Archive for March, 2012
TWiT Photo 50: Elevendy
Blog, TWiT Photo 
0
Thu 03.29.2012
Don’t miss a chance to watch or listen to your favorite photographers – download the TWiT Photo podcast on iTunes for free :)
Is it photography or 3D animation? A common question for creative masterminds, Dave Cox and Wil Wells, of Elevendy. Disregarding the mantra “get it right in camera” this creative production house makes their own rules. Learn the importance of planning, how to hide discreet meaningful messages in your images (including star wars characters), and how to get a client buy-in for off the wall concepts. The dynamic duo will also reveal the process of their Addy winning Sacramento Kings “Defend Your Honor” campaign.
** Bonus – In-studio shoot with both “C-Sharp” and Leo. See the concept drawing and shoot in action. Final result to be revealed in future episode!
Guest: Wil Wells and Dave Cox of elevendy.com
Tip from Elevendy:
“Pre-visualize your composite, planning leads to success”
In the world of compositing images, like anything else, chance favors the prepared. We’ll use a variety of “pre-vis” techniques depending on the project, the general idea/setup we have in mind, the budget, and most importantly the timeline we’ve agreed to for completion.
Below you’ll see some examples of the different types of pre-vis we’ll typically do. They range from rudimentary sketches, to decently fleshed out 3D models.
The main things we accomplish by pre-visualizing a shot:
Lighting Placement
Isaiah Luke Cage
Concept buy-in from Client
Thornton
Prop planning
Supermom!
Location scouting
Rovatron
Find out more by watching the video here or on iTunes. Next week: award winning celebrity and fine art photographer Michael Grecco. Have questions, suggestions or praises? Please email photo@twit.tv.
TIP OF THE WEEK: The Science of Shapes
Blog, Photo of the Week 1
Tue 03.27.2012
The image featured here was taken at the 2008 Burning Man Festival, a 30,000+ arts and culture gathering that takes place every September in the barren desserts of Black Rock City in America. I rendered this portrait as a metal print, which recently won first place in the WPPI NYC @Photoplus 16×20 Print Competition in the Individual Portrait Category. Here, you can see me with the metal print and winner’s award :)
TIP OF THE WEEK: Shapes–both singular ones and patterned, repetitious ones–often govern the composition of good photographs. They create compelling images because a sense of intrinsic order and inherent design reigns. The background of a subject isn’t always just there as a secondary element. Here, the patterened “background” exemplifies and supports the circular and triangular shapes of this man’s hair, glasses, and necklace. The design elements come together to create not only a cohesive, but a visually arresting, whole.
Don’t miss a chance to watch or listen to your favorite photographers – download the TWiT Photo podcast on iTunes for free :)
View Sports Illustrated Staff Photographer Bill Frakes’s astonishing portfolio as he shares insights on how he often carries & triggers 25+ cameras, how he went from LAW school to one of SI’s Top Shooters, and why preparation & storyboarding are key. Winner of the coveted Newspaper Photographer of the Year award his clients include everyone from Nike to Apple and his editorial work has appeared in virtually every major general interest publication in the world.
3 TIPS from Bill Frakes:
1. When you have great light, always look 180 degrees in the opposite direction. The light will extremely different but equally wonderful.
2. When you’re shooting sports, pay attention to where you are physically. You have to be careful to never impact anyone else in the stadium–from the athletes to the spectators to the officials to your colleagues.
3. “Doing video capture always use supports.”
Don’t miss a chance to watch or listen to your favorite photographers – download the TWiT Photo podcast on iTunes for free :)
Ever wish that you can just take off and go on a round-the-world tour? That’s what Gary Arndt did in March 2007, and he’s been to 114 countries and territories, and still counting. The multi-award-winning blogger showcases his photography and journey on his travel blog, Everything Everywhere. Time magazine named his blog one of the top 25 blogs in the world. Taking a break from swimming with whale sharks in Australia and spelunking in Borneo, Gary joins us in the studio and shares stories about playing photojournalist in the midst of a political protest in Bangkok, how looking like a professional photographer can get you places, and tips on how to pursue your wanderlust and the most efficient ways to do travel photography.
Here are Gary’s top tips:
1. Know where you are. Light for the location.
2. Bigger memory is better than more in terms of storage.
3. Backup! Backup! Backup!
Find out more by watching the video here or on iTunes. Next week: Florida based editorial, commercial and sports photographer Bill Frakes. Have questions, suggestions or praises? Please email photo@twit.tv.
If you hang out with your subject long enough, eventually they forget about you and reveal their kinetic energy. My first set of shots is typically a wash – human subjects simply need more time to warm up to the camera. It’s all a part of the process. Incorporating a sense of movement in your imagery, as you see here with this portrait of a young Highlander in the Andean Mountain Range in the Sacred Valley area of Cuzco, Peru, lends your photographs a magnetic energy.
This sense of action and spontaneity locates a subject in time and space. Here, her hair is flying; she’s playfully tossing a small pillow toward the camera; and the low, directional light creates a sense that this dynamic image couldn’t have been captured at any other time or place.
