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May 1, 2012 by Nathan Larimer Photography

Some Questions Answered…

Recently, a local high school student contacted me for help writing a paper on a photographer.  I thought it would be nice to show a few of his interview questions and my answers.  I hope this helps with your paper!

Question:
What inspired you to be a photographer?

Answer:
I can’t tell you.  I just don’t know.  I just always wanted to be a photographer.

I can tell you what inspires me to continue to be a photographer, though.  It’s the little details in life, and the drive for perfection.  Once the love of image making gets you, all those little tiny details that you notice around you have to become perfect within an image.  I push myself every day to make them perfect.  Unfortunately, I failed at that today.  So I’ll have to try again tomorrow, and then the next day, and so on.  It will never end.  I’ll always be a photographer.

Question:
Did you know you wanted to be a photographer when you first picked up a camera?

Answer:
I can’t remember the first time I picked up a camera.  I don’t really have some special story about my Dad giving me a camera for my birthday and something magical happened and 20 years later I’m a photographer.  It didn’t work that way.  My Dad did give me my first camera, though.  It was a Canon F-tb with a film crank that didn’t quite work right.

Question:
When did you sell your first piece and how did it feel?

Answer:
I can’t really remember that one either.  It was probably sometime in college.  I could really care less about print sales, honestly.  As a photographer, I have so many other sources of potential income that I’m more interested in people seeing my work regardless if they every buy a piece.  (Any gallerist interested in showing my work should disregard what I’m saying here.)  My point is, you should make work for yourself first and worry about finding a buyer later.  For example, many photographers here in Sonoma County photograph vineyards because that’s what sells here.  This may be a good business strategy, but not a good image-making strategy.  You have to decide if you want to make art or a product.

Question:
What advice would you give me when taking photos?

Answer:
Get the technical side of photography down pat.  F-stops, shutter speeds, and the “how” of taking photos should become second nature to you.  Once it is, then you can free you mind for more important things like what you are photographing and why.  Most viewers really aren’t going to care how you shot something or with what camera.  They want to be compelled to look based on what is in the image and how its presented.

You should continually look at the work of other photographers.  Be inspired by something.  For example, when you are studying photography, read about a photographer’s ideas instead of his or her gear.  Mediocre photographers will always talk about how much they’re into their cameras instead of how much they’re into what they’re photographing.  Wouldn’t it be silly to see painters spending as much time talking about how awesome the latest paintbrush is, as photographers talk about how awesome the latest Canon 5D Mark-whatever is?  I guess what I’m saying is that brain cells beat megapixels any day.  Act on your inspirations!

Question:
What do you like taking photos of more?  People, places, nature, etc.

Answer:
I think that I enjoy working with all of those things at the same time.  Typically, when I am taking pictures it’s to tell a story of some sort or to investigate an idea. In that way, I am usually photographing a myriad of different subject matter, and then through sequencing and editing, use those images to translate an idea or story visually. The people in my work should inform the viewer about the place, and vice versa.  At least, that the idea.  Lately, my personal work has portrayed many objects within the landscape to either act as a surrogate for a person or to conjure memory or emotion.  Therefore, you aren’t seeing many people in much of my most recent projects.

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April 19, 2012 by Nathan Larimer Photography

Retouching Is Included!

One question I get from almost all of my clients is: Do you know Photoshop?

Rest assured that I am an expert with photoshop and your photographs will be edited and retouched to the best of my ability.  Throughout my six years as a photography student that included receiving a Master of Fine Arts in Photography in 2010, I received the best training in all aspects of digital photography and retouching.  Though I have never been someone who gets hung up on tech, gear, and gadgets because I believe that intangible elements like emotion and meaning are way more important than f-stops and megapixels.  However, I have always believed that my craftsmanship must be excellent for those intangibles to come across the way I want.  Therefore, when you order a print, album, or multimedia slideshow my personal retouching is always included.

Here are a few examples of images that I have edited and retouched…

Sonoma County Portrait Photography Retouching

The image on the far right is an example of what most photographs look like straight out of the camera before they have been edited in any way.  I would never present an image like this to a client.

The image in the middle includes some basic editing of color balance, contrast, cropping, and sharpening.  This is an example of what one of my sharable or printable digital images will typically look like.

The image on the far left has been fully retouched and is just about as good as I can make it.  The difference between this and basic editing is that I have taken the extra step to remove or alter some aspects of the image like skin blemishes, wayward hairs, pieces of trash in the background, or even some body shape.  Essentially, anything you would need powerful professional software like Photoshop to do.  All of the pieces I make like prints, albums, or multimedia slideshows should look this good.  Sharable and printable digital images can certainly receive retouching like this when specially ordered.

Petaluma Photographer Portrait Retouching

Check out my Facebook page for even more examples.

***Note*** The logo in the lower left corner is not included in any prints, albums, multimedia slideshows, or printable digital images I sell to clients.  I only add it to sharable digital images and images on my blog or social media, like Facebook, so no one steals my stuff.  You understand.

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December 16, 2011 by Nathan Larimer Photography

Digital vs. Film

Question:
Connie of Petaluma, California asks, “Nathan, I’m curious about why you use a digital camera for some images or projects and film for others?”

Answer:
In fairly broad terms, most artists begin with an inspiration or idea and then make a decision on the best medium to visually translate that idea artistically.  Grant it, most artists do use the same or similar medium consistently.  This is especially true of photographers.  But it’s still a critical decision.  For me, there are some aesthetic differences to be considered when choosing between film and digital photography, but the most important factor is how it affects my approach to image-making.

When I was a freshman in college, digital was just coming onto the scene and I didn’t know anyone who used it.  That didn’t last long.  One day in the spring of my Junior year I received a letter from the department chair notifying students that we will all be required to purchase a digital SLR with at least 6 megapixels by the following school year.  Since then, I have mostly used a digital camera, but I do still complete some projects on film.  Including my MFA thesis.

The first thing that the proliferation of digital cameras did was make everyone at least a mediocre photographer.  This is due, in part, to the ability to take many many more pictures on a digital memory card compared to a roll of film.  A digital photographer can quickly click away for hundreds or thousands of exposures feeling assured that somewhere in that mass of images is a few good ones.  Shooting in this fashion certainly doesn’t require as much thought, and I would argue that quantity over quality is not the way to go.  However, as long as I keep my mind in the game, the ability to shoot more pictures is definitely a benefit.

For me, one of the best aspects of digital is that it is much more cost effective, efficient, and just plain faster.  Photographers, like myself, are notoriously impatient.  I once heard that toward the end of his life, Ansel Adams would put his prints in the microwave because he didn’t like waiting for them to dry.  Therefore, the speed at which I can work with digital can be a huge benefit for me.  Especially, for commercial photography.  I can do a shoot in the morning and have proofs ready for clients by the afternoon with little effort.  Again, though, this speed can be also be a major negative.  Speed is not always the best way to make compelling and thoughtful imagery.

Working with a 4x5 field camera.

With that said, a huge benefit to film is that it forces you to slow down.  Especially, when you shoot sheet film.  I shot my MFA thesis, “Imprint,” completely on sheet film with a view camera.  Every time I clicked the shutter it cost me around $4 after the cost of the film, development, and shipping to and from a lab.  Since I was shooting hundreds of pictures for the project, the cost alone really made me think long and hard about what I was shooting and why.  Aside from the cost, using a 4×5 view camera is slow simply because its a large cumbersome machine that requires a tripod and takes a bit of effort to carry around and set up.  I believe this slow and thoughtful approach can really improve my photographs assuming I have the time and money.  Which I usually don’t.

Certain film cameras can add another dimension to my portraiture.  Its true that for my more commercial-style portraits I only use a digital camera.  However, for my fine art documentary-style portraits a 4×5 film camera is the way to go.  This is because I don’t have to hold the camera in front of my face and look through a viewfinder.  When I click the shutter I must use a cable release, having previously composed and focused the image under a dark cloth.  This allows the subject to look at my face instead of the camera.  I believe this conveys a feeling to the subject that I am taking the picture, a human-being, instead of a machine.  The slow speed at which I have to shoot helps the image feel more sophisticated and intimate than a quick snapshot.

You may notice I haven’t said anything about resolution.  In my opinion, when comparing PROFESSIONAL digital cameras with high-quality optics to film, digital image quality is as good if not better than film.  Even sheet film.  Not to mention, most photographers still using film choose to go “figital.”  Which is a slang term meaning they shoot on film and scan with a digital scanner and then print with and inkjet printer.  However, when you scan film you are essentially making a digital rendering of the image therefore making the film resolution moot.  It would be hard to convince me of the resolution benefits of even a drum scanner or virtual drum scanner over a 60MP medium format digital back.  ”Figital” certainly isn’t any cheaper either.  With that said, I still think that working in this way has its benefits to the approach to image-making, but not in resolution.

In the end, shooting film often completely impractical for me.  And digital is a must on commercial shoots.  However, I find that my approach to image-making is much more thoughtful and sophisticated when working with film.  So I’m not selling my 4×5 anytime soon.  But it is nice to not have to work in the dark anymore.

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December 2, 2011 by Nathan Larimer Photography

When Is The Best Time To Take Pictures Outside?

Question:
What is the best time to take pictures outside?  This question was submitted by Mindy from San Diego, California.

Answer:
There really isn’t a best time to take pictures outside, but it is a critical decision a photographer has to make.  This is because the time of day, year, and the weather all affect the light that you are working with.  So deciding on a good time to shoot outside depends on the type of light you want to shoot.

I’ll try not to be too technical here, but I feel that the type of light you are working with is one of the primary aesthetic elements effecting emotion in a picture.  For example, bright sun in the middle of the day can create a dynamic energy filled image while a dim overcast day can evoke a calm, peaceful, or even melancholy feeling.  (See the two images below for examples.)

For much of my work, I prefer a soft sunlight either in the early morning or late in the afternoon.  This is because that type of light is often perceived as pleasing aesthetically and the emotions it evokes can be broadly interpreted to satisfy a variety of viewers.  It’s also much easier to expose properly and rarely needs the addition of artificial light.  Like a flash.  This is why I almost always schedule on-location portrait shoots in the late afternoon or early morning.

Fortunately, here in coastal Northern California the weather is pretty nice year round.  It rains some in the winter, but its never really too cold to shoot outside.  Here in Sonoma County the grass grows tall and many wildflowers come out in the winter and spring, like the iconic yellow mustard flowers in a vineyard.  So the landscape this time of year can really create some unique pictures.  I wouldn’t hesitate to schedule shoots outside the entire year.  With that said, I do shoot indoors as well.

 

The bright sun in the image helps convey the youthful energy of the boy running to his father.

 

This soft even lighting makes for a quiet and pensive portrait.

 

This is the first in a series of questions submitted by clients about photography, my studio, and myself.  I will be answering many of these questions over the next few months, and I’m still looking for more questions to answer.  So don’t be shy.  Ask away!

Submit your questions to nathan@nathanlarimer.com with the subject “I Have A Question.”

 

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May 10, 2011 by Nathan Larimer Photography

Camera Phone

Entering Freshman year of college just 10 years ago a Canon FTb  35mm SLR was my camera of choice.  It was a hand-me-down from my father and decades old, but that didn’t matter because I could always load it with fresh new film and it would have the potential for sharp crisp images.  The camera itself was essentially a mechanical light-tight box and contributed very little to the success or failure of the images it helped create.  The important aspect was what I was taking a picture of and why I was taking its picture.

Now that the vast vast majority of us shoot digital, the camera is not just a light-tight box anymore.  It is also the film.  Maybe even the darkroom.  The quality of your camera really matters if you want to keep up with the best professional photographers.  That means buying a new one every year or two.  So I won’t be handing down my long since obsolete Canon 10D (2006) to my son.

This is not just a problem for our wallets, but I see a problematic trend in how we approach the art of picture-making in light of all this changing technology.  Many photographers are too focused on their technical abilities to make use of their artistic abilities.  We too often forget to use the best piece of technology we own.  Our brains.  You always have it with you and you grow it yourself, which makes it much cheaper than a 12-Core Mac Pro with six gigabytes of RAM and a terabyte hard drive loaded with the latest P-shop with the god tool.

I’m not saying we forsake digital technology.  It has brought photography to more people and made much of the photographic process easier and faster.  But in some cases, I say we make a compromise, at least if only to exercise our artistic minds.  Shoot with your cell phone.  Using your phone strips you of the technical distractions that too often come along with working with expensive higher resolution cameras.  All you do is point and shoot.  Which frees you to think about what’s really important in picture-making… What you’re taking a picture of and what compelled you to take its picture in the first place.

Here are a few links to photographers using camera phones:

Joel Sternfeld, Chase Jarvis, Pixels: The Art of the iPhone