The Cinematic Look

       Its amazing how time flies. Oftentimes people say its because you're having fun, but it always seems to pass ever more quickly for me whether I'm having an enjoyable time or not. You will all have to forgive me for missing last Friday's blog post. I become distracted by work and school, among other things. Sometimes I find myself so caught up in editing, that I forget to go outside and shoot. Occasionally, it turns out to be the opposite. This week has been an editing week, and Photoshop has been my best companion.

       I've been having a grand old time editing old photos. That being said, I never edit the same photo the same way twice. I've found myself enjoying the "Cinematic Look" as of late. For those who do not understand this, it's basically a form of color correction that attempts to make a still photograph look as if it were taken as a frame out of a film, as opposed to being shot as a single image. These "cinematic" images have a very cool vibe to them, and its something that you can do so many different ways, depending on the mood that you are trying to achieve.
       There are a couple things that I aim to do when creating this look. The first is to simply make all shadows appear as a cool, dark shade... and yet make the highlights appear as a warm, orange glow. All this must be done while subtly maintaining skin tones.

       I have a personal vendetta against placing subjects in the center of a frame. Not because the photographer's handy "rule-of-thirds" draws the eyes attention, but rather because I feel that an off-center position helps to pass the mentality of that film look. If a frame was taken out of a movie, its unlikely that the subject will find themselves dead-center in the frame, and so I avoid it.
       Like most photographers, I dislike shooting portraits in harsh sunlight as it creates dark shadows that pass over a subjects face. On the contrary, if the cinematic look is something you are trying to achieve, then the harsh midday sunlight actually benefits your image. Deep shadows will add contrast to the image, and make the photo more believable, as if stage lighting were shining on the "actor."

       A shallow depth of field plays an important role in this style as well. Often, when cinematographers are filming, they are not presented with the best of locations, especially on a budget. To compensate for unpleasant backgrounds, a shallow depth of field can be used to isolate the subject and maintain a clean frame that is not distracting. The above photo shows an example of this. The cage and bird-toys would have been extremely distracting elements to this photo, so I simply opened up to f/1.4 and shot this wide open.
     

       Up next, color. Its amazing how humans are drawn to and pushed away by color. The above image may simply just be a shot of my door with some blinds on it, however it transcends that simplicity and becomes so much more. Everything about this photo corresponds to a sad and lonely mood. The cracked and broken blinds, coupled with the shade-ties hopelessly dangling create a effect that is certainly somewhat depressing. But with all that, this photo would not achieve this feeling without its color. If this were a warm image, full of oranges and yellows, it would tell a whole different story.
       Note the change in color between the above image and the one below it. The emotion is real, and the color compliments the mood perfectly. Even though the image is primarily warm, it still achieves a cinematic look by maintaining the cool blue shadows, that fade out of focus in the background.

       By this point you've probably all begun to notice a pattern. These images share something beyond their color. Its their aspect ratio as well. Most photos are taken in a standard 2x3 aspect ratio. This ratio of height to width is standard for a 4x6 print. If you cut off the top and bottom of the image, and reduce the aspect ratio to a 16x9, the image will look much more like a frame from a movie.

       This has been a much more technical blog post, especially for those who aren't into photography at all. If you made it this far and you weren't particularly interested throughout, thanks for sticking with me. For those of you who are into photography, definitely give this style a try, it can be difficult to learn, but its very fun and rewarding in the long run. Thanks all for reading, and see you next week!

The Leaves Have Fallen

       It would seem like the year has flown by. I can't be the only person who feels this way towards the end of every year. Let's be honest, there's nothing a photographer loves more than a warm Fall day with bright and brilliant warm colors to match. The reds and the oranges, the yellows and the browns. These create a soothing atmosphere provided the weather outside isn't too frightful, and that season is approaching. The height of the Autumn colors have passed, and it is becoming harder and harder to find those trees with their leaves still glowing, yet hanging on for dear life.

       Most people this time of year stop by the local farms to pick up various seasonal things. Pumpkins, and apple cider seem to be quite popular right about now. I frequently pass a small farm called Volantes in my daily commute. It has a small marketplace, as well as a large greenhouse, and a vast farmers field that give it a homey touch in an urban world. As many of you know, the clocks were just recently set back one hour (thank goodness for an extra hour of sleep). I typically pass the farm too early in the day, while the sun is high above, but this week the "Golden Hour" of light shone at the time when I happened to drive past. Simply couldn't resist. The folks there were kind enough to let me venture out into the field and do some shooting. I shot the above image at 135mm with my new 70-200mm f/4 Canon lens.
       Of course I also took along my 24-105 for some wide angle shots as well. The cool thing about wide angle shots is, if you get close enough, you can still fill the frame with your subject, but draw in much more of the background... like the shot below at 24mm.

       Something I have to mention is a scare in my family that occurred this week after my mom suffered a stroke as a result of a blood-clot in her neck. She was brought to stay at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston by ambulance, and stayed there a few nights. Sparing some personal details, she is weak on her left side, but is doing significantly better than she was. She has been transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Charlestown. Having been given the best room in the whole building, the view from her hospital bed was miraculous. To the left was a clear view of the Zakim Bridge, while out the right was a straight shot of the city under the Tobin Bridge (seen below).

       I actually managed to shoot this exposure 2seconds - Handheld! Thank you image stabilization. My Canon 6D does an amazing job at producing night images with little-to-no grain/noise. Of course, Adobe Camera Raw processing helps a lot too. For those of you that haven't tried ACR or Lightroom. Do it!
       My mom has done so well that she is actually being sent home today, which we are all very excited for. With proper home care and support she will be back up and running in no time. The support that we have received in the form of cards, flowers, and food has been incredible. I want to personally thank anybody reading this blog who has reached out to my family after this event, and I want you to know that your support has been very much appreciated.

I want to close today's blog on that note. It's been a very long week for all of us, yet somehow a very short year. Looking forward, like always, to the holidays. They seem to bring about a sense of family that everybody needs to feel once in a while. I hope everybody has a fantastic day, and I will see you back here next friday. Thanks for reading!

     

October's End

       Today's blog post will not be quite as long as the previous one. I'm having quite a busy day. That being said, I play to be up to date and never miss a Friday blog post. I've been having some down time with my photography as of late. Spending less time shooting, and more time catching up with editing images that I've shot over the past few weeks. At times I find myself spending hours on a single image, only to go back to the beginning and start new. 

The above image is an example of this. I actually shot this as part of a Senior Portrait shoot for my brother, and I never got around to editing the "non-submittable" images. The goal was to create an image in dramatic black and white, but eventually I decided I liked the slight sepia tone.

Working for Best Buy allows me to pick up good deals on a lot of camera gear so I rarely try to see out local camera shops. This week however, I was looking for a new 70-200 lens and I found myself about thirty minutes from my house at a small (but well known) camera shop in my area. The place is called Newtonville Camera and they were very pleasant. I actually ended up leaving with a Tamron 70-200 lens, but upon shooting with it for a few days, I decided that I didn't like the way it rendered color and brought it back in favor of the Canon-brand version.

           On my way home from Newtonville Camera, I happened across the sun setting behind some clouds and as I drove, I saw this church in front of it. I framed this picture in my head and knew it would be too good to pass up. Naturally, I pulled over on a side street (parking in a "No-Parking Zone" so I wouldn't miss the shot) and I got out and shot this. The color of the light was magical and the composition with the church created a good subject matter. Shot with my Canon 24-105 f/4L stopped down to f/16. I wanted to make sure I got the light beams emanating from behind the clouds.

       Those who know me well, also know that I will never pass up an opportunity for a good shot. During this past week I made multiple trips back and forth from my college, and I frequently drive through Needham, MA. People who live in and around Needham can tell you, there is always an abundance of Turkeys around this season. They are large birds, and they can sure get in the way.

       I actually almost hit this guy driving home through Needham, so needless to say I grabbed my gear and stopped in the center of town, jumping out and chasing the Turkey around with my camera. The things you do when interesting subjects don't come easy. I'm sure the string of cars driving past me must have thought I was nuts. Worth it.

       Looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. Last year I had my wisdom-teeth removed the day before Thanksgiving so I couldn't eat much. I guess I'm gonna have to compensate for that this year by eating twice as much food. Its also time to pick up the old guitar and sing a bar of Alice's Restaurant, because October is out, and November is in. Thank you all for reading!

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