DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 
This Tutorial
Tutorial Viewed: 24531 times
Discussion: Click Here
Original Submission



  • How'd They Do That? Home
  • How'd They Do That? :: these hands of mine...

    Rate This Tutorial!
    127 user ratings. Average = 2.755.  2.755    Log in to rate this!
    0 = Not Helpful up to 3 = Very Helpful. NR = No Rating.

    Questions? Feedback? Join the Discussion on this Tutorial

    these hands of mine...
    by fannyb


    When Drew sent me an e-mail asking if I could write a little something for this photo I thought to myself: "He's insane, I'm an amateur what could I possibly offer?"

    Truth is, I can't offer you highly technical input. So you won't find any professional photography tips in this article. All you'll get is my own creative process. Maybe it'll inspire you, maybe it'll only entertain you, either way, I'm okay with that. So here we go...

    Step One: Inspiration.

    Most people will tell you that they got the idea for their photo or art piece from something else. The same goes for me.

    I was reading a photography magazine, when I came across this unusual self portrait. It was a man holding out his arm, his right hand brightly lit and in heavy focus yet you could still make out his figure at the back. It had great depth of field, and really appealed to me. As an artist, my hands play an important part in who I am. And let's be honest, there was no way I was going to submit a 600 X 400 photo of my big ol' face!

    I had my idea, now I just had to execute it...


    Step Two: Execution.

    Sitting in my office, I had to improvise a tripod since I didn't have one. I set the camera on my desk, piling up a few CD's under one side of it to give the shot an unusual angle. I didn't want to shoot in full light, I wanted something soft and subtle that put the emphasis on my hands. So I used a desk lamp, these happen to be perfect for this application since you can usually bend and rotate them at will. You can get a wide range of effects with these little lamps, anything from a subtle glow to a soft spotlight.

    In my first attempts you can see that just one lamp wasn't enough...

      


    So I went and stole my husbands lamp... (What? You do what you can!)


      


    Great! The light was just the way I wanted it: subtle and soft.

    But...

    Another big problem, which is rather apparent, is the position of the subject within the frame.
    There is more than one reason for this:

    1. I wasn't behind the camera, so I couldn't actually create my ideal composition.
    2. I knew I was going to have to do some cropping, since the rules at the time only allowed one photo size.
    3. Without a tripod there was no way for me to shoot vertically.
    4. I wasn't wearing any shirt. I think I don't need to explain why that would be a slight problem?!?
    5. Let's admit it, I'm no model! Posing wasn't exactly something I could do naturally!

    After a few hours of uncomfortable shooting, I decided I had enough and went to work in photoshop.


    Step Three: Editing in photoshop.

    In the end I chose this shot, because you could see my eyes, all of my rings and I just liked the overall feel of it.



    Now I know that the purists will frown. I'll be the first to admit that I did some heavy and creative cropping on this picture.
    But I felt this photo needed to be in a vertical format. And since half my fingers were missing anyway, I decided to use this and crop half my face as well. It filled the frame with the subject and I was rather fond of that look.

    This also solved the problem of the ugly door in the background.


    Since I always shoot at a resolution of 1800 x 1200 I had some leverage. You can see that if I had shot at 600 X 400 this kind of croping wouldn't have been possible. And until I become an experienced photographer, I prefer to leave myself some room for error. You never know what will pop up in the frame as you are shooting, this way you can crop what ever it is out comfortably.(Obviously in this case, it was that ugly door that popped up unannounced in my shot! ;) )





    I didn't play with the levels on this picture. I know some people feel it needed a little more contrast. That may be true, but at the time I liked it "as is".


    Finally...

    Okay so what did I learn?

    1. Be mindful of the background.
        Since then I always try to shoot in front of a blank wall. You can't always crop your way out of it!

    2. Be creative.
        After experimenting with office lamps for a few hours I now know that you can create a dramatic lighting without spending a dramatic amount of money!

    3. Don't quit your day job Fanny, you're no model! ;)


    My advice...

    Don't be afraid to experiment. Look at what the pros are doing and try to recreate it in your own way, with your own touch.

    Be creative. Not having the equipment is sometimes a blessing.

    Shoot what you like. It doesn't matter if you don't use the rule of thirds or any other photography guideline, as long as you shoot what you like and have fun doing it it's all that matters.

    Be proud of yourself. Because even if you ranked 4th, or 24th, know that you at least had the courage to submit something. And not very many people are able to do so.

    Keep at it. You can only get better!


    Rate This Tutorial!
    127 user ratings. Average = 2.755.  2.755    Log in to rate this!
    0 = Not Helpful up to 3 = Very Helpful. NR = No Rating.

    Questions? Feedback? Join the Discussion on this Tutorial



    Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
    DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
    All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
    Current Server Time: 03/29/2024 01:23:37 AM EDT.