ON-LINE PHOTO INSTRUCTION-- with detailed critiques of your work
My new 4-week began again last Wednesday at Betterphoto.com, and it's still not too late to sign up. To improve your compositional skills, for example, click here to check out the outline course to see if you feel this material is exactly what you need.
I have a new photoshop course called Photoshop: Thinking Outside the
Box.
You can click here to see the outline of the course. It is very different from my other Photoshop courses in the types of techniques I demonstrate (include 3-D), and it's a heck of a lot of fun.
Do you want to make money in photography? Want to feel more confident in using natural light outdoors? Interested in learning more about Photoshop (like putting fireworks in the sky or removing lens flare). Are you insecure about your exposure skills?
The way the courses work is this. Every Wednesday you receive a lesson that consists of text and photos, explaining various principles in photography, marketing your work, digital manipulation, or whatever subject you are studying. At the end of each lesson there is an assignment, and you have plenty of time to take pictures and upload them for my critique. You can use photos you did specifically for the assignment or images that you have taken previously.
On-line photo courses are like virtual classrooms but not in real time. Other students can see your pictures, read my critiques, and comment on your work. Similarly, you can comment on the pictures of other students. It is a unique and wonderful learning experience.
One of the great things about these on-line courses is that students participate from all over the world. In a single lesson's uploads, you may see pictures from Bryce Canyon or Brazil, or from Singapore or South Carolina. It's a very stimulating environment, and it will help you become the photographer or digital artist that you would like to be.
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ABC's OF MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY
In all of my online courses, students are always submitting closeup images of small subjects, and in most of these images there are
problems such as distracting backgrounds, not enough depth of
field, poor focus, bad lighting, and less than ideal shooting angles.
Macro work is intriguing and captivating because it reveals detail
in things that most people never really take the time to notice,
but in order for us to appreciate the intricacy of small objects
with tack sharp clarity, attention to the technical side of the
endeavor is crucial.
The biggest mistake I see students making is that they don't use enough depth of field. I see this over and over again. It seems to me the reason why we photograph intriguing subjects like the caterpillar above is to reveal all of the incredible detail. What's the point of blurring a fascinating subject? In my opinion, it should be as sharp as possible.
Is shallow depth of field, i.e. 'selective focus', appropriate sometimes? Yes, it is. Abstractions in color are fun to do, such as the magenta flower I shot through a Lens Baby, below right. To me, this kind of photography gets old very quickly, however. It takes little technical discipline, it's common -- meaning everyone does it -- and it reveals very little about the subject being photographed. It seems to me this is 'pseudo-artistic'. It's a lazy way of blending color as an artist might without having the skill or the patience to do it with oils or acrylics. I realize this is totally subjective, but that's how I see it. I obviously do this sometimes myself, but it is not especially unique or impressive. If you love this kind of photography, great, I hope you thoroughly enjoying creating out of focus abstractions. I would like to encourage you, though, to step outside your comfort zone and become more critical and technical in your macro work and try to produce tack sharp images.
 In order to take spectacular pictures of small subjects, then, I feel that complete depth of field is in order. This is the only way you can show the detail in small subjects. Assuming that is your goal, here
is what you must do:
1. You need to use f/22 or f/32.
2. A tripod is essential.
3. Sometimes a macro flash setup is necessary to freeze a subject that is moving.
4. It's important to fill the frame with the small subject no matter how small it is. Otherwise it won't make a compelling picture.
5. The background should be complementary, not busy and distracting.
Lens aperture. It is true that very small apertures are not as sharp as f/5.6 or f/8, but when you want depth of field, this is what you must use. When I want as much depth of field as possible, I use f/32.
Even at f/32, though,
sometimes you can't 
get as much depth of field as you want. In
the photo of the gulf fritillary butterfly at right, for example, you can see that the insect is
sharp but the wood on which it is resting
is soft in both the foreground and the
background. That happened because the digital sensor was oblique to the plane of
the wood. This is just one of the limitations of optics. Nevertheless,
the butterfly is sharp and that was my main goal. I definitely did not want the wing tips to be soft.
Tripod. Tripods are awkward to manipulate especially when shooting tiny subjects, but they are a necessary evil. In order to use small lens apertures,which reduce the light considerably thus forcing the shutter speed to be slow, you must have a tripod to get sharp pictures. You can't hand hold the camera when using a slow shutter speed in normal circumstances, and when photographing small subjects this is particularly true because movement is greatly magnified. Using a shutter speed of, say 1/45th of a second with a wide angle lens isn't as bad as using the same shutter speed with a macro lens. The wide shot may very well be sharp, but the macro photo won't be.
You should also use the mirror lockup feature and either the self-timer or a wireless trigger. These two things will contribute to the stability of the camera and they minimize vibration or movement.
Flash. When shooting insects,
small  frogs, and subjects that are moved by the wind, flash may be necessary to get sharp pictures. It does two things for you. First, it freezes the moving subject, and second, it provides so much light that you can use f/32 without a tripod. The frog at right was taken with a ring flash which is my preferred type of flash unit for macro subjects. The lighting is soft and evenly distributed across the subject, thus eliminating distracting shadows.
Filling the frame. This is essential. It is the best way to reveal detail, and at the same time it is visually arresting to see something like a bee face to face -- something that never happens in our daily lives. In order to do this, you will need equipment to allow you to focus closely. In addition to a macro lens, I recommend extension tubes. They are relatively inexpensive (about $170 for a set of three tubes) and they are very useful in macro work. The bee below was taken with a 50mm macro lens and one extension tube.
The background. There are two ideal backgrounds in macro photography, particularly when shooting nature: black and out of focus foliage. When I want a black background, I use black velvet. When I want an out of focus green background like you see behind the bee, the frog, and the caterpillar, I use a 13 x 19 inch print of out of focus foliage. Mounted on foam core, it makes the perfect background. When I use the ring flash, I can vary the exposure on the background by changing the distance from the print to the flash. As the print is brought toward the flash, it becomes lighter. Conversely, if I want it more muted, I move it a few inches away from the flash (and the subject).
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GENERATING ABSTRACTS
There are many ways you can create abstract images in the digital realm. One of the most intriguing methods is to use the Photoshop plug-in Flexify 2 made by flamingpear.com. This is the same company that makes Flood, my favorite plug-in for creating realistic reflections. Flexify 2 twists and contorts images in endless ways due to the many choices within the easy-to-understand dialog box. Here are some examples. All of the originals were simply pictures of flowers.
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Self Critique
The photo of a black guan I took in Costa Rica is essentially a good picture. I used fill-flash because I was afraid of losing detail in the dark bird who was standing in deep shade, and I like how the additional light reveals the texture and detail in the bird. I also like how compelling the eye looks, and that only would have happened with the additional artificial light. The bird is balanced with the background in terms of exposure, too.
There are three things I don't like about this picture, however. First, the two purple flowers are distracting. They draw our attention away from the bird. Note that even though they are out of focus and small in the frame, they still should be cloned out.
Second, there is a faint, out of focus stem behind the bird's neck. This should also be cloned out. Graphic lines behind a subject that are not part of the subject are almost always distracting. This is true even though the lines may be out of focus.
Finally, some of the green highlights behind the bird are lighter than I'd like, particularly behind the bird's shoulder. In the revised version below, you can see that the image is much better by making these changes. Nothing in the background takes attention away from the subject.
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AUTUMN FOLIAGE PHOTOGRAPHY TIP
When you photograph autumn foliage, avoid harsh, mid-day sunlight. The colors in your pictures will be much more intense and attractive in soft and diffused lighting. I know this seems counterintuitive, but it's true.
Bright sunlight sets up too much contrast. Look at the detail in the photo above. There are no black shadows or blown highlights. Had the sun been shining brightly on this stand of trees, it would not even be worth photographing.
The photo below isn't terrible, but the contrast seen in the dark shadows isn't ideal. The light is much more harsh than in the photo above, and I feel that this would have been much better had a cloud cover diffused the light.
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PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOP in my HOME
Sat. & Sun., Dec. 4 & 5, 2010
Photoshop is a photographer's best friend, and the creative possibilities are absolutely endless. In this personal and 'homey' environment, I start at the beginning -- assuming you know nothing -- but I quickly get into layers, cutting and pasting, plug-ins, and a lot more. I promise to fill your head with so many cool techniques that you won't believe what you'll be able to do.
Photoshop instructors approach teaching this program from different points of view. In addition to showing you how to use the various tools, pull down menus, layers, and so on, I spend a lot of time giving you creative ideas that will inspire you to produce amazing images with the pictures you've already taken.
A lot of people, once they learn what the tools and commands do, still need help in deciding what images to work with, what composites look good, and how to be artistic within Photoshop. This is one of the main things I address in this workshop.
 I live in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and if you fly into the airport (BNA) I will pick you up. If you drive, I'll give you my address and you can find it on Mapquest. For the $450 fee, I include one dinner in my home (prepared by my wife who is an amazing cook and hostess) and two lunches, plus shuttling you back and forth from my home to your nearby hotel.
Contact me if
you would like to participate. I will do my best to inspire you with all the great things Photoshop can do. All you need is a laptop. If you don't
have one, I have two laptops (they are Macs) I can loan out. photos@jimzuckerman.com
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NEW PHOTO TOURS/WORKSHOPS FOR 2011
I am now offering some new photo tours for the first time. A brief description follows, and if you would like more information about them, you can either drop me a note (photos@jimzuckerman.com) or you can visit my website: jimzuckerman.com.
A note about my photo tours. The entire emphasis is on getting great pictures of great subjects. You will expend a lot of energy in that pursuit, and you may be exhausted when you get home, but you'll take the best pictures of your life.
Costa Rica hummingbirds, March 16 - 22, 2011.
Capturing exotic hummingbirds in flight is one of the most exciting photographic endeavors I've pursued. Once you know how to do it, it's easy -- easier than you would think. I provide the entire setup on this photo workshop -- the flash units, the backgrounds, the locations, and the instruction. All you have to do is sit comfortably in a chairand take outstanding images. This week-long workshop will be tremendously rewarding in the experience of being so close to these stunning jewels, and you will cherish the images. Also included is a visit to a reptile zoo where we set up natural looking backgrounds so you can photograph some of Costa Rica's fascinating frogs, snakes, and other interesting creatures.
There are two instructors on this workshop, myself and Adam Jones, a fantastic
photographer and teacher in his own right.
 
ETHIOPIA, JAN. 17 to FEB. 5, 2011. (two spaces left). This photo tour includes both the Christian north of the country with its unique rock-cut churches and amazing religious art as well as the tribal south. Some of the most amazing tribes in Africa inhabit this region, including the Surma, Mursi, and Hamer. The first few nights in Lalibela will be in a hotel, but in the tribal south we sleep in a mobile tented camp because there are no lodges available in the primitive areas we visit. The photography is unparalleled.
 
INDONESIA, JULY 24 - 29, 2011. My wife is from Indonesia, and I have been there 20 times. It's a fantastic photo destination, and this tour includes exotic Bali, two active volcanic areas, an unbelievable fashion show, and 1000-year old Hindu and Buddhist ruins. In Bali, we photograph the amazing stylized dancing this island is famous for, a bat cave used as a temple, sculpted rice terraces, and we will have a private model shoot of Balinese dancers. On Java, we will photograph a Javanese bride.
As an aside, the shopping in Bali is amazing. My wife, whose bargaining skills can only be described as brutal, will help get the best prices on anything you want to buy.
 
VERMONT, OCT. 2 - 8, 2011. (4 spaces left) Autumn in Vermont is so beautiful that I remember the first time I photographed it. I was glad when it was night because I couldn't take any more beauty! I was visually overloaded. On this photo workshop, we visit classic New England churches, cemeteries, covered bridges, quaint villages, round barns, and all of this is set in the most glorious natural color imaginable. Bring more flash cards than you think you'll need because this is a photographer's paradise.
 
TURKEY, Oct 18 - 30, 2011. Turkey is a fantastic photographic destination with tremendously varied subject matter. From ancient ruins to stunning mosques, from exotic dancers to dramatic landscapes, Turkey is a place I am always happy to return to. Our local guide is fantastic. He is extremely knowledgeable about Turkish history and he loves sharing his insights with us. Our hotel in Istanbul gives us the best view of the Blue Mosque you've ever seen, and the people of Turkey are incredibly friendly and a joy to be with.
NAMIBIA, November 6 - 22, 2011. Namibia is a photographer's
dream come true. It has the largest sand dunes in the world, great wildlife, and primitive tribes right out of the pages of National Geographic. Some of my favorite pictures from Africa were taken here. We visit the primitive Himba people as well as the Bushmen and photograph them in their natural environment. The stark beauty of the Namib desert creates some of the most compelling landscape images you'll ever make. We also visit some unique wildlife rescue facilities that afford amazing opportunities to get face to face with cheetahs, lions, leopards, wild dogs, and other coveted species. This is a trip not to be missed.
 
SPAIN & PORTUGAL, April 5 - 15, 2012
 
I choose a different itinerary almost every year in Europe because there is so much to photograph. In 2012, I've chosen Spain and Portugal. Spectacular castles, beautiful cathedrals, ultra modern architecture, fascinating history, and warm and friendly people make this destination a great photographic experience. We shoot twilight in the evening, we take advantage of sunrise and sunsets, and as always I find the best vantage points and I choose subjects that, well, knock your socks off!
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For a listing of other photo tours and workshops I'm leading,
please click here.
Drop me a note for any additional information you may want
at photos@jimzuckerman.com
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