Seek Feedback

Reviewing, Workshop  Comment
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One of the most valuable aspects of a workshop is getting feedback on your work. You get it from a respected authority. You also get if from diverse participants. The combination of both is powerful. You’ll see your work more clearly, see it through others eyes, and find new ways of looking at your work.
One helpful approach is to ask a lot of questions.
Polls quickly give consensus on key issues. Which image is most memorable? Which image is strongest? Is it a 3, 4, or 5 star image?
How good is an image? First, identify the best thing about it. Then, to rate it, compare it to other images (your best or a respected artist’s) with same strengths.
Compare images. How do different images work together? Find formal echoes. Find thematic consistencies. Find shared stylistic traits. Sometimes, two images paired together are stronger than either one alone.
Identify outliers. Which image doesn’t fit with the others?
What could be done now to make it better? Crop? Adjust color? Dodge and burn?
What could be done in the future to make similar images better? Reframe? Return at a special time? Introduce a new element?
Read more in my Creativity Lessons here.
Learn more in my digital photography workshops.

Enter Now to Win South Africa Photo Safari Sweepstakes

Workshop  Comment
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“Enter to win a complete South African Photo Safari Experience and thousands of dollars worth of best-of-breed products and services from the biggest names in the photography business!
Led by famed photographer John Paul Caponigro (Sept 26 – Oct 5, 2011), this private photo safari will take you on a wide-ranging exploration of South Africa. The safari will focus on photographing wildlife in the world-famous Sabi Sand Game Reserve and the many landscapes of the Cape Town region (world class vineyards, botanical gardens, and seascapes) by land and by air.
Sponsored by Artsy Coutre, Blurb, Datacolor, Graphic Authority, Lowepro, Nik Software, and Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and organized by renowned tour operator Eyes on Africa, you’ll experience some of Africa’s finest wildlife photography opportunities, great accommodations, and expert guiding. These two locations have been selected to create a private safari geared specifically toward serious wildlife, landscape and scenic photography.”
Plus runners up win fabulous prizes too!
Enter the sweepstakes today!
Only 9 spaces are available in this unique workshop. Register today!
Plus, you can be one of only 5 people to join a special workshop extension to Sossusvlei, Namibia.

Only 9 Spaces Left in Antarctica 2011 Workshop

Workshop  Comment
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There are only 9 spaces left in our Antarctica 2011 workshop. We expect this workshop to sell out next week so if you want to participate register today.
November 29 – December 10, 2011 we’ll explore the highlights of the Antarctic peninsula – Deception Island, Half Moon Island, Neko Harbor, Paradise Bay, Lamaire Channel, Plenneau Bay (the  iceberg graveyard), and more.
The workshop will be lead by world renowned photographers – John Paul Caponigro, Seth Resnick, Andy Biggs, with special guests Eric Meola and Arthur Meyerson, and surprise new guest David Duchemin.
Learn more about this once in a lifetime opportunity here.

Things That Make Images Weaker

Workshop  Comment
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bad
During reviews in my workshops we discuss what keeps some images from working better and how they could be improved.
Here’s a list we compiled during my recent Iceland workshop.
Avoid these thing and make your images stronger.
Lack of Focus (Not Deliberate)
Limited Depth of Field (Not Deliberate)
Motion Blur (Not Deliberate)
Chromatic Aberation
Noise (Not Deliberate)
Posterization (Not Deliberate)
Lack of Shadow and/or Highlight Detail (Not Deliberate)
Color Contrast Between Elements Not Strong Enough
Low Contrast Light
Cropping Seems Accidental Rather Than Deliberate
Distracting Elements on the Frame
Almost Centered (Neither Centered Nor Significantly Off Center)
Too Many Competing Lines
Shapes Merge Becoming Unclear
Shapes Rendered Without Volume (Not Deliberate)
Too Busy (Complexity Lacks Structure)
Simple Subjects With No Counterpoint
Secondary Elements Distract From Primary Elements
Image Enhancements Call Attention To Themselves
Text Competing for Attention
Text Creates Unintended Commentary
Graphics (Text/Images) Not Integrated Into Image
Cliches
Insincerity
What else would you add to this list?
Find out about my digital photography workshops here.

Things That Make Images Stronger

Workshop  Comment
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good
During reviews in my workshops we discuss images made in terms of what makes them strong and how they could be made stronger.
Here’s a list we compiled during my recent Iceland workshop.
You can use any one or more than one in combination to make your images stronger.
Form
Simplicity
Structured Complexity
Gesture
Leading Lines
Interesting Shape
Clean Shape
Deliberately Incomplete Shape
Clear Figure Ground Relationships
Overlapping Planes
Strong Recession (leading lines, overlapping planes, figure ground, color)
Texture
Pattern
Structured Fields
Minimalist Fields
Selective Focus
Archetypal or Evocative Proportion
Contrast
Clean Frame
Spaciously Placed from Frame
Touching the Frame
Cropped by Frame
Palette
Color Interest
Light
Luminosity Contrast
Hue Contrast
Saturation Contrast
Content
Significant Detail
Shows Subject’s Process
Shows Media Process
Clear Stage, Actor, Secondary Character
Action
Decisive Moment
Story
Unresolved Tension
Mystery Left to Be Solved
Emotion
Emotion of Subject
Personal Emotion
Emotional Interaction
Color Mood
Atmospheric Mood
What would you add to this list?
Find out about my digital photography workshops here.

Iceland 2010 – Participant Images Second Reviews

Destination - Iceland, Workshop  Comment
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Iceland2010_reviews2
We do lightning fast reviews of participant’s images in my digital photography workshops.
We discuss what works and why and what doesn’t and why not.
It’s wonderful to see how different the images are, made by individuals in the same situations using the same tools.
A lot of learning happens by simply sharing images and spontaneous responses.
Here’s a sampling of this week’s first selects during my Iceland 2010 workshop.
Reserve your space in my 2011 Iceland workshop here.
Find out about my digital photography workshops here.

Iceland 2010 – Workshop Participant Images First Selects

Destination - Iceland, Workshop  Comment
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Iceland2010_reviews1
We do lightning fast reviews of participant’s images in my digital photography workshops.
We discuss what works and why and what doesn’t and why not.
It’s wonderful to see how different the images are, made by individuals in the same situations using the same tools.
A lot of learning happens by simply sharing images and spontaneous responses.
Here’s a sampling of this week’s first selects during my Iceland 2010 workshop.
Reserve your space in my 2011 Iceland workshop here.
Find out about my digital photography workshops here.