free picture tips 2 by Laurent harari

Photo composition.
When you take a picture it is important to consider two factors.
1/ What is the subject of the photo ?
2/ How are you going to build your image ?
The subject is somehow not the issue. Everything or almost has been photographed. The point is the way you see your world thru the little inboard camera in front of your brain.
No matter what you decide to photograph; a mountain, an animal, a city. Your image will integrate in a very unique way, the light, the shadows, the subject.
The harmony between these elements will give your picture all its dimension.
What is the angle of the picture does it brings a new perspective ?
How Did you play with lighting ? Contre jour, soft light etc...
What is the geometry in your image ?
You understood that the goal to be interesting is to come out with a unique result. If not it will be a duplicate of something existing. Even though our brain record consciously or unconsciously everything that we have seenin the past, we have a tendency to reproduce what we saw and what we liked. The name of the game, I think is to fight this trend and to came out with your own style.

Pictures free tips by Laurent harari

You are eager to take pictures and do not know how ?
You are a beginner in photography, got yourself a new digital camera and do not know how to start.
Here are some guidelines on how to do the first steps in this world that fascinates you.
1/ No shame in beginning.
Advice number one: Go out there, wherever you are and take pictures. There is absolutely no rules, photography is an art of free expression, on my sense everything is worth a photography.
You are in your appartment, house... Take whatever you feel like; cat, dog, flowers, piano, family, bike... And do that a lot. One of the first picture I took was a black and white photo of my saxophone that I hanged at my bedroom door where a do not disturb sign was hanged. I sold 10.000 posters of it.
Today digital technology allows you to have no limitations in term of how many images can you take. After having shot 1000 images, something will came out of this work.
a/ You will say to yourself; I like it or I do not. In both case it is very important to know why.
- I like it because, I love the colors, I love the expression of my son when I clicked, I think I have seized a great sunset full of emotions, I like the geometric result of my bathroom window. Etc...
- I do not like it because, I am deceived by the outcome, the thing I see behind the viewfinder is not what I get, I could not get one good picture of this Sunday family reunion, everyone is eyes closed or make funny faces...
In both cases the analysis is very important. Look at all of your pictures. Do not delete any on the spot. Step aside when you are by yourself and look at your mistake not to repeat it again and again. You learn a lot from these "bad shots" Its blurry, I took this picture too fast, I didnt wait the right time to photograph my mother, the lighting was bad etc...
On the contrary if you are happy with your images, see why is as important it is the revelator of your style.The more you take pictures, the more you will learn what you like and what you do not like to photograph. Some love to photograph people when some just hate the intrusive act that it represents.

2/ Technically
Speed, diaphragm, ASA, lenses, etc... Lets face it photography is complicated. This being said:
1/ The evolution of digital photography makes it really easy to the photographer. Every camera or almost is equiped with automatic and manual mode. At the beginning go automatic, then read your manual and try different settings. You are not expected to master everything at once, like any other thing it takes time. You have doubts, questions, go on line, there are tons of forum with users just like you that share their knowledge and questions. Take advantage of it it is free, interesting and you can make a lot of friends. Write to me I'll be glad to help you if I can.
2/ The post production tools make it even easier. You have underexposed your pics ? No problem with photoshop or todays most software you can correct it. You are not happy with your composition it is too low, high, narrow, wide. No problem you can crop it. Colors are faded play with saturation. Most of the settings can be modified after the shot.
3/ Your eye.
your eye is as good as any others and has the same quality on day one that after 25 years of shooting images. What I mean by that is: Of course there is a learning curve, of course you will be better after your million picture than at the first one. But your eye is your eye. It has its very own perception of the world. Behind the eyes is your brain whom also is very unique because your inner vision, your dream are unique. You can go to the best photographic or art school, there is one thing they will never teach you is the eye. They will show you how to technically make a good photo, but what makes a great picture is not the technic, it is you and a lot of work.
Train your eye to watch everything. A shadow, a detail, and make your image. It will be your very personal view of a subject that will make your picture interesting and make you an artist.

High dynamic Range ( HDR) By Laurent Harari

High Dynamic range is a new technology that allows you to take different exposures of the same image and merge the different tonalities you got into one single picture.One of the hardest thing to do in photography is to reproduce what the human eye can see at once.
Capture all the tonalities and brightness in a single picture.
This is a very powerful tool that most of pro are using today for its incredible potential. It is a post production tool.
How does it works ?
1/Take a series of pictures of the exact same scene at different exposures - each view one stop apart. (Tripod obligatory) You can do that manually or using the auto bracketing function of your camera. I like to shoot the same scene with at least four different apertures.
2/Go home and get ready for post-prod. I use a software that is widely used Photomatix Pro.
( Download for $100)
a/Download your images to your computer. b/Open Photomatix and select Generate in the HDR menu. c/ Select the pictures you want to "mix" d/ Select Ok. e/An image that does'nt represent the end result will pop up. f/ Choose Tone mapping from the HDR menu. g/ Then a window with a lot of controls will appear, play around with your image. Strength, color saturation, light smoothing, White point, black point, Gamma. These are the main elements once again play around with all of them and them after selecting 8 or 16 bit (if you want to go further in the process) h/ Click apply. Be careful not to overdo it. Posterization is a risk and to play with midtone contrast, fill light, shadows and highlights can bre tricky. You will be quickly amazed by the relief that your pictures is getting and with the endless possibilities in light, contrast and gamut controls you now possess. HDR is a little bit like the stereo sound system applied to photography.

Free Tips / workshop - Landscape photography by Laurent Harari

Here are some free tips from my 15 years experience, hiking all over the Andes mountains. When I first shot at a Mountain 15 years ago, I spent all day long watching it. I have learned that day that mountains change as much as the ocean can change. It has a lot of different faces.
When light reflects it self into its flanks you will discover a thousand things you have never seen before.
Anticipation
In order to realize a good shot you need to anticipate. But first let me tell you what I mean when I am talking of a good shot. A good shot is not just another picture of a mountain. It is a picture that hopefully people will remember because every thing is different in your picture.
Anticipation: - The main element in anticipating a good photo is of course, lighting.
Lights shows up the morning from the East and then dies to the west. Be on the right side of the mountain. Think that in order to have the best light that might lighten this part of a crevasse you will have to be at this high point at 4:00pm and be able to be down before night comes, or to even better camp up there not to be restricted by time.
- The second element in anticipation is the unexpected.
By watching the clouds (cumulus) you can guess that there will be a high thermic activity, therefore some chance to see Condors ( In the Andes Mountains) . Get your zoom and tripod ready. A dog barking you might see soon a Shepard and its animals. The sky changes again, cumulo-nimbus on the horizon, might get an electrical storm, which is an extraordinary show to witness. Get ready, low light, high asa, tripod, a waterproof case on hand. And be outhere no matter what... Is it cold, very cold, is it windy ? ( get good gears and your tripod set with extra weight - rocks...)

Equipment
Tripod, unlike many I use an old, heavy Manfrotto 3211, not one of these new generation carbon tripod. when I set my camera it stays. No matter how windy it gets, I have no issue with it. Now when it really gets rock and roll a few rocks will definetely settle it to the ground.
The king of lenses for what I do: Not the most expensive though, the Canon17-40 mm f/4L USM, then I like the Canon 70-200 mm f/4L USM that captures details of the mountains. And a Canon 28-300 mm f3.5-5.6 L IS USM Read my comments about this lens on previously posted article.
Physical condition and preparation.
I love hiking and climbing and usually I try to get physically ready two months before a trip. I leave at sea level and some of my photos are taken at 6600 meters, some 21,653 feet high. Check the mountains and volcanoes photos at www.buyphotoarts.com. So a lot of cardio (Trademill and step master - No mountains in Miami. ) and a gradual acclimatation on site is needed. For the highest peaks, if I feel lazy, I prefer to just carry my Canon G9, that really takes amazing shots in raw format.
Be Ready.
Be ready means: Get a good vehicle to go from a place to another. Get this 4x4 loaded with extra fuel, water, tools, parts, etc... Get your hiking and climbing gear with you at all time, you never know. Where I go no cell phone, no VHF radio signals, you are on your own. So trust the human factor. You meet people on your way, let them know where you are going and for how long. Police, Rangers, high mountain patrols, or indians or mountaineers, I stop, share a cup of coffee, chat a bit let them know what my plans are. This can save your life. They might be the only resource you have and usually they know pretty well the surroundings, they will tip you on what trail to use or not to use.

Lens 28-300 USM IS Canon review by Laurent Harari

One of my enemy when I shoot landscaping photos, is dust and sand. (The highlands of the Andes Mountains is the dust's paradise. ) Therefore to overcome one of the most critical phase in the dust war which is lens changing, I bought the canon IS USM 28-300mm for its versatility and to be able to bring and use only one lens.
I have previously tried this lens in the Everglades Aerial views and it gave me pretty good results, good stabilization (IS) even though I was shooting from an helicopter, sharp image.
So thrilled with the results I took it to Argentina and Chile for a shooting in the highlands of the Andes.
The result: Dust all over my pictures and I had to do a huge post-production on the computer to clean each picture.
The cause: The lens is a big push/pull zoom. The zoom acts like a dust sucking device.
Bring the lens to your ear and activate the zoom from 28 to 300 and you'll feel and hear the suction process. It simply works like a vacuum cleaner. The dust proofing is barely nonexistent
in this lens. That was later confirmed by the canon technical service I sent it to.
To shoot in outdoor with this beautiful lens is useless.
Ill give in one more try trying to protect the part of the camera that actually suck the air in.
Ill go for a shooting in December and keep you posted on the result.

Buy Photo arts - Laurent Harari

How to buy photo arts ? By Laurent Harari
In the jungle of the web how do you buy art ?

1/ Buy what you like.
It makes sense, but people often forget that the bottom line is: Get what you like and not what fashion, trend, or market value tells you to buy.
Are you buying to make an investment ?
Are you buying a piece of art to fit your new interior ?
Are you buying because the photo inspires you or simply makes you feel good ?

2/ Buy quality prints
Out of the 15 and something millions website selling images how many are selling top quality prints that are made to last ?
Laurent Harari recommends that you should buy only prints made on Acid free paper made of 100% cotton made of the purest ingredients and buffered for protection. And of course protect your picture the same way you protect your painting. ( No humidity, no direct sunlight etc..)
These high quality paper are made to last 100 years and more. ( Just enough to protect your investment)
To buy from an artist that uses such technology is obviously more expensive than some one that will just sell you prints coming out of a regular printer with a regular on shelve paper. ( Thin paper breaks and colors start fading after just a few years)The cost to print a 20x30 can be 90 cents, but it also can be $ 80,00 . If the printer used is a top of the line professional printer, delivering crisp but costly ( in ink) photo. If the print is correctly printed on the right paper, then dried the way it should, and wrapped and shipped the correct way...
And do not forget that a conscientious photographer will make as many prints needed to get a perfect result. It is common to do 3, 4 to 5 prints to get the perfect one.

3/ Buy a name ?
The more famous the most expensive ? Of course.
Try to acquire an original from Adams or Cartier-Bresson you will see what I mean.
Are those the best deals ?
Buy a name you will spend a lot of money, but you will buy a sure value that most likely will increase with time. Buy from a talented and dedicated photographer at an early stage of its career that you know will exhibit its art. You’ll buy relatively cheap and if you bet on the right horse you’ll duplicate your investment. Check the artist's resume and make sure he has been on the road for a time.

4/ Buy from an art gallery or from a web gallery ?
Laurent Harari recommends common sense. If you have an art gallery on Rodeo Drive you’ll have to pay top money for rent, employees etc... Whereas buy on line should be extremely more affordable. This is simple math. How to recognize a good serious web gallery from a less recommendable one ? The same feel you might have when you get into an art gallery. Look the way the web gallery is made, the quality of the design, the resolution of the pictures displayed, condition of sales, etc...

5/ What is the right price to pay for a picture ?

Very subjective question.
Andrea Gursky sold for more than three millions US dollars for its photo 99 Cent II Diptych. See picture.
From here you will understand that there is NO LIMIT. And this is the essence of art.
The fact that you are sold thru Sotheby’s auction justify the price ? Apparently it does.
Artistically does it ? This is a very old discussion.

6/ Limited Edition or not ?
The guarantee to the value is to have a limited edition. Make sure you have at least a limited edition to 250 ex. and signed by the artist.

7/ Size of the print ?
Size never made the value. La Joconde from Leonardo da Vinci is a relatively small painting. However in photography you have a high cost attached to a fine art large format printing;
Large format printer are quite an investment, high quality paper and ink costly.
Large format prints are hard to handle.


8/ Framed or not ?
There is framing and art framing.
For a 40x60 you may pay $200,00 as you may pay $2000,00 or more. Generally speaking unless it is part of the art piece, framing cost are not to be taken into account. Might see Laurent Harari's advices on framing on this blog.

Conclusion.
For a 16x24, it is most likely to pay above $ 500,00 up to $1500,00 for a potential valued artist, that makes Museum quality printing Limited editions etc... You may pay for the same print from a known and assessed artist. $ 50.000,00 up to $200.000,00. And as we saw no limit for those artists exhibiting National museum ( MOMA and etc...)

Frame your printed art by Laurent Harari

Advises on framing by Laurent Harari

These are the advises I give in www.buyphotoarts.com and that I think essential, for your best Landscape photo prints to look the best.

Size of the matt.
To frame the image make sure to choose a matt one or two size bigger than the picture. It detracts from the image to have a too small or too big matt and/or frame or even worse no matt at all. For example:
8x10 can be framed in a 16x20 or 20x30
16x20 can be framed in a 20x30 or 30x40
20x30 can be framed in a 30x40 or 40x60 etc...

Color of the Mat
I like a white matt. I find that the neutrality of white suits most types of pictures.
Now depending on the print, the subject, the colors, Black with a colored ( predominant in your picture) inlay may look fantastic.

Ply
(The ply is the thickness of the matt.)
From two ply to eight ply, an Eight ply matt is preferable, therefore you really can see the beveled edges and give some depth and perspective to your framed art.

Glass or plexiglass ?

Glass is definitely the best choice in terms of quality however glass can be costly and very heavy in large formats. Make sure your wall and the fixture you use are adequate if you want to go with glass. If you do chose glass be sure to buy a non reflective glass. (extra cost but worth specially when you purchased an expensive museum quality print.)


Metal, Wood, plastic frame.

This part is definitely up to you, to your interior.
Personally I think that the frame should be also chosen according to the subject.
Nature landscape photo is by essence closer to wood than cityscape that are closer to metal.
I believe that plastic is not an option for a museum quality print.
But once again its all a matter of personal taste.