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Tallgrass Prairies of Illinois

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The Midwest, now America’s agricultural belt, was once a vast prairie with grasses, wildflowers and North America’s largest mammal, the American Bison. Tallgrass prairies covered eastern parts of North and South Dakota, half of Nebraska, eastern parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and stretched eastward into Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee had small pockets of tallgrass prairies as well. Today prairies are down to 1 percent of their natural expanse. The few areas that remain bring photographers every year to work the colorful blooms. Paradoxically, several of the best preserved examples of native tallgrass prairie lie in the shadows of sprawling Chicago.

Most people know very little about prairies and have never really visited one. Prairies fall into three categories: tallgrass prairie (in the eastern half of the midwest), mixed grass prairie (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas) and shortgrass pairie (western North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and into eastern Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico). Prairies are dominated by herbaceous plants, mostly grasses.

The prairie eco system is complex, and much more could be discussed about this fascinating environment. I just wanted to give a few examples of the expanse of the prairie system and minimally show the importance the prairie ecosystem plays in the world today. Our focus is on the tallgrass prairie of Illinois, and this is where we’ll go from here. If you’d like to learn more about tallgrass prairies, I recommend a book called Tallgrass Prairie, by John Madson.

Black-eyed Susans blooming in Illinois Prairie. As you can see in this photo, midwest summer skies are not beautiful therefore minimizing the sky is helpful in your landscape photography.

Photographer’s View

If you’re from the Midwest, you know all to well how much the weather can change from season to season and even within a season. If you aren’t from the midwest, let me forewarn you that July and August, the peak for wildflower blooms on the Illinois prairies, can be brutally hot and humid. The other downside is that some prairies are damp and therefore mosquito-friendly. Despite this, the prairies are very much worth the obstacles I just mentioned. Work in the cooler morning and early evening hours, wear long-sleeved shirts, and cover your face with a safe repellant. I have also found rubber surgical gloves work wonderfully in mosquito infested areas.

You will be amazed at how high the grass can be. Several flower species are tall as well and can be difficult to frame. A lightweight two foot stepladder will put you above the grasses and flowers. This also means, of course, that you’ll need a tripod extendable to five or six feet with the camera mounted.

Don’t expect to photograph breathtaking landscapes or endless expanses of flowers. Prairie wildflowers typically grow in pockets mixed with grasses. Anytime you’re going to shoot flowers, I can’t stress enough the importance of contacting locals before departing to check on peak bloom. Agriculture has divided prairies into small pockets scattered throughout the state, so plan on doing some driving in-between locations.

Prairies start to look alike after a while. I don’t believe it’s necessary to visit more than two or three. Prairies also tend to be in the middle of nowhere with few or no amenities. A good sampling of prairies within a couple hours drive of Chicago will give you plenty of photographic subjects. Take your time to explore and enjoy your experience. If you shoot with a keen eye and open mind, you should come home with plenty of beautiful images – and enjoy an experience that measures well beyond your expectations.

Iroquois County Conservation Area

Iroquois County Conservation Area, once the largest wetland in Illinois, is near the Indiana border south of Chicago. This is a wonderful prairie with a mixture of dry to marshy conditions. Needless to say, you’ll probably experience a lot of mosquitoes, but the flower blooms should be some of the best you see on your journey. Prairie blazing star is plentiful and one of the most common plants you’ll find here, along with an assortment of rattlesnake master, goldenrod and big bluestem grasses.

Your best bet in this prairie is to look for clusters of plants and small intimate scenes. You’ll be challenged and walk away disappointed if you’re looking for a big overall prairie scene. August skies in the Midwest aren’t very attractive. You will probably experience some white, hazy skies. Avoid using any sky in your composition under these conditions or at the very least minimize the amount of sky you use. White skies will render very bright and draw the viewers eye away from the subject. Many of the plants at Iroquois County Conservation Area are tall plants mixed in with tall grasses. A stepladder or step stool will elevate you enough to shoot down into a cluster of flowers or little scene and avoid the sky. This can’t solve all your creative problems but will open more opportunities.

A mixture of Summer Prairie Flowers are common throughout many midwestern prairies.

Goose Lake Prairie Nature Preserve

Goose Lake Prairie is the largest of Illinois prairies, at 2,838 acres. Several trails within this preserve allow for an in-depth exploration of the prairie ecosystem, but you won’t have to walk very far from the road. There aren’t really any major land features to consider for photography, so let the flower blooms dictate where you photograph. Goose lake Prairie should offer you the most predictable of flower blooms. Sixty percent of Goose Lake Prairie consists of grasses such as big bluestem, Indian grass, switchgrass and the tallest of the grasses, prairie cordgrass, which can reach heights of eight to twelve feet. The remaining 40 percent is flowering broad-leaved plants.

Goose Lake Prairie is commonly known in the photography community and is probably one of the more visited prairies among photographers. I have an easier time here than other places composing images with a wide variety of plant species in a single visit. Besides wildflowers, you should come prepared for early-morning butterfly photography. You won’t want to miss butterflies sitting on colorful blooms covered in morning dew. Once the sun warms these little critters, you can forget photographing them.

Indian Boundary Prairies and Others

You could rack up alot of miles in your car visiting prairie after prairie, but there’s little need to do so. Beyond Iroquois County and Goose Lake, consider Indian Boundary Prairies, which is a group of four prairies, Gensburg-Markham Prairie, Dropseed Prairie, Paintbrush Prairie and Sundrop Prairie. These four prairies combined take up three hundred acres known as the Indian Boundary Prairies and sit in the shadows of Chicago. Part of this group has been named a National Natural Landmark because of its plant and butterfly diversity and genetic resources. These prairies are quite small compared with the two I have already covered. You will be confined to macro photography or small intimate flower scenes.

If you want to see more prairies or want to skip the smaller sites for more secluded prairies, do an internet search on tallgrass prairies of Illinios, or consult the Madson book I mentioned earlier in this chapter. He lists several prairies throughout the state, which are all very good, but much farther afield and more secluded than the ones I have covered here. Most important before you visit any of these prairies is to make contact with a naturalist or prairie manager to see what’s in bloom and at what stage the blooms are in. You will want to photograph around the peak of a wide variety of plant species. If only one or two plants are in bloom, the flower groupings you hope to capture could be all but impossible, and you’ll end up disappointed.

Close-up of Purple Cone Flower. There are endless opportunities for macro and intimate flower photography in the Illinois Prairies.

When to Go

Prairie wildflowers can bloom anytime from April through October. I consider the peak bloom for a variety to be from early July through the middle of August. The July/August window has the most showy plants and best compositional variety. This is the time frame in which you should encounter a mixture of tall plants with smaller plants and a variety of color. You should also see several species of butterflies.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line

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© William Manning: all material on this blog is the copyright of William Manning. No reproduction on this material is allowed without written permission from the author/photographer.

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Make Money Selling Your Photographs

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In my last post, “The Business of Photography” I promised I would write about making money with your photographs. I have given this topic a lot of thought and as with all my posts I don’t want to mislead or intentionally give bad information. Therefore, as I write this post I have decided only to share information based on my own experiences and share my opinion which in most cases come from my experience.

I want to first define in my view what making money (income) means to me. When I use the term making money, I define it as money I put into my pocket (bank account) after all my expenses have been covered from creating a group of photographs. In my post titled, “A Look at Your Photography Investment” I shared with readers my overhead from two photo shoots and the sales totals from each of those shoots. As I illustrated in two examples I define Thailand as a photo shoot where I made money and Croatia as a shoot where I lost money. I don’t believe one can call their photography business profitable until they bring more money in than they put out. I make this statement because I often read blogs and/or advertisements making claims or promising photographers they can make make money selling their pictures through …….. If only these claims were as easy as they make it sound.

Stock Photography Agencies

I will start with the most talked about and the most obvious venue for selling pictures, Stock Photography. Let me first say, microstock is not the answer for making money if you define making money the same as I do. Yes, you can recover a few bucks from what you spend creating your pictures and yes there are probably a few and I mean a very few who are making some money via microstock. Selling photography through stock agencies is tough but it can be done and it can be profitable. How? First, forget about the venues that pay you 30 cents to a dollar per sale. You’re traveling down a path of major frustration and disappointment if you believe a profitable business can be developed under this business model. If you want to sell pictures via stock agencies you will need to build a substantial library of consistently good photographs that are in demand, put in a lot of field (or studio) and office hours, understand your market, and be involved with the right agencies or with the right people.

Wall Street Sign in the heart of the Financial District in New York, New York

Selling a lot of pictures doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of money. In most cases it is the opposite. If I can sell one picture and make $30. it is 99 picture sales fewer than those that give me 30 cents per image. You have probably figured out where I’m going with this example. Alamy is a general stock agency that accepts anyone, providing their photos meet a certain criteria which is no different than what a microstock agency requires. Alamy represents millions of pictures which again is no different than any microstock agency. But, in my opinion, Alamy is a whole lot easier to generate revenue than selling through the many microstock agencies in existence. The same amount of effort is involved in getting your pictures into the marketplace through either venue but the difference is how your images fall into a search and the shelf life they have within that agency. Providing you have incorporated a good and accurate keywording strategy, you have a reasonably good chance of a photo researcher finding your pictures on Alamy. Regardless of which stock photography model to go after you need thousands of pictures on the respective site to generate enough revenue to create a situation that allows you to bank money after expenses are paid.

What does it take to sell pictures as stock? It takes a photographer who understands the market in which they are creating pictures for and an outlet in which caters to that market. It isn’t necessarily pretty pictures, it isn’t repetitive imagery, it isn’t the photographer’s name that sells pictures. It is simply having the right picture at the right time at the right agency. This is easier said than done, but this is why you need to know the market in which you create for and also having those images with the right agency. If your photos are consistently being used by text book companies than place your photos with stock agencies that market to these businesses. The same goes for sports, lifestyle, agriculture, nature, etc… Develop a style that sets your photos apart from the others. Think outside the box when you create and give the photo buyer a reason to consider your photos. They have to stand apart from the hundreds if not thousands that come up under a search. The photographers who succeed in this industry will be those that have the ability to change and adapt with the industry and those who participate as both a student of the marketplace and those that do business in a professional manner.

Money can still be made in stock photography but a well thought out business stradegy and an understanding of the industry and how it works will multiply your success. I will be conducting a stock photography workshop in New York in October giving participants a rare opportunity to visit Corbis Images and discussions and personal critiques by a Corbis photo editor. We will cover many areas of the stock industry and will be on the streets of New York creating images that sell. This workshop will be posted soon. Let me know of your interest.

Calendars

The Town Hall Clock also known as the Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic

Calendars is a market where I got my start and one that is still very much alive and doing well. This is a form of stock photography but it is one where you can sell directly and get hands on experience working with the client. I very much recommend photographers consider this market if you have a reasonable size library of images. Calendars cover a wide variety of subjects from cats, dogs, wildlife, national parks, landscapes, various countries, rainbows, doorways, outhouses, cars, airplanes, you name it and there just might be a calendar being produced of that subject. Where do you find the companies that produce calendars? The best place is a visit to the local mall or bookstore come October through the end of the year. Most malls have temporary calendar stores and if this doesn’t exist than try the major bookstores. Look over calendars that contain the subjects you think you can contribute too. Take down the company name and mailing address, in most cases the back of the calendar. Send a letter asking that your name be added to their contributor guidelines when requests are being sent for submissions. Each calendar company works differently and have submission windows at different times of the year. Some companies work several years out from the publishing date. This market is not the market for you if you need quick income. Most of these companies pay the year of the calendar publishing date which means it could be a couple of years before you get paid. That being said, once you get started and become a frequent seller you’ll see payments every year consistently.

Street Fairs, Galleries, Art Market

The art market is very popular and one not to be taken lightly. Like any business endeavor you’ll need a little patience and a body of good work. The art market

Lighthouse on Lake Erie, Ohio

may take a little experimentation depending on the region in which you sell. Summer street fairs, art galleries, coffee shops, etc… are all part of the art market in which I am suggesting. Before venturing into this market I suggest you visit a few street fairs, art fairs, galleries, etc… and see what other photographers are displaying and ask these artists what work of theirs is selling. Study the local art market before investing your time and money and honestly evaluate your work and determine if you think your work can sell through these channels. I have found local frame shops, (where they sell pre-framed posters and lithographic prints), to be one of the best ways to see what people in an area are buying. You may find, many art buyers are really frame buyers because they are willing to pay a couple hundred dollars for a frame but want to spend less than $25 on the work that goes into the middle of that frame. If you find this to be the case than maybe you need to frame your work and mark up accordingly. As with any business, you’re going to invest a lot of energy and capitol to get your business moving.

Specialities

Little league baseball player takes his wind up on the pitchers mound.

This is probably the most serious of business ventures for a photographer. If you have a special interest and are good at this special interest then this may be an area for you. I am talking about photographing high school seniors, sports, corporate portraits, real-estate, etc… In other words an area you have experience and are pretty good at. I shoot a lot of architecture and work with some high end clients and projects, but it all started years ago shooting for reality companies of homes going on the market and other small jobs. This is an area you need to take serious because you’ll have a lot invested and most importantly your reputation. If you go in this direction you might start with family and friends to get your feet wet. It would be silly and not very helpful for me to guide you in getting started in this short post because these type business decisions need to be well planned and thought out. If you are serious about offering your talents for hire in a particular area of photography to a paying client, research and ask lots of questions before you invest too much money getting your business moving. Keep in mind, don’t promise what you can’t deliver, you’ll have a difficult time restoring your reputation and this you can’t put a price tag on.

In Conclusion

I realize these business proposals are brief. There is a whole lot more involved than I explain. This post was designed to get you thinking and not as a guideline to your business success. Regardless of what area you want to focus on, they all require a serious commitment. To truly make money in photography it is going to require a lot of hard work, a lot of time, some capitol up front, and persistence. You will be rejected more than you are accepted but those who can brush off the rejections will succeed.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line – Stock Photography Workshop, October 27-31

If this post was of interest you may be interested in our New York City Stock Photography Workshop with a personal critique from one of the stock photography’s leading photo editors from Corbis Images. Click on the above link.

© William Manning: all material on this blog is the copyright of William Manning. No reproduction on this material is allowed without written permission from the author/photographer.

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A Little Behind in June

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Hey Everyone, I’m going to be a little behind on this week’s post. I’m traveling and have had no internet excess except for this one McDonald’s stop. I had a photo shoot at a diary farm in northeast Ohio. This is a new project I’m working on and this trip is the first part of that project. What an experience, it was wet, hot, sticky and not to mention smelly. I stayed with the farmer for a couple nights and he had no air conditioner therefore I was experiencing the same situation at night as I did throughout the day. I have slept very little over the last couple of nights. Open windows meant I heard every moo, meow, yap and what seemed like an 8 hour deafening thunderstorm. The thunderstorm was so damn loud the bed shook. I thought rural life was quiet and peaceful, boy was I wrong. That being said, what a great experience and wonderful people to work with throughout my stay.  I have never met anyone who worked harder than these farmers. Their day starts at 4:30 am everyday and doesn’t end until 11 pm. No holidays, no sick days and no vacation.

The shoot was difficult, as the rain made things very sloppy. I couldn’t tell the difference between the mud and the cow sh$#@*. It got to the point it didn’t matter. I am trying to capture the life of the American farm. I happened to pick a dairy farm first which was no doubt the toughest, so I hope. I will be back later in the summer to shoot again on the farm when it dries up and the fields are planted. I hope to come back for the fall harvest. I did get some shooting done but not much, I’ll post a few photos when I get home.

I am currently in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. This has also proven to be a difficult shoot. Rain, wind, rain, wind, rain, wind, but still getting a few good shots. It beats sitting behind the computer in the office. I haven’t been in this direction in years and thought it might be fun to revisit and pick up a few shots of the area. The winds have been incredibly heavy and have made for some tough shooting. I did get a little fog but again the wind made it difficult to shoot. I had to push the iso up to 1600 at times and still wasn’t enough. These kind of conditions force you to be creative and shoot in unconventional ways or at the very least a little differently.  I’ll head over to Harpers Ferry on Monday and hope for a better shoot.

I’ll be back in the office on Wednesday, but will start an assignment as soon as I return. Looks like June has a few assignments in store.

Take care.

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From Dull to Saturated Magic

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Mother Nature rules and when she decides to work against your plans, you might as well accept her terms and go shoot. Last month I shared with you how to replace a sky when Mother Nature goes against your needs. Although replacing the sky works in many situations, its not the solution for all. Here is another tip that helps in some cases but can completely destroy others. Therefore, I’m going to forewarn you, this tip is worth trying but don’t think of it as a solution for all problem photos.

From Dull to Saturated Magic

The first image is shot in flat light but with a little Saturation I was able to put some life into the photo.

I often run up against conditions opposite of my needs but can’t let it get me down. With today’s digital technology there is more than likely something I can do to turn bad into something worth while. Here’s a trick I use when I get flat light with little or no color in my subject. I flood it with Hue and Saturation. This isn’t a fix all solution but with some situations it is magical.

• Open your photo into Photoshop and duplicate the background layer.
• Go to your Layer pull down menu, then go to Adjustment Layer, then Hue/Saturation.
• A new Layer box appears. You can rename this layer or leave it at its default title, Hue/Saturation 1. Click OK.
• You will see an Adjustment layer on your Layers Palette and also an Adjustment window with a pull down menu. This pull down menu has several options beginning with Master then followed by Red, Yellow, Green, etc… I typically just go for it all set on Master. If you want you can do each individual color to see what you come up with.

This scene was shot in flat overcast light. As you can see, everything looks dead and not very appealing photographically.

• Once you select the color palette you want to work, you now have three sliders, Hue, Saturation and Lightness. In most cases I work only the Saturation slider, sometimes the Lightness slider and rarely the Hue slider. Play with the sliders until you’re somewhat happy with the results. You may find yourself happy with some areas within the photo but others maybe a little to saturated.
• You can now pull back on the areas you feel are over saturated by selecting the paint brush and set the opacity at a desired setting. I typically set my opacity somewhere in the 20% to 30% range and start painting over the area I want to tone down the saturation. (If your paint brush is to small or to large you can change the size with the bracket keys on your keyboard. The left bracket key will make the paintbrush smaller and the right bracket key will make it larger).

After adding some Hue/Saturation I was able to bring some life into the photo. It is very important to know what one can do in the computer when out in the field shooting in bad conditions. It certainly makes it a whole lot more fun.

• You are now pretty much finished putting some life into your picture. At this point I will sometimes work a color or two if I find them over bearing. I do this by selecting the background copy and then go to the Image pull down menu, then to Adjustments and then select Selective Color. I will select the color I want to work and play with the sliders until I find a hue that finishes off on photo. Now flatten your image and you’re finished (Go to layer pull down menu and select Flatten Image).

I hope this little tip helps with one of your problem photos at some point. Good Luck and send me one of your before and after shots, and see how you’re doing.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line

© William Manning: all material on this blog is the copyright of William Manning. No reproduction on this material is allowed without written permission from the author/photographer.

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Wildflowers of the San Juan Mountains, Colorado

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The San Juans, the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Colorado, are sparsely populated. The mining industry, once common throughout the region, provided the foundation for the booming tourism industry. Skiing and other mountain related sports have taken over many of the small towns that at one time served the mining industry. The southern and central Rockies were major mining areas for zinc, silver, iron ore, gold, copper. lead, molybdenum, petroleum, coal and natural gas.

Natural beauty intertwined with human history can best describe the shaping of life in the San Juan Mountains today. The deserts to the west abruptly clash with the skyward reaching peaks carved by glaciers, wind, water and volcanic flow. The ancient culture of the Anasazi people left behind a rich history in the San Juans, and the Navajo and Ute Indians have added to that. They have lived here for generations and still inhabit the foothills. The influences of these cultures and the ever-changing dramatic scenery tend to enchant those who visit.

The San Juan Mountains were at one time a booming region for mining, but only small remnants of these times remain. Ghost towns can still be found tucked away and hidden in the shadows of the San Juan Mountains. Fortunately, this mining era left behind a means for enjoying the interior of the mountains – mining roads. These old mining roads in no way make it possible to explore in the comfort of an RV or family car but rather confined to 4×4 vehicles. The dirt, rocky and pot-holed roads make it a roller coaster ride and add to the excitement of exploring in the heart of a true wilderness where you face the elements on their terms. Sound like fun? It is.

Before I begin, I think it’s important to talk about the commitment of venturing into the mountains in 4×4 country. Wildflower season is the height of summer thunderstorm season and you will encounter rain. Be prepared, and know what to do if you’re in the mountains during one of these thunderstorms. Never take lightly a rain shower that could turn into a heavy thunder and lightening storm. Driving on mining roads requires a 4×4 vehicle. I suggest some experience driving in 4×4 conditions, as you will be climbing rough roads regardless of their classification. 4×4 roads have five different classifications: Class 1, easy; Class 2, moderately difficult; Class 3, difficult; Class 4, very difficult; Class 5, use extreme caution. Literature is available in most local bookstores and tourists offices giving classifications of different roads, and I do suggest checking before driving the roads to make sure you’re confident of your ability to drive in these conditions. You’ll find route suggestions for your trip in 4WD Adventures Colorado, by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson. I don’t recommend attempting to drive these backcountry roads into the mountain passes before sunrise, and give yourself plenty of time to get off the roads before dark. There’s really no need to be on location before sunrise or after sunset.

Mountain reflection pond atop Schofield Pass near Crested Butte, Colorado

PHOTOGRAPHERS VIEW

Truly a wonderful experience, the wildflower meadows and mountain scenery of the San Juan Mountains are a memorable journey. I have conducted several photography workshops in these mountains, and participants walk away excited and energized, as much from the experience as they do the photography. I recommend the San Juans to all who enjoy the solitude and beauty of the mountains. My warning in the beginning of this article is to be taken seriously but not to frighten anyone away. If you aren’t comfortable with driving in this environment, there are other options, such as photography workshops. Or one of several outfitters in the Ouray area can arrange quality time in the alpine meadows.

You will experience elevations your body may find challenging. Take your time and within a couple days your body will acclimate to the elevation change. Most of your photography will take place within eye sight of your vehicle. There is really little need to hold back on equipment. You can load up on your camera gear and take into the field what you need and leave the rest in your vehicle. Long telephotos aren’t necessary unless you plan on photographing the little critters of the mountains, marmots and pikas. There are plenty, and you’ll need at least a 400mm lens. It’s not really worth the hassle of carrying these long lenses through the airports for what little use you will get from them. You’ll be using wide angle to medium telephotos (24mm – 100mm) most of the time, but make sure you’re covered to 200mm. As I mentioned before, be prepared for rain. You will encounter rain during the the summer wildflower season. Bring rain gear for both you and your camera gear. Take advantage of these light drizzles. You might find some nice water droplets reflecting surrounding colors or another creative opportunity. Down pours are a different story – wait these out in your vehicle. Overcast light is perfect for flower photography, and you’ll probably experience more of this than you will bright sunlight. Always bring along a diffuser when your goal is flower close-ups. You might never use it, but if you don’t have one, you’ll need it.

Crested Butte

Technically, Crested Butte isn’t part of the San Juan Mountains but rather the western edge of the Sawatch Range in the Gunnison National Forest. I use Crested Butte for my first couple of days of shooting for three reasons. First, the wildflowers are predictable and in great abundance. Second, Crested Butte is at a good elevation to begin getting acclimated, and third, it’s a good location to get acquainted with off road driving as these roads are Class 1 and 2 and easy to drive.

Crested Butte is made up of rolling hills, valleys and meadows more than it is of rugged mountain terrain. The hillsides and valleys fill every summer with some of the most predictable wildflower blooms in all of Colorado. The window for good wildflowers is not long, but with a little planning you can catch the peak or near peak bloom. The second and third weeks of July have typically been the best times, but as with anything in the outdoors, Mother Nature has the final say. The best time of day for photographic opportunities in Crested Butte – or for that matter throughout the San Juans – is the morning. Don’t pass up a nice overcast sky when the opportunity presents itself, usually when the afternoon showers move in.

I suggest finding a good topographic map with forest roads and highlight several routes that are an easy drive into Gunnison national Forest from Crested Butte. One of my favorite drives is a circle route beginning on Forest Road 317 (also called Gothic Road) from Mt. Crested Butte through the old town of Gothic and Schofield pass to Paradise Divide, at 11,250 feet. I eventually make my way back to Crested Butte. Forest road 317 begins where the only road through Crested Butte ends. You can also do this route in the opposite direction. This gives you the opportunity to get early morning light in both directions. The entry point for driving this route in the opposite direction begins on Washington Gulch Road (gravel road) on the west side of the main road connecting Crested Butte with Mt. Crested Butte. The drive between these towns is a quick three to four minutes, and the turn is about halfway in between. There are two wonderful reflection lakes on this route: one called Emerald lake just beyond the town of Gothic coming from Mt. Crested Butte, and the other at the crest of Paradise Divide. Both lakes sit next to the road. The lake at Paradise Divide has no known name but is the prettier of the two. This lake has three great angles to photograph; two of the three are mirror reflections of the surrounding mountains. One of these reflection shots is an evening shoot. Wildflowers can be found almost anywhere along this route. Two-grooved milk vetch, lupine, magenta paintbrush, columbine, larkspur and cow parsnip are all common throughout the region. One of the best locations for an abundance of Aspen sunflowers and arrowleaf balsamroot is the very beginning of  of Forest Road 317 just outside of Mt Crested Butte looking back into the valley toward Crested Butte. These yellow flowers make great foreground subjects with the valley and mountains in the background.

Western Yellow Paintbrush at Imogene Pass at 13,114 feet, Colorado

Ouray

Ouray is the gateway community to many of the beautiful mountain passes in the San Juans. Ouray offers me everything I need to satisfy my thirst for backcountry mountain photography. From here I can begin one of several great backcountry drives each morning and fill an entire day with excellent photo opportunities and still make it back before dark. I will briefly discuss three locations I find predictable and reasonably safe out of Ouray. These are in no way the only backcountry roads you can reach out of Ouray. During your information gathering you will come across others that may sound inviting, but the ones I will discuss are proven to produce good results.

Yankee Boy Basin

Getting to Yankee Boy Basin is very easy. Follow Highway 550 out of Ouray southbound, and turn onto the gravel road leading to Box Canyon Falls. This road is called Camp Bird Road. Continue up this road into Yankee Boy Basin, passing the old mining area of Camp Bird. The higher the climb into the basin the more difficult the road becomes for driving. There is no need to follow the road to its end. You will know when you have come far enough; the flowers will tell you to stop.

Yankee Boy Basin is the most popular and maybe even the best location for all-around alpine photography with an abundance of wildflowers and incredible mountain vistas. The drive to Yankee Boy Basin is relatively easy (Class 1 road). Yankee Boy Basin is very popular, therefore you won’t be alone. Many of the Ouray outfitters make this one of their featured destinations. There is plenty of room to spread out, so don’t worry about crowding.

Wildflowers in Yankee Boy Basin are as colorful and in as great variety as any in Colorado. Columbine, magenta paintbrush, mountain bluebell, bittercress and many others cover the meadows in a delicate array of bright colors. Small cascades are hidden in grasses with flowers hanging in precarious positions along stream edges. twin Falls is very noticeable as you enter into Yankee Boy Basin. This waterfall can be shot from several angles, and in a good year can be found with patches of flowers along the streambed.

Sun catching tips of Aspen trees in the San Juan Mountains near Ouray, Colorado.

Sun catching tips of Aspen trees in the San Juan Mountains near Ouray, Colorado.

Imogene Pass

Imogene Pass may prove to be one of the most dramatic drives you choose in the San Juan Mountains. This is truly an exciting journey through the heart of the southern Rockies on a Class4/5 route. You can choose your starting point of Imogene in either Ouray or Telluride. If you’re lodging in Ouray, it makes sense to begin your route here and end in Telluride, returning back to Ouray via developed roads. Or you can choose to return on another backcountry road over Opher Pass. To reach Opher from Telluride, follow State Road 145 south for about eight miles. The junction for Opher Pass is on the east side of the road.

Imogene Pass has several steep climbs as you near the summit and begin your descent into Telluride or Ouray. The peak of Imogene will put you at a breathtaking 13,114 feet with incredible views of Mt. Sneffels and other surrounding peaks in the north and the colorful Red Mountain Pass to the southeast. I suggest you begin your journey early and enjoy it at a leisurely pace. There are several meadows and waterfalls along the route toward the summit. The Ouray side of imogene Pass is the more photogenic and will require more time. Keep in mind the chances of afternoon thunderstorms. Your descent into Telluride might be slow as there are typically many vehicles sharing the narrow road.

Wildflowers along Imogene Pass are pretty much the same as those you find in Yankee Boy Basin. You will more than likely have some cloud cover providing overcast light, but have your diffuser just in case. With the exception of the summit, you won’t have great vistas of distant mountains. You will find flower patterns and small intimate scenes are your better photo opportunities here. There are several streams, cascades and a couple waterfalls along the way but, unlike Yankee Boy Basinn, few flowers surrounding the water source.

American Basin

American Basin rivals Yankee Boy when it comes to its wildflower display, but the surrounding peaks are not as dramatic. Driving to American Basin requires special attention to your map. The drive is not difficult if you follow your map carefully and look for signs at the backcountry intersections. Follow Highway 550 south out of Ouray (approximately three miles), and look for Alpine Loop trailhead. You will see a gravel parking area on the lefthand side of a hairpin turn on 550; this is the entrance onto the backcountry road of Alpine Loop. Follow this road toward Engineer pass. Do Not turn left at the first major road intersection. This will put you on the road to Poughkeepsie Gulch. This is an extremely difficult road to drive and can be dangerous for those not experienced in 4 x 4 conditions. Continue on toward Engineer Pass until you come to a second intersection, and turn right away from Engineer Pass toward Cinnamon Pass. The road to Cinnamon Pass will take you to American Basin. American Basin can also be reached via Lake City but is a long drive from Ouray.

American Basin is an incredible journey and very much worth the effort. For the spirit of adventure and for those who wish to hike beyond the roads in American Basin, there’s the American Basin trail leading up to Sloan Lake with magnificent views of Handies Peak and the surrounding basin. If hiking interests you, consider American basin as your final destination. This should allow your body plenty of time to acclimate.

Yankee Boy Basin, Imogene pass and American basin have but a few of the many wonderful backcountry roads. If you have an extra day or two, you should have no problem finding additional passes to explore. Local people are very helpful and knowledgeable of backcountry roads and wildflower conditions throughout the region. If you get a bad weather day, consider exploring Owl Creek Pass or areas where you can travel in lower elevations. Owl Creek is a very easy drive and doesn’t require a 4 x 4 vehicle.

When to Go

The wildflowers in the high elevations of the San Juan Mountains are at their peak from about the third week of July through the first week of August. This window varies, but for the most part it’s predictable. The lower elevations throughout the San Juans can see wildflowers throughout the month of July. Crested Butte peaks a week or two before the higher elevations and makes a worthwhile trip before you head into the mountains. The best scenario based on my experience is to arrive in Crested Butte during the early part of the third week in July and move on to Ouray after a couple of days. I’d rather be in Crested Butte during the peak in that area and maybe a little on the front side of the peak in Yankee Boy Basin and other San Juan locations. You’ll still be greeted by a wonderful display there, but Crested Butte loses its appeal when the flowers are beyond peak and begin to look wilted.

I hope this post encourages you to visit and photograph in the San Juan Mountains. It is a great wildflower destination and well worth the hard work getting to the locations. Do travel smart and safe if you head in this direction. Until next post, Good Luck.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line

© William Manning: all material on this blog is the copyright of William Manning. No reproduction on this material is to be reproduced without written permission.

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Easy Fix for Bad Conditions

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Oh no, I agreed to shoot an assignment a couple hundred miles away on a tight deadline and the weather turned out differently than the forecast predicted. This has happened to me more than once and I’ve learned how to work around problem conditions in many cases. But, to make it work requires planning ahead before you run into the problem. I had an assignment a couple hundred miles from my home and had to get the photos done within a couple days. William Manning’s “Events from Unfortunate Conditions” had an uprising on this assignment and I had to make something good happen. Thankfully, I have a folder on my computer that I call, “Photoshop Parts”. These files are nothing more than a bunch of full size 16 bit images comprised of sky’s, beautiful lawns and urban landscaping.

Before I discuss how I fix these problems let me first address what you need to collect for your own Photoshop parts. When the conditions or opportunities allow itself, you should be shooting full frame sky’s on those beautiful days when the sky is bluer than blue and when white puffing clouds (cumulus) appear overhead. I suggest you shoot these conditions in the morning, mid afternoon and late afternoon and into early evening. You want to make sure you have the right sky for what ever need you come across. You want your finished product to look plausible. I also try to get onto a golf course at least once every spring to collect photos of beautiful grass for those problem lawns I run into often. I shoot on a fairway in several directions with a wide angle zoom lens and change the height of my camera position at a couple different levels. The reason I shoot in different directions and at different heights is to make sure I have the right condition for the direction of light on my subject. In other words you don’t want your grass to look back lit when your subject is front lit. The finished product needs to look natural.

Replace Overcast with Beautiful Blue

Easy to see the distracting white sky, but a smaller problem detail is the grass with its share of bare spots. Both issues need to be fixed.

The photo on the right shows my problem areas of which I will need to fix. These are easy fixes if you have extra parts in your library and a little skill in Photoshop. Lets fix the sky first. Important: always duplicate your background layer before you do any adjustments or fixes, or for that matter, anything. In most cases I use the pen tool in Photoshop to make my selections. I use the Pen Tool because I personally feel I can be more accurate in my selection. I’m a perfectionist and being nearly perfect in the selection I believe is critical when your working for a paying client. You can also use the Quick Selection Tool, it works fairly well, especially in situations similar to the image at right.

This is one of many sky photos I have in my library just for these purposes.

Once your selection is made you can now bring in your sky. This image must be the same size file as the one you are working on. In other words, if you are working on a 16 bit file the image you are transporting into this file must also be 16 bit. Open your file that contains the sky you want to import. Hold down your shift key and drag the background layer of the sky over into the working file. By holding the shift key, it allows your images to line up perfectly. In this particular case it may not be so important because we will probably move the sky around later anyway, but I believe it is a good habit to develop. Now your sky layer is placed into your working file, it is probably the top layer of the three. You now need to drag the sky layer and place it between your background layer and the duplicate background layer.

Make sure your top layer is selected as your active layer. You should have marching ants indicating your selection. Take your eraser and make sure the opacity is at 100% and select a large eraser. You can change the size of the eraser with the bracket kets on your keyboard. The left bracket key will make your eraser smaller and the right bracket key will enlarge the eraser. Start erasing inside the marching ants, (everything outside the selection is protected so no worry). You should see your new sky appear before you. After you have erased the old sky and have the new sky in place you can deselect the marching ants by going under the Select pull down menu and go to Deselect or you can do this via the keyboard shortcut of command and the D key. Now you can perfect the placement of the sky, providing you have clouds or variations in the sky that you want to place in a particle position. Simply select the Move Tool in the Photoshop tool menu and select the sky layer making it your active layer and move the sky around until you like what you see. Now you should have a beautiful sky in place of the ugly overcast sky.

Before I fix the grass, I typically merge the top two layers but before doing this, if one of the layers need a little contrast adjustment to blend the two together a little more perfectly I will select the layer that I want to adjust. Once you select the layer now pull up the curves by either hitting the command and M keys or go to the Image pull down menu and go to adjustments then to curves (Image – Adjustment – Curve). Make the adjustments as needed. Now you can merge your two layers together. You can do this by selecting the top layer and then go your Layer pull down menu at the top of your screen. At the bottom of your pull down menu you will see Merge Layers. Select this and now your top two layers become one.

Replace the Beat-Up Grass

I always shoot these situations with a wide angle lens. This allows me to move the photo around for a perfect fit.

For the sake of possibly making a dumb move, lets go ahead and duplicate the layer with our new sky. This should now give us three layers, the original background layer and the two layers with the new sky. Open the photo that has what will be our beautiful new lawn on it. As before, we need to bring this image over to our working file. Hold down the shift key and drag the background layer with the new grass over to our working file. Again, drag this new layer beneath the layer that exposes the sky and building we want to keep. In the case of replacing the sky, we created a selection where we wanted to place the new sky, but this time we are not going to make a selection. Why? Because in most cases where there might be a sidewalk or a building there will be grass overlapping those elements. We want to maintain a natural look therefore we are going to leave grass overlapping and gradually erase the old grass as close as possible up to the building or sidewalk with effecting them. Select the eraser tool and set the opacity to about 50 percent and in most cases my flow is almost always set between 60 and 80. This gives me a nice gradual blend. Now start erasing the old grass and let up on your mouse or Wacom pen and start erasing again until you see what you like. It is possible that your perspective of your grass looks a little odd. In other words the grass looks to large for the scene. That is why I shoot my photoshop parts (grass in this case) with a wide angle lens. Select the grass layer from your layers palette and your move tool from the tools menu. Take the move tool and move the grass layer around until the perspective look correct. Once again, if the contrast looks a little off, I keep my grass layer active and then select the curves tool and adjust until the blend matches up with your other layer.

The Finished Photo

One last thing and your finished. From the Layer pull down menu you can now Flatten your image and you have a beautiful finished photo that no one will ever know it was taken on an overcast white sky day. I wish you the very best on your creative journey.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line – Architectural Workshop in Cincinnati Ohio, October 13-17

© William Manning: all material on this blog is the copyright of William Manning. No reproduction on this material is allowed without written permission from the author/photographer.

The finished shot. I purposely left a couple imperfections in the grass to give it a school yard look where you know the kids are going to be walking in the grass. You can see the imperfection where the grass and sidewalk meet.

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A Look at Your Photography Investment and Pricing It

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How much is a photo worth? This is not an easy question to answer and in many cases we as photographers have little or no say on what price is placed on a photo sold through a third party. What we do have control over is either play the game and hope for the best or sell directly to the client and work assignments. There really is no easy answer. The advantage of selling through a stock photography agency is their marketing resources. They can reach a world wide audience with a wide variety of pictures for the client to choose from, where we as individual photographers will never have the ability to reach such a vast market nor do we have the image selection to offer a potential buyer. The other choice is assignment work, and the truth is these are hard to come by and in many cases don’t pay well (of course this depends on the type of assignment). What I suggest to photographers who want to make a living or generate a supplemental income from photography are two things, understand the market that will use your genre of photography and two, know what you have invested in creating your pictures and what you have invested in time to get your photos into the market place.

Lokrum Island and Cruise Ship off the coast of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea. This has been a good selling stock image.

I want to focus this post on the investment we as photographers have in creating our images. I think it will open many eyes and I believe those that are serious about making money, it will help you in deciding on a direction for selling your work. Before I dive into this, I want to briefly take a look at business. I think we all can agree that as photographers, we take pride in the product we create with our cameras. Agree, if not than you’re probably not going to do well selling your work. If you’re one of those who take pride in your product then I want to share a tip with you, people and businesses all over the world who might use your picture also take pride in their product or service. Why is this important? Because we are all trying to make a profit or generate venue in a challenging market. When a business produces an advertisement, writes an article, creates a product, etc… they have invested money and lots of it, therefore they have to recoup this investment plus add a mark up. Often, I believe many photographers overlook their investment when selling their photos. If a company chooses to use your photograph to help sell their product, service or deliver their message than they saw something in that photo they felt will do exactly that, sell or at the very least attract a viewers attention. They like your photo, no different than the advertising agency they hired, or the graphic designer, the writer, or the media outlet. That client carefully chooses who and what will be involved in getting the word out about their company, and it all comes with a price tag.

Imagine advertisements, product labels, newspapers, magazines, websites, etc… with no pictures. How well do you think these things would sell? I would guess not very well, in fact online magazines are using many more visuals to tell a story because people are reading less. Pictures help sell and/or capture the attention of an audience. Are your pictures important? You better believe they are.

Costs of Doing Business

Let’s take a look at what we have in invested in creating our photography. The numbers I mention from this point on are real numbers (unless otherwise noted) that I compiled from my own records. I also want to state these numbers can and probably would change depending on the subject and also the outlet in which they are sold. Most of the sales numbers in my case came from Corbis with a much smaller percentage of sales coming from Alamy.

Before I (we)  can create a single image I need equipment. This list obviously will vary depending on the photographer. The following is a list of equipment I use on a regular basis with the exception of the Canon 500mm lens.

Camera Equipment: (some of these numbers may be a little conservative, but fairly close)

Canon 5D … $3500, Canon 1D Mark II … $4500, Canon 17-40mm … $680, Canon 24-105mm … $1250, Canon 100-400mm … $1300, Canon 500mm … $5300, Canon 24mm TS … $1050, Canon 1.4 and 2X tele … $325, Canon 550 flash … $300, Gitzo Tripod … $350, Really Right Stuff Ballhead … $500, Camera and lens plates … $400, Camera bag … $250, Memory Cards … $300, Laptop … $3000, Portable Hardrives … $300.

Total Camera Equipment Investment: $23,305

Office Equipment:

Apple G-5 … $4300, Apple 30″ Monitor … $1800, Calibration Software … $300, Adobe Photoshop … $699, Adobe Lightroom … $399, Photo Mechanic … $150, DXO … $299, Nik Software … $399, Wacom Tablet … $250, Multiple External harddrives … $800, Books … $150, Laser Printer … $460.

Total Office Equipment Investment: $10,006.

Items that keep my office running:

Web Hosting … $300, Website Software … $699, Business Stationary … $150, Shipping (stamps, FedEx, etc…) … $500-$600, Continuing Education (workshops, seminars, etc…) … $200 – $800.

Total: $1849. (using the lower numbers) These number do not include utilities, which I did not include because I have a home office, but it is still an expense in itself.

The numbers above will vary from photographer to photographer, but if you are truly wanting to generate income from your photography you need to take a real look at these expenses. The total from the three categories above total $35,150. You might say, “some of these are one time costs”. True to some extent, but you will replace equipment from time to time as new technology is developed or simple ware and tear on the equipment. Computers and hard drives go down and technology changes. Software updates every couple of years, this is also an expense that needs to be taken into consideration. Running the office has its costs. As you can see I already have a pretty good overhead before I create any photos. Now lets take a look at two trips of mine and put these into the factor.

Both examples below are locations I shot several years ago (Thailand 2006 and Croatia 2007). I choose these locations because they have a history on the market and I felt would demonstrate realistic numbers.

Example 1: Thailand

Thailand: The following are true numbers from a photo shoot I did in Thailand.

Income from sales: $7349, sold 23 times

International Flight … $1600, In-country Flights … $163.22, Driver … $873.71, Guide … $387.97, Fuel … $196.58, Lodging … $428.01, Meals … $337.60, Entry Fees … $87.50, Airport taxes … $47.87.
Total : $4122.46 (misc costs not included)

Time invested in processing images:

Thailand produced approximately 1800 raw images. After editing and complete processing I finished up with 280 images.

Editing: 4.5 hours, Processing (raws to tiffs): 6-8 minutes per image equals 28 hours, Writing descriptions and keywording: 3-5 minutes per image equals 14 hours,
Total Time : 46.5 hours (Total time is based on least amount of time per image).

I have only had three photos from my Thailand trip that has generated any money. Depending on the location and popularity of that location this can be typical, some photo shoots generate photos that sell more than others. The other two photos that have sold from this investment generated $1080. of income with 12 sales and the other generated $434.34 from 14 sales.

Breakdown of Thailand expenses and profits: Travel expenses … $4122.46, Income from sales … $8863.34, Profit … $4,740.88

Example 2: Croatia

Now let’s look at another situation with very different results, Croatia.

Income from sales: $872.50, sold 2 times

International flight … $1108.11, Rental car … $317.15, Fuel … $138.71, Lodging $684.96, Meals … $495.18, Entry Fees … $63.36, Parking and tolls … $81.39

Total cost : $2,888.86 (misc costs not included)

Time invested in processing images:

Croatia produced approximately 1500 raw images, after editing and complete processing: 235 images.

Editing … 4 hours, Processing (6-8 minutes per image) … 23.5 hours, Writing descriptions and keywording (3-5 minutes per image) … 11.75 hours.

Total Time : 39.25 hours (Total time is based on least amount of time per image).

The photo shoot in Croatia up to this point has only generated 3 photos that have sold.

The breakdown of expenses and profits from Croatia; Travel expenses … $2888.86, Income from sales … $1394.50, Profit … -$1494.36 (a business loss).

A Business Summary

Doing business is expensive and a risk. As you can see from the two examples from above, I invested a lot of money up front, one turned out profitable and the other did not. Obviously, I have come out ahead more times than not, otherwise I probably would not be writing this post, I’d be at another job doing something other than photography. I learned early on in my career that I had to learn quickly what my overhead was and what kind of return I needed from my photo sales to survive. Every photo shoot I choose was decided based on what I thought was a need in the marketplace. I treated every trip as a business trip and not a vacation. How did I decide where to go? If you recall from a statement above, I said photographers should know the market in which their genre of work would be used. In my case it is travel. I am constantly reading and looking at what travel industry professionals were promoting and predicting to be the next hot travel destination. In many cases my homework payed off and there were certainly other times it didn’t.

Regardless of what you photograph there is overhead. A check from your stock agency isn’t a salary until you deduct your expenses. To close, I would ask those photographers who are sincere about making money, to take a look at your investment and time and evaluate your options, you might be surprised to see what is available to you. It is not important how many photos you sell, what is important is how much you get for the photos that sell. I wish you well in your business pursuit. Until next time, Good Luck.

In my next post on “The Business of Photography” I will suggest where photographers can make some reasonable money with their photography.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line – Stock Photography Workshop in New York, October 27-31

Note: If you enjoy my posts and think your photo friends might find my blog of interest, please pass the link on to them. Any help you can provide feeding traffic to this blog is much appreciated. Always feel free to leave a comment.

© William Manning: all material on this blog is the copyright of William Manning. No reproduction on this material is allowed without written permission from the author/photographer.



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My May Plans – More Assignments

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As each day passes, I watch beautiful weather escape me into the darkness of another day passing. A little frustrated I can’t seem to find just one day to get out of the office to do some personal shooting. That being said, I’m happy that I have assignments to keep me busy. This is not unusual this time of year because the beautiful sky’s and fresh new foliage make for some great exterior shooting for the buildings that were completed over the winter months. I will have, at least in most years, some down time June through August. It seems I get flooded with more assignments from September through October because all the architectural award competitions are due at the end of the year.

As you can see, neutral colors three light sources (fluorescent, incandescent and windows) A photographic nightmare.

I promised last month I would post a few photos from an assignment I did in April. I shot a design office, probably one of the harder projects I’ve shot in a long time. This space being a design studio and office there were lots of neutral colors and mixed light sources. The biggest problem I encountered was the huge windows surrounding the entire space, these threw lots of blue light in with the white ceiling and reflective floor catching it. One fix would have been to photograph it at night but this was impossible on this project, therefore I had to photograph during business hours and was dealt problems that had to be fixed in the computer. This project was being shot for the interior designers and they need exact color match on paint colors, fabric, carpets, etc… I was able to achieve this by making sure I got the white balance correct on location and a little Photoshop mastery in the computer. To see what I use to get my white balance check out a recent post, Getting Your Color Right at Time of Capture.

This is probably one of the more difficult of situations to pull off. Huge window with blue tinted glass, spot lights and cam lights all giving off a different color cast. The only way to I could pull this off was to take three different white balance readings and blend them all together in the computer.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to a photo trip in late May through early June. I will be spending time in Boston and New Hampshire. I have been wanting to photograph Boston for a long time and finally the time allows me to do it. I will be scouting both locations for a spring workshop next year. I have  been working on some new ideas for workshops that should be exciting for both myself and my participants. Unfortunately I can’t discuss these plans just yet but what I can tell you is, a couple of these workshops currently in the works are incredible opportunities that you won’t find anywhere else.

I am currently testing the new Canon 17mm and 24mm tilt shift lenses. I’ll post my thoughts as soon as I get them. The 17mm TS would be a great help for many of the interiors I shoot. This should be a fun test. Take care and hope you stay tuned in on my posts throughout the month of May.

Note: If you enjoy my posts and think your photo friends might find my blog of interest, please pass the link on to them. Any help you can provide feeding traffic to this blog is much appreciated. Always feel free to leave a comment.

Behind me is a wall of windows with blue tinted glass. I also had lots of cam lights in the ceiling which posed a problem, there were no dimmers so with the f-stop I was using I was getting huge star bursts from the lights. To fix this problem I had to shoot the photo with the lights off and then reshoot it with the lights on and blend the two together in Photoshop.

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Tip: Fix Leaning Lines (buildings, signs, fence posts, etc….) with Photoshop’s Skew Tool

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I get this question often, How do I fix my vertical (perpendicular) lines when they lean inwards? This is an easy fix in Photoshop. There are some subjects you can get away with when vertical lines lean inwards (or outwards), such as most nature subjects, trees, flowers, etc… When it comes to buildings or other manmade subjects you expect to see perpendicular lines in most cases, unless you’re intentionally using the exaggerated angle for a creative effect. So let’s get a fixin’.

I knew when I was photographing this building I would be straightening it in Photoshop, therefore I shot it a little wide. There are three elements in this photo that were important to me, The black Aronoff Center Sign, The reflection in the glass and the Procter and Gamble name at the bottom. I composed the picture so I knew I wouldn't lose these elements after using the Skew Tool.

As I said, this is an easy fix. Just follow these steps:

• Open your photo in Photoshop

• Duplicate the background layer (it is important to duplicate this layer, otherwise the skew tool won’t work.

• I typically like to place guides on my photo to help in the straightening process. (Make sure your rulers are active, if not hit the command and R key this will bring up the rulers). Simply drag with your curser a guide line from the ruler into your photo and place as needed. When you are finished with the guide lines simply drag them back to the ruler.

As you can see after using the Skew and Scale Tools in Photoshop I didn't lose any of the elements I wanted in the final image.

• Go to the Edit menu at top and a pull down window will open and go to Transform and another window opens and then go to the Skew tool (Edit – Transform – Skew)

• Make sure your window is larger than your photo, if not you can enlarge your window by going to the bottom right hand corner and pull to your desired size.

• You will see a outline around your photo with a small box at each corner and one each in the middle of each line. Grab one of the corners and pull until your line is straight or in desired position. This will throw the other side off and you simply grab the corner box on opposite side and pull once again. You will more than likely have to go back and forth a couple of times until you get your lines as needed.

• Depending on how much of an adjustment you had to make with the skew tool you may notice your picture looks a little squashed. If this happens go to Edit – Transform – Scale and use the scale tool to raise the photo. I typically take some from both the top and bottom. Scale until your subject looks correct. After using the scale tool you may have to go back and make some adjustments with the skew tool once again.

• Now you’re finished.

In this landscape the trees lean inwards do to the upwards shooting position of my camera. This leaning effect in a natural landscape is typically acceptable.

• TIP: When I know that I’m going to have to use the Skew Tool in Photoshop I will intentionally shoot my subject a little wider than I need, otherwise after using the scale tool my subject will more than likely be hugging the edges of the picture frame.

As you can see this Lighthouse is leaning inward but I decided to use this effect for creative purposes.

To Sum up this tip: 1. Duplicate layer 2. Place guide lines if needed 3. Go to Edit – Transform – Skew 4. Play with Skew tool on both sides as needed 5. If needed use the Scale tool, Edit – Transform – Scale 6. If needed fine tune with the Skew Tool one last time 7. Finished.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line – Architectural Workshop in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 13-17

Note: If you enjoy my posts and think your photo friends might find my blog of interest, please pass the link on to them. Any help you can provide feeding traffic to this blog is much appreciated. Always feel free to leave a comment.

© William Manning: all material on this blog is the copyright of William Manning. No reproduction on this material is allowed without written permission from the author/photographer.

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Tip: Getting Your Color Right at Time of Capture

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OK, I admit, when I first started shooting digital I was lazy and shot everything on auto white balance. My thought at the time was, the color will be close enough or I’ll fix it in Photoshop. Both excuses were acceptable for a while, until I found myself spending tons of time fixing those colors in front of a computer screen and most of the time they seldom looked real. That’s when I decided to invest in whatever was needed to get it right in the camera. The good news is, it’s easier than you might think, it takes very little time and it improves your photos instantly.

There are several tools or methods one can use to white balance in the field but I’m going to talk about a tool that I believe is easy, quick, effective and universal (can be used in most all situations), the  Expodisc. The Expodisc is a simple snap on filter that attaches to the front of your camera lense. I use it for all the situations I encounter from architecture to landscapes. Getting my white balance correct for my  architectural clients is critical therefore I need a method that is dependable and if it is reliable in these difficult situations then I know it will serve me well in other situations I regularly encounter.

ExpoDisc by ExpoImaging

Use of the Expodisc is quite simple. Once I determine my composition I place the Expodisc on the front of my camera lens and if possible walk to my subject, point the camera towards my shooting position and take a shot. What you will find on your viewer on the back of your camera is a solid white screen more than likely with a slight color cast, a slightly blue cast indicating you’re shooting in blue light, or maybe a slight yellow cast indicating a warmer light. Your histogram should lie somewhere near the middle. I then set the white balance setting on my camera body to custom white balance. (Every camera system is different and learning how to set custom white balance on your particular camera can be found in your camera manual.) Once this is set your ready to photograph.

If you’re shooting a landscape and if it is impossible to get the white balance reading by walking into the scene then I will walk into the same light as my scene and get my reading in this manner. Probably the most difficult situation on getting a proper white balance reading is photographing interiors. This is a situation where it is quite possible to have multiple light sources and the need to get a white balance reading from each of these light sources is important. Shooting architectural interiors is a speciality that requires careful attention to detail, especially getting proper white balance, and a subject I’ll discuss in another post.

I recommend every photographer to make the attempt to get their colors correct while on location. This is, as I point out often, a part of developing “good shooting technique”. I wish you the best with your shooting. I’m always interested in hearing comments from readers, is this tip helpful, have you used ExpoDisc, etc…?

Shot on Auto White Balance - notice the cool color cast on the shady side of brick building

Shot with ExpoDisc - the cool color cast was corrected back to a natural red tone of the bricks.

The ExpoDisc varies in prices based on your filter size ($70. – $170.). I recommend purchasing the filter size for the lens with the largest filter need therefore you can simply hold it in front of the lenses with smaller filter needs. To order your Expodisc visit the ExpoImaging web site at http://www.expoimaging.com/index.php.

New 2010 – 2011 Workshop Page is now On-Line

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