My favorite fashion photographer is Peter Lindbergh...he manages to go beyond the fashion element and actually make portraits that are quite memorable (Linda Evangelista & co. help, of course).
Really like this Alex, I am an introvert by nature but love the idea of photographing models and it’s about understanding how to work with models to get the best out of the session… my normal genre is landscape photography which is completely the opposite to model photography
Excellent conversation. This guy completely speaks my language; be kind and respectful, own it, there aren't any rules. Every photo that was shown would be savaged at your typical camera club which is what makes them all wonderful.
thank you both so much, Si for your sharing and Alex for your insightful prodding! i'm not a people-photographer but cannot tell you how many times i've either not made the photo or worse, binned shots, because they included my pet aversions: powerlines, chainlink fences, rubbish, etc. or having intrusions that can't be worked around, like pillars and posts. i tend to be rules-oriented but will try to "play" more and not be so hung up on popularly-perceived perfection in future!
I never crop or clone out objects in my photos. I like the 'it is what it is and that's what I saw' approach. It's up to me to find good subjects and a good frame. It helps me to stay disciplined.
Nice discussion. Not into fashion photography personally, but I liked Si's touch. On the current sharpness obsession, fueled in part by gear vendors and reviewers, I liked @DeeRosa’s take/rant in ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g91Uj3JeX9g.html (as well as his other video on the evil twin of the sharpness obsession: shallow depth of field everywhere). Subject, composition, storytelling, mood, so many things trump sharpness (or shallow depth of field).
Great work - great interview! I think a key point you made is allowing exploration/experimentation - working WITH a model's style/personality - some of the best images I have captured are poses that I would never have dreamed up. That is also why I prefer digital to film- it makes that process so much easier when you are not limited to 12/24/36 expensive exposures- and when you can give a model instant visual feedback on what they are creating with you.
Sharpness is indeed overrated--just look at so many of HCB's shots. There are obviously times when sharper is better, but in general, we tend to produce much better images when "IQ" is maybe a tertiary consideration. Great point about freedom--although I almost make a point of not following "conventional" rules, I do find my eyes going right to certain elements of Si's images that "bother" me (such as the horse shot, where you see just the front of the off-hind hoof--I'd likely include all or none of it, plus there's just enough of the bits on either side of the building to be distracting). He's also comfortable blowing out highlights. The thing is, these do tend to "work" in spite of the "faults." This further underscores how important it is to not feel constrained by what you think looks "right" (based on what you've "learned" by evaluating both your own and others' images). Leaving your comfort zone is essential to grow as an artist, or else you're just repeating yourself. Thanks for posting this--a lot of food for thought.
Why not just get shizzle in focus by the ol' f/8 (or f/11, maybe?) and be there adage? I mean, let's be real, if you are shooting with a shallow DOF, you need to nail focus...because that's part of the point of a shallow DOF...you want to highlight a particular feature in the image.
Great interview, so many wise advice! and I actually took back some pictures from the “bin” because I had dismissed them as out of focus etc. liking it or not what other people think affects my work, I’m trying to get away from that and this interview really helps. Thank you both!
@ Fiddlesticksphotography I think you are right to bin your mistakes, unless they are of people or things that matter to you. Once you decide the image is not up to standard, it will never be up to standard. It will just be a reminder of your inability to get things right.
@@ThePurpleHarpoon I understand what you mean but I don’t quite agree because I was looking at these pictures through the eyes of “what will others say, I have cropped the image “wrong” etc. etc. I’ve been more concerned that they don’t fit the “standard” . Now I choose to see them in a different way. But images that are crap should end up in the bin, some images are easy to throw away others deserve a second look, in my opinion. Sorry for all the “” , it’s difficult to make yourself understood when English isn’t your first language.
He's right That "there is more to a shot than sharpness" but for someone who has been doing this for a long time , you would think that getting sharp image is a given and is basically done by the gear without too much input by the photographer. I got the feeling that he is clutching for reasons to justify that some of his work is soft.
I shoot with a mirrorless camera and zone focus a lot with my Voigtlander 40mm. Already I'm reducing the sharpness, even if the subject is in focus. The further away the subject from the plane of focus, the less sharp they are, even when in focus. Quite often, even with a shutter speed of 1/250 there can be slight movements from people walking in the shot. One of my bugbears with digital vs film has always been the clinical sharpness of digital, not to mention the obsession with ultimate sharpness. At least with my setup, I get the convenience of digital with less clinical sharpness from the lens and focusing technique.
Coming from a sports photography back ground as well, I commend the move to allow "softer" photos. I took a long time to grasp that. Thank you for your insights :))!!
I to moved from news coverage to Fashion - and I now routinely dial digital sharpening WAY down - and soften images ... Happy accidents, a bit of motion blur, some unusual framing, or even a bit of missed focus can add to an image in a way that non pre-planning ever could.
THat was a great conversation - really loved just sitting on the edge of the pair of you talking. Lots of interesting perspectives, imagery, thinking, explorations etc. For me this is the dynamic of creativity and expression. No matter what the subject of it is. Thank you so much Alex for this. And to Si too! The time was invaluable.
I think the point about sharpness depend on the genre/subject. The point is moot, right? If a photo works that is slightly soft, it works. If it works when it is pin sharp, it works. Sharpness is not the worth discussion apart from for those who review lenses.
Great video! I agree 100% with Si that you should always be respectful and kind to models. I've been shooting models on an amateur level for many years, and the pictures I like the most have always come from excellent cooperation with the model on an eye level.
Superb video! Thank you… I call these type of images “difficult images”, where the viewer needs to work a little bit harder to digest and appreciate the work. I just loved his work, pushing the envelope and flowing free.
Thank you for the insight. For example, not the whole part must be included, let the brain fill the gap, let the content in the frame jump out into the real world. Disrupt the image (to make it interesting). What an idea. Thanks.
