button to add it to your Channels Playlist (it's just like recording a Season Pass on your home DVR).
The Art of Photography
The Art of Photography is your lens into the world of making images. Every Sunday, Ted Forbes produces new episodes on diverse topics suc...Arts
Video Episodes:
3 Views
02:33:54 01/23/13
Episode 122 :: Rule of Space
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 01/23/13
In this video we're concluding the last of our rule series in visual composition with what is commonly known as the Rule of Space.In motion picture production this is often referred to as Lead Room. What The Rule of Space is visually is simply a technique when you want to apply motion or activity in your visual composition.The Rule of Space involves using negative space in front of the subject to imply a conclusion of the subject moving toward that space. We'll look at several techniques for achieving compositions based on the Rule of Space in the video tutorial. It is important to understand as we conclude the "rule of" series that these are simply techniques of analyzing what is happening in the picture visually. They are not laws that must be followed hard and fast. My point in teaching these concepts, however, is to raise an awareness when creating a visual composition. If you get in the habit of analytically looking at pictures and then analytically looking at your own work - this is where change starts to happen in order to improve your own skill as a photographer. You're in charge of making your own decisions in order to make a better picture. Sometimes this involves adhering to these rules in a classical sense - other times it means avoiding them for effect. But either way it is for you to decide. Sponsor: Squarespace.com - everything you need to build an exceptional website For a free trial and 10% off your subscription, go to http://squarespace.com/aop and use offer code AOP1
0 Views
02:33:54 01/16/13
Episode 121 :: Rule of Thirds
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 01/16/13
Continuing on with our composition series, we'll move to today's installment - Rule of Thirds. The rule of thirds is quite simple. I covered this before in Episode 5, but since its been a while and for the sake of continuity, we're going to cover it again in this series. For the rule of thirds, you need to mentally learn how to subdivide your composition into 3 sections (2 lines) vertically and then again horizontally. Mentally this forms a grid of 6 spaces. The Rule of Thirds states that the 4 points where these lines intersect are points of interest. You want to place subjects on these points of interests to create a sense of balance in your composition. Use of these points create a sense of tension, interest and energy in the composition as opposed to placing the subject dead center. It could also be argued that our perception as humans has become accustomed to this technique having seen it in painting, design and other forms of composition. I would personally argue that it creates more balance than it does tension, but either way it is a formal way of creating order in your composition. Learn it well and you can make your own decisions of when or when not to use it. The term rule of thirds dates back to 1797 in a book by John Thomas Smith titled Remarks on Rural Scenery. Smith used it as a painting concept of balancing dark and light values. This concept goes back beyond the origins of photography and most of the classical photographers used this concept a great deal in their work. Photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Arnold Newman used this placement extensively in their work as you can see in the examples here. Show Sponsors: Squarespace.com - everything you need to create an exceptional website. For a free trial and 10% off, visit http://squarespace.com/aop and use offer code AOP1 Audible.com - for a free audio book, sign up at http://audiblepodcast.com/aop - if you choose not to use the subscription, the book is yours to keep.
2 Views
02:33:54 01/12/13
Episode 120 :: Photography Portfolios
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 01/12/13
Today we've got a special treat for you - I've got a guest spot with my buddy Wade Griffith. And to make it even better - we're bringing the Photography Show back! New episodes will begin on Sunday, January 13. You can find all our previous episodes on iTunes. We set out just to record the announcement, but then I thought it would be fun to have Wade on the Art of Photography. Wade just finished his new portfolio book that his agency will be using to sell his work. I figured this would be a nice treat for photographers who watch the show who want to do photography in a professional scope. Wade Griffith http://www.wadegriffithphotography.com/ Blurb Portfolio Books: http://theartofphotography.tv/blurb-books Scott Mullenberg http://www.mullenbergdesigns.com/ Wonderful Machine http://www.wonderfulmachine.com/
8 Views
02:33:54 01/09/13
Episode 119 :: Rule of Odds
[LESS INFO] 8 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 01/09/13
Continuing on with our composition series - in this video we'll be discussing the Rule of Odds.
A quick note about rules - I don't particularly care for the term rule because of the implication that it must be adhered to for a composition to work. This is not true at all. Rather than rules - think of them as guidelines for creating interest in a composition. Use them when you need to create that interest - blow them off when you don't.
Having said that though - practice all of these rules as we go through them with your own camera and photography. Having them become second nature is essential to moving forward in your own abilities.
The Rule of Odds states that framing your subject with 2 surrounding objects (thus creating an odd number of 3) suggests balance and harmony visually. We tend to prefer balance and feel comfortable with these groupings of 3. Groups of 2 or 4 can sometimes create a sense of competition where as the odd groupings tend to balance that a bit. This is a very subjective rule, but it does create balance.
Remember though that odd numbers really just refer to the number 3. Objects of 5 or more create more density than the viewer will perceive and the effect is null at that point. Larger numbers of objects, however can be divided visually into groupings of 3, thus bringing more cohesion to the composition.
Sponsor: SquareSpace.com
Everything you need to create an exceptional website.
For a free trial and 10 percent off, go to Squarespace.com/aop and use offer code AOP1
4 Views
02:33:54 01/02/13
Episode 118 :: Photo Storage with Amazon Glacier and S3
[LESS INFO] 4 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 01/02/13
Please check out my friend Enrico Crisostomo's blog post - http://thegreyblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/amazon-s3-and-glacier-cheap-solution.html
All the info I'm covering is there as well as more detail.
Last summer we talked about the launch of Amazon Glacier and the possibilities of using it for photo storage. In this video I want to do a followup since its now actually possible to use Glacier and it turns out its a lot easier to use than we thought it would be when the announcement came.
Its extremely important here to say quickly what Glacier is and what Glacier is not.
Glacier is cold storage. This is designed for files that you don't need to access very often, but you don't want to delete. Cold storage is perfectly safe and redundant. Amazon doesn't explain the process, but most likely the files are offloaded on to tape based storage or servers that run low power at low temperature to reduce the cost of "running". This means if you need to get to one of these files, you'll need to initiate a request and 4-5 hours later your file will be ready for download. There is a transfer fee if you go over a percentage of your total storage.
Glacier is not an FTP server or Digital Asset Management System. You can't flip through thumbnails or in the use case I'm giving in this video, do meta data association.
But the great thing about Glacier is that you can store old photos that you don't need to get to very often. I like to use this in tandem with a second flickr account. I make sure my names for files are consistent and upload JPG files to Flickr and Raw files to Glacier. I use all the metadata and set management in Flickr and keep my files organized so that if I ever do need the raw file - I can retrieve it from Glacier.
The best part is if you can deal with these restrictions, Glacier is 1 cent per gigabyte per month. Way cheaper than it would cost to run a server in your house and its probably more practical as well.
In this example - we use S3 (which is also pretty affordable at 9 cents a gig) - but I'll show you how to change the storage class from Standard to Glacier. You'll just manage your Glacier files in S3 - no front end, fancy app or database management needed!
Amazon Glacier and all other Amazon Web Services - http://aws.amazon.com
Photo Thumbnail by Tim in Sydney - http://goo.gl/kfzy4
6 Views
02:33:54 12/26/12
Episode 117 :: Simplification and Negative Space
[LESS INFO] 6 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 12/26/12
In this video we will talk about 2 concepts for visual composition, simplification and negative space.
Simplification is the reduction of elements in the composition to only what is necessary for the picture. Its a concept very difficult for photographers for a number of reasons. If you are creating the art - in other words, you are drawing or painting, its more natural not to add things to the composition that aren't important. But as photographers - particularly if you're not in a studio, we don't have the ability often to physically remove objects from what we are photographing. This means sometimes you have to reconsider your angle, point of view or any number of changes to the way you're shooting that will interrupt your normal process. This can be quite difficult.
Show Sponsor: Audible.com
For your free audio book, try audible now - http://audiblepodcast.com/aop
2 Views
02:33:54 12/19/12
Episode 116 :: On-Camera Flash Techniques
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 12/19/12
http://theartofphotography.tv
http://twitter.com/tedforbes
Shooting in low light can be frustrating. The latest cameras handle this extremely well, but are priced out of most of our budgets. Consumer cameras typically feature a built in flash that is anything but adequate.
In this video we're going to focus on some small techniques and adjustments you can make with hot shoe, on-camera flashes that will dramatically improve the quality of your images.
Episode Links:
Sponsor: Squarespace.com
For your free trial and 10% off your initial purchase visit http://squarespace.com/aop and use offer code AOP12
Flash Models:
Nikon SB-400 http://theartofphotography.tv/nikon-sb-400
Nikon SB-700 http://theartofphotography.tv/nikon-sb-700
Nikon SB-910 http://theartofphotography.tv/nikon-sb-910
Canon Speedlite 270EX II http://theartofphotography.tv/canon-270ex-ii
Canon Speedlite 430EX II http://theartofphotography.tv/canon-430ex-ii
Canon Speedlite 580EX II http://theartofphotography.tv/canon-580ex-ii
Gary Fong Lightsphere
http://theartofphotography.tv/gary-fong-lightsphere
4 Views
02:33:54 12/12/12
Episode 115 :: Use of Shape in Composition
[LESS INFO] 4 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 12/12/12
http://theartofphotography.tv
http://twitter.com/tedforbes
http://copositionstudy.com
In this video we'll look at techniques for creating interest with shape in composition You can follow the composition blog to see written versions of all of the composition lessons we are working on.
I think of shape as falling into 7 different categories of treatments. These include:
Cropping
Scale
Fragmentation
Focus
Lighting
Metaphor
Shapes are typically defined by line - particularly line as boundary. Using the techniques here are ways of creating interesting compositions by making your own decisions on how to display to the visual subject and information.
Composition Blog: CompositionStudy.com
Sponsor: Audible.com
Book: The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel
http://audiblepodcast.com/aop
3 Views
02:33:54 12/05/12
Episode 114 :: Use of Line in Composition
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 12/05/12
This episode begins our mini-series on composition techniques. In this video series, I'm going to take a compositional technique and explore it. In addition we will look at images that exploit the technique and finally I'll leave you with an assignment exercise so you can start to work the technique being discussed into your own work.
We are also keeping a blog for this series of videos. You can visit the composition blog at http://compositionstudy.com
Assignment:
Create 5 different images experimenting with different aspects of line. Try to make these as minimal as possible to really bring out the emphasis on using line. You're going to create 5 different images using:
1) Vertical Lines
2) Horizontal Lines
3) Diagonal Lines
4) Organic Lines
5) Implied Lines
The implied will likely be the most difficult and the one that will take the most thought. I recommend you work with people as this will be the most obvious, but if you want to up the difficulty a little, try using still objects.
Show Sponsor: Squarespace.com
Squarespace.com - with the content management system that makes it faster and easier to create a high-quality website, blog or online portfolio. And they recently launched a developer platform for complete code control. Everything you need to create an exceptional website. For a free trial and 10% off new accounts go to http://squarespace.com/AOP and use offer code AOP12.
3 Views
02:33:54 11/28/12
Episode 113 :: Learning From Past Masters
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 11/28/12
This episode is the first in a series of composition studies that I'm going to do based on the works of past masters of painting. I've had requests to look at composition from an art history perspective and talk about how this relates to modern photography.
In this first installment I want to talk about the historical relationships between photography and painting. In the early days copying great works was a way to learn, but also attempt to bring validity to the medium of photography as being art. Today we still see copying done somewhat to various degrees, but progressive photography today is typically seen best making a statement to the historical type of work.
I do recommend an excellent book on this subject called Seduced by Art.
http://theartofphotography.tv/seduced This episode is sponsored by Audible. For your free audiobook, subscribe to http://audiblepodcast.com/aop
0 Views
02:33:54 11/21/12
Episode 112 :: Deciding What To Shoot
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 11/21/12
Sometimes its hard to come up with new ideas for things to shoot. There are a number of reasons why this becomes an issue, but sometimes we feel bored with our surroundings and the things we normally photograph. Other times it can be a sense of being overwhelmed with possibilities, even though nothing is really quite working.
I've been on vacation this week on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Even though its off season, its still an extremely beautiful setting and terrain for landscape photographs. In this video I describe what goes through my mind when shooting landscapes and I'll walk you through a sample image that I made a few hours before filming this episode.
Episode Sponsor: SquareSpace
For a free trial and 10% off your subscription, visit http://squarespace.com/aop and use offer code AOP11
3 Views
02:33:54 11/21/12
Episode 112 :: Deciding What To Shoot
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 11/21/12
Sometimes its hard to come up with new ideas for things to shoot. There are a number of reasons why this becomes an issue, but sometimes we feel bored with our surroundings and the things we normally photograph. Other times it can be a sense of being overwhelmed with possibilities, even though nothing is really quite working.
I've been on vacation this week on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Even though its off season, its still an extremely beautiful setting and terrain for landscape photographs. In this video I describe what goes through my mind when shooting landscapes and I'll walk you through a sample image that I made a few hours before filming this episode.
Episode Sponsor: SquareSpace
For a free trial and 10% off your subscription, visit http://squarespace.com/aop and use offer code AOP11
4 Views
02:33:54 11/14/12
Episode 111 :: TLR Cameras
[LESS INFO] 4 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 11/14/12
Twin Lens Cameras (or TLR cameras) were quite common as the professional choice of camera during the 1940s through the 1960s by photographers as diverse as Helmut Newton, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, and David Bailey.
Twin Lens Cameras feature two coupled objective lenses. The top lens is typically the "viewing" lens for the photographer to compose and focus the shot and the bottom lens is typically the “taking” lens. The taking lens features a leaf shutter for projecting the image back to the film plane.
The image quality with these cameras is still very competitive with modern digital cameras and at a fraction of the price. These cameras are excellent choices for photographers who don’t mind keeping them maintained and their all manual functionality.
Cameras shown in this episode -
Rolleiflex MX-EVS
Ansco Automatic Reflex
Flexaret VII
Recommended book: the Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre by Dominic Smith
http://audiblepodcast.com/aop
0 Views
02:33:54 11/07/12
Episode 110 :: Getting Traffic To Your Website
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 11/07/12
A few episodes back, we talked about some very easy ways to get a website of your work up for people to see. This week we'll take a look ways you can start getting people to your website and increasing your traffic. This episode is sponsored by SquareSpace - for a free trial and 10% off go to http://theartofphotography.tv/squarespace and use promo code AOP11
7 Views
02:33:54 10/31/12
Episode 109 :: Creative Burnout
[LESS INFO] 7 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 10/31/12
In this episode we'll discuss the causes of creative burnout and discuss some ways to get you back on the track to wonderful and inspiring work. This episode is sponsored by audible.com - get your free audio book at http://audiblepodcast.com/aop
3 Views
02:33:54 10/25/12
Episode 108 :: Metering for Night Photography
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 02:33:54 10/25/12
Modern cameras have very advanced metering systems, but I’ve found shooting at night is one of the most difficult things for your camera’s meter to handle. Visit theArtofPhotography.tv for related episodes.
01/23/13