Marissa Elman | Fashion & Photography

Marissa Elman is a lifelong lover of fashion and photography.

Introduction to Contrast in Photography

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The use of contrast in photography is one of the most critical aspects of art. Knowing how to manipulate contrast will help improve your technique and photography overall. 

Contrast, simply put, means different. In photography, some of the most usual differences are changed by actually altering the changes in color or tone in the composition. Lowering or heightening the contrast in the photo can significantly alter the story your picture is telling. 

Creating an exciting color scheme involves some knowledge of color. You don’t need to have the eye for the color of Vincent Van Gogh; knowledge of or an on hand color wheel will suffice. A color wheel is a tool involved in a vast medium of art. It merely consists of the relationship between different colors. Using color schemes, you can play around with what colors provide. It’s easy to find complementary colors because they are located on the opposite side of the wheel.

An easy example is the juxtaposition of the colors green and red. They both compliment each other and cause their counterpart to pop or “stick out.” You can also classify colors into two categories, warm or cold. Combining a cold color with a warm color will provide contrast in your photo. 

The most popular form of contrast is called tonal contrast. Tonal contrast refers to the balance of brightness in different elements of an image. Those contrasting hues are very noticeable in black and white imagery. If the photo is both very dark and contains very bright tones, it has a high tonal contrast. If the image has a far range of tones from pure white to pure black, it is classified as a medium tonal interest. 

As you work on your photography and image editing sills, pay attention to your usage of contrast in both pre and post. Variation can change your story as much the actual image does. Play around with colors, tone, and brightness and, most importantly, have fun!

Introduction to White Balance

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Many photographers will start shooting in automatic mode, but once you start shooting in manual mode, you will gain so much more creative control over your images. The first three settings you should know about are the exposures settings: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. These settings are only the beginning, and your camera settings go beyond those three. Today’s blog focuses on white balance, which allows you to get the right color temperature in your photos. 

 

Color temperature is expressed in degrees Kelvin, and all sources of light have a color temperature whether you’re using natural light, fluorescents, professional speedlights, or LED panels. Color temperature works inversely to what we associate with temperature because “warm” colors fall at the lower end of the spectrum while “cool” colors are on the higher end. The lower the number, the warmer the color, and likewise, the cooler the color, the higher its color temperature. 

 

Colors that are warmer tend to read orange and fall around 2000K, and cooler colors, like that of moonlight are at the other end around 8000K-10,000K. Even the same light source can have variations of color temperature. Take the sun for example. Sunlight may look neutral at noon (within the ballpark of approximately 6000K) but can appear warm at sunrise or sunset. 

 

Our brains are remarkable and recognize colors even in different color temperatures. We understand that an apple is red whether we’re looking at it in warm light or cool light. A digital camera can approximate the color temperature of an object but doesn’t always compensate correctly. If you want to record accurate colors, you may be required to adjust your white balance settings. 

 

Your DSLR will often have white balance presets like Tungsten, Fluorescent, Daylight, Shade, and more that will help compensate for your lighting conditions. Sometimes, your camera may have even more refined controls and may let you adjust the values in Kelvins. Think of color temperature and white balance as opposites: warmer light falls lower on the Kelvin scale, so setting a lower number on your camera will cool down the image instead of warming it up. 

 

White balance is a powerful tool for accurate color correction, but it can also be used artistically. Knowing how to set your white balance settings can make a photo look natural, but they can also be used to do the opposite and make them look otherworldly.  

Buying a 35MM Camera

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The 35MM camera is the definition of vintage and class. When you think of a classic late 20th-century camera, the odds are it is the classic 35MM. 

 

If you’re looking for an affordable camera, check out secondhand sites like eBay or Craigslist for your camera needs. Some of the top brands are Canon, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, or Pentax. They are all basic, top quality, and hardworking. Websites like Amazon have 35 mm film cases that can be bought affordably. Try to also look for a camera without the program mode in the hardware. The program mode can often make things too complicated for a beginner.

 

If you would like to get your hands on the camera before buying it, check out vintage stores. Many vintage stores have a 35MM camera in either working order, or simply for decoration and artistry. If you end up liking the camera, you can either buy it at the store or order the same make, model, and brand online or at another store. If you plan to buy the camera at a vintage store, make sure you run through all the shutter settings to make sure they aren’t sticking or damaged. 

 

It is also worth researching if replacement batteries are still available for the model you buy. Some batteries that are made with mercury are discontinued, or too expensive to buy. It doesn’t hurt to buy a camera from a store with a return policy or a warranty, just in case a cheaper 35mm comes with any challenges or damage. If you have money to spare, we recommend the Leica M series.

 

The 35MM camera is a beautiful and historical piece to use when taking pictures. Keep an eye out for our following blogs on the history and usage of the 35MM camera.

 

Photographer Spotlight: Ansel Adams

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Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is most known for his scenic photography of the American West. He’s known for using his photographs to promote conservation of the wilderness. He’s an icon in the photography world for his black and white images.

 

Early Life

Adams was born on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California. He broke his nose and was injured in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

 

Adams made a trip in 1916 to Yosemite National Park where his love of photography was born. He began experimenting with darkroom techniques and reading photography magazines. He sold some of these photographs at Best’s Studio in Yosemite Valley.

 

He actually married the daughter of Best’s Studio proprietor, Virginia Best, in 1928. After her father’s death, the couple continued to operate the studio. It is now known as the Ansel Adams Gallery.

 

Career

Adams broke through the world of photography into fame with his publication of his first portfolio, Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras. This included one of his most famous images,“Monolith, the Face of Half Dome.”

 

From here, Adams focuses on detailed close-ups of nature. He photographed everything from farms, mountains, and factories. He studied with artists like Georgia O’Keefe and Paul Strand. He published photography art books about his work.

 

He joined other artists/photographers Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange using his fame to bring social change through art. He worked to protect the wilderness areas like Yosemite National Park. He also photographed life in camps during World War II. One of his most iconic shots was titled, “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.” This was a shot of a moon rising over a village weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He made over 1,000 prints of this at the time skyrocketing him into fame in the photography and art world.

 

Later Life

The 1960s brought the appreciation of art photography to life. Adams’ images were shown in many galleries and museums throughout the world. Adams printed negatives of his artwork to meet the high demand for his black and white works of art.

 

Adams died on April 22, 1984, of a heart attack, at age 82. Adams is a photography icon whose work lives on in his beautiful nature prints.

How to Choose the Best Camera for You

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With so many different cameras on the market, choosing one can be quite a task. There are a few important criteria you can consider to make your choice a little easier. Here are three things you should consider in order to choose the perfect camera.

 

Budget

If your budget is in the lower ranges, say $500 or less, you’re already essentially making the decision to stick with lower-priced point-and-shoot cameras. High-quality, professional cameras will generally start around $2000. Anything in between is basically an “enthusiast” camera—you have some knowledge of photography, but you’re not in the big leagues yet. The good news is that even if you don’t have a big budget, you can still get a camera that produces a high quality photo.

 

Camera Types

There are three camera types: point-and-shoot, DSLR, and mirrorless. If you have a low budget, you’re probably going to automatically be shopping in the point-and-shoot category. However, if you have a bigger budget or you can splurge on whatever you’d like, this opens your options up to DSLR and mirrorless cameras.

 

Point-and-shoot cameras are named so because that’s all you really have to do. They are basic cameras that are easy to use and produce decent quality photos. DSLR cameras are a much better quality camera. The lenses are interchangeable, but they are more difficult to use. Mirrorless cameras are about the same quality as DSLR cameras (maybe even better), but they tend to be much more expensive, especially the higher-quality ones. Amateurs and professionals use all kinds of cameras.

 

Photography Goals

What you want to do with your photos as well as what type of photos determines the type of camera you need and what features are most important. Are you taking pictures for your leisure? Are you going to sell your photography? Perhaps you’ll be taking sports or action shots. All of these options require different features. If you aren’t sure what you’ll be shooting, aim for cameras with a lot of options or auto settings.

 

These three simple criteria can significantly reduce the plethora of camera choices. Once the choices are narrowed down, you can easily choose one that will be suitable for you. The perfect camera will quickly lead you to the perfect picture.

Creating Mixed Media Art with Photography

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Creating mixed media pieces is a fulfilling artistic activity to attempt with all types of wet and dry materials. Artists create mixed media pieces by combining any two types of media, such as acrylic paint with oil paints. However, mixed media artists aren’t limited to creating pieces with paint and other typical artist media. Photographers create works using mixed media by combining their photos with paint, pencil, pen, or other types of media. Many artists will experiment with developing their own unique methods of using various papers, photographs, and wet media to make collages of their own work.

 

Mixed Media Through the Ages

Although photography is a relatively new media for artists, mixed media works were popularized long before the invention of the camera. For example, Leonardo Da Vinci is known to have used gold leaf in his paintings. Even though photography is a viable media today, current artist Lawrence Weiner chooses to use text in his mixed media work. However, if someone is interested in creating works of art in the modern digital age, incorporating photographs into the composition is a viable option that might produce the desired result the artist aims to achieve.

 

Ways of Experimenting With Photographs

Watercolor:

Using watercolor paint on photographs adds a whimsical element to the picture that didn’t exist in the original. Photographs with watercolor take on a mysterious, unique quality. If an artist is unsure of how to begin with this technique, they should try printing a picture with plenty of white space on the edges.

 

Ink:

Artists use this technique to make their pictures stand out by adding shapes or colors to the original photograph. In order to avoid making mistakes on the original, it’s helpful to have an extra copy of the photograph. This gives the artist some freedom to experiment with ink without the fear of messing up the picture.

 

Collage:

Professionals recommend this technique to people who are hesitant about painting on their pictures. There’s something satisfying about cutting paper up to arrange it differently into a cohesive new piece. This technique for creating mixed media work often looks multidimensional. 

Tilt-Shift Tips for Novice Photographers

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Most photographers are informed in the art of taking tilt-shift pictures.There are two options to achieve a professional tilt-shift image: use a 35mm lens when the picture is being taken or utilize an editing tool such as Adobe Photoshop, tiltshiftmaker.com, or an iPhone app to edit accordingly after the image has been captured.

 

Here are 4 tips for tilt-shift photography to help you produce quality work.

 

  1. Take a high-quality photo using the right positioning.

 

Most tilt-shift photographs feature cityscapes or other scenery. For the best results, you need to capture a good picture to start. Take the photo in an aerial view, but do not take it from too high above the focus. By following this tip, the point of interest in the image can be emphasized from the depth of the background. Before capturing the photo, consider the point of interest that will be emphasized with the 35mm lens or where you will edit the picture after capturing.

 

  1. Select a simplistic looking scene so it is easier and cleaner for miniature faking.

 

Miniature faking is a way of making photo looking like a scale model when compared to the real thing.

 

Capturing the perfect tilt-shift image is best done using a simplistic scene. For example, a field scene with a few trees and a house is simpler than an image of bustling Times Square in New York City. Focusing the house would be simpler and more effective than making the people in Times Square that is captured in a photo a point of interest. However, advanced photographers have achieved great success in capturing busy scenes and applying the tilt-shift effect, so this is not to limit you in your creative pursuits.

 

  1. If you are using Photoshop, utilize these tips.

 

Select a point of interest in the scene and apply certain filters for successful miniature faking. Strategically placing the blur gradient and applying then Lens Blur filter will enhance the chosen point of interest. Applying 30% master saturation level is the next step. Finally, utilize the Curves tool to give the photo contrast to complete the miniature faking look.

 

  1. Make sure the photo is at it sharpest with great lighting for an enhanced presentation.

 

This tip is especially important if the photo will be edited in Photoshop or via another editing tool. The scene must be sharp and defined with the best lighting possible so that the point of interest is well emphasized during the miniature faking process. Hence, it is also advised not to take wide shots of scenes.