Turning a photograph into a painting!

There are many ways to do this. One way is to just paint right over the print of the photograph. That requires a lot of time and some painting skills. When using this technique I recommend using lager prints to paint. This is kind of like paint by numbers. You can paint your image in any style you like. Painting over a color print or a black and white. Using a black and white print you could just paint parts of the image for a selective hand colored print.

Another way is to use Photoshop® They have some pretty cool built in filters that can turn your photograph into a painting. Photoshop® is a very powerful tool to have. I think it is the standard for photographers. You can create great works of art using Photoshop®. You could take one of your photos and turn it into the painting style of Georges Seurat or how about Salvador Dali and many more Artist and painters using Photoshop®. Check out the author Steve Caplin his book from Focal Press called Art & design in Photoshop he has a whole chapter about this. The whole book is great for how- to and will inspire you in a new way to transform your photographs into art.

Lets look at Corel Painter Essential. I have used this for many years to turn certain photographs into painting. It actually came with my old Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet that I still use. I need a new one. If its not broke why replace it. Lets get back to Corel Painter Essential 4 its kind of outdated but still works for me. It have different types of brushes,pens,wet and dry mediums. Different painters preset styles from water color to oil painting. Corel Painter Essential 4 also has a auto start button so you don’t have to even make one brush stoke it will do it for you. I prefer to be more creative and do it by hand. If drawing is more of your style. You can use this to draw also. If you needed help with using Corel Painter Essential 4. The cool thing it came with how- to videos.

There is probably many more different other apps to turn your photographs into a painting. I just never used them.

NEVER STOP IMPROVING!

Photo Projects!

Lets stay inside to stay warm for this project.

This is a variation on the water drops. You are going to need some water base paint, for easy clean up. Two large white ceramic tiles. They are easy to clean also. A eyedropper to drop the paint on the tile. A flash to stop the motion of the paint splatter. 

Here is the setup angle one of the tiles against a backdrop. Use the other tile flat right in front of the angled tile to make kind of a seamless backdrop. Mount your flash and your eyedropper above the tile. Try to keep the eyedropper in the same spot every time to get the best results.

Use a small bowl to mix the paint with some water. The paint needs to be thinned out to create a better splash. Use very colorful paint also help improve your images. To find the focus go ahead and load the eyedropper with paint. Drop one to two drops of paint to find focus. Keeping the drops on the tile will help make bigger splashes. Every so often you will need to clean off both tiles and keep shooting. Timing is the real challenge again just like the water drops projects. Use a tripod!

Lets do one more indoor projects. This time no timing is required. Lets mix water and oil for some interesting photographs. Using a shallow bowl add water and oil. Stir up the mix to get different looks. Place to shallow bowl above some colorful wrapping paper to get some cool images changing out the wrapping paper for different color variation. You don’t even need a tripod for this shoot. But if you do use a tripod just snap away its that easy. If you add a drop of dish soap this changes the whole dynamics of your shoot.

Photography Projects!

Its cold, its wet, and its nasty out side. Other than being nasty and cold outside. This could be the perfect time to shoot. We are going to stay in and shoot different projects inside.

As I am writing this its winter, the snow is melting away but now they are calling for another winter storm. The sky is grey and nasty. This is the perfect time to shoot these indoor projects.

Shoot water drops for some fun images. Using colorful wrapping paper under a clear bowl and as a backdrop. Will give you awesome looks. Just change out to different color wrapping paper will give you a new look.

 Start with one flash then add another one. I would not go over using three flashes. By trying different flash location will also change you look. You can direct the flash at the bowl or bounce the flash experimenting alway to see what works the best.

Timing is going to be your biggest issue. This will require you to take a lot of photos before you end up with a winner. Don’t give up. It may take you up to 100 bad shot to every 1 winner.  I did not say this was a easy challenge.

Just about using the same set up! Drop something in the water and try to capture it at the perfect time. A small aquarium works better then a bowl for this. Here are some different things you can drop in the water and photograph. Dice,balls,vegetables,and fruit. What other items you might have that would work? Timing and focus can be tricky but still a fun project.

Use a tripod for both of these projects!

I will have more indoor projects for you in the future!

Understanding Composition Part 2!

Shapes in a photograph actually has two shapes. The shape itself is known as the positive space. The shapes around the object, thats the second shape. Is called the negative space. So shapes in photograph where it is and where isn’t. This is two ways shape affects structure of a photograph.

Shapes also asks what is it like. Is it big, small, light, heavy, beautiful, ugly, interesting or plain. Shapes also ask question about which object is biggest, closest, most important in a composition.

If someone ask you to describe something , you most likely start with the shape. Shape is very important in a composition weather its the positive or the negative space.

Humans can identify the shapes they recognized even as a silhouette. They need no detail for a viewer to recognize what the shape is. The reason I put this in here read my section on Science! Secrets To A Great Image! In my free PDF Book to learn more.

Positive Space of a shape is very easy to work with in a composition. The shape is easy to see and understand.

Negative space is much harder to see and understand. Negative space is defined by the edges of the frame up to the the shape or shapes itself ( Positive space ) To make negative space interesting in a photograph requires very careful compositing. This will take lots of practice as a photographer to improve your composition.

Lines in photograph will give you perspective in a composition. Line also strengthens  weighting to achieved positioning. Lines gives you the impressions of distance in a photographs. Lines can give pattern,direction,and structure to a composition. Movement or lack of it in a photograph.

This is all I am going to go into about composition. But each part of composition could fill many chapters of a book if broken down into sections. Shapes and lines each have chapter filled full of information. I think you can get the just of composition from this. This was a good starting point. If you want more in-depth understanding you might want to check out some photography books. If you can get your hands on a teachers curriculum photography book. You will learn way more in depth about composition. 

Understanding Composition Part 1!

What is composition? In the frame of a photograph, visual elements are arrange in a pacific way in a photograph, this is composition.

In a photograph the most important visual elements are line,shape,light,texture,motion and perspective. In a photograph you may have all or several of these elements to create a compelling composition. To create a memorable photograph you need to use just the right amount of elements to create the best composition in each photograph you take. This can be just a matter of trial and error in the beginning photographer.

To make a whole composition of a photograph, you need structure,balance, and dynamics. If your photographs doesn’t have structure,balance, and dynamics your photograph would just be random objects that lacks or makes no sense.

Lets take a look at structure in a photograph the basic structural elements are line,shape, and position ( the objects placements in a composition ) These elements hold the photograph together. Just like post and beams of a building holds the building together. Buildings also has walls,doors, and windows that help determine how the building will look and they are non structural elements. 

In a photograph light, texture, motion and perspective are all non structural elements. Using these non structural elements will complete an image just like in a building. Also like in a building a wall could become a load bering wall that holds up the floor above it. This is the same for a photograph. Texture or light that is considered non structure can become so important without it your composition will collapse. This is just not for buildings or photographs This also works for paintings. 

Lets look at balance. Balance is an equal relationship between two or more objects being balanced. Using various elements in a photograph trying to balance the elements equally. They do not have to be the same size and they don’t have to take up the same amount of space within the frame. 

Lets take a look at each of the diagram and break it down. Lets look at 1.A first. This has one subject the tree. The sky is just grey and boring. The foreground is just grass nothing interesting to add the image. Fill the frame with the only subject worth using is the tree.

Looking at 1.B  Now you have two subjects. The tree and a girl is the most important part of your composition. There may be many different ways to balance the composition depending on what is outside of the frame that you don’t want in the composition. What I mean is you can weight the tree to the lower left just like 1.B 

Now lets move onto 1.C In this diagram the sky is very intersection because of the clouds. So you would want to weight the tree in the lower frame to show more of the sky. More sky less grass makes a better composition.

Last but not least lets look at diagram 1.D  the foreground is way more interesting then the sky. So you would show as much of the foreground that will give you the best composition by weighting the tree in towards the top of the frame. 

Weighting a photograph is when you position the dominant subject in different areas of the frame. There are 9 areas or zones in a frame. Thats why rules of third are used by photographers most of the time. ( 3 x 3 = 9 ) We will take a look at rules of thirds little later. Any photograph can be weighted towards the top,bottom, center or to either side. It may also be weighted toward any combination of these directions.

Using any of the top 3 areas to put your main or dominant subject could make your image appear top heavy. Also your subject will feel far away.

Take a look at the center area or zone. Putting your main subject there will make it anchored down, stagnate,static,motionless and frozen. This area is used very rarely because if you looking at a photograph your eyes will look at the main subject and your eyes will be lost or will not see the rest of the photograph. Using the right subject in the center can make for strong image. You are also breaking the rules of composition using this area of the frame.

On the other hand putting your subject in the bottom areas of the frame will give you the feel of being firmly grounded also. Your subject will feel close. Not far away like using any of the three top zones. 

Lastly weighting a photograph to either side will seem to suggest movement. A persons face or a car could look like its moving into frame or its leaving the frame. A quick note about faces. We as humans will follow where someones eye are in a photograph. So if you want someone to look off the image have him looking out of the frame with there eyes and so will you. Example: weighting your image to the right side of your frame with a persons face looking to the right.

How do you want a viewers eye to move around your photograph? This is dynamics of composition. You want the viewers eyes to start with the most important subject or objects to the least important ones,and ideally to come back to the main subject for full circle. If you are able to do this. You will have a strong composition that will keep you viewer eyes longer on your photograph.

You want to keep your viewers eyes moving around your whole photograph not to get stuck on a secondary subject or even worse let the viewer leave the photograph completely and move onto another photograph. Thats a poor composition. 

Ok lets take a look at rules of third on a very simplest form because with understanding weighting you should be able to understand that the best placement of a subject is to try to get the subject close to one of the 4 intersecting lines on the 9 zone or area. Until you know the rules. You cannot break the rules. Most photographer will say this will give you the strongest composition possible by using rules of third and putting your subject as near or on the intersecting lines. Check out the diagram 2.A  and 2.B. This works for either holding your camera in horizontal ( Landscape 2.A ) or vertical ( Portrait 2.B ). 

I am not going to discuss the golden ratio of photography. If you want to learn about the golden ratio or the golden rule. Look it up online just like I would have to do because I don’t remember it enough to write about it. I don’t think many photographers use the Golden Ratio/ Golden Rule.

Next time we need to dive into shapes,lines, and positive space. We also needs to talk about negative space of a photograph to conclude composition. You will not learn as in-depth as I went into composition from a photography magazine. I hope this is not to boring for you.

Imagination!

Albert Einstein offers this “Imagination is more important than knowledge”

Sculptor Henry Moore Said it best: Art is expression of imagination, not the reproduction of reality” 

Why did I use the two quotes for photography. Photography can lie by not showing what outside of the frame. So in a photograph anything that was outside of the frame does not exists even though it does in reality. We as photographers by using focal lengths,angles, and composition changes reality. So our photographs are expressions of imagination. That means that my photography is my art and you as a photographer its your art also.

Grab your gear and start creating art.