The Weekly Wrap-up compiles interesting articles published this week on Photofocus. This week, we learned about beauty standards, creating a snow scene, using Lume Cubes with holiday lights, selling photography online, people in architecture and mobile sync with ACDSee.
Reflections on beauty standards and photo editing, part one - In the past, retouching a model’s face or body for magazines covers or ads has often been a source of ethical debate. Now in 2019, it seems like reshaping one’s features have become globally adopted in photographs as in real life. What led to such a shift? Beauty enhancing vs. quest for youth Nowadays, botox, implants and injections are not only coveted by aging men and women. I became even more aware of this trend when I watched this widely viewed video called “I Got Surgery to Look Like My Snapchat and Facetune Selfies.” It had been online for only a few weeks and already has more than a million views. Younger and younger men and woman are critiquing their facial features. Generation Z spends much more time than any other generation seeing themselves in every possible angle and are very sensitive about their appearance. Smartphones, selfies, social media and their incredibly popular influencers and one of the reasons for that switch in beauty standards. And then on the other side, there’s the eternal battle to erase signs of age. In this video called “DOCS: The Ugly Truth About Beauty,” a journalist in her early 40s goes through multiple interventions in a shocking raw and unfiltered news reporting. That definitely gives food for thought. My own point of view I do edit and retouch my images — all of them. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I do believe that as photographers and editors, we have a very unique perspective about our craft based on our education, experiences, values and tastes. After all, that’s what art is all about. My own approach, when retouching images, is to bring out the best of my subject without changing who they are. For example, let’s have a look at this second self-portrait editing progression in Perfectly Clear: You’ll notice that after applying the Beautify preset (center), my skin is smoother and my eyes look brighter. I look rested, healthy and natural. Taking it one step further with the Beautify+ preset (right), I gain some eye enhancement and enlargement, as well as some reduction of the dark circles under my eyes. More face contouring is present, as is additional blemish removal and skin softness. It’s still me, but I wanted to push the envelope a bit. Now, let’s have a look at this second, more dramatic self-portrait editing progression made in Photoshop — the one that probably caught your eye on the cover of this article: This time, with the center image, I worked with frequency separation, getting rid of blemishes, color correction, enhancing eye color, dodging and burning. The goal here is to make people look like themselves, but with a little extra something. If I’d only shown you this image, I trust you might believe me if I told you that I actually wake up looking like this in the morning! Contrast that to the right image, where I pushed the retouching a little more to create a “Contemporary Beauty Standard” inspired portrait that looks like the one I could achieve with one of those popular social media beauty editing filters. Still, in Photoshop, I’ve used a brush to paint a flawless skin and add more contouring effect. I used the Transform Warp tool to slenderize my jawline and of course, the Liquify filter to enlarge my eyes, narrow my nose and enhance my cheekbones and lips. I also achieved a more symmetrical look by correcting some of my features like widening my smaller right eye and filling in my left upper lip. True story: The husband’s nose A friend of mine had once been hired by a couple for their wedding day. The future husband said he wasn’t comfortable with the look of his nose in pictures and asked her not to take his profile during the day. As you can guess, that happened to be impossible. She told me that she retouched his profile images ever so slightly while editing their album without telling anyone. The result was so subtle, no one ever noticed — not even his new wife — and the husband was absolutely pleased with her work and felt good about himself. Is that wrong, is that right? I could ask 10 people and get 10 different answers. Personal reflections Perhaps because I am too old, I haven’t grown up with a cell phone in my hands and social media at my thumb tips. They are not as much as part of my life as the Generation Z kids. I see my face twice a day: When I get ready in the morning and when I brush my teeth at night. I don’t have that self-awareness of what I look like — of what I think I should look like — all the time. Perhaps, because I am too young — or because of good genes — I don’t have as many signs of aging as a 50 or 60-year-old woman would. I do have wrinkles, blemishes, dark circles and even a few grey hairs. I still believe in the power of good makeup when needed. Perhaps because I don’t live in NYC or LA, or I am not as much surrounded on a daily basis by those new beauty standards that they have yet to be completely a part of my life. Perhaps because I’ve been active most of my life, I still believe that taking care of my body by doing sports and eating right. Perhaps that is the key that helps me feel good in my body as well as looking younger and more healthy. I haven’t had any interventions injected or surgical to this day. I don’t know if I ever will. Maybe it’s only my naive self who is reflecting on this beauty enhancement excitement and controversy. I have — WE have — the power at the tip of our fingers to modify, alter and transform anyone’s image. How do we know when too much is too much? How do we, as photographers, retouchers and as a society, for that matter, have a positive and
Making your own snow scene - Recently I worked with a team of fellow creatives on an "Ice Queen" character concept and photoshoot. Since snow is in pretty short supply in sunny Florida, to create the snow covered photo set we envisioned required much brainstorming, research and experimentation. While we could have resorted to a more Photoshop based approach, creating snow effects on the computer, we wanted to get as much of the winter effect in camera in one shot as possible. 
Including people in architectural images - When photographing architecture, it’s easy to focus on the building itself and forget its purpose. While architecture is the main subject, it is important to capture how people are interacting with the building or space. This is why including people in your architectural images is key to convey the design. Architects and interior designers increasingly want people in the images they commission, especially for spaces like offices, university buildings, etc. Including bystanders Oftentimes, including people means photographing strangers passing in your shots. This can be tricky, as you usually want a few people, but not too many, or it will look crowded and cluttered. In the image above, I only wanted a couple of people strategically placed: Someone on the benches, someone on the second floor and I had to wait patiently to frame someone walking by. It can take many tries before you get the right person in the right location. In the image below, the client wanted to communicate how busy the place is since it’s located close to a train station. Shooting around noon, when people are walking out to lunch and eating on the benches, was key. One of the best tricks to photograph people, especially inside, is to use a slow shutter speed to blur them slightly. It creates motion and blurs their faces, rendering them anonymous. To get enough blur, but not so much as to have them disappear, aim for a shutter speed between 1/20s and 1/2s. If they’re walking towards you, you’ll need a slower shutter than if they are walking by you. Working with models In some cases, I get to work with models, which gives you more options to create great images. For educational buildings, I’ve sometimes been able to work with students, which is always great. You basically have two situations. In the image above, I set up my shots and waited for the students to do their thing, hoping to capture them in an interesting way. In the image below, I set up the furniture and position them to make a believable scene. In other cases, my client will bring some of their staff to act as models. This is usually the best scenario, as they are invested in the photoshoot and therefore they are very easy to work with. And sometimes, I even end up in the shot! As you can see, including people makes the spaces look more lively and shows how the architecture and the design are used every day. It’s a powerful tool for architectural images.
ACDSee’s Mobile Sync is really cool - Transferring pictures between your phone and your computer is troublesome but often necessary. If you’re like me, then just because you shot a picture with your phone doesn’t mean you don’t want to use the best tools available on your computer to finish the photograph — especially as phone cameras get better and better (did you know you can shoot RAW files on your phone?). ACDSee has a terrific solution. Their mobile app, called Mobile Sync, is a free download for Android and iOS and it is simple to use. Let me show you how it works. Connect to Wi-Fi The first thing you have to do is connect your phone and computer to the same Wi-Fi network. I don’t know how, but the app on your phone automatically finds the connection for your computer. Now, when I’m at cafe’s using a public Wi-Fi connection with my laptop this sometimes doesn’t work. I don’t know the ins and outs, but I bet it’s a security thing. However, when I’m at home using my own network it connects instantly. Choose pictures and send them Once you’re in the app, select the album on your phone from which to send photos to your computer. Then click the album in the top center. Check the circle button in the corner of the pictures you want to send. Now use the Share button in the top right corner. It’s super simple. View and write metadata You can view any single image full screen and choose at the top of the screen to see the metadata for the image, too. This is fun because you get to see the exposure settings your phone used to make each photo and my favorite thing is seeing on a map the location the photo was made. Not only can you view the metadata, but you can also edit the IPTC. This is all the information about your copyright and it’s baked into your photos, including contact information. You can create your own preset for this info and add it to a photo. That’s a pretty powerful feature. Settings In the Settings menu, you can instruct the app how to handle your pictures with names and how they are viewed. For instance, you can use this app to view HEIC files from iPhone’s Live Photos as individual JPEG files. It’s got several options and you can dive in and customize things, but the default settings will get your pictures onto your computer just fine. It’s a cool system This works really well to get my pictures from my phone to my computer. From my computer, I can edit and share with more options and power. It transfers fast, too. The only improvement I’m wishing for is to use this app to get pictures from my computer onto my phone, but unfortunately, it’s only one-way right now. Hopefully, this will come in the future. In the meantime, it’s an excellent tool and I think you’ll find it a powerful part of your ACDSee workflow.
Selling your photography online: A practical guide - Are you considering selling your photos online? At some point, we likely all consider ways to create income from this photography obsession of ours. I mean, why not right? We have the images, there are plenty of options and opportunities out there to sell our work but finding the right avenue to do this can be time-consuming, confusing and overwhelming. Type of work you are selling Are your images considered fine art (that’s a whole other discussion), are they stock-worthy, portraits, commercial or do you feel they don’t fit in any category in particular? The thing is, anything can sell as long as it’s a quality image, and by quality I mean high enough resolution, sharpness and focus. The rest is all artistic preference. Stock photography While stock photography isn’t as lucrative as it used to be it is still a viable option for bringing in a little extra cash. Here are just a few options: Adobe Stock — From their website: “The royalties for photo, illustrations, and vector content sold on Adobe Stock equals 33% of the amount paid by the buyer. The price depends on the subscription plan and content type. They also license content through custom agreements. A minimum guarantee applies to make sure that contributors are always fairly compensated, whatever the price. For video, the royalty is 35% of the purchase price.” Shutterstock — As a Shutterstock contributor you will earn royalties each time one of your approved images or videos is downloaded by a Shutterstock customer. How much you earn per each download depends on one or a combination of the following: the license and subscription that was used for each download, and your earnings tier. Getty Images — Every time someone licenses your content, they pay you a royalty. For content licensed via iStock.com (a Getty company), royalty rates start at 15% for Photos and 20% for Videos and Illustrations, but Exclusive contributors can earn from 25% to 45%. For content licensed via GettyImages.com, rates start at 20% for Rights Free still images and 25% for RF video. There are plenty of other options out there. Do your research to find out what will work best for you and the type of work you produce. Volume is the key to being somewhat successful in stock. The more images you have to sell, the more likely you are to make sales. Fine art sites There are several fine art sites online where you are able to upload and sell your work. Most of the handle the printing and shipping and you get a percentage or set your own profit margin. Fine Art America — Fine Art America is the world’s largest art marketplace and print-on-demand technology company. They have been helping artists sell wall art, home décor, apparel and other products since 2006. On Fine Art America you can set your own profits. They have a base cost and you add what you want to make on top of that to create the final sales price. For $30 a year you can upload unlimited images. Red Bubble — Also started in 2006, they are an Australian-based company who offer a little more of the eclectic and artistic type designs on a wide variety of products. You can pick and choose which products you would like to sell your images on. They supply you with the retail price and you add the percentage of markup for each item you print on. There is no cost to open a shop on Red Bubble. TurningArt — Turning Art brings artwork from today’s most talented artists into businesses and real estate nationwide. They work with painters, photographers, illustrators, sculptors, and installation artists to provide collections of artwork that are engaging and personal. You can earn revenue up to three different ways on Turning Art. Leasing — earn a percentage of the artwork’s retail price for every month one of your pieces is leased. Sales — earn a commission from selling your work with TurningArt. Commissions — earn revenue on site-specific and commissioned client projects. There is no cost to upload to TurningArt. Other sites for selling your photography Zazzle — Publish your designs on thousands of products. You set your own royalty rates. There is no inventory to maintain and it is free to create an account. Threadless — Artist Shops provides the best and easiest platform for you to sell your art in your own customized online store for free. With all the benefits of a fully functional e-commerce store and none of the hassle, you just create art and spread the word! Society6 — Selling your artwork as a product on Society6 is simple. All you have to do is upload your artwork and make it available for sale as a variety of products. When you sell a product, Society6 produces it, packages it and ships it for you, so that you can focus on making more art! You set your retail price and your profit for each art print type and size. There is no cost to set up a shop. A few final words These are just a sampling of what is out there. There are plenty of other sites to sell from. Of course, there is your own website as well using services like SmugMug, Zenfolio, Squarespace, WordPress, etc. The question to ask yourself is how will you bring traffic to your site? You will need to market to your potential clients. Personal websites work well for portrait, wedding and event photographers, as you will be sharing images with specific clients for specific reasons. If you’re selling fine art you may have a more difficult time getting the general public to your site. Sites like those listed above have a built-in audience who are going to those sites to find art. Your chance of that particular customer finding your work on your personal site is pretty slim compared to finding it on a more general art selling site. In the end, do your research. Figure out what will work best
Portrait Tips: Build a scene with Lume Cubes & holiday lights - Holiday lights are so cool. If the tree didn’t dry out and start dropping needles, I think I’d petition my wife to leave them set up all year. They just give such a terrific mood. It’s because they have a warm tone and because they are so spread out they make a very soft light. Plus, when they are in the background of the photo, they make really cool bokeh bobbles. I wanted to utilize these lights in the background, so I needed to build the light in the foreground so that it wouldn’t overpower the twinkle in the back. Here’s how to do it. Use a tripod These lights aren’t very bright, so you’re going to need to use a tripod to ensure you get a sharp picture with a slow shutter speed. This one ended up at 1/60s. The tripod will also help you compose your picture more perfectly. With a child sitting on a chair, the camera is quite low to the ground, and without a tripod, your back will get tired and you’ll have a hard time getting the framing just right for each shot. Use a long lens I used a 56mm lens, which is like a 112mm lens on a full-frame camera. It’s great because it makes the tree look like it’s filling the whole room. The subject is about six feet in front of the tree. If I used a wider lens, she would have to be closer to the tree to make it fill the background, and the camera would be closer to both. When the camera is closer to the background lights, it makes the bokeh on the lights look less awesome. I used the Lensbaby Velvet 56, which makes the best bokeh on the planet and it gives the soft glow to the whole thing, which is just what I wanted. I use continuous lights by Lume Cube You could use flash for this, but it’s much harder than using small lights that are always on. I used two Lume Cubes. If you use flash, your camera will have a very difficult time focusing on your subject’s face because the room is so dark. Also, you’ll have a hard time getting your flash dark enough to match the lights in the back. You could also try a dim lamp or a flashlight. If you use LED lights, make sure they don’t scan during your exposure, leaving you with light and dark bars; if you see bars, use a slower shutter speed — probably under 1/60s. Read more on that here. Lume Cubes are formatted so they won’t scan at any shutter speed. Use a gel Whatever lights you use, you need to make sure that they match the color of the lights in the back. If you used a flash without a gel, it would give a very white light and it wouldn’t keep the warm and gentle mood of the orange lights behind. Use a Color Temperature Orange (CTO) gel to match. The Lume Cube Air comes with a warm gel diffusion cover, and that’s what I used here. Use the wrong white balance Because these lights are all colored to match a tungsten light bulb, you could use the tungsten white balance setting built into your camera. That would make white things, like the pages of the book, appear white. In this case, though, we want that warm, nostalgic feeling. So, set your white balance to daylight and then the orange lights will remain orange and warm. Set the exposure, adjust the lights Use the background lights to set the exposure. Make them the right brightness for your shot, then adjust the brightness of the foreground lights to match the mood you’re going for. If you’re using lamps or flashlights, you might have to move the lights farther away in order to make them darker. If you’re using Lume Cubes, just open the app on your phone and slide the brightness down. Where are the lights? I’ve got one light set at the subject’s face height from camera-left. It’s got a little diffusion dome on it to make it softer (and warmer). It’s a Lume Cube Air, so the magnet on the back is stuck to the metal frame on a chair — anything that makes it easier to make a picture is good, and not having to set up a light stand in the living room is very good. This is the main light on her face. There’s another Lume Cube in the book with a warm diffusion dome, as well. Take care that the book light doesn’t get too bright. It’s not intended to be a glowing magical book. Just a little fill on her face. There’s another light from behind at camera-right. This is a big continuous light that is balanced for tungsten color, too. I’m not saying you need to buy a big light like this, but I owned it, and it was already set up from another project, so I used it for a little rim light. Make pictures … Now just make pictures with your subject. Ask her to look a little this way or that, reposition the book, etc. … and make videos! Since you’re using continuous lights, you can switch your camera to video mode and get the same look to the video that you get with the photos. Making a video was actually the whole purpose of this setup, and it was the best way to convince my daughter to play along with me. I love this fun idea we made together. Another benefit of using the tripod is that you can use a remote to make pictures with your subject, too. Keep those Holiday lights out a little longer (or get them back out) and make some moody portraits for yourself. Portrait Tips come out each week, and you can see them all right here.
