Transcripts
1. Workshop Introduction: Hey, I'm kin. I've been working as a photographer for about 15 years now, and I feel the wish to share some of the lessons that I learned on my photographic journey with you in this workshop. For that, I want to start from the ground off, and that is when it comes to the technical side. But it's also about bringing yourself to a starting point of why my photographing, What am I doing here? So this workshop can be good for beginner who hasn't had a lot of experience with the camera, Um, but also for people who have photographed a lot already and maybe confused or lost about. And where is the next set? What I want to really do with with my camera, because that is what it is about a lot about bringing awareness to what is important to oneself as a photographer, because only when you bring yourself and you bring what you really care about into your photography, it's somehow gonna stand out to something that co is your handwriting. We want to slow down and bring awareness to this process of how we photograph why we photograph family, and what do we need for this. So for that, we're gonna look at different camera types and different lenses and see what tools can support us in how we want to photograph in what it is that we want to bring out there into the world. Some of these cameras are going to be film cameras because I love shooting film, and most of my free work is shot on firm. So maybe I can inspire your Soto pick up in old Cameron, put some for minute and get started without. We're gonna look at light situations and look at how they can support you in taken better photos. It is a lot about again. Bring awareness to base and not just saying on fix it afterwards on the computer, but to look. Where am I? What lights is going on here? Where is it coming from? Where does it reflect off? How can you use it? Yeah, it's it again. It's a lot about awareness. We will look a composition on an image selection and presentation off photography, but I don't want you to just follow rules. I want to inspire you to play and to try in tow, find a way of expressing and showcase in a way that you respected that you love and then maybe others will love it is where it doesn't happen overnight. You were not become a better photographer. Also, not after just watching this workshop. What you need to do is go out there and photograph, take your camera and try and fail and do it over and over again. What I can do for you is explain you some things, give you some inspiration and give you exercises for you to go out and work on certain things. I'm offering you to send me photos of your exercises after you finish the workshop and I'm going to give you a personal feedback on them. So I'd like to invite you to go to my website and see my work and for you to feel if you think this guy sitting here has got something that might be valuable for you. And if you feel so then I'd be happy to have you on my works up and yeah, there's gonna be more. It's gonna be fun, and it's gonna be inspirational. And I hope to have you in there. You there
2. Introducing myself: So after talking in the introduction, oftentimes about the journey of a photographer, I wanted to share a little bit very briefly about my journey as a photographer and what phases I went through and a little bit about what I learned in these different phases. And what's how different cameras helped me in that. So as a child, I often picked up the camera off my appearance in SLR from the eighties and played with it a little bit here and there. And when I was about 15 I got one of these first digital cameras when it when they had three megapixels and they were like this chunky big, but they were just good enough to print like a 13 by 18 centimeter point. But what was amazing me was that you could see the image immediately. And while I was playing in a in a musical, I was I was photographing a lot. I mean, with this very, very simple tool. Can an excess 400 like everything above I s or 400 was super noisy and but anyways, that's that's all all that it took and happen, I think when I was 16 17 I bought myself a digital SLR with a 24 70 and a 72 100 lens with F stop 2.8 all the way through. So basically these come this camera said to me, You can do with me whatever you want. This this is all unique. Everything is in your hands. Um, and later I realized that that was too much. But at that point, I I didn't know that it, um and I started to photograph in in kindergartens. I worked in a kindergarten, so I started to photograph there and then made a little bit of a business model out of this . We're going to kindergartens and photographing the Children while they were playing, um, and selling these photos, too, to the parents. Um, And after an Australia trip, I came back and I started an internship with the guy named last who was my first teacher and mentor, kind of in photography. I'm But first of all, he was a business person. It was mostly about doing the job, doing the next job, delivering it. Next job delivering next job. Hey, wasn't first of all, the photographer he was first of all, a businessman and I'm very thankful, cause because, uh, through that, I I learned how to survive with photography and actually sell my work toe customers. And also, he pushed me to do things that I wouldn't have done if he wouldn't have been there, for example, working on a big bankers event with, like, 1000 people in suit and tie. And I was supposed to go up to these people and interrupt their group conversations and break up the group and take a group photo of them. Um, Andi, that took me quite a lot because I was a really, really shy person. And e I had to go there and say, I want your group for And I need you to stand in this group now and doing this in a fast and enthusiastic way toe to make them actually do that. Things like these were were taking me out of my out of my shy box with the help off the camera. Um, and I got to see a lot of different sides of off society everything from bankers and millionaires toe climbing on roofs and photographing people putting windows in roofs. Um, yeah, I got to see a lot like a wide range off photography work. I'm and at that time in a lot of these jobs, I was hiding between me and the object, the subject I was photographing with E 7200 Tele Lens, which allowed me toe stand somewhere far away and photographing something that's happening in the distance without having to approach the situation. So but the time came that that I wanted I wanted something more than just being someone who delivers the work for someone. Um, but to do something that I that I care about more. And, uh and yeah, as I said in the introduction, sharpened a bit more like What? What do I care about? What am I interested in? And I looked in different places, and while finding out what interests me as a person, I was going to different places with my camera. So the camera was was, was an access was a key to open a door to a place to a group of people that usually I wouldn't have gotten into, um just an example I liked. I always like the Roxy advertising surfing people in beautiful sceneries, and I hitchhiked to South West of France, where I knew someone who was running surf camps. And I spent two weeks in that surf camp and photographed surface. Um, yeah, and I got some nice images. But, for example, there, we got to see, um I'm not so connected to the surfing world and to these people, and I can only get to a certain point with this, Um, because my personal interest doesn't go as deep into surfing that I could really, really go deep into this and and spend spend a lot of time there. Um, yeah, just an example. And when I was around about 25 maybe I started going back to film. Uh, yeah, I got myself a camera similar to the ones my my parents had SLR but canon SLR from the eighties. They cost about 101 150 euros with a proper 50 millimeter lens. And that's really all you need to start with. And I took that and took black and white film and started toe photograph without lens in that camera on black and white film. Um, for pretty much two years while while I was living in Berlin and, uh, it was really helpful. I'm going to get to this in another chapter is where. But it was really helpful to limit myself on this one tool with one lens that asks me how how close can I get how close toe I want to get to my subject? When do we really miss another lens? And when is it just me having to move backwards or forwards? I'm really, really helpful as well as developing my films myself, which, which is kind of simple. The developing part is you don't really need a lot for that. I mean, and it really helps you to, um, two more consciously look at what you're doing again. More of this later in in another film chapter. Yeah, the slowing down process helped me a lot in black and white as we're looking at at light and dark areas and contrasts and leaving the color aspect out completely helped a lot. And after about two or 2.5 years of this, I went to to another camera, and with that another lens, um, a range finder, which is a camera where you don't actually look through the lens, but through a little window on the side on it has a different focus mechanism, and just the other camera makes you work differently. But most importantly was another lengths. 35 millimeter, which is more white anger. And for 2 2.5 years, I was pretty much only using this combination. Um, yeah, and that again was a very, very important, very important process. And realizing the way I perceived the work through the camera is different. The way I approach a situation with a wider lens is different. Yeah, and one about that time I started to go to a foot off photography school in Berlin. Ost court, Schuler for photography, Um, which is a very small, a very intimate environment to to learn photography in. And, uh, I did that because I wanted to to deep in that aspect of of working, uh, on something that comes from my heart and not for customer and try to see the world differently. Then I would see it when I work for someone, and I realized these years of working for someone else and and working for customers mostly , um, they made me look at situations in a certain way, wanting to please the customer and and this is what most of the time, the opposite of something that comes from here is to please someone else in the idea case, you can combine these two, but that's I find a long and difficult process, which I'm working on. Um, yeah, and that school again helped me a lot in a lot of what's going to be coming in. This workshop is inspired by this time in in this school and yeah, it had me a lot to slow down and to bring awareness to to certain aspects and and focus on them. And it was really good toe, be there with other people and see their photos and put my own photos on the wall and put them up for for criticism, which is a really difficult process, especially if you you put your heart in it and you put 20 photos on the wall and at the end to our left. And people are saying there is something in these two images try to go from there. So the time of the school had come to an end for me, which was mostly because I felt like I needed to leave the city and that I couldn't live, um, in one certain place anymore. And I have been traveling a lot over the years, and from I felt it was it was time to give up, uh, living in one certain place. Eso I left Berlin and I left the school and this was actually the time when I Since then I'm photographing mawr than ever, which is, I believe, because I'm finally doing something that is more for my heart. Like the life I live is more the life I'm supposed to live somehow. So there is more creative energy flowing in what I do when which is mostly photography when it comes to creative expression. Um, and also which is something I learned in the school also, or I learned the theory of it kind of, and then I could bring it into practice when I when I left, um was the idea to focus on on a topic on something Then I care about and not just take some photos here and take some photos there which has to do because I love it, but to to realize there is something that I want to go after more and that I don't want to give up on. And I don't want tohave some photos and look here. These are nice photos, but I want to stay on the topic and and go deeper into it. I went to an Ashram in the desert off Israel where I lived in photographed for three months . I took photos of the process that the people were going through, and I recognised myself in that process is where but most importantly, something that started to come to My realization in time in the school really became clear . To me here that portrait photography is something that naturally suits me because I am naturally comfortable in a one on one situation with someone. And from that point on, I started to pursue that more since about a year now I'm working. I'm working with a medium format film camera, which is ah, which is a very, very slow camera On and again, it's load my process down and it got me more awareness in the situations about water. My photographing. Why am I photographing this? Why in this light? What? How can I use this light? What we really care about in this in this person that I take a portray off, And how do I find that I'm dear? I find a lot of a lot of joy in that There was so much that I look back at and and photos that I'm seeing today or when I when I go through photos from 10 years ago. Actually, I looked I looked at photos from from 10 years ago, just a little while back. Um and I I couldn't I couldn't watch it like it was just so much and I I felt like seeing these photos. I had the impression I must have been very annoying to the people that I was that I was photographing there. And but I think it had to be and and I'm very happy that that I didn't let this feel of. Maybe the others don't want this. Or maybe it's too much that I didn't let this win, and I definitely stepped over the line quite some sometimes. But I think I'm by doing this and by going a little bit too far sometimes I found out where the where the middle line is and and where the right line is of How close can I be? When is it too much? Um, yeah. So I would like to encourage to not follow the follow their fear and be aware off you what you're doing and how you are in this situation. I'm But if you have fear to not let this fear when I'm really happy that that I didn't. When I look back at these at these photos and I think also I can say looking back at old photos that ah, like I'm not proud of a lot of them today. And I see that I tried a lot of things in different directions and like to extreme editing or too extreme wide angers. And, um, again. But I'm happy I went through all of this, took to find the middle and to find where was mine and that I didn't settle on one thing. Um, I think for me, though, it was ah, good. Mixture was healthy off off liking what I do and liking my images and therefore bringing some confidence into the next situation. I'm but at the same time never really being fully happy and always thinking I can do this better somehow. Um and I think I think this is a a good mixture. I think for me, it was it was healthy. I'm Yeah, and I'm very, very happy. I'm very, very happy and thankful for, um, for the lessons that I've learned with this camera and that it was such a great tool for me toe approach life into approach situations. And over the years, being able to, um, to do that same thing without the camera and, uh, that it helped me grow as a person using it, but then being able to put it aside and be a stronger person also also without it. Yeah. And like I said, I want to encourage you in this video to to go on this journey is well in tow to try something new, maybe by using less and and, um, and focusing on less, but really focusing on this and having Yeah, I said it helped me a lot, and I I wish that it can help you is where, uh, just a little thing on the end. Ah, little, a little. Thank you. This is this is something that I have since since a couple of weeks, an instant from comma that, uh, with which you never really know what you gonna what you're going to get with it, Which is, which is a great fun about it. Um, And while I'm letting this one develops, gonna take a couple of minutes, I want to just bring a little awareness to what happened behind me and maybe probably in my face. While we were recording this video from We've been sitting here for about 20 minutes, and when we started, there was a bit more sunshine and there was a, um there was a bit of sunny structure on the ground, and it was probably some more light in my face. Um, and I just want to bring a little awareness toe this for you because because this is what we're gonna do a lot bring awareness to things and bring awareness toe to light. And here we can already see how different a situation in the very same place how different the situation can be When there was a cloud common in front of the sun and suddenly the whole quality of the light and the contrast and how much color there is, it certainly changes. Yeah, So just fun. jump back to meet three or whatever in this video and have a look at my face in the background. And look at it now on DSI. How much they've changed. And this is a little thank you to Lydia sitting behind the cover. Maybe you can we focus on this. So just a little Thank you for her sitting behind the camera there and helping me from this . And we're ready to get started with the workshop. Uh, and I hope you're gonna have fun. See you They
3. Starting the workshop: before we start with the workshop, I want to say a couple of things about how to approach this recommendations for me, for you. How to approach this. I chose to not put this works up on YouTube in bits and pieces. Um, because I believe it should be happening for you in an environment where you can focus on this and where this doesn't show up between a cat's video and epic fail compilation. But in a space where you can focus on your photography and on I'm yeah, working on it. So I would like to invite you to put your phone aside, um, get a notebook and really focus on what we're doing here. And like I said in the introduction, there's no point in watching 10 videos at the time, so slowly, slowly watching video, maybe two. And really take something from it and go out and try and then come back and do another session. I chose to not read off script texts, but to speak as if we were in a workshop together. So maybe that takes a couple of seconds. Sometimes when I'm looking for the right words, Um, yeah, but just like I'm slowing down. And like I'm a rather slow paced person, I'm inviting you toe Teoh, do the same and toe take your time to learn something So yeah, let's get going.
4. Different camera types: Hello Today I want to introduce you to some different kinds of commas. The camera is the tool that we that we usedto photograph. And so it's the the tool that is in between us and whatever we're interested in. I want to say that it's It's not to important that which kind of camera you have. Every camera is somehow going to be an expression off yourself with the situation. But different cameras can fit different characters in different ways. Off photographing, Um, and so one come we're maybe Mawr suiting your personality and how you would like toe to visualize something and another may not so much. Now I think this is not something that you need toe change every three months and get another one and get another one. I just think it's a good idea toe. Have an idea off? Um, what kind of cameras there are and how how they encourage you to interact maybe with a situation in different ways, because they're more or less specialized on something on. That is especially for film cameras that I'm or yeah, build to be specialized in one thing on Not so good for another thing, which again is something that you can kind of crack up and you can use a camera that is absolutely not made to take port ways. But you decide to do that and maybe come out with something special. So yeah, whatever I'm saying, it's never ruled. It's just something I'm something Teoh Consider toe. Think about. Have a look at this one. Um, from the category point and shoot cameras. And this is a very, very simple one. Single use underwater camera that costs about nine euros. Um, you look through a little window plasticky window. It's no even something that you would necessarily look through. Um, as well is this is something that point shoot cameras anyways encourage you to to be fast, to be quickened, to be intuitive, And yet, actually, maybe no even looking through this viewfinder. But just being interested in something and bring it up in clicking the button, um, there are more sophisticated ones than this one. Thes has one setting it isn't like doesn't change any setting. It doesn't measure the light, nothing. Of course, the more sophisticated point shoot cameras. But this is a very good example for how easy, How simple it starts. Um, yeah. Point and shoot. Let's look at some photos from point and shoot cameras. The 1st 1 you seeing is took taken with that underwater camera that I showed you on gets a good example for something that is very unplanned specifically here because it's shot underwater and you can't really look through the viewfinder in in salt water, especially not when there was a wave coming above your head. But I just you know, I gave it a shot. And with time you you get a feeling for what it means to have a 35 millimeter lens. Or in that case, I think it's around about a 28 millimeter lens. You have a feel for that and you do you I'm can just mawr shoot from the hip on give it a try and, for example, this photo. I wouldn't have composed it that way. Probably I'm. But it surprised me, came out like this and and I just really, really liked it. And, uh, yeah, thanks toa point shoot. This photo also was taken with the underwater camera walking into them. See, with these two friends on when you look closely, you would see how how there was a motion blur. I think it's 1/60 of a second that these cameras have as, ah, fixed shutter speed. So you see some motion blur, and you will see also, there is no sharp nowhere in the images like proper shop. And that's because it's just a ah plastic blends. But I love it. I love this looking something that you can we create that somehow, um with a lot off work and knowledge in photo shop. But this is this is how it came out. And I love this look very much. That photo was taken with a more sophisticated, sophisticated point shoot camera by contacts, and And I had 100 and 60 i s o film in that camera, and it took that very long exposure toe get enough light in. And what came out is this really abstract image that you don't even know what it is. If you haven't been there again, something that with a digital camera, I probably would have chosen to just pull up the I s o and take a photo. It I s 0 3200 have a crisp and sharp and everything. Um, I would have been nice, but it it wouldn't have been this. Um and that's a good example for how they conserve prize you these kind of cameras and come up with something very, especially somehow this photo and the next one I shot on a wedding of a friend with Olympus meal 35 millimeter compact point shoud Very simple, easy camera. And that's why I shot from the hip and again having an idea with practice of what, 35 millimeter lens? What it means where it's gonna capture. Um and yeah, I think I'm not sure. I think she on the left. She's kind of reacting to me like, What is he doing? But she doesn't really have enough time toe do anything to react in any way that makes the photo how she would want to be seen on the photo. I'm that is that is just what What came out? Because I was quick and because it's film also, and and with that camera, you know, it needs toe running to the next image, and it takes some time. You don't shoot these eight frames a second or whatever you have this one shot and it just leads toe. You could maybe say a more real version off reality because you you don't choose out of 10 frames a second. It's just oftentimes this little old moment that is in the photo that comes out and this is it. You wouldn't have chosen it, but because he's using that kind of camera, this is what comes out. And on this next image, Utkan see me dancing on the right. So someone took that photo, Um, again, very simple. Put it into someone's hands and, uh uh, and they they're gonna take photos and something something fun is gonna is gonna come out. You can almost say you will not be disappointed with this kind of camera. Something interesting somehow is gonna is going to come out of them. And then two more examples from that same camera from the Olympus. This what I'm showing you? Because it has this light leak that is quite close to the third line. Um, and in that case, because I have, ah, make a composition choice, not knowing that this likely is gonna come. Um, it just gives this image another another interesting touch to it. and because it is an analog camera and it has that village of lightly, which means that it's not perfectly seared. And there was light coming onto the film that is not coming through the lens, but from the side of the body. Um, and it gave me that, and it just said, This is what it is and I really, really like it. And this last one, I find it is a good example for a portray shot with 35 millimeter point shoot camera, which is not necessarily what it's made for, I mean, but yeah, it does also that in its own very special way, another kind of camera want to have a look at with you? Is this one an instant film camera? Polaroid invented this. This is a Fuji version, but what it's about is that it's taken a photo and comes out as a paper version immediately white in the beginning. Then the image develops, Um, and also this Come on, it gives you something that you may not necessarily to expect or it's a bit unpredictable. A little bit like lots of point and shoot cameras I'm on, and that's that's a fun thing about it. It's the camera can surprise you and concave you something that you didn't plan. But it just comes up with it. And and, uh and this is it with Paul oId or in stocks. In this case, you know, you don't get a scan or you don't get a file or whatever. You get that piece of off photo physical photo, which is very exciting one So and then this is it. You don't go and edit it or whatever it is what it is, uh, and it's believed fund toe to work with those. And, of course, in the analog times the magic of this I was very, very special because usually you would go and develop your film and it would take days or, um, to get your images back. And with these cameras, they just come out and you see them immediately. For now, this is the only digital camera that I'm that I'm showing you. This is a digital SLR single reflex lens. Um, yeah, you can change the lenses on these, and then you can see that mirror inside that comes upto. Then that light come onto the sensor digital cameras. They are very mighty tools they can. They can do a lot and they can used in a certain way, they can be everything that the other cameras can also be. It is up to you toe. Decide what you want your image to be. Um, this could be a very quick and fast camera with fully automatic setting. Or you can use it as a slow camera where you do everything manual and you take your time. The thing is, just that when you when you haven't really figured out, what's your way of photographing and what's your way of interacting with the world with what you're photographing? This camera doesn't encourage you to do a certain thing. Unlike other analog cameras, like you take one of these points shoot. It doesn't necessarily say I am a portrait camera. It says. I am a quick camera on this one. Just it can do anything, and it's up to you to decide what you want to do. And especially when you start photography, this could be overwhelming. Do you Just what do I what do I do with it? Um, so, yeah, I encourage I would encourage every photographer to at least try film and toe. Let it help you find out for who you are as a photographer. Um, but yeah, eventually, in some ways, probably most of you will will work with a digital camera, Uh, and and you be able to do anything, whatever it is you you want to do. Digital SLR uh, these dame these days, muralists digital cameras are quite popular. Um, I don't I don't have one of those. And for me, the idea of looking at a digitally created image in the viewfinder it doesn't attract me like I don't like perceiving the world through through this. Um, unlike this digital SLR where you look through this mirror system through the actual lens. Um, I appreciate that much more. Um, but it's everyone's choice. So these are photos from digital cameras three canon five D serious for frame cameras, by the way. Full frame in on digital cameras means that the sensor is as big as a traditional 35 millimeter film. Uh, is a me just as a side note. And in that case, ah, photographed in a in a race car going around the North life for the longest racetrack in the world, and I was in a proper race car. That means there's no much of a, um, suspension compared toa to normal cars. And and it's a It's a bumpy track and it's it's bumpy as hell until today I have. Ah, there was a little bit of a white scratch on top of my camera because I was hitting the roof of the car and because it was so bumpy. And of course, I needed toe to toe wear a helmet. So there was no there is not much looking through the camera. And again, you need to have kind of an idea off what your lenses going to capture at 35 millimeters or 50 millimeters or whatever you're using. And in that case, it's an advantage of digital cameras that you have the ability to just shoot and shoot and , uh, and do this one lap that takes about eight minutes in that car. And and you have, like, 400 photos afterwards that you can choose from and you can get something so so clear and crisp out of it. Uh, yes. And in that case, I even I edit this motion blur that you see outside on the trees because I wanted sharp images. Um, I didn't wanna do the risk off shooting at, like 1/50 of a second. So they would. That would actually have a, well, emotion because it would have been very unlikely to actually capture the driver, um, shop. And as a side note, my editing on digital photos is leaning towards toward the film style. So I do add grain on this could be all much more crisp and sharp, and it could even Denoix is that if I want to to. But I don't like it. So you in all of these images, you're going to see it has a bit of that. I'm editing style to it. This one's a good example for an advantage, you could say off digital cameras to have incredible low light capabilities and to be able to to be kept to capture a dance in such low light moving people into actually freeze them . Um, that is just unthinkable for for analog cameras, which is not necessarily a good or a bad thing. It's just something that you cannot do with analog cameras and digital cameras have that ability. We're going to see another dance photo. Example later where I intentionally um 12 a bit more blur. I wanted a bit more movement, and I wanted it to, um, tohave that analog touch to it. And it's something that I chose and I have that choice with that camera again, it has. It's a mighty tool. It can do a lot of things, and you could choose what you want with it on. In that case, I kind of emulated what would look like, um, with a analog 35 millimeter camera that would, maybe with 1600 i s or film would maybe get up to that 30th of a second. And the other dance photo from another wedding might as well be from a 35 millimeter film point jude camera. Um, but yeah, it comes from a digital. And last but not least, ah to portrays that show show another side of the digital camera, something that is also possible to to work rather slow and take rather calm images and use it as a as a portray camera. And like I said, the tool itself doesn't make you slow down so much. Eso you naturally take more photos. Even if you have experience with film cameras, once you take a digital, you're probably gonna shoot more. Uh, which is again? Not necessarily bad, but if you've never used film, uh, there's a good chance you might overdo it. So, yeah, that's it for showing you some digital images. Let's move on. This is my big love for uh huh. About two years now, I've been I've been working with this hassle, but mainly, which is a medium format film. Camera means the friend former is bigger than the usual 35 per standard film that you may know. Um, this is a bigger film format. Therefore it uses different lenses. Um, and it's a very slow way of working. One reason is because the only 12 images on film in that bigger format the other reason is that I snapped that open. When you look through that, you find her. Everything that you see is his reverse, uh, in the left and right. When I turned the camera to the right, my image moves to the left. So that is a It's a bit of a mind. Fuck. When you start with this, it slows you down a lot as well. Is it not being a very fast camera to focus? The camera just encourages uto be slow to be a slow photographer and therefore toe I'm to pay a lot of attention to what you're doing, Why you're doing it and the visuals. The optical effect off these of these lenses, particularly on this bigger film format, is really beautiful. Andi, in this case, medium for my friend, it gives, like the ones on the wards give us a square image, which is also when it comes to composition especially, it's quite different. Quite much more calm toe work in a square than to work in a two by 34 months. Yeah, this very, very slow, Um encouraging you to be aware camera that I really love. So, yeah, I didn't ensure your cameras that there are a range finder, large format muralist, digital cameras, and so on and so on. There is a lot to choose from. And like I said, don't get too crazy about having to always have the new thing or having having a newer camera. But go ahead and try, especially when it comes to film cameras. Ask around Grandpa, Uncle, Maybe your parents have one lying around Andi, have a look through them and check how you how you perceive the world through them. And if you like looking through with the mirror system through the lens if you if you like looking at a digitally created image in the viewfinder if you like. If you find a that is not looking through the lens but through a window, come and what supports you, are you? I knew a person that likes to be quick and spontaneous in situation. Just pull a camera out of the pocket. Um, do you like very, very extensive after work on the computer Photo shop is therefore a digital camera an absolute necessity Or do you like toe may be useful men and yeah, use that film look. And that limitations that come, come with it is Well, check for yourself. Check for yourself. How you what you like toe work within what camera, Uh, makes you want to play with it, and then I'll see you here so
5. Lenses: Hello and welcome back. I want to talk. What lenses today? The lens is the piece of glass on the camera that the light fought through onto our film or the sensor. Um, and different lenses have different optical effects. There was a range from a wide angle lens, which shows us a wide angle. Um, and it also stretches whatever is in the image, especially on the outside corners. Um, all the way to a tell Ellen's. That kind of zooms in to what we're photographing, um, and let us photographing, forgot something that is far away. But see it very close. And this one compresses a lot. The foreground, the focus and the background. And it makes the background of bluey. It blows out, uh, much quicker. I'm both ends have kind of an extreme effect. And both effects are something that that can kind of overshadow your actual work as a photographer so it can lead toe hiding behind the effect of the lens rather than finding something that you care about that you're interested in Ondo communicating that So what's mostly communicated or there was a big risk off what mostly communicated, um is in effect in effect, off the lens. I'm now there are two different types off lenses. One is a zoom lens on and the other one will be prime lenses. Um, as humans can go, um, can go all the way from a wide angle to telly, for example. And, um, the risk of that is that you're becoming lazy, that you're not moving yourself and still you stand in one point, zoom in and out off something rather than moving yourself. Uh, I got this one and 70 to 200 lens together with 24 7 24 to 70 lens when I started working with a DSLR. So my equipment was basically saying to me, You can do whatever you want. I'm everything is in your hands and this is kind of overwhelming because it doesn't ask you . What do you want? I'm, um This is why I would highly recommend, especially when when you're starting to not work with your zoom lens but to work with prime lenses. I'm when I went a film, I did this for two years, working with this one, uh, Canon a one and a 50 millimeters lens. So what? This Prime Minister does is that it's asking you, Where do you want to be in terms of I'm how Where do you dare to be in terms of closeness to your subject? So it takes away three ability of 200 millimeter lens to just stand somewhere in the corner and for about something on the other end. But it requires you to go to what you want to photo bath, um, and to know, hide behind the effective off a blurry background. But to actually work with your subject and with the surrounding, because the more you go towards a wide angle, the more you have tow, consider the background other than with a 200 million litre millimeter lens or even 100 millimeter so 50 millimeters something that I would highly recommend to start with when when you were beginning. And maybe that doesn't have to be for two years. If you don't have that patients, Uh, but, uh, but at least for for a little while, 50 millimeters, quite a a standard lens, which doesn't have to mean boring. Only thing I'm, but it's quite a regular focal length. I'm and it's a bit of a no around or you can do portray with it and reputation depending on where you position yourself. Um, someone who sees it wouldn't even like would have a hard time seeing what focal lengths that that is. I'm so 50 millimeter. A very, very good point to start off from, Um And if you if you want to try something, something different, another step would be a 35 millimeter lens, which is just 15 millimetre apart from this 50. But you will see a huge difference already. Um, in how much you have to consider the background in in your photography and how much you, uh, can can, uh, can and have toe to work with it. Uh, 35 millimeter is considered quite a standard reporter jlens. And the other thing about using prime lenses, roses, zoom lenses is that choosing a certain focal length or maybe two, maybe three. It can help giving your photography a character and make it something recognizable. I'm rather than if you abuse everything I'm and it's harder toe to recognize it as yours. And you will find that when you use different prime lenses that you will find out what suits you and how close you want to be and how much you want to integrate the background. I'm and also, especially when, when using 50 and 35 millimeter versus, Let's say, 100 or 200. Um, you could not act out of fear. It takes away the ability toe photograph, something that's far away. You have toe go there. You have to go closer to to what you're photographing, and you're learning about how how you how you being perceived by by the person or the people in the situation. Um, when you there and especially when you are close, it forces you to learn toe toe, observe yourself and entered to check how toe how how can I behave in that situation? And how close can I be without disturbing? At least I experienced over the years that I can get closer than I thought without disturbing people. But I think that's a process of learning a learning process, which you will only enter if you dare toe start using using these shorter focal lengths. I'm so what I want Oh, give you as an exercise is, um, to take a prime lands if you have. If you don't have no worries. Take your zoom lens and set it to 50 millimeter on a crop factor camera that may be less on the lens itself. Maybe 35. I'm divided by multiplied by the crop factor I'm Anyways, take Take that zoom lens and and go out. Set it to that one focal lengths off 50 millimeter, um, and shoot whatever you're photographing. May that be report Taj or landscape or portray. Do it only with that one focal links, um, and and observe yourself and observe how you how you feel with the closeness to the subject and observe what you are photographing. Like, How much do you want the background to to be in that photo? I'm and notice also that you can get the same the same background with different focal length. This. Buy it, moving yourself forward in background, and still the image will have a different look, even though it may contain the same. The same flaming The light situation that we win is there is sunlight that is a little bit behind clouds coming, uh, in our direction, and you can see on the back of her head how it's lighting, how it's letting the hair. And there was a breeding behind her, which which is a bit more in the shape. It doesn't get direct sunlight, so it makes it a little bit darker. But behind the camera there was a big open space, so there's lots of soft light coming in. Um, and first I want to use the 50 millimeter and take a few different portrays from from different distances. And then we'll put on a 35 million Michelins and take the same photos so you can see how I'm how the effect of the lens changes next to that. So first up, the very close port way Go back a little bit, photograph on the hits, as you can see, because I'm moving away from her. There is more the background this sharper so that the more I moved away from the object the subject I'm photographing, um, the more the background will have sharpness is well, moving away of it further and taking a photo of food shoes. Okay, now we put on the 35 millimeter lens on do the same without Okay. Same situation. The light hasn't changed. I'll do the same. Three photos from different distances, and you will see what effect it has to do it with a more wide England. It's just 15 millimetre desist difference from 50 to 35 but it does make a huge difference . So let's get close. Take that same photo of the on the head feeling the fine. It is much more white anger back to on one with Okay, so as you can see it, it stretches. Um, it stretches much more. Um, and also the background is in all images. It's sharper, then it is with the 50 millimeter lens, So that's one effective off the different lenses, the more the tele lens you have, the quicker the sharpness falls off behind your focus on the more wide angle lens you have , the more the bigger your depth of field is. Generally, um, just for fun. Let's take that same photo with a 16 millimeter. Just make it extremely clear what happens with a more wide England's. And I mean you you will see okay, like five centimeters away. Okay, Okay. That's it for now. With 15. 35 millimeter. Let's move on to take more photos. I want to see you. This like I said I did this for for two years with a 50 millimeters lens and then for another two years with a 35 millimeter. If you don't have a time, don't have patience, OK, but do at least a day. If you want more, do it for do it for a week. I think the longer you do it, the more you will learn about yourself in photography on, the more you will realize what suits you and worries what is your thing? And maybe you are someone that likes toe to use a 35 millimeter and stand away a little bit in photograph more situations as as a whole Oh, you someone that likes to use 35 millimeter end gold close and be very immersed. Are you realizing that maybe you're using 50 millimeter? That's your job. Perfect portray lens because it doesn't blow out the back one too much. But it does do that. That little bit that you that you would like. Um, it's a It's a great opportunity to learn about what you care about how how much you, uh, able to get close to what you care about. So 50 millimeter. Then try 35 millimeter Andi play with it. It's a It's a very, very a fund process. And again, it's something that will probably lead to you realizing that you need less than you think you need. And it's fun. So go out and do that, see some?
6. What do I care about?: Hello and welcome back. I want to give you some questions to ask yourself which can help you to find out what kind of photographer you are and how you can do something that you really love and that you really care about because I believe that only if you do what you really care about and only if you do it in a way that suits you, um photos will come out that you will love and that other people will love as well. And it's not about targeting it for a certain group of people that you want to like your work but to do what you love and then having the people love it, that I really love what you do and what comes from your heart instead off coming. Just because Because you want to serve someone because I think in the first target should be that you look at your images later and you love them. And therefore there are some questions that you can ask yourself that can help you toe find out. And this is not something again that happens overnight. But it's something that if you keep asking us of these questions before photographing and in the situation that you're photographing in. That can really help you with that over time. And the first question would be to ask yourself, What do I really care about? And this is something that you can ask yourself like in a quiet moment, sitting down and really thinking about. What is it that I that I'm really, really interested in is that maybe architecture are really, really interested in how buildings are being made? Uh, am I really interested in photographing people in their emotions? Am I interested in in actions of people? Maybe. Am I interested in in nature in an animal, it's like it's a really basic questions. Off off. What? What do you care about? What? What are you interested in? Um, did you can you can ask yourself and take Just take yourself time for this and maybe do it as a meditative process that you can get into again and again. Um, yeah. To really to really sit down. Um, close your eyes and, uh, to feel into yourself and ask yourself, what do I care about? What am I deeply interested in? And this is, you know, it's kind of hard to find because because there's lots of noise in our lives. There was lots of influence from from social media from YouTube and Facebook. Constantly, you're being bombarded with things that that could interest you. Um, but to find out what it really is that you care about, and then you are really, really interested in I'm it may be hard to find that in tow, cut out the noise that there is. I'm yeah, and to find that. And I believe that's the very first step toe to getting into to, uh, what you really care about. I think I mentioned this before that I had different phases in, um in going into a certain area and photographing there and then finding it's not something that I'm deeply, very deeply interested in. Um, and therefore it's it's hard to get into this sort, so, uh, because it's not what you really 100% resonate with and what you're vibe with and what you really deeply care about. And maybe you can make nice images there, but it's not. It's if it doesn't really interested you from your heart. It's not really a deep investigation. It's it stays or it doesn't go be dig deeper, then then a certain level. If you haven't ask yourself that question and and found that on. Do follow that. Um So when you have found something, or when you're in a situation that you you're trying that you checking that you're investigating? If this is something that you deeply care about in the situation, you can ask yourself, what is it that interests me now in this situation? Um, again, let's think you're interested in in architecture. So you stand in front of a building or room when you say this is a room, this is a building, and you can take up wide angle lens and just photograph the entire building. Um, but there is something that interests you about this building. Specifically, I'm tryto Twitter to find that and not photograph the whole and just say this is a building . But to ask yourself, What is it about the building? What is it about this shape? What is it about the shape I'm in in the environment it stands in, Or how do how do people live in this building? Is it the the the integration of life into this building that I care about. I'm or take another example, you photographing. You're portraying a person. So you would ask yourself, What is it about that person? Um, and take your time for this. It's really important. Take, take your time. Observe that object or that person. I'm Does that person have a very specific way of? I'm off smiling. Maybe that you like, Or is there some some depth in that character? Something that, um, that really interests you and then try Try to go after this and and capture that with your camera? That that certain thing? Um and I can't want to encourage you to to not be satisfied quickly enough. Uh, keep investigating. And like, for some photographers that mean that means if they have something that interests them. Um, again, let's go back to the example of the building. Maybe they would go back to that building again and again in different light situations. Different weather situations. Um uh, that can maybe bring out more. What interests them about About this building. I'm yeah. Or about this person. If you if you go with with a person that you I'm that you interested in and maybe you want toe photograph this person, Maybe you can go back again and again and not just leave it with one portray session, but continuing following that person and finding out more about what isn't that you are interested in in that person. And, um yeah, and how can you How can you extract that in in images and visual? Uh, storytelling. If it's a whip Atash kind of photography, I'm Yeah. And the next question would be how how can you get closer to this? So how can you How can you find more? Like I said, maybe maybe a different weather brings different expects or or continuing toe. Follow a person. Um, Or maybe when you photograph a person, maybe you find that if you spend a couple of hours with that person without picking up the camera, maybe this is something that helps you toe to get closer to that toe to find out more. Yeah, How how can you get closer to that? What's ah, what's a good way? And also what kind of um, yes, it is a rep a Taj about someone more suitable than then, uh, then portrays. And also what is it that you that suits you that suits you more? Are you more portray person? Um, that likes to be in a one on one situation. Or are you more like a report Tosh person who's following something not really engaging with the situation. It's a It's a question off character. Yeah, And then there were different ways of visually communicating that on a So I said before course. Different cameras also encourage you to to approach a situation in a different in a different way. Let's say you you want toe photograph a rep a Taj on just to take two extremes, you could say I'm doing this with a large format camera. So in a situation I would take only very olek in a day. Maybe in a day you would take five photos with a large for my camera, and you would I'm you have an image in mind that you are building up to. You're setting up your camera. You You may be standing there for half a now until you decide. This is the moment in which I have the room that I'm photographing in in combination with with a certain situation that is happening in there and and then you click the button. Well, maybe to take the example on the other way. And maybe you would use a point shoot camera because you are someone who is, um uh who is quick and who is mingling in the situation and is shooting more from the hip. Uh, yeah, what different ways are there? Toe. Get to get what to find out and to follow what you're interested in. What's your way of approaching that situation? And then what camera may help you better toe do that. What suits you more? And with that comes the question of how How, um how do I bring what? What I want to focus on into that image. Um, how can I How can I visually transport that is that with large format photos that have been taken very slow just to speak of extremes, I'm always that, uh, is that point shoot approach which may bring you out of focus images or motion blur? Um, yeah, what communicates best. What you are interested in is a very clear or is it maybe rather abstract? So these are some some questions that can help you toe to find what you care about enter to find out how you can approach that and to find out what tools can help you to do that best on DWhite suits you. I'm because it's easy toe. Look at someone else's work and copy that. We just happening a lot these days when you look at, for example, instagram travel photography on you see the same kind of images repeating again and again, and you can do that as well and copy something that somewhere it's did. But it's just gonna be one off a 1,000,000 photos that all look the same. They're out there and it doesn't it doesn't really doesn't communicate something from from your heart. Um, which is what I want to encourage you to do toe Say something from your heart and, uh, I hope you get started. I hope you, um, take yourself the timeto to sit down toe does your eyes and ask yourself and I'll see you So by
7. ISO, Exposure Time, F Stop: hello again today. I want to talk about the three factors which you need to set the lighting on your camera. And I want to explain a little bit about what happens when you change these factors on. Afterwards, we're gonna have a look. It, however, actually do these settings on your camera and how these three factors play with each other . So, uh, yeah, that's the good news about it. There are really only three things that you need to to know to sit delighting on your camera, which is the I s O. That talks about the sensitivity of the film that you have in the camera or the sensitivity that you have your sensor on the digital camera set to. Then there is the exposure time which defines how long time is light is coming through the lens onto the film or the center. And then there is the F stop, which defines the size off the hole in the lens through which the light is coming through. So three factors on let's start with the 1st 1 which is the I s o the sensitivity off the film or the sensor in the camera, and this used to be a setting that on film camera that you would choose once you put your film in the camera because the film has a certain sensitivity. Once you put that in the camera, you can't change this setting anymore while while you shooting. So when you come into a situation in which you're photographing, this would be a setting that you choose in the beginning, Even with a digital camera, I wouldn't recommend this to be something that you change with every photo but something that you choose once you enter a space and and see I'm in an outside situation with lots of light. Or maybe I'm inside a room. Uh, and it's Father Doc. So the eyes. So let me just tell you the the basic numbers starts, usually with 100 I sold, which is not very sensitive. That means it's a sensitivity that you would use outside in in bright daylight. Um, then it goes up in steps, which are court stops. This will come up later again. So 102 104 108 116 103,000 206,400 so on. So these number double its with every stop. Now the lower this number is, the less on a film, the less green you have, the more find the images on a digital camera. You would say it's it's it's fine. Uh, and and the higher the number goes, the more Graney the image gets. That's what you call it on film. On a digital camera, you would say it gets more noisy. Uh, these days, with the digital cameras, you can go quiet up high without having too much noise in the image, whatever is too much. But I used to be when digital cameras started like everything, about 400 was starting to get really noisy. Today, you condone use much higher sensitivities and still get a get a decent image. So that is kind of the trade off with the ice. Oh, things noisy nous or or grain that comes with it. And it's an effect that, especially when it comes to film, a lot of dog was actually appreciate this grain yet has ah, it had a certain look to it, that is, that is often appreciated with film, with the digital noise that comes some people may like. This is well, but it's it doesn't have much of a beauty to it as the greenhouse on film. So that's the first setting. The first factor that you have. So the sensitivity off your film or the sensor in your camera, which, of course, in the digital camera you can. If you want to, you can change it with every image. Um, yeah, the next one would be exposure time. That is the time that the light has to come through the lens onto the film or the sensor. So with a long exposure time, you have, ah, a risk off having a blow image of emotion, blood in your image. Now this motion can come from your hand being shaky. Holding the camera and the motion blur can come from whatever subject is in your in your frame and is moving for the first for the 1st 1 of your own motion. That can leave plea to a blur. Um, when you're not very trained with it. Um, I would say run about 1/60 of a second Is is a time that you can still hold in in your hand without getting too shaky. Everything that is longer than that is a bit more difficult. And, yeah, 60th but especially from 125th and shorter times you pretty much safe that you can. You can most likely hold the camera still enough. Um, let's could quickly go through through the times and again. These are measured in stops. And as I'll explain later, they they are intertwined with each other. So with that from a second to half a second to 1/4 of a 2nd 8th of a 2nd 50th 15th of a 2nd 30th of a second, um, 60th of a 2nd 125th 250th 500 South and thousands off a second and so on and so on and so on. Um so apart from a few exceptions like eighth toe 1/15 of a second, it's pretty much doubling like the I. So, uh, now I I said that you get this motion blur, Uh, and maybe it sounded like something that you that you need to avoid. And I want toe to make sure that you don't think that at least I'm not telling you should. And if you like it, if you like motion blur new image. Let nobody tell you that you that you shouldn't have it there again. This gun, this could be a creative choice. Like everything that you do. There is no right or wrong. That's just how you like it. It's just good to know. You know what? What effect has? Um, yeah, that was exposure time. I've got everything on this. And the last one is the f stop. Eso there was Ah, there's a hole in your camera in the lens of the camera there. Can I be wide open or it came? Evaluate Closed. Um, And yet, obviously, the bigger hole is the more like and coming in a shorter time. Um, and when it's smaller, less like an coming, Uh, the F stop is measured in in numbers that start at 1.0, and the next stop would be 1.4. Then 22.845 point six. Um, 8 11 16 22 Uh, the numbers are a bit more odd, and there was a reason for these numbers being the number that they are. And you don't necessarily need to know this, but it's good to remember these, uh, thes four stops again. That's that's the name for it. I'm now what happens with what effect does it have with different F stops? Now, if the F stop is wide open, that means a low number, so quite open is a number like 1.4. Um, that has a few fix. The first and most most visible, maybe most known one is that when the F stop is wide open, the sharpness in your image falls off quicker. That means they're the range in which you have your image. Shop is quite small, and behind that sharpness area, the the Yeah, the shamans fours off any it gets blurry. The more you close the hole, the F stop eso the higher than on buckets, the more range off sharpness you get. I want to show you another thing here. Just a very a quick demonstration off how the look often image changes when you open or close. Um, stop in your lens. So let's take the same photo with an S stop starting at 1.4 and then go in the food stops so 1.4 to 2.845 point six and so one nice Um, yeah, And since we're on it, let's let's do another thing because it's bon. Um, I want to, uh I want to use one setting and just started being very close to Lily and having the depth of field very small. So having the sharpness fall off really quickly, and then I'll keep the same settings and I will move backwards. So I would have more distance to the point that I'm focusing on and you will see how through that back ground. Get shocked. It's too, because it's fun because it's fun. So it's 125th and 2.8. I'm starting as close as I can. This is the minimum distance. - As a za general rule, you can say three stops away from the from them. Most possible open is where the lenses sharpest. So when you have ah, 50 millimeter, um, standard prime lens, which has a a maximum stop of 1.4. That would mean it's added sharpest at 2.84 so three stops away from the most open at four . It's the most champers. So 1/3 effect that closing this whole this F stop has is that especially in the beginning, like at a open, very open, have stopped at 1.4. For example, depending on the lens, you may have a vignette at the edges off the image I haven't yet means that there is some some darkness and maybe also blur common common. Form the edges off the image, and you may notice this in in some of the videos that I shot here in in a in rather darkness, or like in a once a bit darker you can. You can see this, that the center is brighter, and there was some some darkness comment from the ages. This is an effect that is also added sometimes afterwards, because it focus focuses the attention more the on the center, off the image. But it's an effect that actually comes form lenses, um, that they have when they're rather right open. So yeah, these, these three factors thistles what we measure the light with. And again, as I said, they all have different effects on on your image and again, nothing schooled. Nothing is bad. Um, it's good to know this, and it's good to know how you can use it, and you may find that, um, that you love photos that have motion motion blur. Or you may find that you that you like your images with a very wide open f stop and never really crispy sharp anywhere. This is something to play. And this is something toe toe, Find out and check for yourself. So now, in the next part, we're gonna go to the question of how How do we set this on on my camera? And how are these three actually intertwined with each other? So we're gonna go to that now.
8. Setting your camera I: So how do we sit the lighting on our camera? We heard about the three factors that come into play when we do this. Now, how do we bring this to the camera? And how do these three factors work with each other? Luckily, it it is more simple than it looks on a modern camera. And you consent. If I I'm this poses of setting the lighting for you a bit more on your digital camera toe make it more understandable because when you look at the screen there so many informations and so many numbers that it may be hard toe toe realized, whatever. What do I even need to do? Really? So good news. Only these three factors and, um, again, a beautiful thing on film cameras that this is this is pretty much what, what they give you and what you need to deal with to make it easier for you when you're using a digital camera, it would be a good idea. Toe set the, um the steps off off your F stop in time, and I s o toe four stops. It may be set to third or quarter right now as a as a default. But these numbers that I that I said before I saw 102 104 100 f stop 1000.4 to 2.8 times off 6825th and so on and so on its own. These are food stops that I said so to make it easier for you and to make it more understandable, I think it'd be ability if you if you set this on your digital camera toe Teoh changing full stops instead of half or less, um, toe to recognize these numbers that I that I said and that you should really learn I'm and heavy easier. And the worst thing that can happen if you use full stops is that you over or under exposed by half a stop. And that is something that is something that won't kill you. And if you if you understood it with full stops and you want to measure exactly and more precise and don't have the risk off that half stopover under exposure, um, you can change the setting again. So I come into a room or a situation, and I'm choosing the I S O. In this case in this room here, I would I would choose a 400 which is a film. This would be a very much around a film which can kind of go to the sunlight, and it can kind of be indoors. It's a It's like a good I am so in the middle. So I would set 400 and and what's left then is the question of how big is the hole that the light comes into through. So how? What ever stop do, I said, and would expose the time for the lighter to come in through the whole onto the film or the sensor. These two factors are left, and as I said, they were intertwined with each other. Let me measure the light. This is a external light meter which measures my just a light through here. The light that is coming in, it's measuring, and we have I s 0 400 1/60 of a second and F stop 5.6. So the time is something that is still hold Herbal and the F stop is on the camera that I'm showing it with its two stops away from, um, from the biggest F stop, that's possible. So let me set this on this camera. 60th 5.6. Here I'm sitting this under on the lens and this with this camera, do both the settings on the land itself, and it's a really good camera to to show you how these are intertwined with each other. Um, and I'm going to do this in a move closer to show you, so I can, As you can see, I have 60th and 5.6 set Now on this camera on this lens, these settings are locked with each other. So if I turn this wheel over, let's say this way. I changed the settings to 125th of a second and F stop for so the time that the light has to come in through it got a shorter half of what it was before, and the whole that the light comes in through, uh, got bigger. It's now a full. So if I turned the wheel again, the time is cut in half again. 250th of a second. And the F stop is now at its biggest possible on this lens at 2.8 and in this process. I didn't change the amount of light that comes in through the camera. It's still the same amount of light, and this is this is very crucial to understand, and this is how you can see how how they are all connected with each other. It's the same amount of light just coming in in a different way, like in a in a shorter time. But therefore through a bigger a bigger hole in the lens. Um, so on this camera, I can I can take off this film back and put on another food back. So if there was a 400 film in there now, I I'm taking another film back, which has a sensitivity off 800. So it's one stop more sensitive looking at the at the were now on the camera. That would mean let's go back to the original 60th 5.6. That would mean that, uh, keeping the same f stop. For example, I could get a shorter time off 125th of a second, 5.6 Oh, I could go the other way and say I want 1/60 of a second. But an F stop off eight, and I would still have the same amount of light coming in. So this is how these three settings are interconnected with each other, and therefore it's a very good idea to learn these basic numbers off the I S O the time and the f stop. And like I said, preferably, I would recommend it to change it to full stops on your digital camera to get a better understanding of this. Um, and on ah, on a usual digital camera, you would have thes thes little points. One is in the middle, and then it goes outwards. Two plus mind plus and minus one and another one in the middle and plus and minus two. Andi, this is where you can see where you are in your exposure. Are you exposing right on the zero? Are you a bit overexposed or under exposed eso? This is This is where you can see in an internal light meter on your camera where you are with your light measuring. And then from there you can choose. Let's say you are your one stop overexposed and some from their point you from that point, you can choose dry. I'm Do I want to shorten the time? Or do I want toe close the hole a bit more? Or can I maybe use another film? I'm You're always making that compromise and you always choosing what's more important to you. And, of course, in a situation like this where we are now, I have quite a lot of room to make this decision because there is. There was quite a lot of flight, but it's not full power sunlight. I'm when you when it gets darker, it, like the compliment from ice, becomes a bit more obvious, like you need to sacrifice something. Uh, and in this situation, I don't necessarily need to sacrifice a lot. I can I can have, ah, wide range of where I can go by. Yet having to make a compromise becomes a bit more obvious when there is when there was less light. So in white you to go out and play with this. Enter to try a different exposure times photograph with someone who is walking, who is moving. I'm and see what happens when you go to 1/15 of a second or maybe half of a second. Maybe you love how portray looks with the one second exposure in links and blowing this coming coming in. Maybe you like that. Or maybe you you like to photograph something that's movement and and showing the movement through the motion blur. Check If maybe you like super noisy or super go any images on go out and take take photos with different F stops and see what it does to the to the sharpness, off the background and to the overall sharpness off the image. And see if you can If you can spot that vignette. Um, yeah, I play a little with a little bit with this find. Find out what? What these different factors do. How many and learned these numbers. They're not May numbers to learn Really thes numbers. They're quite crucial. And it's really, really good. T learn them. Uh, yes. No, I I wish you a good time with this. I'll see some by
9. Setting your camera II: I would like to add a few more words on the different ways off setting the lighting on your camera and there are three main ones. One is the manual mode in which you decide everything and you can see on this slider that I mentioned on this scale zero plus minus one plus minus two. On this, you can see where you exposure, please. So took to really learn everything. This is a good most toe work with, and it will be slower in the beginning. But with practice, this may be or this is the This is the way of setting your lighting that just gives you the full control in every situation. Then another mode is the A V mode, which lets you said the F stop first and you said the F stop the opening off the hole in your lens. Um, and the camera works the time the exposure time around your setting off the f stop, um, and the eye. So you can either set it toe to an automatic on your digital camera, Andi or you can also set this. And so the camera works with the time around your settings off. I s O and f stop. And in that case, this scale of zero plus minus one plus minus two is the exposure compensation in which you Consejo to the comma. Um what? To the to the light measuring off the camera. I want you to always, um, over exposed by one stop. So let's say you walk in a in a situation with a digital camera and you know, the camera has a tendency to be too too dark if I just said it to zero and I wanted to give me a bit more information already in In taken in taking the shot you consider two plus one and the camera would always overexpose one stop. Um, Then there was the third mold TV, which lets you set the exposure time first, and then the camera works the the F stop around your setting, and then the same thing counts. If you said it toe plus minus or plus plus one or minus one. The camera over or under exposed your image. So yet, as I said, to really have full control in to really learn, it's good to use em manual. I will take a bit longer in the beginning, but it will make you really understand what you're doing. If that's a bit too much for you in the beginning and it may be especially in fast situations, you can use one of the other ones. Um Onda se This is important to me. I want the f stop toe always be very wide open. Just work around the time for me. Dear camera. Um, yeah, or let's say I don't want toe have, ah, a longer exposure time than the sixties of a second and I'm in a dark situation. So you said that 60th of a second and you say to the camera, work around the three f stop in the Esso for me. Okay, so I hope you hope he understood that. And, uh, let's hear some. There's something else good to know about loud light measuring. I showed you the light meter before that measures the light that comes in. I point this out because the light meter in your camera measures the light that reflects off of the object that you're pointing out. So if you're pointing at a neutral gray, it will give you a neutral light measuring if you pointing your camera at and a very dark surface. The camera. We want toe letme or light into the camera to expose the stark surface right. If you pointed a light surface, it will want to let less light in to expose perfectly right for this bright surface. So that's something to take into consideration when you, when you measure light to know that your camera is reacting on whatever you're pointing at . On the other hand, this light meter that I showed that a traditional one, it measures the light that comes in so it expects you to to photograph a neutral gray surface. Yeah, and as you can see on your on your camera, there were different ways in which the camera can can measure the light. It can do a spot measuring, which is exactly the spot in the middle of the camera that you're pointing at. I'm all it can. It can be kind of a medium, Um, a solution in the middle of that takes the spot but considers the error area around it, or another light measuring and method that basically takes the the bigger area off the center toe to measure the light with is not something that you would usually change all the time. You probably get familiar with one. I'm with one method and stick to this because you get usedto to using this. Um, yeah, There's a little thing that I would like to add. A little inspiration for you to work on something toe work on your ability toe to see light in tow. Understand how how the settings work on your camera, which is an exercise that you can do pretty much anywhere in all the time without even bring in your camera. Um, you can you can get a light metering up for your phone. There are free options out there and they're not the most sophisticated. Maybe, but they do the job for what I would like to recommend you to do, which is when you in any situation to look around and ask yourself, What's the What's the What's the light like here? And what settings would I maybe need? And therefore you can anywhere be being in a place and look around and on? Guess maybe this is an S 0 800 I would use 1/60 of a second and then f stop of 2.8 on. Then you can take out this up, actually check the lighting and see how close you got. And the more that you do that, the more we this would just become something that you that you would just by intuition. No. And that will make it much easier to go into a situation with your camera. And, um, and right from the start know which kinds of settings would you use? And maybe you don't hit it on the spot every time on, baby, you are one or two stops off. Uh, but you you're getting very close already. And that would just make your work for much quicker and yet much more intuitive. So that has an exercise for you, uh, to go.
10. Looking at light Berlin: today we're gonna look at light, something that is very essential in photography, for a few, meaning painting with light and looking at light and being aware of it and really paying close attention to where it's coming from and how you can work with it is is crucial. It's very, very important for you to take better photographs. And it's a very common mistakes that people look at it at a scenery or person and they photograph it. And they wonder why. Why didn't what I saw what I felt with this image when I took it. Why didn't it come onto the photo? White can I know, Um, feel that. And it's often times because because someone looks at an image but doesn't pay attention to what is actually happening there in in that face. Is it really a good like toe? Take that. Portray, Um, I want to take that photo in general. And does that light really support What I what I am interested in? Um yeah, so it's very, very important toe really pay close attention to the light. And so we went on a little trip through Berlin and looked at some light situations and that we didn't I didn't I didn't take the most great photographs among the greatest portrays. I wanted to keep it simple on the on the image site so you can focus on what's happening there in in that face and, uh, and learn something from it. So let's go on the trip. Good morning. Maybe it's more like the afternoon we're in Berlin and it's the end of October. We're really lucky with day with lots of blue sky, and we want to walk around a little bit and have a look at some light situations and how we can, how we can work with this. And therefore I'm here with Leonie, who I studied for a few weeks on, and Lydia, who's behind the camera right now. I mean, yeah, we want to look at some light situations and on this is supposed to be an inspiration for you. We're not looking at every light situation that there is in the world, but I want to show you with how much you can see with little awareness what, like the reason what you what you could do with it, how you can work with it. So let's go and have a fun day. So we're in the stairway off Lamy's house and there was quite a big window. Next shorts, which is our light source. I'm and there's quite a lot of light coming in so we can work here with a pretty low I s O off 200 I chose and I stopped here so we can have a look at Leonis like and see how little space and see how the light situation changes if she's just turning her head a little bit. So we look at that and then I take some some for us for you so you can you can see how it looks on an image. So now she has a face turned towards the like So, um so her whole face is lit very, very equally. Ondas Quite softly. No direct sunlight. Um, so it's a very soft light situation. Hey, this is future. Can I need to jump in here quickly for a second to explain what I meant with soft light situation. So what I mean is that this is not a direct sunlight and the light source being the window is pretty big, and it's bringing in, um, like an equal amount of light, but there was no other light source like behind her. The light is falling off, and it's not really reflecting back a lot. So there is quite a big contrast between the side of her face, which is lit and and the other side. And later in this video, you will see when we go outside that in open spaces, the light situations become much softer. Now, if you turn your head a little bit to the right, slowly, slowly weaken. See to the other side we can. We can see how the light on on the other side of the face that is no, that is not directly lit. How is getting house getting softer? And if you turn it back a little bit again, there you see is coming back. Slowly, slowly, a bit more. Yeah, and you can also see how how the structure of the skin comes out more when, when it's directly lid, I'm using a eso of 200 125th of a second and F stop off 2.8. I'm so we're take another picture with her face turned away a little bit from the light. Yes. Yeah. One hair flying in. I'm stood exposing on the light side of her face. So this side of the face falls a little bit off in the darkness and brings my focus mortar one side of her face. I mean, I want to turn around a little more, actually. Bring the light source behind. Really? Can you? Okay, so now now have food shade in her face. I mean, and I'm exposing for the face so I would choose a higher, higher so and make the time a little bit longer. Andi, Let's see what happens then to get her her face bright. And I need toe toe overexpose the plates where actually, the light is which is, which is her hair. Um, I want to bring you a little bit more directly in front of the light source. Now, I have two options here. I can I can either super overexpose the background and let it burn out. Um, white or I can take the silhouette shop that you are seeing now. Let's do both of them. I stay with the eso of 801 125th of a 2nd 2.8 for the shot. Get over. Exposes the background on for the silhouette. A shot. We'll go back to the we don't. Maybe a bit more. I sold 100 and 100 25th of a second and 2.8. Um, and this was just show her silhouette and, uh, be exposed for the background. Let's keep going. So we still haven't left leaving his house, and we're in the entrance of it. I stopped here, Um, because I want to show another thing. We were standing in the door and there was a again, a big open space, a big light source that we have. And behind the only, um, there was a rather a long hallway in which the light falls off and becomes this and I want to take two photos. One is right here very close to the light source. And you would see how the light forwards off very quickly and get stuck in the background. And then we're gonna move to three meters back so away from the light source, um and you will see how the light in her face and in the background will change. Um, for the start, we can use 100 I s O and again 125th and 2.8 And take a photo of her here we have that window in the background that we can use as a little nightspot. Mm. Now it's going a little bit back. Make 23 meters. Okay, so the light interface got got a little bit more rain, and and it's not is as sparkly and contrast e anymore as it is when we were closer to the light source. And so when you take a photo now with the background with will come more because because the light on Leonie as well as the light off the surrounding Hi, they don't have such a big difference anymore. So let's take that away. I'm going upto s off 800 here and I'm staying with the other settings. Okay, Nice. Let's keep going and leave the house. Finally. Finally. So we finally ready to the outside and I'm stopping in this place with you because I wanted to show you how to use reflectors. Of course, you can always bring a reflector. But in this case, I wanted to show you reflected. That's just here in the street. We have the sun coming from over there. It's a little bit behind some dizzy clouds, but But it still has an effect. And we're going to use this white transporter that is reflecting the light coming from the sun and back into the only space eso. I want to take two photos and show you what happens when we use the reflector and when we don't use it. Um, so first off come a little bit closer to the car. So we have the sun shining onto the car and then back into a face when we have a little bit of light spot on her nose will keep that there musing. And I s o of 100 350th of a second and F stop off 2.8. Take that for two with the reflector. Look at the highs while she's moving, we're gonna go away a little bit from the reflector A little more, little more. And I guess you can already see what happens. And there's that There was, um yeah, this light spot in her face that was lighting her eyes that disappeared. And I will take that same photo here with the same settings and same background. And you see what difference it makes to use this. This white cards reflector when the sun is stronger off course, this has a much stronger effect. And also, if you have a colorful surface like a yellow red one, whatever on the color that is gonna be reflected into her face brings another doing. That brings another aspect when you're shooting color, of course. So in that case, if the surface was red and the sun was for blazing, maybe her face would be would be had a reddish color touch on this side. And we have a more yellow sunlight color on the other side. Maybe we'll find a situation like that later. Let's see. For now, let's move on through the streets of building. So we stopped in another place where the light is coming from here. The sun is getting a bit stronger now on Do What happens in this situation is that hits the floor and it reflects back onto Leonis face and we're under a bridge. What happens is the under the bridge there is there is no light. So what we can do here is weaken separate Leonie from the background because her face is much, much brighter than the background is. I'm and that way we can We can get a rather focused image off her, focused in terms of the background, doesn't play a big role. It z getting dark and, yeah, set her apart in the foreground. Take a photo here with 250th of a second s over hundreds and the next stop off 2.8. I want to walk to the other side of the bridge now and have a look at what happens if you don't have this dark background and how that changes over contrast of the image on the relation off the foreground. So let's go to the other side. By the way, this is Ah, a little seen off Berlin. Thing is where we're photographing. I don't want to leave me. She's She's curious about about garbage and she's got my little in stocks. Just let her do her thing, See what happens before she's coming. Now you can turn off the place. Let's go to the other side. So So we made another stop under the bridge because here we have. We have the same amount of light in her face as on the background. And the light is now coming from this side and a little bit from this side. And I want to show you how now way don't have that contrast off the foreground and the background because the lights amount of light, you could say it's even everywhere. Let's have a look at this. Turn your head to me. Okay, Maybe we'll do the same. Uh, the same with a white background. Um, turn over to me a little more. Yes, this was the train. Um, we're still in the middle of the bridge and we have the light coming from here. And at the end of the bridge, there was open space. So this is way brighter than the light in our face. Let's see how that looks, instead exposing for her face with 180th of the second of the moment. Weight really likes what I'm doing. He was well, a little bit. Is changing the former off the images of the image in a way by taking the top part of the bridge, which kind of shrinks the former off 2 to 3 swings it down a little bit, and now we go outside outside of loud. You know, close the place. Sorry. Amazing. Amazing. Bigger cause cause cause are in stocks. Image before It's nice. Media has a talent for that to like a chameleon t match. Urged her surroundings. Yeah, So I stopped here because I wanted to show you something that I noticed. Then he's wearing this blue jacket and we have these blue pipes going above her. We're standing in the shades off of a building again. It's an open shape. There's lots of open space from here that gives us Ah, soft light. Um, but it's not really direct, like there was a little bit of light coming on this side of the face. But all in all, it's not very, very directed. It's not as contrast ing. I stopped here to take a photo in which, um, in which the back on that we see this guy is gonna gonna blow out. It's gonna is going overexposed because it's much brighter than the light which was standing in. And also you can use these. These tubes toe, um to bring ah simple structure into into the image that makes it more interesting rather than yeah, we a flat surface as always, depending on what you're doing, what you what you want to be doing. So the camera is telling me them overexposing because it's mostly noticing the sky in the in the background if you're using. If you're not using an external light meter, which probably most cases will be the case. If you're shooting with a digital camera to actually check the lighting on her face and make sure that you exposing the face and not the background, you can you can go closer and fill the frame with her head and measure the light there. Uh, and with the setting, you can go back again and take the image, because if you take it from further away, like I said, the comma might see the sky and may think this is what the images about. Um, if you want to make sure the faces exposed right, go closer and check the lighting there. Let's go. So Leonie spotted a light situation, which I wanted to show you. Um, and it is a reflection of light, and this time it's a colorful wall that reflects the light. Andi. Therefore, it brings a different color into Leonis face. And as you can probably see already in the video, it's It's yellow. It's like a yellowish orange brick wall, which has light coming on it on the top on. Then there was a shady part on the bottom. Um, and lucky for us in the background there are some blue columns as well, and Leonys wearing a bluish jacket. So what we're getting here is a nice warm to cold contrast. Eso the warm yellow light on Also seen in there in the yellow pull over that she's wearing . I'm and these blue columns in the background and her blue jacket. So let's take a I like is not blue. What's lilac? Okay, I'm color blind. Okay, nice. So there's a like a yellow reddish light coming onto her face. Um, not to show you the difference. I want toe toe walk. Just like 10 15 meters. That way on, take the same photo without that colorful lighting in her face. Let's go over there. So we walked about 15 meters. Um, and the yellow reddish, the yellow orangish building is behind the camera now on. I want to take this photo again. You can probably already see it. Thanks. Yellow red color that was in our face before. It's not there anymore. I have some green in the background. So also background. This has changed as you can, as you can see on the image. Um, this color that we had from the reflector is now going. So that's something you can do with colorful surfaces that reflect the light. Yeah, and that's really fun. So now we have to get out of here cause we jumped over the fence to get here. Let's go. I wanted to take So we stopped hearing an interesting a light situation. As you can see, I'm holding my hand toe cover my eyes a little bit because we have a direct sun coming here on the same time the sun is shining on the pavement on me, which is a nice It's a nice combination because when you only have the direct sunlight, you get very, very hard shadows on this. You can use for your benefit if if that suits your idea. But it can be very tricky now. In this case, we have the direct, like coming from the sky and then we have quite a hard light is where bouncing off the pavement. We can see that in your face already. And I take a couple of photos to make that a bit more visible somehow we won't. Yeah, yeah, And as you can you can see in the last image. So there was again a contrast between her being in the light I mean, very well lit. And then this background being bean rather dark again. That's another way to separate the foreground from from the background. Yeah, let's go eat something. Another life situation that I want to have a quick look at or just to bring awareness to. Um we were on the sidewalk and the other side of the street is not so far away. And there was a bit of an open space. So we have a bit of light coming from here. I just want to bring some awareness to, um to her lighting in her face. Now, have a look. Come over here to have a look at Casey. I take a photo as well a lot. It's the look at mine. OK, As you can see, there is a bit more light coming from where this open spaces and here, where it goes into the street. Um, it's a darker already. Now, if we go to the other side, we can see that now in front of her face there is is the building. And then there was just There's not so much sunlight any more that could be reflecting from the building. So it's pretty dark in her face and you can see there was still a bit coming from this open space. But generally it's much darker on this side because there's no sun, no light coming from where the building is. I take a photo here first with the same with the same settings, and then I would go one stock white to bring a little more light. And in that second photo you can you can see there wasn't as much light in the face. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a little bad light situation. It's just just different on it brings another focus, and I would move on. Thank you. That was it. That was our walk to uh, Berlin in October, where we have to look a light situations and some colors and other other things. So really noisy here way had a lot of garbage today. You may be There was a good example. Also for that you don't necessarily need the most beautiful scenery, but, um, that you can do a lot out of garbage. Yeah. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed the sound of Berlin Morricone's cars and yeah, I hope you got something out of it. Good bye. Bye bye.
11. Black and White Color: today. I want to talk about the question of black and white or color in the days of film on if you're shooting from today. Still, that question is something you ask yourself in the moment off. Choosing the film, putting it into your camera. Um, while with a digital camera, you can just shoot a raw file and decide later if you want for us to be black and white or color, which again is, of course, is a comfort. And, um, as with with most comforts that come with the digital camera, it can also be a burden. And so to make that question easier for you before afterwards if black and white or color, I want toe to give you some some information about it that may help you toe make that choice. Um, you could say Or, uh, maybe you could. Even extreme vision is to say, if color doesn't benefit your image, don't have it. Make it black and white and you can off course a color. May is always giving something because its color and its given another aspect, but the question is, does it bring something special to the image that wasn't there? before I'm, uh, if if it was a black and white, does it add something? Um, I want to show you a little example. A black and white image, uh, which is a person naked in the snow. I'm and that's, ah, black and white image to me because it doesn't the color wouldn't add anything. It wouldn't bring something that wasn't there before into into the image. So it's only about contrast and about shapes and forms in the image. And that is also when you, um when you photograph, it's it one thing less to worry about, Which is why I would recommend someone who who starts photography toe to shoot black and white, and to really only shoot black and white in the best case on film. Because what you're focusing on these things is light and contrast on shapes and forms and composition. Um, and color brings an entire new aspect to it. That's a big thing to focus on, that you can leave out if if you don't do it, um, something that makes black and white photos, let's say in a way, easier to be to be appealing. To be interesting somehow is that black and white is an obstruction is another form of abstraction that has been add on photography being abstract in itself because it's freezing . Something is something that is not normal to humans to, you know, to freeze time. It doesn't. We don't have the the biological capability to do that. So photography in itself is something kind of unnatural. Um, and unless you're color blind, black and white photography is that's another Another one. On top of that is something that humans don't usually perceived that way. So therefore, it's something that brings an interesting nous in itself. Already Andi through that kind of makes it easier toe create something interesting. Not saying you cannot create something interesting with color photos, of course. But it may be, um oh, it is more difficult to create something created an interesting color photo that actually brings mawr. Interesting nous in it by being color, um, if you can. And if you master it beautiful. But it is another thing. Toe to, uh, focus your intention on attention. I'm You may have heard of the wheel off color already. Um, if no, have a look at it here, it's Ah, it's a wheel that represents the colors, and it's not just made up like this. Um, when you mix certain colors, you get 1/3 color on. This is something that is a scientific thing. Um, is not something that's just been being made up. And this is something that you can you can work with and that you can create interesting nous in photos, photos with knowing about this color circle and having at least an idea of how it works and where there are contrasts with each other and, uh, and um, that mixing certain colors that mixing colors leads toa other colors. And if you still have water colors still, if you have water colors at home, I would say still, because if I had, it will be from photography school times me. It's a good thing to try that. Just take that pallet of eight colors or whatever. How many has on Bix them with each other and see what comes out for that. Want to show you a little example off? Not one image, but two images, Um, again, that is something that comes when you, when you decide toe toe, make a book. In that case, It's not just one photo that counts. Like in that case, um, uh, uh thes 22 photos on a double page would work with each other. Maybe, maybe if they are single. They are interesting as well. But when they come together, they they form an interesting color contrast. Now, in that case, thesis happening in two separate photos. But, um, yeah, you You may be able to, um, to do that toe, make that contrast in in one image on maybe you can find 1/3 color toe, go with this, um, and create some interesting nous in color and available exercise that I would like to do is to go out and to look for this to take your camera and toe, create images that, um, a neutral that will be the first thing that don't really have color. That doesn't mean black and white image, but and images that have, like white gray black nous in it, but no really color. And then to find images that have have one color in the and then to find photos that have two colors in them, and to find photos that have three colors in them and to see how and how you can make them work with each other. You see, I'm just editing. I'm just editing other serious back here under on the floor. Um, just reached behind me this contrast that we that we saw in these two images that I showed before. Here it is in one image. So there was a warm fire on this Warmth reaches out into his face a little bit. And then there was blue around it, which is not only in that situation. It is literally warm and cold, but this is a warm cold contrast entities in one image. So in that case, that image is a black and white photo. It may be a good photo, but because its color something it comes in on top of the interesting nous off the image and the composition, Onda makes it more appealing. And this is what I said before, and yeah, which is something that can come on top and make make an image more interesting. Um, if you if you if you do it good, and if you really pay attention to the color and want to have it as as part of your image making so yeah. Go out. Take your camera. Find neutral images Images with one color with two colors and with three colors and have a look of it Color served may be appointed. Bring it with you and and see if you can find interesting color contrasts in that, um and yeah, I don't want to, um I don't want to say don't shoot black and white, black and white is amazing and it's beautiful And, uh, it can be the right thing for you. And maybe you never wanna want to go in and shoot color. That's fine. Just if you if you shoot color Twitter 12 really use it for your imagery in tow. Make it better in a way because its color. And I hope you have fun without I don't see you soon
12. Photography as awareness meditation: Hello again. This video is about photography as an awareness meditation. Now, when you hear meditation, you may think of something where you sit down and you close your eyes. Um, and bean bean that moment without without thinking and in a kind of monkish state and off course, this is meditation, and in some cases, it can it can help us also in photography. But the meditation I want to talk about is a different kind. Kind of a working meditation you may have heard that was with It's something that you that you dive into and something where you have all your attention without being distracted. Bye bye things. So you're focusing very deeply on something, Andi on this is where all your attention is now in photography. That is, um, the situation that you in Andi that is your camera and the settings that you need toe do in them. Um, and the composition, Um, to me, I mentioned this before, is this is like a tunnel. I call it the tunnel that I that I go into a state in which I have that focus on these few things that are center for me in that moment to take photos. Now, when you're going to a situation, um, this is this is something you can you can start with two to look around and to realize what is the situation. I mean, so what is interesting for me to take into my images into consideration for them? I'm meaning, First of all words, the light. Like, what were my light sources? How can I work with them? How can I use them for my image week? Um, what is the scenery like the the building or whatever? That outdoor situation, how can I use I'm the surrounding in my images in my composition. How can they How can they benefit me? I'm And then when you're photographing people, um, having that focus on either that person or that situation in which many things happening there is something toe you can deeply go into and that you can focus on. And yeah, meditation is about focus. I'm and in that case, not something like the breath that you have. But what you what you are seeing, Um, and the more you immerse yourself in this in this act of being focused and being aware of what's happening um the more you can you can blend out whatever else is happening, which is a very freeing. I mean, um, yeah, you're in that thing in that concentration, and this is everything that matters in that moment, I'm and it's not about I'm not about who's going to see the assist. This gonna be like toe or it doesn't matter. Or whatever problems you have in this in this moment, doesn't it Doesn't matter. You are there and you are focusing. I'm on the thing that that you're photographing right now and you're with your camera and you're with the situation and we hear with that person or thes people or maybe that building. If you're photographing architecture, whatever it is, this is where all your attention is. Um and I want to encourage you to to try that on to maybe also try that without camera, um, to be in the situation, whatever it is. So next time you you walk out toe work, whatever you're sitting in the bus or whatever it is that you're doing, I mean, stop for a little bit. Um, don't look at your phone. Whatever. Don't listen to music. Just sit there and maybe start with kind of a meditation to just feel your body in tow. Feel your breath. I'm closer wise, if you like, and then open your eyes and look around and realize everything that there is. And look, if you can If you can see light situations happening if you can see reflections I'm if you can you can train your mind on seeing and noticing these things. Um, yeah, it's a it's a beautiful breakfast that can be done every day. So just do that. Give that a try. I'm and yeah, it's something you can you can do all the time. And once you take the camera, um, you can start your situation with this practice as well and just hold the come on and not take it up yet and just look around and see what is here. What What am I interested in? Um, and focus on these things, and when you in a longer situation, it's something that you can get yourself back toe. Well, if you if you're getting distracted with things, I'm go back to to that question what interests me, Onda, What do I see? What do I find? How can I work with that? I'm for me. That is very beautiful. When I when I going toe a job and I may be working for 8 10 12 hours on. I'm in that situation. I'm spending a lot a lot of time in that tunnel. I'm not even realizing that Maybe I'm getting hungry. Your tired. I'm I'm really in this Andi m. Yeah. Like I said, it's it's freeing. It's kind of, ah, freeing act. And, um, it can make doing photography. I'm a more fun thing, but also something that that comes you down comes you as a a za person, um, and therefore but gives you the ability to be to be more focused and to be more clear in the thing that you're doing in that very moment, which is taking photos to in photography. I hope you can take that with you and, uh, and train that and I'll see you here. Stone
13. Composition: it's time to talk about composition. So the way how we play subjects objects in an image how we place wait. You could call it in an image and what woods there are and how you can maybe break them toe . Make the photography that you're doing something that doesn't necessarily stick to all the rules, but breaks them in your special in your own way. To simplify this. Enter to really get back to the basics. I want toe recommend you to try something. Find a piece of paper I can A four. You have maybe bigger a three, but it should be a blank paper, a blank white paper on Get some black paper or cardboard, something that you can cut in tow and into different shapes. I'm rectangles, squares, circles, triangles. Just get yourself something to play with and then started. Put these thes black forms onto this white paper and move them around and without feel how the weight on your image changes. We We did this exercise in the photography school in in the very beginning, and I remember that it felt maybe a little bit ridiculous, and I was I was a bit lost because I wasn't really provided with someone saying tried accomplish this rule or something. Try to follow something. Um, but it was just about doing it yourself and seeing how how this weight changes once you once you play with it and we're gonna get to rules also. But in the beginning, it's a beautiful idea toe. Just play with it, sent to just try it and to just get an impression off. And this very simple contrast off black forms on a white background and and how how the weight of the image changes are the weights inside the image Um, change when you play when you play with these forms. And, of course, like cameras have different aspect ratios that most common one probably being to buy three . Um, you can also change the shape of that paper like a six by six medium format. Camera does square images. When you try this, you will find also that there was a little bit of ah difference in that. So the white background on which you're playing has an influence on how how do you place the weights in these images and where are maybe yeah, where you would place, but lines going through the images in a different way than on a two by 34 months. That is, that is wider and kind of asks you to bring more action into it. Other than a square image that is in itself just a more calm shape. Eso Please, please give it a try, um, and and play with that and we're gonna go and have a look at some images on the computer and have a look at some Cem competition rules. Andi, at the same time, I want to encourage you toe not just stick to these rules all the time. And we're gonna have some examples of this is where but to break them somehow and to find to find your own way off, placing these weights in in your images and and filling the space in in an interesting way . But most importantly, in your own way. So, yeah, let's get on, have a look at this on the screen. So let's start off with this image that I took on Indian wedding on the countryside. It was taken with 35 millimeter lens. When you look at this image, which is the first point that you notice. Most likely this is the face of the woman who is crying and who's hugging the bright that is about to leave her hometown and moved to her husband's place. Now, why is that? In a second, I'm gonna include some lines into this image. But I want you to look at it first without them and noticed this face and then notice that her, um, is moving away from her face. And on the left end of the arm, you can see the hands touching it, and you can see another woman who is crying. And on the right side you can see that there was a woman in the foreground, which is which is in a rather rather Doc. So we basically have three layers here on the right side there is the woman who is a bit out of focus and who is rather dark. And then there was the main subject of the image. The woman that we see crying Andi, her arm leading to the left where there was more interaction, Um, more women crying end and their hands. Now I want to blend in thes lines, and these lines are separating the image horizontally and vertically in third's. And this is the rule off that. Now, uh, this is a very, very, um, very basic support for you in your image making toe Have these lines in mind. Um, and as you can see now, the eye off the woman or the main subject He's crossed by the upper third line and it almost on the on the junction, off the vertical and the horizontal line. If you exactly always place everything on these lines, as I said before, it's going to lead to yeah, maybe perfectly balanced images. But you want to try toe to do something more than just follow these rules. So it's good to have these in mind. I wouldn't necessarily recommend to have them in your viewfinder in case you're using Millis Digital camera. Um, but to keep them in mind and to keep in mind where these third lines go through your image and where these junctions are, um, and I want to move on to the next image again, starting to show it to you blank as it is without these lines. Now, this is a portrait format. It almost. She is almost in in the center, which is something that you usually would try to avoid. Um, but we're going to see in a second that it's not perfectly in the middle. And the longer I did photography, the more I got away from trying toe have, um, extreme movements in my images. And I'm working with rather subtle lines. And as we can see when we blend in thes lines, that there is a slight movement to the right. First of all, um, is not her knows that perfectly in the center. But the center line is basically going between her nose and her, right I And then you can see also that the hair is having a slight movement to the right and her right arm, which you see on the left when you look at the image, is also having a slight movement, um, to the right and also on the top. This guy is almost white. So you're in a way you are shrinking down the image format from two by three to something about around four by three. Just by having the this guy bright and basically making this part of the image irrelevant. Now I want to move on to the next image where I'm, um, not ignoring these third lines. But I'm having another approach. I'm not having the eyes on the top third line, which would be the usual harmonious way, but they on the bottom third. But still, as you can see on the top, I am, I am filling the space. So this hand is coming from the upper left corner, which is the European way of reading Page, because our writing starts on the top left and goes to the bottom right other than in places like he's oil, for example, this is our natural way of reading eso you're being brought in by this hand that leads into the main subject of the image. And then also on the right. The space is filled with the moving water and again remembering what what we said about, um maybe wanting a longer exposure wanting motion blur in the images. I think this is a good example to see that this motion off the water is something that makes makes interesting. Nous brings interesting this in into this image. I really like that. I don't know if the wave was coming towards them in this moment or if it was just going away from them? Uh, I'm not sure. I guess it's coming. Yeah. So even though the main subjects are in the center and on the lower end of the image, the top part of the image is eyes, food. The space is filled with something. But later we're gonna have an example also off, Um, a situation where the space is not filled and I'm still I'm still thinking that this is, um, an interesting way toe. Take a photo and that's this one. So the horse is, it's slightly on. The left side is not exactly in the center. It's ear is pretty much in the center. Yeah, it's not really on the lower. The eye is not really on the lower third line. It's not really on the top third line. It's somewhere in the middle. Um, so it's bacon. It's breaking quite some off some of these rules. It doesn't really fit into any of them, but that's for me. A good example for that being a good thing and like making the image more interesting, because if I was, if I would put the eye on the top third line, and I would have the mouth, mouth and the nose off the horse on the images. Well, it wouldn't have that interesting nous by leaving out the nose and the mouth I'm making. I'm making the portrayed horse more more interesting. And maybe you would even need a couple of seconds to realize it's a horse. So again, by break in composition rules, um, I'm getting somewhere where I wouldn't have gotten if I would have sticked to them. And as you could see from this point, I'm also leaving out the third lines I want. I wanted you to have an idea of it. Um, but I think while you taken images, it's more of an intuition that comes into play the longer that you do it. And this is a good example for how am harm using this space to actually draw lines into the image as you can see, it's is like a closing triangle that the road and the breach above form, and they lead to the the vertical third line on the right, and the woman is standing on the left third line. Yes. So we're different things together here. A triangle, the bridge being on the top third line, um, horizontal top third line and to two placements, her on the left vertical third line and the point where the triangle leads to on the right third line. And again, this is this all comes to, um, walking through the world with awareness and just seeing these things in noticing where lines are in the world basically, and using them for for your image. Making another example here off a person whose body is in the center and then only the head is leaning out a little bit. So again, it's only it's a rather subtle move that brings, um, that brings her out of the center and also the different structures in the image make yeah , make different patterns in brighter and dark areas in the image. And again, this is something that you can use four composition. The contrast between her dark pull over and the white background on the different structures of wood and, um, just wall in the background and then her head just slightly coming out of the center. And rather, while this Saturday way of bringing the attention out of the center and here we have another triangle that is descending from the right to the left. You can see how how her face comes out because it photographed on a on a dark background eso again. Composition is not just about lines in your images. It's also about how view place, light and dark areas in contrast with each other and again when you start. Um, I believe it's a good idea to work in in black and white because, um, you can bring your awareness toe to these things and and get closer to mastering them before you bring in this entirely, entirely new aspect of off photographing color. And he want to come to, uh, the last example a color image, Um, which is very much in the center. And, um, her eyes are on the third line slightly. The head is slightly leaning to the side. Her hair is slightly moving to the side, um, and in this case, also them the green color, which in the background, which matches the green color off eyes, is also bringing weight to the left side. So this is an example where color is actually part off, making uh shifting balance to a certain area in the image. That's it for composition examples. And of course, composition is it is a big, big topic, and you can read an entire book on this. Um, and I can only touched on this briefly, but I believe I believe that it's mostly about paying attention to it, paying attention to visual movement in tow, wait of light areas and dark areas. And this is why I believe this. This exercise of actually cutting out paper and and moving it around is actually very, very valuable because it brings your attention to these things. And I see books of photos where there are lines drawn into these images and like all over the image. And I personally don't believe that this is something that, um, that you do in the process off making images, um, that you draw all these lines in your head and then press the button. But that is something that rather comes from from practice and from intuition that you built up over time. Unless like an exception, for example, would be architecture photography. I think people doing that really, you know, putting their camera on a tripod, especially if you were working with something like large format, you would actually, I spend a lot of time to see where are these lines going? Where do I want them to be? But I think in in quicker situation photography. Yeah, this is in my eyes, At least it's something that comes more from intuition and practice. So it's good to have an idea off these images of these rules of the third lines. But I think it's something that you shouldn't get too crazy about and that you shouldn't try toe follow strictly. Um, I don't that helped you. And I hope you actually do cut out some paper and play and, um, yeah, go out in the world and try to see to see lines. A good exercise for that would also be to go out with your camera and see if you can find the letters of the alphabet out there in the world. If all the letters out too much, you just take every second letter, start with a C and so on and so on and try to find them. And that again sharpens your awareness for where there are lines in the world and how how I can use them. That's it for composition today. I hope you could take something from it and that you get out playing and trying, and I'll see you here soon.
14. A portrait situation: Hello and welcome back. I want to talk a bit about being in a portray situation with someone. And that is something that I personally found to be something that interests me a lot and something that I enjoy doing and something that suits my personality, and they're from pursuing it more. Um, you probably all know the weirdness off being in front of the camera, um, and having the feeling of being exposed, being being observed, which you are, Um, And being in that situation comes with an uncomfortableness and as the photographer, this is something that you need to I'm to help with. You need to help the person who is in front of your camera toe feel comfortable and, um, to either be themselves. If an honest portrays something that you want or to be, um, kind of following your lead. If you are into a staged photography like fashion photography. Maybe, um, you want the person to be to be comfortable and to be giving you What is the vision on on your mind? Um, now, how do you do that? How do you get someone to be comfortable? I would recommend you to to, um find someone to do that with. To do that exercise with someone who ideally is also a photographer. And you can start off with just sitting opposite each other Onda and looking at each other and doing that for five minutes. Save yourself a timer, Andi. Just sit there opposite each other for five minutes on on, Look at each other and feel yourself how it is to be observed by another person on do yourself. Observe the other person. And again, this comes what comes into play here again is the awareness meditation and, um, the focus and the attention on the other person and specifically what interests you I mean about this person. What is it that you would like Toa find in your poetry session in tow? Bring onto onto the the photos that you taken. So sit there with that person Onda observe each other and, uh, yeah, feeling to How you feeling? How does it How does it make you feel? Um, and the beautiful thing about this exercise is when you when you take this time and I'm and don't stop before the time of stops, then you you have no you have no exit. You have no emergency exit. You need toe deal with this situation. And, um, this is something and a lot of life situations. This is something that is that is difficult in that we're trying to get away from If something is uncomfortable and we don't like it, we have a tendency toe not do it. Unwto not face the challenge. So this is an opportunity to face the challenge in tow. I'm Yeah, toe, expose yourself in that situation. I'm and feel how how you feeling with it and and probably maybe not in the first time, but probably if you do this more, um, you will find that you can You can calm in that situation off being photographed. Now when you have the photographer on board, you want toe, make someone overcome that uncomfortable feeling. I'm thesis this exercise is something that can help you in that you can maybe also do with that person before you actually start photographing off course, a conversation or something, some kind of time to to get another person in tow, give the person the opportunity to get comfortable. It's something that can be can be very, very helpful for you and for the person being photographed. And I recommend doing, uh, doing that, and it comes on the person. But it comes you down as well. And and the person who's being photographed with feel also, if you if you feel relaxed and and rested Andi confident in that situation or if you are uncomfortable and if you kind of don't know what to do and where to go so it can help both of you toe enter that portray situation with with the calmness. Now, when you're in the situation off photographing so you have your camera out in you, you're trying to see the light and to see their surrounding and how you can implement it into your composition. Um, it's good to know, leave the person alone again In that situation, I think that using a digital camera can be a bit of a problem there because it it tends to make you look at what you're doing while you actually interacting with a person. So every time you look at this screen, um, you're leaving that person alone, that that's one thing, but you you know, when you set something on an analog camera, you you also kind of leaving the person alone, Um, but on a digital camera, checking the image means also checking the person. So you kind of checking the person's performance while here she is still in front of you. I'm and that can lead toe that person feeling like here she's doing something. Something wrong is not performing where, maybe even though it may not be the case. And you may just see that you that you know, setting the light to write off something like this. But but for the person being photographed, it's always a feeling off. I am being checked, and maybe I am doing something wrong. So it's important toe to stay with that person and to stay in that situation with that other person I'm. It's a little bit like checking your phone, not photography situation. Anyways, you're with someone, and in between being with that person, you keep checking your phone and going somewhere away from that connection, and that is that makes it difficult to keep up the flow in the focus. I'm off your photography situation, so try to be and to stay with that person. Now everyone wants to be heard and everyone wants to be interested in somehow. So as a photographer, you are the one who can provide this to the person that you're being photographed. Um, it starts with asking someone if they want to be in front of your camera. Maybe they shy and Dylan me. I don't like to be in in front of the camera, and that is something you could work with. But what everyone wants is to be seen, and in a lot of cases today that what someone wants to be seen is is somehow beautiful. Many glamour's or like pimped up version off themselves. I'm It's up to you. If you choose toe, deliver that or if you have another vision. And if you want to go deeper than that shadow mask, that's up to to you and what you want as as a as a photographer. But either way, generally, there is an underlying which this underlying wish to be to be seen. And if you are able to make the person comfortable in the way that you are seeing him or her, I'm you can you can really get somewhere with your portray photography and you can Maybe I am in my photography hope to to do that, get somewhere deeper than then this this obvious presentation layer that that most people have. Um, yeah. So stay with that person you can. You can do that in your own personal way and again, everyone's personality in there for everyone's wait, a photograph in tow. To be in a poetry situation as a photographer is different, but you can find your own way in how you keep that contact. That can be through conversation through letting that person speak and therefore again give the person the opportunity to be heard. And with that often comes comes this security and flow off, the person being themselves. If you are really interested in what they are, yeah, and you can you can really you can really get somewhere deep if you are able toe, create that safe space, that safe environment in which the person can can expose themselves, um, and that for me it is that's that's beautiful. And that's what I enjoy a lot about about taking portrays, making that space and actually getting to know something about this person, and it also helps me to find that special thing because when I first meet someone all like , the first thing that I see is this this facade and how this person is is usually acting in presenting themselves. But, um, but through giving that space in which I can listen and learn something about that person, I have the opportunity to find that special thing that I want 02 then capture in an image. So I want to encourage you to to meet with someone, someone who ideally also takes photos, sit down with that person and then going toe a portray situation on. Yet if the other person is also a photographer, switch that around. I wouldn't recommend to do it all the time switching around. But given each one separate space to be the photographer and to be the photographed person to to feel how you feel when someone is kind of in control of you, or is when someone is wanting something from you and to experience the other side off doing about yourself? Um, yeah, and that turning that mirror around to you it could help you understand the other side, and through that you can help you being a better portrait photographer. So I hope you get onto doing that and I'll see you here so
15. Personal growth through photography: today, I want you to ask yourself the question. What kind of photographer are you? And that question is very closely linked to the question. What kind of person are you? And that is crucial because only if you bring yourself as a person into your work as a photographer, it can be something that is very special and very unique to you. So it's important to do something in photography that is closely connected to you as a person and as a personality now is not that a certain personality is good to be a photographer and another is not. And there are. There was a wide range of what people are doing with photography and how they how they bring them themselves in in tow. What they're they're doing family. I want to bring some examples. Um, you Maybe, um, you may be a very, very outgoing person and someone who likes to communicate a lot and who is very extroverted in and, um, very easy and talking with people. Um, so obviously noticing one thing, photographing people, maybe something that's very interesting to you and doing it in a way that is, that is very communicative. Um, and very engaging with the people is something that that may suit you. So it's kind of your special power. Let's say, as an extroverted person, to go to a situation and to communicate with people and and to mingle with them and maybe toe two smaller talk very easily and very good. And through that, getting photos, um that you can only get because you're able to do this. So I'm let's say you were into two photographing in nightclubs or in a party situation, and your special power isn't Teoh to be in that situation with probably hundreds of people , Um, and to walk up to them or to approach them and to get very extroverted, um, photos of people in which they are very much interacting with the camera. And maybe you can maybe you can direct them because, yeah, because you're able to talk and you're able toe toe, communicate your vision and get people toe to, um to kind of do that for you to do that for your image. Um, so that's Ah, that's ah, like in each that you can you can go into because you are because you're good at this. Um and you can you can challenge yourself. You can see that you've that you've gone to a certain point in you. You got images and and maybe you Next time you go into that situation, you can go a step further and try. And he's an even crazy idea And get someone to do something on your image that that you find kind of crazy. But you find it interesting and you wanna try out yourself and you wanna see if you can if you can make a step further, some to bring another example um, street photography. Let's take street photography, which is You can do that in in different ways. For example, you can be someone who is more of an observer. Uh, and someone who's very, very patient, maybe standing in one place because you set up all your image and your scenery in. You're seeing everything you just waiting for for the right person. Um, toe, take your picture and and you you may not be You may not be into the confrontation with these people, and you would stand in that situation and wait for your for your for the right person toe walk into an image and then take your photo. You may be another personality who was much more, um, like, aggressively going forward in that situation and not care so much about this certain framing, but walk around in the streets and be very quickly interested in someone and just walk up to them and hold a 35 millimeter camera in lens into their face. Take your photo and walk on. So it's kind of the same genre, But depending on your personality, you would approach that situation in a different way. Um, yeah, uh, to take another example, something that I like a lot in. How I that I, over the time noticed. I'm, um I'm not only good at, but I'm good at it because I noticed more and more. This is actually my personality. And this is this is a situation that I enjoy being in and that I enjoy exploring and where I where I enjoy going deeper and and, uh, finding more that is being a in a one on one situation with someone That's it's just part of my personality that I I feel comfortable in that situation, and I feel that I am able to explore what I'm interested in in a one on one situation. So I realized more. And what taken portrays is something that, um, that I'm good at, because this is how my personality tics. And this is how I'm how How, um it's best for me to explore in tow, tow, find out more. And so I started going more, more after these situations and and, uh, and making them happen, making poetry sessions happen with people to get myself in that situation. And the more and more I did this that more comfortable I became and the more I was ableto just flow to just go with the flow off. I'm yeah, off my off, my personality in win which in which I flow best and and it lets meet let me focus mawr on the photography side of things because in the situation, I'm like, I'm good and I'm comfortable there. And it's not something that I'm I'm worried about, some focusing on on my photography because the rest is just coming out of me. Naturally, I'm so to recap this So the question is very essential. Toe. Find out for yourself. What? What kind of person am I? What's my personality? Um, yeah. Am I a calm person? Am I on observing person? Am I something? Someone who's who is who likes toe interact. Do I like to stage things toe decide? What kind of image do I already have in my head? And how do I How do I make this a reality? So, um um, I am I maybe even building building a set and and, uh, making lighting and, like, preparing everything because the images in my head am I a very like a structured person in this Or am I more over off a person going with the flow of of a situation. And again, what is interesting? Me? Am I interested in, um, in something natural? Am I interested in something dreamy? Is it my personality toe to let it happen by itself and be there, like in a rep Atash situation. Why am I someone who wants to take time to set something up? Like maybe in a complex portray situation? Um, so it's good to go after this and toe go with something that is in the flow of your personality. And once you get into this and you've been doing it for a while. There is, like your desire toe toe grow will probably come up and to toe, to grow as a person with the help of the camera. And this is this is the beautiful thing. And this is where photography, really I mean, can become amazing when it's not just a tool for you. Toe make a visual thing a photograph. But when it's a tool for you to become a better person in a way, become a more for food person and and to grow to grow as a human being, I'm so yeah, I'm saying this because ofcourse, if you do something that totally in the flow of your personality is kind of a comfort zone . Um, which leg is? I said it. It's nice to be in in your comfort zone because you can focus on on your photography. But as you may know, the magic always lies somewhere outside the comfort zone. So is nice toe kind of know where this Sony's And then to be able tow to step out of this a little bit and go a step further than then you may have gone before and try yourself out a little bit. Um, yeah. And, uh, go always a little step further than then You'd it in in the last time. So maybe if you were portray photographer and and for while you you photographed your friends, which which is a good place toe start off, because again, it's kind of a a bit of a comfort zone. Um, which is good for the beginning. But maybe you've done that for a while and you've seen him. Maybe not mastered it, But I'm very comfortable in good. It in good images come out. So maybe you would take the next step in and say OK, so maybe I can I can photograph someone that I that I don't know. And maybe in the first time you would do this, you would be in a situation with that person, not kind of knowing how, how to be confident yet and how toe how toe do communication in that situation. But but you will learn, you will learn in the first time, and then you would do it another time and and you will see that you will get more comfortable in this as well. And with that, your comfort zone by widens and and the range of your photography were you able to do it widens as well. And, uh, and that's that's beautiful. Um, in my case over over the years, photography and head with help of the camera, I got more confident in my comfort zone. Widened a lot until the point that it doesn't necessarily need the camera anymore. For me, toe, I mean to be that better person. Um, yeah, and that's something that I I wish for you. I wish that you I'm going on a journey with the camera that allows you toe grow and then to put the camera inside and also be a more grown person. So So try to take a challenge. Try to take a challenge with yourself. Um, finding like spending thought and maybe meditation on what it is, what what your personality is like. And then go in that direction and find your comfort zone. And from that comfort zone, widen it on. Go a step further in and see how, um, how you can do something that is kind of in your range. But that is a step further than it was before. Um, I'm sure it'll help you. I'm sure when when you do that again and again, I'm It will be beautiful and healing. And it will make you, uh, more happy and full food person. I'm hoping you get on that journey and I'll see you here. So, bank, speaking off growth through photography, I want to share this footage off a situation when I made a step out of my comfort zone and tryto grow from the position that I that I'm in knowing that I like portray photography into a situation that I make a step forward with this and and go a bit further than then I will usually go. And for me, that in this situation was about staging something. I was on an artist residency where mostly musicians were and made music, created music for a week. And I was there photographing this, and at the end of it, I had this idea that had been in my head for a while. And now there was a good situation Toe. Do it. I had a place toe mount. A camera. Hi. Uh, pinto point it down to a space where I could arrange people in a in a cutter Potter and I had this photo in mind, and that was my my chance toe. Do it. So I asked everyone who was involved in the residency toe to dress in black or in dark colors, and I wanted to make it kind of ceremony toe. Have everyone close their eyes and I'm going to themselves. And then one by one, I picked them up and brought them to this to this square where they would find their way into the group of people that was already there. So it was a mixture off arranging it, but also just giving the space for for the people toe just find their place in this in this group photo and I had taken group photos before on jobs, usually. So I I knew this situation of how it is to be the one to arrange a group of people that is sometimes up to hundreds of people. But to do that in that more intimate environment and create a safe space for this special kind of group, for that was new for me, and that was a combination of something that I already do. And then I I love doing the work with people and combining it with a step out of my comfort zone to actually try to arrange something. Yeah, something that is a bit more challenging also. Then then just a group photo is only their toe show everybody, these are the person toe who were there. So in this case, I wanted to combine it with the idea toe, create a beautiful image, and I had someone. It's pressing the button from years were mounted the camera on a did all the settings and lighting and everything. Um, but in the end, I was in, the images were so someone was pressing the button. And after doing a few shots in the constellation that we already had, I asked people toe to rearrange toe to find a new way of coming together. And in the end, it was one photo that came out that I thought was the best one, and it wasn't perfect, but it was a first step in. It was beautiful to see that I can do this, and that was an experience for me, where I fate my personal growth through photography. So on that note, finally changing that at our little chapter And I hope you go and find a place a little bit out of your comfort zone combining where you are too. Where you would like to go. I see it.
16. Introduction to shooting film: today, it's time to talk about one of my favorite topics, which is shooting film. I've been doing that for quite some years now, and I'm really in love with it, and I'm sure that it was a big reason for me to become more aware photographer and I want to encourage you to give it a try. Now this is a big topic, and I could do an entire workshop on that alone. But at least I want to give you a little introduction. So let's get going without the first cameras that were around were large format cameras. These are the ones that you may have seen on photos films where the photographer puts this black blanket over his head to see through the camera. Andi thes cameras still exist. There are even some small projects, too, that are making new large format cameras, and you can still get film for it. And other than traditional like proves that you may know large format film is used in sheets, so it's not a role with lots of flames on it. It's just one sheet they put in the camera on that you will expose then, so it's a this photography large format photography. It's very, very slow. The process of building up the camera focusing it, um, takes a lot of time and off course. Thes sheets are quite costly on processing them is also more difficult than with smaller film for months. But what's the beauty about? This is the slowness of it and the awareness that comes with it. And that counts generally for film, but especially in this really, really large and very slow format. That is something that that comes with it the slowness and the awareness. Now I want to show you some other Froome for months. First off, this is the 35 millimeter former. You may have seen this depending on your age. This is just what has been around in your home when you were a child. Um, the film is inside this this box, and it has 36 frames on it. And when putting in the firm into the camera, you are choosing your i s up. This is the moment when you choose the sensitivity of your film because the film has a certain I s Oh, in that case, 400. Once you put that in the camera. This is what you're stuck with. This is what you're working with. For the next 36 flames. I'm and there, then you start shooting. This is a very easy format to start off with, if you want to give it a try on example for a camera that takes these kind of films is that cannon you want program from the eighties camera that you can pick up for quite little money with a 50 millimeters lens, this would be wrong. About 150 euros. I'm and like, orphan cameras, The camera itself is a pretty simple tour, and it doesn't have so many adjustment buttons and functions as a digital camera has, um, which is a beauty about it, because it again it makes you focus on a few things that are really essential, which is the F stop tire, which in that case is on the lens the time diet, which is here on the top on. And this dia where you can sit the I s o This is just for the light meter. The setting off the I s o just tells the light meter in the camera which filmed you're using. So it gives you the right measurement. It doesn't. You know, it doesn't change anything about the film being an I s 0 400 film in that case. So you open up the back of the camera and load the film. I'll show you that, uh and then you can closing. Start shooting to put this into the camera, we pull up this sign on the back opens now, I put the phone booth, pull it out a little bit and then fitted in tow. One of these holds on this right. Turning now. We can already see. It's grabbing in tow into these teeth. Here. Andi put it in. And now we can already see, um that these teeth are grabbing into the film on This is turning and it's old fix and secure, and we could be sure that the film is in. Now we close it again, close this one down, and here we sit the I s o off the film that is in there. So of course, that doesn't change the eyes off the film. It just tell it to the camera. The light meter of the camera. Which film there was inside so which exposer exposure recommendation to give us. Then we put it just down like this on yet on the surface, something that doesn't let light in. And we take two photos. Good. Don't let any lighting that is to transport away the film that was already exposed when we put it out. So now the frame that is there and available is the 1st 1 that hasn't seen light yet, and we are ready to photograph get as a beginner in shooting film. I think grabbing a 35 millimeter camera is a very good start. But I want to show you another one. A bigger film format, which is medium format, basically to simplify these other three formats. The 35 millimeter film, um, the medium format and in the large format they have in other formats that has, you know, that popped up and they were around for a while but didn't really make it. And also in the large format, there are different sizes. Yeah, and of course there is. There is a porter, right? So instant film. But like for this, let's let's stay in this in this category. Off cameras that use this celebrated film. So medium format film Let's put them side by side is bigger than the 35 millimeter film. And, um, that cameras that use it are bigger as well. One of them we try and the using is a very classic one HASA blood 500 c. M, which has been produced for on about 30 years. Um, which is a very, very solid cameras, like pretty much most of the film cameras very solid. Build cama on the specialty Off this and all the other medium format cameras is that you can take them apart. Especially this is an interesting thing you can take off this back they can my back which holds the film And then you can take another back and attach it to you Come and me which the good thing about this is you can have let's say 400 I s or film in this one on Day 100 isil film in the other one. So when you change location, you can put in another film without finishing the other one. Now it's not just a bigger film format which leads toa having more resolution also because the former is bigger. You're using other lenses, which give the film more off off a depth in it. And, uh, that's just looks different. It gives it a different look, but most importantly, again, it makes you slow down. It makes you take different photos because you're more aware off what you're shooting. Just because you have less frames on that film in combination with this camera, it's 12 flames. Uh, this is six by six. And then there was six by seven where you would have tempt flames. And then there was a six by 4.5, which gives you 15 frames. Either way, you have let's frames on the same film, so that makes you choose more wisely. What? What What am I doing? One of my photographing when photographing this, um, a situation that person is is why am I Here is my anger, right, What's in the background? You just spent more thought, and you're more aware of what you're doing because every image is more precious. Why? Why does that make a difference now? To me, that makes a big difference because, um, because in this situation off photographing, I'm acting different, as if I had a digital camera, and I could just go and shoot and shoot. I'm like I said, it burns more awareness. And not only is it calming for me and relaxing to slow down into to not feel like, um, I'm having to push the button just because, um but yeah, it relaxes me and calms me and asks me these questions. Um, and I think for the person who's being photographed, that makes a difference is where it creates a different vibe in that situation that you are in with that person. I'm another thing is that you don't You're not checking. Uh, what you have, what you photographed. Now, this is something that I really, really love. Um, about these cameras, especially about this. This has a blood camera. Um, which another thing I want to mention about this one, by the way, is that when you opening on and you you look through it, um, everything is reversed. That's another thing that slows you down. And everything just looks really beautiful just the way that you perceive the world through this camera. Uh, it's just it's just beautiful. You just wanna look through it. Um, it's a lot a lot of fun. Um, now, of course, film has has a certain look other than pretty much all of the digital cameras that give you a very a neutral image. Phil has a certain look to it, and different firms have a certain look to them. I'm which is we just just it's it's very unique, and it's, uh, is not something that made artificially by putting some food on it. But it's it's made through the characteristics off the film, Um, and you may, you may not, But it's something that I fell in love with. T get a film image back that already has a certain fear to it. That, of course, you get to know fields off films over over the time. And you, um, you kind of learn how to use that look. Um, yeah, it gives you, gives you a direction off where you where your images going right from from the start, and yet there are footers and there are attempts toe reproduce. These. This and some of them are really good, and we will make you think, is this film or not so underside of how how it looks. Yet there are ways toe fake it. But it doesn't take away the fact that in the situation that you're photographing, you are just working differently. And the environment that you are working in perceives that as well and is noticing. I'm that you are immersed mawr in the situation that you're photographing rather than being immersed in what you're doing right after you doing it. Another interesting thing to know. It's good to know when you when you start shooting film and give that a try. Is that other than with digital cameras? Who which you can over expose, which you can under expos? Quite a bit, and you can still get a lot of information out of the raw file. It's the other way around with film, so film can stand a lot of overexposure, and you can still get the information out in the dark room or in scanning. But if you under expose it from like one stop under, exposing it is getting tricky, too. To get this information out there is, there is not very much which, of course, again, is something that you that you may like, and it's something that you may see with disposable film cameras that when they were in a situation where they under exposed just because they only have one setting it doesn't change. It gives it a certain look because in the scan, the scanner is trying to get something out of this dark information, uh, stock these dark areas in the in the film. And by trying to pull that up, it gives it a certain film. Look again. So again, it's something that you just may like. So what happens when you when you finish your shooting a film, you take it out of the camera. You can, of course, give it to a lab. Um, all you can develop it yourself. So there two types of film, more types of them. But the biggest, the biggest differences. Of course, there are black and white films and color films. Now you can say, Well, I could just shoot a color film and make it black and white on their computer, which is something you can do. But black and white film has a certain look to it again. That just looks different. Then when you take a color film and you make it black and white afterwards, the second thing is that black and white film You conducive elop it yourself on pretty easily. You don't need a four dark room to do that. There are There are dark bags which you can put your hand hands in and then do the the part of the process that needs to be done in the dark. You can do that in that bag. And that part is, um, cracking open this box. Now, this is something you need the needs to happen in complete darkness. You crack open the box and then you can take out this film and put it into a developing developing box. But it's kind of a tube on this tube. Doesn't let lighting, but it lets liquid in. So you crack open this film box, put it into the developing tube. You close that and after this, you can take it out of this back. All of this equipment that you need to develop your own film, it's not very expensive. And when you look on eBay, I'm sure there will be people selling their dark room equipment as a whole is a package. Well, you can just, uh, pick up one of those the chemicals that you need. I'm sure you you will find them online. If you don't live in a city, you can You can order them and and start developing your own black and white film. And that process is is really fun. It's really, really fun. And again, it supposes that you do with your own hands. And it makes you I appreciate every single fine that you're doing much more because it's a process that you go through until you finally pull that film out of the developing box and see your negatives for the first time. Um, yeah, just a very quick one on developing black and white film again, this is this could be a bigger, a bigger video. If you really want get in tow, shoot him from and you wish to have Uh huh. More detailed introduction on this. Let me know. Maybe I'll do another works upon this just very quickly. Once you take this developing box, the tube, um, you pour in a chemical at a at a certain temperature and you shake that books. Um, believe it. Shake it again. Do that for a certain time. You take the developer out, wash it put a fix. A fixation. You say that another chemical that makes it makes it stay. That doesn't make sure it doesn't fade when it's when it's supposed to light later, um, and then you wash it. And this is when after the washing, this is when you can take the film out of this box and what you get, Uh, negatives. Negative, because everything that is blight in the in the real world is dark on the film and the other way around. You can see it already. Um, and this is when you when you first see what you've been, what you've been doing, and it's already exciting because you have an idea of what you've done and and how how your photos came out. If you exposed them right or if you didn't major mistakes, I'm And this is the point when either you scan the images, um, to get a positive digital positive in your computer to continue working with or the traditional way would be toe make a contact sheet. This is this one. So that's the first time when you see your positive and when you see what have I done. How did it How did it come out? Um, yeah. So imagine you photographed something and you may read it a portrait session and you shot three films, and then you go through the process off developing it, seeing the negatives and then making this positive contact sheet. And maybe it's in the same day. Or maybe, uh, maybe it takes time until you have the time. Whatever. What I'm trying to say is you don't get to see immediately what you've done. There was an excitement that comes with it. Um, until you you get to see your positives. Um, now, this process of selecting on the contact sheet is also really, really fun. Uh, and a beautiful thing about it is that you that you see your journey off, How you how do you photographed and how you found something that was interesting and how you maybe got closer or changed your angle? Because how many? You, uh, yeah, it shows you how you interest was drawing you toe. I'm toe photographing. What? What was the core off off what you wanted to find. And sometimes it's the first image of the first film that, in the end, is the one that sticks. Um, and, uh, sometimes it's somewhere in the middle, but it's a It's a beautiful reflection on seeing. How did you How did you go through it? And again? 12 images. So it's it's pressures, and you can see on this contact sheet that I started with it in one portray Shoot. This is an 800 firm, I think. Yes, um, and then I used it for three more frames on another portrait shoot. And then I filled it up with two follows in the night. This is the point where, uh, if you do the complete analog way where you were going to the dark room and point to your photos on larger Um, Now, how this works is that you choose your images. In this case, I'm making little white dots next to them next to the ones that I found interesting enough toe to a scan or print and, um, and you put it in a machine. You put the negative into into a machine that throws light through the negative onto a light sensitive paper. I'm which then will hold your your image later. Now there was a difference between color and black and white. Um, why is, of course, as I mentioned before, black and white, you can develop yourself color. It's It's a standard I standardised process. So you can, uh you can give it to a lab and every lab as soon as as long as they keep their machines clean and running. Every lab would bring out the same image other than black and white, where you can use different chemicals. You going to use different temperatures developing times, shaking rhythms, etcetera, etcetera, so you have more influence. The other difference is when it comes to the dark room in a black and white dark room, you can have a red light. You probably seen that in movies or something. Uh, you can have a red light so you see what you're doing, kind of, um, other than in a color dark room where there needs to be complete darkness. So you really have to know where your stuff is, um, to get that working. And then it's not like you. You put your negative into the enlarger and you point it on. That's it. The images is fine. You have to do a lot of testing toe. Uh, toe. Find your setting for each negative. Um, off course. When you in the same light situation and you have one setting and the light doesn't change , you can keep the same setting on the larger or so, but a negative that has more contrast needs another setting on the in larger than one that has little contrast, and one that is overexposed needs another setting than one that is perfectly exposed under exposed. Um, so again, it's a much more time consuming process, and it's opposes where you have your hands on the images that you printing and you're spending a lot of time with each image. And again, that is something that brings it brings awareness and consciousness, too. Teoh, every single image. And once you've done that, once you stood in the dark room and you you have worked with one image for, let's say, half on hour or an hour, maybe even three hours. You really gonna value that image. And you're really gonna learn, Um, how to make your photography better, because you, because you know how how tricky it is, let's say toe fix an under exposed negative or two. I'm to make areas off the image brighter or darker. Once you've done that, next time the photograph, you will definitely pay more attention to the light to your setting. And, um, and to what you're doing. Because, you know, afterwards you re standing in the dark room and you'll be fighting for a long time with every little mistake that you made on that is very, very valuable. And this is something that you can you can bring into your work with. A digital camera is well, again. You will feel it's a different tool, and it can. It can shoot thousands of images, and it doesn't matter. But with training with analog cameras, you would also use that that two more wisely. In a way, Um, so this is why I'm willing encouraging you toe try film and slow yourself down with this again. Have one of those either from eBay or or, you know, ask your your parents uncles. Someone will will have one of these lying around somewhere, um, by a black and white film and give it a try. And if you don't live in the city, you can buy these films online. Fuji and Kodak being the biggest producers. But there are other, sometimes cheaper alternatives as well. Um uh, and get started. Give it a try because it's very beautiful. Very helpful. Um, yeah. I am what I wanted to say. You can buy these online on, and you will find labs also where you can send your films to, and they will send you develop firms back with skins if you want. Um, but again I would try toe are good a shot to develop yourself because it's very, very beautiful. Hands on process. And I hope you enjoyed that one. I hope you look, you will try. I'll see you soon by
17. A reportage situation: hello and welcome to today's lesson, which is about photographing a rep a Taj or how to approach the situation as a stranger. I'm I experienced this situation a lot when I am photographing weddings, and this may also be a situation that, um, you might have gotten yourself into already on. If not, it may be a good opportunity for you to to practice this The practice Photographing a report. Tajin being photographer in the situation which you are documenting. So, um, what? I'm talking. I want toe show some photos from weddings that I shot. They're kind of show what it is that that I'm talking about. But I mean, what's really interesting is something that you don't see in the images later or you don't see how it's been done on. This is something that is yeah, more interesting to learn, Uh, because you cannot see it in the images. So when you're photographing a rep a ties or you documenting something, you want to show someone who hasn't been there, um, what has been happened in that situation in that other country? Maybe on that day or whatever it is that you're with, Petacchi is about So you need toe. You need to introduce the person who hasn't been there too. Two different things. Um, one is the situation environment, the space. I think that's the best word. The space in which something is happening. You want to introduce the viewer to the people who are there on who is interacting in that situation, and you want to show what it is that is happening. What are these people doing? And you want to go closer and and show that in detail as well. So therefore, this is also where different lenses come in come in handy because, for example, to show a room to show the the situation, the location that something is happening in a wide angle lens can be can be a very good toe . To do that, I'm while when you photographing people when you may be portraying people in that situation , I'm probably a 50 year maybe 85 millimeter lens is is more supportive for that. But there again, this choice of lenses something that should be done with lots of consciousness. Why? Why am I choosing that lens? What am I trying to do with this now? Um, yeah, so introducing the view to the location, Um, introducing the viewer to the people who are there. And this is this is where the question comes in off. How do I behave in, uh, in a situation that I am documenting? And this is something that is a very, very crucial point because depending on how you present yourself in that situation and how you behave, depending on that, the people in that situation are gonna accept UME or or accept less. And And this is very important to you because if the people that you're photographing, if they have a resistance to you and if they if they want to close off to you because your behavior isn't appropriate to the situation, you are not only not getting a real image off what is happening, you may actually disturb what is happening. And this is, um, this is the last thing you want in our report, Taj. So So how do you behave? How you behave in a situation where you come in as a stranger, Um, and where your role in that situation is being a photographer and is not being, uh, involved in the situation. Um, so for behavior in that situation. There are There are two extremes in between which you you need to find your balance and do you need toe? Um, pay attention to both of them, but find yourself somewhere in the middle. So on one end, I'm when you're in that situation, you need to know that you are important and that what you doing is important and it needs to be done. And you're the person to do that and you need to. And of course, you want to do that well, and this is very, very important to you. This is the one poll, Um, on the other hand, you don't want toe disturb this situation that you're in at all, and you don't want toe toe into feel anything. That is, that is happening. I'm now. These are also kind of two types of characters. And if you lean more towards being one of them may be being the one end a rather shy person who would rather not dare to go clothes and who's a bit afraid, Um, and another character off someone who is very confident and very strong and very, um, outgoing, maybe even aggressively approaching that would be the other, the other end, the other character and whatever character you leaning to be mawr towards towards being It is a challenge to to move yourselves somewhat towards the other character. I'm so four shy person to overcome this fear off. Maybe being among people or a daring toe go close daring to be to be interested in something and following it up, or if you more the outgoing, confident character and to take you yourself back a little bit from from this thought of you being an important person here and being like learning toe, take yourself back a little bit and and not put yourself in the foreground. So you you kind of want toe find something in the middle here. Like I see this a lot with like I see both both extremes with photographers a lot, but with the people photographing, um, Ripa Taj is like especially something commercial like like you events or weddings. I often see this this rather confident, maybe a bit aggressive side in people. And I hear from people who are in this in this event, um that that this is disturbing them and that they feel I'm Yeah, that they feel that this person is is being to present and is being too much. I'm bringing them self in there. And on the other hand, I see, um I see people off photos of people that that don't there that don't think that they are worse he being there and that they are allowed to go there. I'm Yeah. And it's important to find that in the middle toe find that self confident confidence and strength to say I need to be here and I'm gonna do my job, Um, and do it with, like, a classic example is let's think of a wedding and think of the situation of the the couple standing in front in the church and you are the one who is supposed to be there. And maybe there are 100 or maybe even 200 people sitting in the church. Andi, there is the copy photographing. And then there's the police to hand it to you. Um and it's a lot of responsibility that you given their one toe, come out with photos later that show this situation of marriage in a in a beautiful way. But you also bean given the responsibility off, not being a clown jumping around there and taking attention because you want out of four people there. Um but in that situation, you're the least important. This is not about you at all. But afterwards you will be the most important because your photos are the ones that are gonna state on blast in and show that situation. So, yeah, this is a very, very, very important thing when it comes toe report, Taj. And this is something toe. Always ask yourself when? When you there and toe to find that fine line toe walk on. And in my experience, um, you do cross the line sometimes on do you cross it to To to know where it is. You know, like a racing driver who, who who loses the car and goes off the truck, but then knows this is where my limit was. This is where I went a little bit too far. And so the next time, um, yeah, you will. You will have a bit more experience of Okay, this is how far ikan I can go. Um, and this is really interesting also. I mean, this is exciting and this is something about self exploration Also in onto today I am. I'm surprised getting feedback from people saying we don't know how you did this. We don't know where these photos are coming from because in that situation way didn't see you. We didn't notice your presence. And that's that's the biggest compliment. If you have photos that are close up and in the action, I'm, uh and but in the situation, you haven't been noticed. Taken them? Yeah, so that's a very important and and good question to ask yourself and something to work on. So you're photographing a rep a Taj a documentary, and you want this to be interesting toe other people afterwards? Um, so if it's supposed to be interesting for other people, first you need to be interested on that is something that will be felt through these photos . I mean, now, of course, in the best case, it's a free project that you want to do. And there was nobody who's expecting anything of you. Um, and it's something that really interests you deeply from your heart. And we had these questions before off What interests me. Uh, what do we want? Toe go after I'm so again that plays in in reputation's well, if it's something that interests you, there was a chance that someone else will be interested in it as well. Um, so of course it's it's difficult, and it's not to be advised to photograph something that you don't care about. I'm so that's the very first thing finding something that interests you. And maybe if you if you are doing a commercial work, maybe it doesn't. It's not the thing that interests you the very most in the world. Um, but even there were. There are different shades of gray in there, so you can let's just take the weddings. You may be photographing a wedding off people that are completely out of the world you live in, and then you move in very, maybe some very high society snobbish people that that you don't resonate with it all. So it may be interesting you less or let's say it may be difficult for you to see it in a way that they will later find interesting. Maybe you want to be critical, but you're hired. It may not be critical. Somehow I'm andare maybe maybe a wedding off people that you have a lot of sympathy for, maybe even friends. And you are actually interested in in what is happening. They're in a positively tinted way somehow, Um, and And you maybe you may be photographing something that is no, your deepest heart desire to go after, but something that somehow interests you. So again, in the best case, it's your free work. You can you can do whatever you want and what you really want to go after. If you're hired to do something, uh, try, if possible, maybe. No, it doesn't work it immediately. But try toe toe work for people that you have sympathy for and that you really want to work for, because that makes it much easier toe to be in that situation and to be interested in what's happening in a positive way somehow. And then you in that situation, do in that situation that you're you're documenting, Um, and the question of interest comes again. What do I care about? Why am I in this situation? Um, that's the question that comes first. Why am I even going here? But then you there and you're asking yourself what? What is it? that that is special about this place about these people about this these actions that are happening here, Um and how can I get close to this and try to remember these questions during the day? Also, and I'm toe diving into the into the situation with this and haven't have a focus on on every little thing that happens. And that may be interesting. And that may just be, um, details off the situation of the room. Details of off dresses that people wear or a special way of someone is holding their hand. Um, or interactions of people like thes things happen all the time. Like some just the way someone holding a glass. It's happening a lot and maybe maybe a situation that you need to react quickly. Also, that is happening. And you would miss a lot of those if you don't walk around with this complete, uh, shop awareness in which you're looking to find these things. Because when you're walking around with this awareness and you will notice a lot, and this is something you can practice off course in a everyday situation, Um, but they're in this situation is something you really toe dive into is something I call the tunnel to go into the tunnel in which I'm in this in this focused state of paying attention to everything that's happening everywhere and finding what it is that interests me. That I that somehow has a twist has an interesting Nissen it, um And I'm trying to capture this because yeah, I mean you can, especially when it comes to hired work, and especially when it comes to a wedding, you can look at blog's and people's wedding photos, and you can you can just copy that and you can take them million's photo off to got a pairs of shoes next to each other. Yes, OK, you can do that. And maybe that's a safe way. But is that really what interests you? Did you really see that in that situation? I think I really like these These shoes and the combination of them And did you come up with with us with your personal, very special way of photographing nous? Um or is this something that you that you've seen and that you just copied because you saw that somehow it works, and you just do It is well to get your picture. Count up. Um and I'm not saying this way isn't that cannot be successful, but I believe is not very personal. And it's not. It's not very special and unique to you. And, um, this is what I want to encourage you to doing to find something that special about your photography. This is why it's important that you walk through that situation and keep focused on what's interesting you on. Then how can I How can visualize this? And this is again where the question of lens may may come up? Um, yeah, And then hopefully you you will. You will find lots of things that that interest to on that make this report are something that, especially to you because your eyes saw it in your very special and unique way I knew photographed it in in your way. So lots of things there come together. I wanted to focus now, on on and on what is specific to to report times. So I hope that help you. And I hope you get out there in a maybe new, maybe uncomfortably comfortable situation and, uh, help you have fun about. See you soon by
18. The decicive moment: One important thing for me to share is the awareness off the decisive moment as photographers were freezing time. We're doing something that the I naturally cannot do, and because of that, it's really important toe to learn how important it is. Toe, take the photo or choose the photo from the right split second, in which something in that image happens that is somehow special. It is somehow catching attention. There is somehow going deeper than usual situation, and nowadays, cameras and the industry is telling us whatever. Just take those 10 shots a second, choose later, and I don't want to say that's a bad thing to do. But I I believe it's very helpful for you toe to practice to finding that decisive moment while you're photographing. And still you can take more than one photo. Don't. That doesn't mean you only need toe. Take one photo in this house to be it. I'm But if you're getting yourself closer to this, and if your training yourself to really paying attention, then you're much more likely to actually find that interesting nous. Yes, this is where another thing comes in, which is near the mentioned patients, patients and oftentimes I see that photographers are in a situation and they don't have that patients and they they come up to a situation and they just think on my situation or interesting situation. And they left the camera and take photo and maybe look at it and go away and that's it. I'm But in the moment that they saw this situation and they approached it, they saw something happening. And it is maybe happening in that situation. But if you don't take the patients to with your camera, really stand there and find out. So what was it that was interesting Me and drawing me to that and then take the time to really capture that in an image. This thing you saw is not gonna get onto your photo because you saw a moving image. You saw life happening in its in its movement. But when you take a photo meaning when you fleeced time, you need toe freeze That special moment. And this is something that is beautiful about photography, that it is your choice to find that moment that somehow makes a situation special and that can then transport it on an image. And yes, you can shoot your 10 photos a second and choose that afterwards, but I would really want to encourage you toe. Learn to bring awareness to this decisive moment and when you're in a situation toe to stay there and see when when is something really special happening there? And that could be in a in a situation where you may be photographing a building or a street scene and you're waiting for the right constellation of people walking through the image. Or it can be in a portray situation where between one second and another, the same person's face just has a different expression and has an expression that transports something really different than the second before. Um, and it's up to you and it's it's it's a joy in it. It's up to you to find. To find that specialty and especially a portray situation is a good example because it's not really comfortable for a person who is being portrait. So sit in front of a camera. There is shooting 10 seconds, 10 images a second, Um, and maybe you are in a portray situation for an hour, and you walk out with 600 photos for you that's annoying Afterwards, Toe. Go through this and toe find this moment, but also in the situation for the person being photographed. I'm It's less comfortable than then if you are being calm and you are trying to find that moment and trying to capture that moment. So I encourage you to have how that patients and to have that I'm dedication. Also, it has to do with that is where I think someone who who really has is dedicated to finding that with. We'll bring that patients and would stick on in there and wait for the right moment. Um, and not just go and take photo and and, uh, and leave the situation again. Yeah, patience and dedication toe finding that special moment and yeah, on a contact sheet off, often an airlock film. It's really nice to see that process also, how how you got close toe finding that moment and how you may be founded at one place, Let's say for 12 and then you you went on and tried more, but later you find this is where it was. So it happened always in photography that that you would choose something afterwards and not just take one photo and this is the one I'm. But yeah, it's going. It's gotten a bit out of hand thes days with the massive digital photos. Be patient on Dwight. Wait for the moment and, uh, and capture it and maybe yeah, maybe kept to 10 uh, toe to find one. Tryto pay attention to that, and I'll see you soon.
19. Looking at light Thailand: Hello one. Welcome back in this video. I want to take you on another tour where we're gonna look at light. And we recorded this video while I was giving a workshop in Thailand while I was part of an artist. Residency and all these photos that we're gonna take and see now will be taken place in this one room that you can see here. So sometimes there was a cloud in front of the sun, but basically, the light situation doesn't change. And you can see how many different light situations we we do find in this one room. So let's go here. We can see the right situation that is in this room. On the left side, you condone. See windows through which the sunlight is falling into its about four in the afternoon. And the sun is quite strong other than in the video that we took in building. And here on the right side, we can see there's also light coming in behind this wall. There was a brooding that reflect the light, but it's not. It's strong as the light that comes in from the left side, where there was direct sun and behind the camera here, there is, um, a green park area, which is so when we came in. So also, from there there was a little bit of color for reflected light. And we start with this situation photographing the woman, and you can already see in her face that there is a red tinted color coming from the side where the sun is falling into the room and it's reflecting off of the wooden floor. So this is why it has a red color tint. And on the right side of her face, you can see there was a bit of a green color tint, which is green because it is reflected from the green plants outside. And the edit that you see here is not adding any colors that weren't there before. It's not like a added green or red. It's just what it is and what we've seen already in the in the building walk. The background is falling off in in brightness because the surface is relatively dark. It's a relatively dark gray, and it's quite far away from the light source that we have in her face and again, a little light spot from the window so we know on the other side of the room, very close to the place where the light directly falls into the room and you can see that on his arm and on his chest. That is quite overexposing there. But you can also see that with the movement of the trees outside, it changes a little bit in intensity. So on the first image, I'm exposing for the face and you condone. See that the light source from behind him gives a nice light touch on his hair, and it defines the edges over his face. Now, if we go to the next image weaken, see that the oval contrast off the image is is higher. And this is because in the second image we are using a different background. We just move a little bit. Instead of having the window as a background, we have the dark surface as a background. So for one, the contrast is more because we have a darker background and also weaken, see more of the side of the face that is directly lit from outside, but also because the sun or the light is not directly coming into the lens, and I'm a bit more. I'm placing the lens a bit more sideways to the light source. Also, that is a reason for this image being more contrast than the 1st 1 And in this situation, the balance between the side of the face that is more directly lit and the side that is lit mostly from the reddish reflection off the floor, it has a really nice balance. It's not too strong. I really like that as well. And always pay attention to this. How high is the contrast in your image, and is that contrast something you want or is it rather something that you would want toe avoid? So I can't standing opposite the man we just photographed, look at the eyes and notice how the windows are reflected in her eyes and that gives it that gives the eyes a bit of a spark, and again you condone, see the left side of her face from our perspective is more lit by the reflection on the floor, which gives this red color touch while the other side also has that, but it has less of it, has more light that is coming directly from the outside and is therefore not so colorful. Moving on to the next situation I saw. This one is about how much the light changes in someone's face that you're photographing with just a little movement in the first image. She has her head straight up and you can see there was a lot of light coming from this word reflection on the floor. And it keeps especially her left eye, from our point of view rather dark. But when she moves her head down a little bit, we can see with just that little change of angle off her face to the light source brings more light into into her eyes. So that was just a slight movin angle. And it had quite a big effect on how the overall image looks. So with that, I really want to encourage you to slow down and to really pay attention to this and to notice how little makes a lot of difference. We moved on and looked at something I explained before in the 1,000,000,000 video, which is a reflector. In this case, we are using a piece of paper as a reflector, and the situation that you see here is something that is very common mistake people make when they take a photo of someone who is in front of a light source. It's very, very common scene in an apartment or whatever. Someone is in front off the window and you want her photograph that person and the camera exposes for the background and the face of the person is just dark. And you might be wondering, like Why? Why is it not coming out the way I saw it? So you have two ways. Either you flash to have a second light source that goes into the face or you use a reflector, as we did in this case, and then seeing the images side by side with and without the reflector, you can see easily how much affected has just to hold this piece of paper there and how the clarity in the contrast in the face just gets way better with using this this simple tour. By this point, I was deeply in a tunnel already just looking at situations. Where do I see something? How can I demonstrate another thing? And I saw her sitting on the on the floor and noticed how in her face the light is changing just within seconds, coast by the trees outside, being blown by the wind and letting the light come directly onto her face. And then again not. And the photo that came out is from that split second, where the light is on her directly on her face and gives me a light situation that would have been totally different if I would have taken the photo a second before. So again, the decisive moment and paying attention to what the light is doing exactly is a very, very helpful tour. In a way, this image is similar to the 1st 1 we've seen, but just because it has been taken in another place in this room, the effect off some of the green light coming in, some of the red light coming in and the background falling off in brightness has another strength. Then it had in the 1st 1 you condone also see that there was, ah, second light sores on her ear, and next to her I It's also that is something that really, really can help you make the images interesting. Toe. Find different light sources, too, come into your meat, not just one and Also, the windows are sparkling her eyes up again, and I want to compare that image with you to this one, which is taken in a similar situation. It is just relying on one light source, and therefore it has a totally different look. Even though Tom was shot in the same place, and when you look at her face here, you can see that there's not much light in it, and her face is actually turned to the area in the room where there is least light and where there's really not a light source. So that is a situation that you could consider not perfect, because the person is not facing the light source. But as you can see, it still makes a beautiful image. And again, the light sources in the back give a nice sign on her hair but also the line going down her nose and then down to her lips. It's defined by one of the light sources that is in the back, and as you can see in the video footage, this can be spotted thes thes lights defining the hair and the nose it can be spotted in, like in real life It's just not as obvious as in other situations where you have more defined light in the face, a tive. And in this photo we are taking a look at direct light on someone's face. So as you can see, the shadows are really, really hard. And because the the background in this case is very dark, it's a dark surface, and also it doesn't have light on it. So it's very, very contrast, E. And then we started to play a little bit with throwing shadow onto his face. Usually, I would say direct light is not necessarily the best light situation, but more correct would actually be toe to say it's not an easy one. You can take beautiful images with direct sunlight. It's just a bit harder, like you need toe pay more attention, toe What do you want and where do the shadows go? Because the shadows that come there really, really hard on that, maybe for your advantage. But I think in a lot of cases, I think, usually for for everyday users who want to take photos of their family, it just often leads to heart shadows in the eyes and that you cannot see the person Well, so that's it for our little looking at light toe in Thailand, with some more intense sunlight and some more intense work with colorful reflection as well , thank you goes out to aren't continuum for hosting my workshop in all the participants being part of that video. And I'll see you guys here soon for the next video. Bye bye.
20. Selection: so far. Oh, selection today. Oh, what fun. So you photographed somewhere something, and you come home and you have a hold of the pictures and off course. It's too much to show people everything that you've done because you want to keep people interested. And even if it's just for yourself, maybe a holiday may be a portray shooting or a job or whatever you've done. Uh, you don't want to leave it with the number that there is, so you need to tow cut it down. You need toe, make it interesting somehow. Um, so I want to talk a little bit about this. It's, I think, a very important part of being a photographer to make this selection and create a selection that keeps the viewer or that keeps yourself interested in and what there is, I'm So how I started is when shooting digital is I opened my my fight and light room. I import them, and then I have a massive amount of photos in that case, sitting in the middle of ah, serious that I'm selecting right now. In that case, I was photographing for about three months, and I and I came home with round about 3000 photos, which is a lot. So what I do is I put them into light room and I decide not which photos I want to throw because I don't like them. But I I select the photos that I that I do like and that I am interested in and do somehow catch my eye and and keep me interested. So I go through the photos one by one, and the ones that I I like, I give him a one style, which is on light. I'm just pressing number one. Um So when I come out of this first ground off doing this selection and deciding which ones are like, I may still have just as an example, starting with 3000 maybe I come out with 1000 and 1/2 or maybe 1000 which is there too much ? Um, so after that, I suggested toe put it aside for a day or two, or maybe even a week. I'm and then go back to that again. Andi, do the same thing again, go through the photos, um, and either decide which ones you want to kick out. At that point, we pressed zero and the rating goes to zero. And it doesn't stay in the selection or what I like doing more is toe give it a second star and say OK, out of these ones. These are the ones that are left. These ones are the ones that they still they still keep me interested. And I want toe keep them. I'm so that way the number of selected images go down, and the less you have off each situation also, the easier it gets kind of toe see, which is the one that should stay in, which is the one? Um, uh, that should go. I'm so at some point I get to a number of of images that I don't really know what throw out anymore. I'm kind of stuck. Um, and this is the point where I'm making little points in this case nine by 13 centimeters, that very cheek. And they don't have to be the best point. This is just for selection purposes. I'm in that case. I got around about 400 points from this serious that I that I followed after, um and I met with a friend and we we had a look through them on, and it's very good to get a second pair of eyes for the selection process because you always have an emotional attachment to these photos, and you've been in that situation. You've known that person, and for you, this has another interesting nous than it has for someone else looking at it. And in your mind you connect something that happened in that situation to the photo that nobody else does. So, um, at least if you're interested in showing these photos to other people, it's a good idea to get another pair of eyes and to get some feedback about what is interesting to someone else and really like, go deeper winning, not just say like this and don't like this. But check why? Why is this interesting to that post? What is that one image transporting that the other one isn't And, of course, off course in that process, maybe get another friend and get another friend and get some different opinions. But it's very important that you don't make their opinions. Your opinions. Feedbag is good, and it can help you. But remember that you're not doing this for someone else. And four these photos being as successful in a way as possible. But remember, you're doing this because it because it's your work and you putting your heart into it. Um, and first and most of all, you have to love it. I'm and then you will find the other people who will love this in a way as well, coming back to the photos on the floor. And this is, you know, this is a very different setting than looking at an image for for a second on on a screen when you're doing this really diving into into the story and into what it is that you that you telling there and it helps you to, um yeah, to see better. What is interesting? You and what keeps you interested also after looking at it for a while. So once you've done that, putting them on the floor, you will already see that there are four that are similar. And maybe they have been shot, you know, maybe follow that I shop here. That was two months after one that I shot there in the very beginning. But I see them in the same space in the floor, and I can much easier. See, there was a there were two photos of the kind of similar, and they kind of communicating the same thing. And there's no point in having both of them in there, and you can just like to take them on. But hold him, hold them next to each other and see which is, you know, which one is. It's just attracting me, Maura and once, once meter to look at it more. Um, in this case, I realized after after playing with it for a while on the floor and moving it around, there were more photos from from the scenery, which already I took them out. I realized that if I turn this one around that way, they're gets a really nice double page. In this case, I'm working on something that's supposed to become a book. So I'm already laying them out in a double page format, and I'm seeing which ones are working together. Maybe Aiken, I can take a photo from another place, put it into this double page, and I'm realizing I think this fort needs to stand alone. It doesn't go well with another one. Yeah, In that case, I realized. Hey, fight if I turned that one photo around? Um, this. Yeah, this makes them both really attractive and makes them both really attractive alone, working together, which is something that you can very beautifully do if you haven't laid on the floor, I'm so after you've done that, I'm and seeing how I can take out this one, and they can take out of that one. You know, put them all together again. Put them on the shelf for maybe some days, maybe four week, uh, and then put them on the floor again, Do the same thing again, and you would see, with time some of these photos were just lose their attraction. And you kind of become tired of them. And and, um, they're not kicking it for you anymore. Um, yeah, this is when it gets easier to take photos own to say, OK, I don't think I need this one in that serious, um, and that cuts down your your number of images because finally, you want to keep it interesting and in the case of a book or maybe a presentation on on a website or points on the wall for others to see, you want to create a selection that keeps someone interested and that keeps someone wanting to go to the next picture, wanting to go to the next page and, like, discover what's there. Now, if you don't make a selection that somehow tight and that that keeps that interesting nous , then you or someone would turn the page and, like, maybe after 34 pages with would be like, OK, off on off. I've seen I've seen it isn't the person that photographer doesn't take me on a journey and he doesn't make me wanna continue. I'm so you kind of, Yeah, you wanted to get to a point where, where your story and make someone turn to the next page and keeps them interested. Um, and that just doesn't happen if you if you present someone your 900 photos for my holiday and I guess you made experience without whether maybe you or someone else shown you the Holy Day photos and you know at some point just clicking, clicking, clicking, clicking, clicking, clicking and it it just gets boring. So, um, so that's why it's a good idea to go through this selection process and to really cut it down to, um, to a selection that makes you want to turn the page and that makes you wanna go to the next one and see. See what's coming then. Um, for me, this takes a really long time. I'm really slow with deciding which. Which ones? Congar. Oh, which ones really keeping me interested. So I do this again and again and again. Andi, I really love this process, and it's it's a really aware process. And and you can I choose between seeing the overview of everything or taken two photos up and moving them around playing with them. And I really, highly recommend you to do this to get away from the computer at some point and putting them on the floor on and make this selection on at some point when you cut the number down quite a bit and you feel like you you're firing this process already. Put them on the world. Take some sticky glue thing that you can remove again. Put them on the wall. Onda, Look them for a while and again. Check which ones keep you interested in which other ones just overlooking, um, Toby, Very aware with this. I want to make a little site jump, just toe. Mention it because it's a very, very beautiful way. How how it's done with analog photos. So other than the digital camera that just gives you all there the photos and you can, you know, start working with them immediately. Working with film What you do is a contact sheet means you take that sheet of negatives in the dark room, put it on a light sensitive paper and put glass on it and then throw light through the negatives onto the light sensitive paper. Um, and after doing some tests, stripes because the color balance doesn't come out like this the first time. Eventually, you do make this entire contact sheet, and it shows you your one entire film in this case, six by six medium former and it's very beautiful toe Teoh to see your own journey and to see how you photographed and and what interested you and how you got closer to what interested you. I'm yeah, very, very beautiful. Very fun. And again, it's a little bit like this. You look at this at this contact sheet and you immediately spot this and this and this one that has something, and it's interesting Me. Um, so you have this little looking last to look at it closer, and then you you make a mark on some of these photos, and either in the darkroom, point them or scandal. And especially when you do this in the darkroom printing photos you were, you know you will find its along a long process toe print a photo to a quality that you look at it and you like, this is it. So the value of each photo just just comes up and you know how much work you putting in it ? So you selecting very, very good, Which is the photo that I'm putting this working toe, Make a point of it. I'm in, Which is something that is kind of difficult with with digital, because it just kind of too easy. And it doesn't require you to put this amount of work in it. Ah, yeah, that's something. A beautiful process in photo selection when when shooting for my love contact sheet. It's so much fun. Uh, yeah, on even when you scan them afterwards and don't work in the dark room, it's a nice. It's a nice reference toe. Seeing this is the color balance that film actually gave me. Because when you put it in the scanner, the scanner will make an interpretation off the negative already. And you've dude kind of in often cases you don't know what? What? Actually is the original color balance coming off the film? Um, yeah, probably very beautiful. So much for selection today. I hope it gave you something. And I hope you want to get yourself some eso points toe, put him on the floor and work with him, and I'll see you soon. So in the time that I stayed in this place and recorded a lot of these works up videos I've been editing on the floors you had seen two different serious than I that I'm working on on . And one of them put them up on the wall behind me. And I had a little show, a little exhibition get together with some friends and friends of Ace. I'm and I want to I want to tell you how how helpful it was for me. I'm trying toe break it down to the amount of photos that is now hanging on the wall, and I've been working on this serious for total off run about 56 months last year in this year and shot around about 17 medium format films. And it comes down to about 30 35 pictures that are on the war now and having the idea of putting this on the wall in having a certain space to do that and and need to limit myself to this space really, really helped me to toe only leave in the selection. What I really, really love and what really ghost together. And it's a good occasion, that's where toe to check and see what is a single image. What it should be. A pair. What maybe should go in in three images? Is that a question off color that matches of removed that Metro matches? So a lot of questions that I that I had to ask myself because it was to be put on the wall in this paper format, inner in a certain limited space. Um, and that really, really helped me, and I didn't courage again toe do that too. Teoh. Edit whatever you're working on with with little prints on DTI limit yourself. Somehow may that be the idea of doing a book with, Let's say, 100 pages maximum. Um, are putting something on the wall. It helps you toe to yeah, toe break it down into a having toe, crunching together to the core of what it is I'm. And it's helpful to have someone. So look at you with a look at this with you, Andi, To come with an outside perspective, not being attached to the situations that you have been in photographing this. Yeah, and yeah, for me, it was it was difficult to invite people and to say Come look at my work. See, See what I've done. Something that I It is an opportunity for me to grow with photography and very happy of Danny and that it that some people came and looked at it. Andi appreciated it. And, um, it must've It motivates me to keep going with this, and I I want to encourage you to try that as well
21. Social Media: hello again today. Let's talk about Social Media Instagram as being the biggest platform for photographers toe show. Their work is the example that I'm gonna take to talk about this. And as you may imagine, this video is not about how toe gain 10,000 followers in a month. I want you to tow at least question your relationship toe social, media and toe showing your work there. And this is what this video is about. And I don't want toe stop you toe use Instagram and I'm abusing is well, it's just about the question of how and how much you let yourself be influenced by the opinions of other people that come through, uh, this or other platforms. So, um, it's very common these days that photography that you do ends up on this kind of platform very quickly and the whole process of taking your time and seeing your work and seeing how it develops and where it goes. I'm it's It's kind of taken away when you put it up there very, very quickly and, um, you will get you'll get criticism through that platform, mostly not by someone really criticizing you in a constructive way in trying to help you, but either by just not getting many likes on your photos all by getting many likes and Commons like nice shot things like this, I'm But it's it's not something that really helps you toe, toe, toe, make better photography. And, of course, if your aim is toe serve an audience and toe, I'm just find and niche that a lot of people will. We like your photos and will, like, give you recognition. Then you can do that for social media. I just think it's It's it's counter. I'm productive. You say that to really helping you toe do photography that you love. I'm when you upload something on these platforms, only a small fraction of the people that are following you actually gonna see this image. And when they see it, they're going to see it on their phone swiping through for a second. And they don't see it in the context, Um, that you may want for this image on before and after they see photos of other photographers off just private people photographing their lives, and it's not really a focused, focused way of looking at your work, and that is for the other people looking at your work. But there is. Our talk is for you looking at other people's work. Andi. You feeding yourself with a lot of visual information off a lot of different people, some of them professional, some of them not, um, and it just it's a big load. And, like I imagine this like Imagine this being a music platform and imagine being a musician. And instead of listening to a song off someone that takes 34 minutes or toe, actually take the time and listen to an album for an hour, you would go through an up and you would always just hear bits and pieces off. 123 seconds off. People playing a little piece off their song and people that are not musicians also taking ukulele and going on singing a song. Is this really helpful for you as a as a musician? Is this inspiring? And I would say it can. It can. Let's go back to the photographer. It can distract you a lot, and it can take you away from focusing on what you are doing on what you want to do now. When it comes to the side of presenting your own work. Um, you are restricted with these platforms, and they're they're giving you agreed on which your photos will appear. You cannot change the order off them. Um, and and it's been it's been rated publicly immediately, So it doesn't give you the opportunity toe. Say, this is my work and this is how I wanted to be seen. And this is how I wanted to perceive to be perceived. It just tells you this is the option we're giving you. This is how it's presented. That's it, period. And you don't have any creative influence on this, which I want to encourage you toe to use that creative space and not having been taken away from you by a platform that is saying this is how photography is Preempt presented, period. So think about this. Give it a thought. Don't quit social media today or ever. If you want to think about what you're putting on there, and if you want to put something on there that you actually working on right now, and if it's a good influence for you toe to get that feedback and toe. Because of that feedback think that this is something I've done well, and this is something I haven't done well, according to how many people liked it, Um, it's not about how many people liked it. It's about you loving your work and then maybe finding other people who who love it is where and not creating something that hopefully a lot of people like and give you recognition because that recognition is not for your hearts work. It would be for following something that works in, like in the Mass for the mass of people. So it's too photography from the heart, and let's present it to others in a way that we would like it to be shown like it to be perceived. I'll see you here soon.
22. Photo editing: hello again today. It's time to talk about photo editing on the computer, so we leaving out photo editing in the dark room. Um, but the way that I want to show you editing on the computer is leaning on to the way it used to be used. Used to be done in the dark room. I'm There was a lot happening in photo editing thes days, and there is lots of a lot of easy ways off applying filters that you can you can buy. Just throw them in in your light room and put them on on your photos, and that's easy. And it's it's not bad. I want to say toe it's a bad thing. But what it takes away is understanding what is actually happening when you're editing photos and off course. If all you do is just taking a preset and using it, your photos tend to look like everybody else is that is using the same preset eso. If you don't understand what this is really about and implemented in your photo editing, there was a big risk that your photos, it is gonna look like everyone else's. Um so, yeah, I don't wanna make you stop using using your photos if you continue. Okay. But, uh, it's a good idea to understand what's behind it. So this is no full power for two shop tutorial. I I think there. If you want to go deeper into this, there's lots of opportunity. I want to show you the groundwork. And in photo shopped, there are 1000 ways toe to reach a certain goal, and there are a 1,000,000 functions in in the software on. It's not about explaining you every one of them. It's about showing you the the base tools that you can use to understand what is photo editing and what is really happening there when you pull sliders left and right, um, so that you can either do the same thing and, like call your editing back a little bit, and Andi play in an experiment in, like, understand, um, what you're doing there? Um, so let's get going. We'll do that in screen in a screen capture. So that was just a little introduction that's good going well, come to photo shop. This is a software by Adobe. I wear a known one in photo editing. There's also light room. It'll be like whom, which was originally built for converting raw images, editing and converting raw images, especially if you have a bigger number, for it is a very in depth program that I think it's good to show you what actually happens in photo editing. The set up, as you see it now is a set up that I built for myself that I like that I can work with these boxes that you see here. You can move them around. You can change the size of them, Um, and you can take them in and out of the program whether you blank working with them more. It's your choice on the right Here we conceive a window that shows us the layers that we have, and you can see this layer zero, which is the base image. And in this photo here, group One, which I now drop down, you can see the adjustments layers that I used to edit that image and the base image was quite a difficult one. So therefore, there are lots of layers in here where I did two different adjustments. Um, and I'm gonna close that group now. And by taking this, I I'm going to take away, Uh, it's they're in these layers, and it may be a bit of a shock to see then negative or the positive that they're Skinner gave me from the negative. Quite a difficult one. Um, the film 40 Superior was reacting quite difficult to, uh to the light situation there. So now let's go ahead and open an adjustment layer. You can see it symbol here on when you kick it. It drops down these different options for just millions. And I want to show you some basic important ones, the 1st 1 being the curves. So you click it and it creates a new adjustment labor. And down here you see the adjustment that you can do in this layer, and you can see a graph here, and this graph shows you where there was a lot of information in this image, and it's now referring to the RGB combined. So it's talking about I'm not specific colors, but brightness and darkness. You can also click this down and go into certain colors, but for this tool, let's stay without as you can see. For example, there was a big spike here on the right side, which represents this guy that you see up here. And as you can see, this spike doesn't go all the way to the end of the graph. There was a little space here that is open, and that is because this guy is not perfectly white. You can see the same here on the dark and on the left side that the information drops off before the end of the graph. That means there's no complete black in this image, uh, to visualize that I can touch this guy down here and pull it over to wear the information starts. So I'm telling the program, uh, everything that is lower than complete black. Uh, I want it. I wanted to I want the image information. Start with the complete Black to now have a complete black somewhere. Probably down here in the grass, maybe up here in a dress and the same with this guy and putting that slider over there. And now I have complete white somewhere in this gun most like, uh, as you can see, that also adds more contrast, putting it back for now. And I want to show you the the way that you can actually work with that curse. You can see that line going through here. Well, he touched down and put it up. You know, any more touching? Only the the bright, you know, only know you're not anymore defining where the purest white should be actually touching every part of the image. And you're telling the curve to go darker. So to pull everything darker or to make everything brighter And if you touch it again down here and you make a second anchor point, you can say Okay, I want everything t get brighter. But I also want the dark areas to go darker. And this is basically what contrast is to change the relation between darkness and brightness. Now, if I go up here again next week, when the eye you can see this is before less contrast, this is after more contrast in this case, at least at this point also, I don't want this. I wanted to show you what a contrast is, but for now I'm leaving out. We're getting to this later, but the first thing I see when I look at the image is the color is that it's to read. So I go back here to this symbol again, toe open a new adjustment layer, and I opened the color Bennett's again. You could see here my slider. So what I can do in the color balance and you can now see I'm working with the mid tones. You can also say I want to work with the color balance in the shadows, so in the darker areas, or I want to work with the color balance in the highlights of the light areas. But stay in the midterms for now, and the first thing I see is that she's to read, especially her body's to read. Not necessarily, um, the background. So we go to this slider, which is basically a simplified version off the circle of colors that we've seen before, and I click it and I pull it down away from red towards C. Okay, I think somewhat here we can we can start. That's quite a drastic move. As I said, it's a difficult negative that I had damn, and I think I I want a bit more warmth in it, so I'm going to the last slider and put that one a bit more into the hero. Now we go. So as you can see, that's quite a drastic change already, just with moving to sliders. So the color balance tool is very, very important. And if I go up you again to this little I and I kick it away, You can see this is what it was without our color balance adjustment. And this is with I like that. I think, um, at this point, I am also I'm also playing with it a little bit like it's a good idea, especially when you start getting into this question of water is for editing. What can I do? One of my options. What can I achieve? Give it a try to just touch the slider and see what happens if I move it this way. So I like what happens. Put it the other way. Do I like what happens there in this case? I think I would even, yes, use this green one a little bit. Give it plus three, and just to show you, I'm going to the shadows now and I'm seeing what happens in the shadows in the dark. Every house is not the most obvious example, because it's relatively equal lit. But in other photos you will see much more what it means to change something in the darker or the bright areas with the highlights weaken. Yeah, he can see. See well how it quickly has an effect on the on the skin and on the sky, especially. And not looking at the numbers. Just touching the slider and moving it. It gives me a feel for where do I feel it? It should be and should stop. I think he would feel good. So for me, that is that is quite in an intuitive process to to see what I like. What suits my idea. Where do I want to when we want to go with this? Okay, I think we can leave it here for now. I think at this point I do want a little bit more contrast. So I go back to my curves layer and I think mostly I would like there to be a little bit more darkness in the hair and in the background, not so much of her skin, and as you can see, also, when I pull this darker, it has an effect on how much the colors. Um, pop out like without doing this. I like the colors like this quite a lot. If I pull this down, I feel like the red is getting a bit too dominant again. And I don't necessarily need this darkness also in her skin or in her body. So let me pull this down a little bit, and here may be good, and I want to show you something else. Like I said, I don't necessarily like the darkness on her skin, I think especially down here to be too much. So what I can do is I can go over here to the brush. Andi, as you concede now, the main color is said to black can switch them back and forth. He was well, or I can click on it and choose another color. But we don't need this at that point because we need black, because black is the opposite of white, which, as you can see, is the color that our adjustment layers have. So what I can do is Aiken, um, I can take away some of that editing that I did, but only in specific parts. I now have the capacity off the brush that 51% and I keep it there for now. Let's maybe go a bit lower moment 35. And by clicking on this image, I can also adjust the size off my brush. I think a little small 100 gets a lot of time. Let's go 4 15 Uh, and the hardness. So how well defined is this? Plus, you can see here in this presets this is a very soft brush, and this is a rather hard edge. I think 10 is a good one. Um, so with this, I cannot go and paint onto the adjustment layer with black with 35% um, capacity. It usually doesn't do these things because of this queen capture. It's, uh it's making this, but I have a rough idea off of where my brushes. Usually you wouldn't. Yeah, of course. It's nice to see while you're working Now, that didn't have a lot of effect yet. Let's go a little higher. 50. And so already in the first click. No, it does have an effect, and you will especially see that later. Okay. As you can see here in the adjustment layer there is, there were some great in my wife. And that is because the editing that I did in my curves layer that was this one making, talking. I took it away in these areas that I printed to visualize this for you. I'm gonna go over here to the left, where I have this history off what I've done a bit and he can see three times I went over this with my brush tool at 50% or 35 then 30. So if I go back to what happened was the state of where I was before. You can see that this change off the curves layer is now still happening. But it's not happening anymore on on her body. Still a little bit, but notice as much as before. I think this is good for me. So, overall, I would say I'm already much happier with this image now. Um, but I think I want to do something about the situation of it. So I go back to my adjustment layers, and then I can open the situation just in case. And this is the main slide I need for this. The situation again. I'm only showing you different parts of what you can do. As you can see, it's an incredibly complex program. You can do lots of things, but I want to show you the basics of what's happening. And um, yeah, what do you what do you need? So if I take the saturation slider and pull it down a little bit, you can see how the situation goes. It also put it up. But maybe, let's try something else. It's cooked this back to zero and go to the Reds so you can adjust the situation off certain colors. And let's see what happens if I only take out the red. I go to the extreme now to show you, as you can see, it doesn't touch or almost doesn't touch the green areas around her. There was some red in the background as well, but almost almost nothing but the change most happens in her in her face, I think. Leave this at minus six and go back to the master. Take off a little bit. There was one minus two. Okay, Another thing I want to show you, which is something that comes from from the dark room or the weight name comes from the dark room, which is called Dodge and Burn. And the way I do this, I want to show you there many different ways to get to your goal. In four. To shop. I want to show you mine. So we go up here and here we can create a new layer. Layers are again. These are adjustment layers now creating a new layer. And we're calling it dodge and burn. Change the moat too soft lined and fill it with neutral gray. 50%. Okay. And there we go. We have our dodge and burn layer. I'm putting this to them. To the top. And in my tuba, here on the right. Um, there is this tour. It's now set to burn. You can hold it also here on this little arrow on the side and change it to Dr. So what it does. Let's go back to him. Turn what it does. That's very big, Smith. This election this morning, something like, yes, what it does. Um oh, what it did in the dark room is throw more light onto a light sensitive paper. Um, but only in certain areas. You would only do that in certain areas and This is what we're doing now. Here and by throwing light onto the sensitive paper. It makes it darker. And we're not doing this on on the images service. But we're doing this on this layer that we've created Dodge and Burn. And we're now working with capacity, uh, exposure. It's called 15. We keep that, I think, and were specifically targeting the mid tones we can again were, like, specifically, target shadows or highlights. And I'm clicking it now, and I'm moving this tour on the edges of the image settlement could be a little more already. See, on the adjustment layer on the right how this neutral gray gets Dark Ages and what I'm doing here Something I mentioned before in the workshop. Uh, I'm creating a vignette, and by doing this, I'm focusing the attention more on the center off the image. Now, you may not see this immediately, or you may not see it while you're doing it to change, but again, when you click on this, I next to the Georgian burned layer, you can see that change that you've done, and you can see how your focus is brought much more to her being in the center. And at least in my philosophy, you would always want to try toe, um, to not have it too extreme. Like to do something that doesn't shout into someone's face. I have been edited. I have been adjusted in and changed. Um, yeah, What you can do is where I want to show you this point. You can take this layer here and drag it down to December. Not this one that deletes it next to that one and create a copy. So if you have an effect on you, somehow I just want more of it in that case than Dodge and burn, Um, you can copy that layer and, for example, change the capacity only of that layer up here and say, Okay, want more that dodge and burn, but only 39% more, for example. But I think maybe, uh, no. Not to be too much. Let's say went. Okay, one more thing. I want to show you that I wouldn't necessarily do in this image, but I want to show you the tool, how it works, what it does on their from going zoom in a little bit on a Mac. That is command Plus, and by holding the space by get this hand here that allows me to move around on the image. I really like how she has this spot in her eye. Um, let me find maybe that's used this flower here. You could, um it doesn't bother me in this case, but I want to use it as an example. Um, we can go over here is my mouth to the right. And let's show this one. First court spot healing brush, which again? You can click in the image and you can change the size. The hardness of it actually good from. And this tool is a very simplified tool off what I'm going to show you afterwards, and with it, you can no need to be for this. I need to be in the main layer. Actually, let's make another layer. So I copied the base layer as I showed you before, and this adjustment that I'm doing now again to be non destructive off the origin. I'm doing this change on this second layer, and I'm using that cross tool over this flower. I just brushed over it because I wanted it to be gone. and what was so happening is it just appeared you can This is what it waas. This is one of its and maybe maybe there's something in an image that you that you want toe disappear. This is how you do it. I'm gonna do this layer then and make a copy of men to show you this copy stone to which is which is, um, basically a similar tour that just allows me to be a bit more precise if you need to be. And with this one, you can decide where do you want the information to come from? That replaces, in that case, this flower. So you can go up here and was old piers which click on with that to show the program. This is where I want you to take the information form. If I go here now, it takes the information from up there where this crosses, I mean going to kiss. Maybe in some cases you need to be more precise and tell the program Where do you want to get the information from? I'm deleting again because I like the flower. Okay, now, I've been looking at this image for a while. now ready while everything and I'm getting I'm getting a bit more of an idea of what I like . Like if I'm there already or if I need to change things. Still, I still have the impression that the red is is too dominant. Um, and this this is I was fighting with this a lot when I originally edited that one on. Therefore, I want to show you another layer which we can open again here and go to the selective color . This one is is going more into depth in the color work so you can click up here. You can see now I'm on the roads. You can click up here and go to different colors, and you can change the composition off the color itself to every color is basically built out of other colors. And by going into interest, selective color tool um, you can go more in depth with it and you can change in that case, how much See on you want to be in the red color, it said. And once he once I'd slide all the way from minus 102 plus 100. You get an idea of where you can go. And when you go back to zero, you might be realizing better. Hey, this is this is know where I want to be, So I want to encourage you to to use this toe, play a little bit and just see what happens and and get a feel for it. And basically, this is also what happens when you use presets. Presets a used on digital images, mostly which which come out very neutral. And they're they're, like, more predictable and therefore these preset colored towards work quite good on them if you would use them for film images. Um, that's a different story because the same film in that light situation gives me a totally different color balance, as in a situation in an indoor situation with artificial light. For example, um, while with a digital image and the ability to just change the white balance in the war file afterwards or even while you're photographing, that's a different story. But basically this is what's happening. Color balance, what I showed you before in selective color. Um, no, all of it. But this is what defines a lot of the style of thes thes presets and Of course, you can go into yellows. Greens. Let's just for fun go to the greens because there was a lot of queen in its image and show you how changes Dixie down. So maybe we like a little bit more this. Okay, I think we got pretty fired already. I think it's ah, it's a different outcome than I had on my original edit. Now we can competitiveness, and I'm gonna take this group, put it here. So that way I can combine all these layers together. Chris Commander G group. And then it'd another group out of this. Now again, we can kick that I to see. This is where we came from. This was our return. And this is where we got in our editing. I'm curious to see what it might my other everything looked like. It was quite different. No, not so much less color. That one. The last version I edited of this was was for my photo book. And so I had after I got the test points, I also had to adjust it to to what the printer gave out. But now, looking at the screen, I quite like our new ended as well. And notice also how why we were in the editing process. We didn't really notice the Dodge and burn so much the vignette that we created. But when we go from original to our edit weaken see quite extreme. But that's because we have this from one second to the other view on how it was to how it is now. A little thing before we go, I want to show you here on the right in the toolbar, cause that's a very critical one. You can you can change the framing of it. It's now giving me the square because they're always already gave these numbers in here saying, I want this aspect ratio to be one by one trying to leave this, um and like that one's for not doing it that goes away. So now I have the wisher aspect ratio off the image, and I can touch it here. And if I pull it around, it goes and it doesn't keep the aspect ratio oppressed shift button. While I'm doing this, it keeps my two by three. So, just for example, we could say we want some less about and with the arrow keys we can so open around a little bit if we like to and confirm and that's it. So that was my little introduction into photo editing with four to shop and again Look around. There are people who are really good for the shop, and we're really good at explaining it. I'm not such a such a master, but I think to give you an idea of what's happening when you edit photos or when you use presets, I think that was quite useful for that on and photo shop or photo editing in general is a is a big playground, and you can you can play for a long, long time, and I encourage you to do so. Um, if you don't want toe spend a lot of money on Adobe programs, there are also open source versions, open source alternatives. Gimp being the most popular one, uh, as a Photoshopped comparison. Yeah, because nowadays in the photo shop CC versions, it's quite expensive. Toe have them in turn to keep them. So I hope you get on the playground and I'll see you here soon. Bye bye
23. Printing and showing your work: So we took a lot of photos and we put a lot of thought in awareness in tow. How are we doing this and why we're doing this now? We want to do something with them, right? We don't want to just believe them on our screen or happen. Have him sitting there. Probably you would like toa toe do something with it to show them toe someone, or at least to make something that makes you appreciate what you have done. What you have worked. Um, what most people do or what's the most popular way. Thes days of doing something with your photos is to put them up on social media. And I talked a little bit about about this already. Now I want to encourage you to do more with your photos or to appreciate them more yourself and and find ways of off doing that. I mean, off doing that inner in a more loving and respectful way for your work. Then it would be toe throw them on social media where they're being maybe liked and then forgotten. So when it comes to the digital word off course, a website is a is a beautiful way toe present your work on on on a screen and and for people to see all over the world. And the good thing about a website is is that you have control over how they are being presented. So if you want toe, present them in a in a way that shows a serious how you want your gallery to look how you want the images toe slight through what typography you want to use. If maybe you want to write something that goes with your photos. Um, all of this is your choice. And today they were quite some some tools that allow you to to build website As someone who doesn't know anything about programming about doing websites. They make it really easy for us these days toe to take something in and play. That's a very that's a beautiful thing. Just just forgetting yourself in the process off. How do I want to see my photos and how I How do I want them to be seen by others? How do I want to present them? Um, so you this is something that you can just get started with. Get a 14 day twilight on a website like Squarespace. But there are many others, and it's a beautiful process to get yourself into Toe Star one of these and you ask yourself these questions, How do I like toe to see these images? And it also it also makes you makes you select and makes you ask yourself So what is actually worth it? What is good enough? What I want, Oh, toe show on a website. What's even more beautiful? And I want to encourage you to toe to do that east to get your photos on toe onto paper. That could be a classic photo point. I'm oh, it can can be a final point or off course in the most beautiful, um, in the most beautiful and hands on process that will be going to the dark woman actually printing them yourself. Um, but you don't need to go that far, but I want to encourage you to get your photos onto a paper on toe, everything that you're holding Andi that you can therefore appreciate in a very different way than if you having it on a screen. And from that point you were seeing, as you may have noticed in the selection already. Once you have them in your hand, you get more feeling also off. Okay? Do I really want to keep thes 100 photos? Or why do we want toe cut them down? And which ones are really catching these? Still looking at them again and again. Um, And after you, you made this. And after you, um, you cut your selection down a bit and maybe found some photos that really, really that you really love. Go ahead and put one of them large and make your he's a really beat. Maybe doesn't need to be so be but make make a big point, Andi, and put it on your war And, um, just sit in front of it and and feel how you appreciate your work. Maybe, hopefully I guess in a different way when doing this, rather than if you like clicking through it on your computer and sit down and look at it on . Do appreciate it on and without feeling. Maybe you can feel into the other photos that you have and feel which ones you would like to see in that bigger way in which one do you really I love so much that you want to make them big. Um, yeah. This is that This is just something I want to encourage you to to do toe experience your photos in a different way and and to respect them. Really? Uh, and it's a different kind of respect toe Pay some money for this and having a big point and giving it a space on the wall. Um, Onda really giving it time and given its space. Andi, From that point, maybe maybe you would like to try to make a book and toe toe See that there was a body of work that you've done may be a serious that you specifically worked on. Or maybe it's just your work of the last years. I'm I want to encourage is have to to try to make a book again. This encourages you to to ask yourself which ones are good enough toe go into this book. Which ones do I love the most? I'm And maybe which one's Which photos work with each other, and they they communicate something by being in combination with each other. Um, and do something like this, Get some may be smaller points. Put them on the floor and see which ones do. I wanted to bring into this book, um, and then go to the computer and, uh, Andi starts start designing a book. There are there are photo book on demand services which maybe don't have the best point quality of the best paper quality. But it doesn't matter. In the beginning, it's just about it's just about you making a physical product and making something that asks you What do I what off this work? Do I really love so much that I wanted to be in this book and get this this book pointed and take it in your hand? And, um, I promise you will see your work with different ice once it's wanted there. Um, maybe, maybe yeah, maybe you will even be more critical with it is where once it's in a book, and maybe you will find after looking at the book four months, maybe I would do it different next time and again. That's something that it makes you grow and makes you think and feel more into what you're doing and why you're doing it. Um, and I believe that if you want toe like if you respect and love your work and give it the effort of putting it into this into this book. This is a very different base from which you can present it to others. Um, because you now have ah different respect for it because you put a lot of work and effort in it and put it on paper and and you will you will show it to other people in a in a different way, I believe. Um, yeah, I really want toe encourage you to do that to get away a bit from the I'm from seeing them on a screen and having this this unlimited space of off having them on actually bringing them to paper, putting one on the wall, framing or photo getting giving into making a photo book toe, find respect and love for your own work and therefore presented to others in a different way is where so I hope you get on with this. I really hope you do. And then I'll see you here soon. I'm excited today. Um, I have a lot of process with serious that I'm working on, and I had it laid out on the floor here for a while and I change it a little bit. And I took out photos and on got to a bit of ah ah, smaller selection. And tonight I invited some people, most of them friends, but also people that I don't know so much or we don't even know it all. Teoh, come and have a look at my work in progress. And this is something where I am growing through photography and where I'm overcoming fear toe Go out there and say, Hey, have a look at what I would have done or what I'm doing. Um, and toe present it to other people. And yeah, it's something that I that I recommend you to do as well and to do it in the physical world toe, um, to show your photos to other people, may that being a little exhibition or or just in a little folder, maybe, in which you put your photos but to yet to choose tohave points and to choose which ones are the ones that you really love the most, and that you would like to share Andi to show them to other people. So tonight's my big night and I'm really excited. I'm a little scared, but I hope I hope it's gonna be fun somehow
24. Finishing the workshop: I'm glad you stayed for so long and watched all these chapters and hopefully you got inspired and you were ableto see your camera and your work with it in a different way. And maybe hopefully become amore. A more conscious photographer. I'm Yeah, I'm really glad on. I want to invite you to send me some of your photos. Whatever happened in the process of going through this workshop? Maybe this is leaning onto exercises that I were commended to you. Or maybe you goingto into a portray portray mood. Or maybe you got a project going or yeah, it doesn't need to be something big is just leaning onto the exercises. That's fine to whatever. Whatever you did with your photography in that time, send me some of it. But do it in a way that that, uh, that you respect and that you find beautiful. And we put that put that love and awareness into your into your presentation. Please make me a pdf file. Don't just send me lose emitters. Make a period fire. You can if you like. You can write some description to it, and but it's not a necessity. And this is not some kind of test or whatever. I'm not giving you a mark on your your photos or anything. Um, but yeah, Just give it your love and give it your attention so that I can give it my my respect in my my time is where, um And then I'm gonna I'm gonna send you a feedback on it in an audio format. Please. Excuse me of that may take maybe a couple of weeks because I'm a traveling photographer, and sometimes in situations I I don't have I don't have connection to the internet or Yeah , I'm I'm available all the time, but I'll send you something back. And, uh, I really hope that you that you took something from this works up in that you able to make further steps in your journey as a photographer. And I'll see you one day. My