we had only one “undo” and NO history … and when I had to walk to school barefoot in the snow, uphill both way, and … well I digress. Let’s get back to today, OK? As you know, or should know, “History” in Photoshop is a feature that “stores” everything you have done for a set amount of steps, or “states” as they are called. How many? The default is 20 states but you can up the ante in the Performance panel in your preferences. Remember, however, “history states” are stored in RAM and the more history states you ask Photoshop to remember, the more memory is taken up, slowing down the performance. How many is the optimum number? I don’t have a clue! It depends on several things … what you are doing (creative, experimental images may required more); how “non-decisive” you might be; and, how much RAM you actually have. My personal determining factor is the ability to work “real time” and if Photoshop starts to slow down, maybe I have too many … just one place to make a change to keep things flowing. And there is no “rule” that says you can’t continually vary the amount as your workflow dictates.

So a quick primer: History allows you to “step backward” in your History Palette, seeing what you have done to determine if you like it or not. A single step backward is the wonderful “Undo” feature (Command+Z on the Mac, Control+Z on the PC). But by adding the Option key on the Mac or the Alt key on the PC to that keyboard shortcut, you can step back in history as many times as you have History states. The History Palette also has a feature called a “Snapshot” that allows you to take a “picture” of the image in it’s current “state.” (See Figure #1) This is a very important feature because when you open an image, Photoshop automatically creates a snapshot … shown at the top of the History Palette. And it is “checked” showing that the original snapshot is the Source for the

history brush. That means that whatever you “paint’ using the history brush will come from the original image … unless you change it! Any of the states may be used as the source. However, once you change the image, and by that I mean like crop it or change the image size, the original “snapshot” is no longer valid and you will get a message that says something like: “Could not use the history brush because the current canvas size does not match that of the history state.” So now what? Create a new snapshot! You can do this by clicking on the upper right-hand corner of the History Palette or simply clicking on the little “camera” icon at the bottom of the History Palette. (See Figure #2) The difference is being able to name it … or not! After you create the snapshot, you need to check the box on the left to set that snapshot as the source for the brush. (See Figure #3)

And one more thing! As powerful as the History is, it GOES AWAY when you close an image and starts all over (at the current state) when you reopen it. That is why “save and save often” is so important when you are working on an image. So now that you’re up-to-date on History, let’s look at a quick adjustment feature … the History Brush! Huh? You ask, “How can the History Brush be an adjustment feature?” Good question. The same one I had when Helen Yancy showed this to me during her Painter Class! Imagine, learning a wonderful new PHOTOSHOP technique in a PAINTER class … who’da thunk! But thanks, Helen! (She’s my hero!)

Using the History Brush to solve problems

As most of you know but never think about (or even use ofen), all painting tools (Paint Brush, Clone, etc.) have various modes … and so does the History Brush. (See Figure #4) While there are a ton of them to select from, most are useless for what we do. But there are three (or four) that do kinda kewl things. In the second section, headed by Darken, all these modes will darken an image. (Wow, something logical in Photoshop!) The third section, headed by Lighten will … well, guess

what THEY do! They LIGHTEN an image. And in the next section, headed by Overlay, all modes have something to do with 50% gray … and in Overlay or Soft Light, 50% gray will disappear and become transparent … a feature for another tutorial! So can you guess where we might be going with this? That’s right … we are going to use the History Brush in a mode to darken or lighten an image … and we will use the Screen and Multiply modes to do just that! So you may ask, why not use the Darken or Lighten mode? Another good question … and the answer is, it doesn’t work! Well, OK it DOES work if you have already used the Multiply or Screen mode to darken or lighten … but let’s not worry about that because you really don’t need to know that. I would have taken that part out except I had already finished the tutorial and didn’t want to go back! So, let’s look at Figure #5 (photo that needs some local adjustments). You can see that the background is basically fine, but the subject, a very tall photographer, is in the shadow. I should have used a fill flash but did not have time to get it out. So I took what I got! When I got back to my computer, I simply got the History Brush (Keyboard Shortcut “Y”), set the mode to Screen (to lighten) and started painting. But the caveat here is to use a relatively low Opacity setting … and I suggest no more than 50%. Now I know that is opposite to my normal “git ‘r done” 100% method … plus a low opacity brush has a cumulative effect when you paint, making it difficult to completely control the application of paint. And the same is true with the History Brush … but in this case it allows you to slowly build up the required adjustment, which is now actually a great control factor! Remember, when you apply any brush at any percentage other than 100%, the effects are NOT cumulative during any one application. Huh? When you “paint,” as long as you are holding the mouse button down (and I hope you’re

using a Wacom tablet ... meaning keeping the pen in contact with the surface), the effect will not accumulate. In other words, it does not paint over itself and add “paint.” Once you let go of the mouse button or raise your pen and start over, the effects are cumulative. Does that make sense to you? Try it for yourself using the Brush Tool on a white canvas, painting with black at 40-50%. Then you will understand how the color (or effect) builds up. However, in the case of the History Brush in either Multiply or Screen mode, this cumulative effect makes it work in your benefit. So look at Figure #6. This is the effect of only one pass with the History Brush in Screen mode to lighten the subject’s face and clothing. Figure #7 is the completed image, which also includes some local lightening of the storefronts in the background and the flowers on the wall. While this method is not the best for major, overall (global) or serious local corrections, it is a simple way to fix small problems quickly and efficiently.

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Georgia Focus • Issue 1 2010 • 12

Let me begin this discussion with a short story. Years ago (in the film days) I told someone I was a professional photographer. He replied, “Why do you insist on putting the word “professional” in front of “photographer?” You don’t hear a doctor or a lawyer saying they are a “professional doctor or a professional lawyer!” I responded that we have to do that to distinguish ourselves from the many amateurs who may be photographers, but don’t or can’t make a living from it.

Making Light IN a Bad SituationOutdoor Light Control - by Fuzzy Duenkel

light and you’re set. Image 1 shows an example of that. We want light to illuminate the front of the face without hard or deep shadows. As you can see, she’s lit by the light that’s mostly behind me, but also the light that separates her hair from the background. This is because we have a brief time at sunset where the backlight is about equal to the front light. As I mentioned, this kind of light only happens for a short time. For the rest of the session we need to rely on our minds, not nature, to make the right light. Image 2 was done during a sunny day. Because the Sun is so far away, it’s a “hard” light source, which causes sharp shadows, deep shadows, and high specularity (makes faces look sweaty). So while there are ways to work with it, generally we try to avoid it for portraits. In this image with her boyfriend, I placed the two if them behind a column at a bank, instructing them to be positioned so that they’d be lit by the sky, but not the sun. This is a simple form of

Fast forward to today, when unfortunately the difference between an amateur and a professional is sometimes only a matter of price. This article will focus on a few basic lighting techniques that help to distinguish a professional from someone who merely points a camera at someone. A photographer who specializes in on-location portraiture must be capable of creating quality images, regardless of the existing lighting challenges. That means knowing how to light the subject using a variety of tools at our disposal. While we can prefer to always work when the light and weather is more manageable so that we aren’t fighting the elements, we must also be able to handle difficult lighting problems when they occur. And when you work at seniors’ homes as I do, there are ALWAYS problems to solve. In order to make a variety of images for a senior’s album, we can’t just look for a location where the light is perfect. We need to be more concerned with the scene first, then make the light work. Nor can we just wait for that 15 minutes of “sweet light” after the sun has set.

Image 1

Image 2

Georgia Focus • Issue 1 2010 • 13

“subtractive” lighting... put the subjects in shade. Simply back them up until the sunlight isn’t striking them.Another subtractive device is a tree, as shown in Image 3. Its overhanging branches block the light that comes from above… which can be very unflattering. That’s a powerful tool that outdoor photographers must know. I probably subtract light about as often as I add light. In this case, there was sufficient remaining light that no additional devices were needed. Note: It would be wise to shoot gray cards in shade for color consistency. Obviously we can’t always rely on an existing structure to block the nasty overhead light, so I bring one. The Westcott L-Gobo is an excellent

tool to perform that function… It’s light, maneuverable and easy to set up. That’s what I used in Image 4. Without it, we’d have strong light on her nose, cheeks, and chin from above. The placement of that top gobo or “shader” needs to be as high as it is long. And the back fluish with the back of the subject’s

head. That forces the light to come from no higher than 45 degrees. Typically, however, when I subtract, I also add. For Image 5 I add reflected light with my “Fuzzyflector”. The reason I do this is because when subtracting the bad light from above, it reduces the amount of light on the upper body. The camera sees that reduced light and increases the time of the shutter speed… lightening the background. I don’t always want that. In addition, when subtracting the top light, the remaining light on the face can be a bit “flat”, meaning low contrast and dull color. Adding a reflector restores a bit of density, dimension, and color. I do this more than any other lighting technique. While we’re discussing adding light with a reflector, often that alone can do the job., as shown in Image 6. Her hat was already blocking the top light, so all I needed was a reflector to punch light back to her face. That Fuzzyflector is placed about ten feet away from her on the ground. Because that reflector is designed to work easiet on the ground, it needs to be fairly far away to avoid “ghoul” or “monster” lighting. The next step in our quest for light control is how to handle sunlight. There are a number of methods to avoid it, such as have the subject

A photographer who specializes in on-location

portraiture must be capable of creating

quality images, regardless of the existing lighting

challenges.

“

”

Image 1

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6

Georgia Focus • Issue 1 2010 • 14

wear sunglasses, or turn his/her back to it. In Image 7, I used an unusual technique of simulating a split light effect by positioning her half way in the sun. That was a pretty unconventional answer, however. A better way to handle it is to soften it. Soft light is produced by a large light source close to the subject. The sun is big… but it’s also far away! Consequently, it produces hard light. We need to change its apparent size relative to the subject, and ideally without affecting too much of it’s intensity. The way to do that is to place a scrim, which is a white material panel, in the path between the sun and the subject. I use a Larson 48x72 translucent scrim, as shown in Image 8. If we had not dropped the scrim to our left, she would have had bright highlights, and dark, sharp shadows. But the scrim softened the sunlight. I also added a reflector to our right to fill in the shadow side since there were trees there that sucked light away from her. But that’s not always necessary.

That pretty much covers the basics of outdoor light control using the light that’s already there. But there are times when you want to add auxiliary light from an artificial source. Image 9 shows what we can do with a portable, tungsten spot light. I’ve been using these since the mid-1990s, and they’ve progressed from a relatively weak 500,000 candle-power to over several million candle-power units. At this time, spotlights are

still tungsten bulbs. I anticipate that in a few years there will be very affordable LED spotlights at

hardware stores. In the meantime, note that the color of the tungsten light

is warm. Adjusting for that warmth in raw conversion means the rest of the image will be rendered cool. If you don’t want that, you’ll need to add a blue gel, such as a Rosco 3202 Full Blue to filter out much of that warmth. Why did I use the spotlight here? Well, I would like to say it was for creative, artistic reasons, such as to get the wet pavement to look blue. But in reality, it was raining at the time and I didn’t want to get my softbox (used in Image 11) wet! Speaking of strobe, in Image 10, I used a small flash with a small dome on it. A dome is typically used at weddings to create a bare-bulb effect with nearby walls and ceilings to reflect off of. I KNOW that a dome isn’t going to produce soft light by itself. But I used it here to allow me to position the light without concern for where it’s aimed. Had I not used it, I would have had to make sure the head was pointed correctly at the subject. The disperser dome makes it “idiot proof”. By the way, my “dome” is a Duncan Hines frosting can! For Image 11, I used a Larson 22 inch softbox just to my left. The existing light was fairly flat, so all I had to do was place the ETTL flash where I would want light to come from, and shoot. I left both the camera and the flash at zero compensation. I’ve found that it’s safe to start at zero, then change the camera or flash settings when necessary. In this case I wanted to overpower the existing light just a little. Zero compensation does that.

Image 7

Image 8

Image 9

Georgia Focus • Issue 1 2010 • 15

It’s important to know that you can’t expect a flash to fix strong, bad lighting, such as high contrast or high angle light! Make the light flat first, either by using the L-Gobo or position them where the light is already flat, then add the flash. Finally, I mentioned “ghoul” lighting earlier. That’s typically a very low light, like the kind used in 1950s monster movies. We can use a modified version of that for dramatic impact. That’s what I did in Image 12. The softbox is lying on the ground aiming up at her. I also placed a radio slaved flash behind her to accentuate the wall texture. And the last step for that was to use Nik’s Tonal Contrast to accent that texture. That’s it for some outdoor basics. In my Go Home monthly DVD series, I go into MUCH more detail than this, along with accompanying lighting diagrams. But I hope this overview triggers some ideas to help you create images with impact. One last thing… as professionals, I feel it’s our task to approach each image as if it were a commercial assignment. Envision the final result, then execute

whatever steps are necessary to achieve that final result. We cannot expect any client to pay us professional fees and prices unless we do whatever it takes to give them a much better quality image than someone who has a nice camera and a park across the street.. Before you press the shutter release, ask must yourself if everything in that viewfinder is supposed to be there. WE are responsible for every thing in that image. It can all be boiled down to this… if it looks good, shoot it! If it doesn’t... fix it! And in about 99% of the images I photograph, it means fixing something! That means no slop, no trendy special effects to mask bad image-making, and no giving it to them cheap (especially on a disk). We are professionals. Let’s all act, produce, and charge accordingly!

Image 10

Image 11

Image 12

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