Painting With Shadows: September 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Finding Gems - and Episode 26 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Wigtown Book Festival – one of Scotland's largest literary events – is taking place online this year.

Dozens of interviews with authors, as well as music, workshops, and all sorts of extras are available, free of charge, to anyone in the world who visits the site until Sunday 4th October.

In last night's podcast I talked about my first involvement with the Festival back in 2011, when I was “Artist in Residence”.

Across the 10 days I took 173 moody black and white photos of authors, visitors and locals, which I printed up and covered the walls of a studio space I was given.

There is the world of difference between taking a stand-alone portrait, and creating a large, themed collection of scores of faces.

Most of the time, when I am asked to do a portrait for someone, it is for business or promotional purposes – their website or an avatar on a social media site or a press release. And usually there is the need for them to look warm, friendly and approachable, so a smile of some kind is required.

But when you can escape the need for a smile, the human face is capable of projecting so many more emotions – from the big to the subtle to the complex. Now there is space to explore so much more. As such, the “no smiles allowed” aspect of the project was a key part of the whole process.

As I looked back over the photos, taken when I was considerably less knowledgeable about photography, there are of course many that I just wouldn't do that way now.

However, what is rather lovely is to rediscover some which I feel still stand up – indeed I would be delighted if I took today.

Here are a handful of my favourites

I think my younger, less skilled, less experienced self was definitely on to something, even if he wasn't always entirely sure what it was...

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0.00 - What's coming up
0:06 - Introduction to Wigtown Book Festival Online
06:05 - Being an Artist in Residence at Wigtown Book Festival 39:15 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:11:00 - Adjusting shutter speed and aperture to capture bright light
1:28:00 - Coming up next week

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Where Did The Comments Go? - and Episode 25 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Things going wrong is just a part of life.

We learn what we can so that hopefully we can avoid them happening again, and then move on.

But after 2 dozen episodes of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres, I keep thinking I've surely learned enough for the podcasts to run more smoothly.

Yet last night, completely inexplicably, I couldn't seem to find the comments people were leaving.

I don't know if it's something to do with Facebook's new layout, although it's been like that for a few weeks now.

Or perhaps it's because I launched the video from the Event page rather than my Kim Ayres Photography Facebook page – but then I'm sure I did that last week and didn't have the same problem.

It's one thing to work it out when you have time, but the sudden pressure when you're live broadcasting is immense. Each extra few seconds runs the chance of losing more viewers.

After a while I started to wonder if I should just make my apologies and forget about the comments and move on with the show. But the comments are now an integral part of it, and contribute a great deal to my enjoyment of doing the podcasts.

It's not like I'm being paid to do them.

Oh of course there are loose ideas about it them helping me to build an audience, reputation and brand, but first and foremost I have to enjoy them – otherwise what's the point?

And for me, the biggest satisfactions come from the sense of a) I'm helping people, and b) the opportunity it gives me to connect with others in these socially distanced times.

So no, I couldn't really contemplate the idea of not being able to see what people were saying, and be unable to respond to them.

Eventually I grabbed my tablet to access the video through that in order to see the comments.

For the YouTube version below, I think I've had to edit out about 6 or 7 minutes or me scrambling about trying to find solutions, mumbling into my beard, and apologising to anyone watching.

Technology is such an amazing thing when it works, and such a curse when it doesn't...

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0.00 - What's coming up
2:28 - Introduction to the photo shoots I did with artist, Maggie Ayres, who also happens to be my wife
10:50 - Creating a new shoot under Lockdown
20:25 - Photograph at the Shed Café
30:03 - The struggle to find the comments
34:12 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
50:40 - How important are titles for photographic images?
1:11:00 - Adjusting shutter speed and aperture to capture bright light
1:22:50 - Coming up next week

Friday, September 18, 2020

Pip and Ell Jewellery

There have been few (translate that as zero) clients asking for the kind of staged narrative photos I love to do, since the onset of Covid-19, Lockdown and Social Distancing.

And while much of my time has been spent looking into ways to increase my online presence and opportunities, I've been having periodic bouts of what are basically withdrawal symptoms. I love what I do and have been more than a little frustrated at not being able to do it.

A couple of months ago, I noticed Piper and Ella Booth had set up a small handmade jewellery business, using polymer clay to create bold, colourful designs, called “Pip and Ell”
You can find the Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/pipandell/
and their Etsy shop here - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PipandEll

Piper was one of Meg's earliest friends when she started primary school shortly after we moved to this corner of Scotland. Even when she went to University, she would always meet up with Meg for coffee or lunch when she was back in the area.

Piper's younger sister, Ella, I first met when I did a photo shoot for the Castle Douglas High School Young Enterprise Group, “Set in Stone”, which ended up on the cover of Dumfries & Galloway Life magazine (see - https://kimayres.blogspot.com/2018/02/set-in-stone.html), and is now studying Medicine.

Feeling at a bit of a loose end, I got in touch to see if they fancied a photo shoot to help promote their business. Fortunately they leapt at the chance.

We had a video meeting and I asked them to set up a Pinterest Board to develop visual ideas for the shoot.

It wasn't surprising to find most of the images they posted reflected the strong, bold colours of their jewellery designs.

At the next video chat we explored the ideas in-depth, and came up with the notion of them creating giant props shaped like their earring designs. These could then be used as part of a set they could build in the garden, so the shoot could be done under strict social distancing conditions.

I took all my equipment, along with a camp chair, packed lunch and a flask. There's no doubt it will take some time before I get completely used to the idea of not being able to accept an offer and tea and biscuits when on a photo shoot.

They also invited along their friend, Holly, to do some behind the scenes videoing for us. Holly is the daughter of Gillian, of the wonderful In House Chocolates and helped us film the behind the scenes video of the 7 Deadly Sins of Chocolate photo shoot we did last year (see - The 7 Deadly Sins of Chocolate)

It was a fun shoot, working with young, enthusiastic, intelligent, creatives, and was just the antidote I needed for the withdrawal symptoms I'd been suffering.

Back home at the computer, I worked on an editing treatment that ramped up the boldness of the style of their jewellery, making sure the colours really popped.

It then occurred to me this was the perfect combination of images and story for Dumfries and Galloway Life, so I contacted commissioning editor, Andrea, to see if she'd be interested.

She was. And the latest edition (Issue 155 – October) features a 3-page spread of my images and an interview Andrea did with Piper and Ella, as well as the main image at the beginning of the business section of the magazine.

Here are my favourite images from the shoot, and scroll down for the behind the scenes video.

Behind the scenes video of the photo shoot

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Who's judging? - and Episode 24 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

If last week's blog post was about how can we judge whether a photograph we've taken is any good or not, this week I want to look at how others judge our work.

Perhaps I'm just rehashing the same argument, but it's an area I'm rather obsessed with at the moment. I guess the fact I'm offering help to people on how to improve their photography has something to with it – to “improve” something is to automatically judge it wasn't as good as it could have been.

But when in the comments on last night's podcast, Stacy wrote, “I sometimes feel that some aren't qualified to judge” I shot off on a 4 minute tangent/exploration/rant on what more or less amounted to how we can judge who's judging us.

It's very tempting to think that we create is objectively good or bad, but this throws us into confusion every time we get more than one verdict on our work.

This person said it was amazing, but that person was indifferent to it! Who was right? Whose opinion should I value more?

So when we know how much time, effort and skill we put into creating our work, but it doesn't seem to be recognised or valued by our intended audience, it's very easy to feel they have got it wrong.

Especially when other people seem to be favourably judging what we can see is clearly an inferior image.

Perhaps they didn't spend enough time studying our photograph; perhaps they are corrupt and are going to award the prize to their wife's cousin; or perhaps they are an imbecile who wouldn't know a good photo if it slapped them in the face!

Or maybe my judgement skills are completely off, and my work is just so crap, and I'm so crap, that I should just give up now and leave it to people who are better than me.

How can we make sense of it?

Well the first thing we have to do is get rid of any idea of some kind of objective truth to it all.

Quite simply there are multiple agendas, and any verdict on our work is going to be based on a particular set of criteria that will vary from place to place and person to person.

I've talked before about how I can put up what I consider to be one of my best pieces of work on Facebook only for it to receive less than 20 likes. And yet a quick selfie of me and my daughter can gather over 200.

Is the selfie a better photo?

Well, it's a better photo for Facebook, where images are judged on social content rather than technical expertise.

Recently I was in conversation with other photographers about online competition sites like GuruShots and ViewBug, where after a while you start to realise subtlety is utterly lost. The loudest, more obvious, and most cliched images tend to do best.

So should I make my photography more contrasty, more saturated, and more mainstream?

Frankly, if I want to do well in those competitions, then yes.

But that same criteria would work against me if I was entering my photos onto sites like 1x or One Eyeland.

Exactly the same photo can win one competition yet languish in the bottom 10% of votes in another.

In his comment on my blog post last week, Keith talked of the success of an image being based on whether it achieved it purpose.

So understanding the audience is the key to gaining recognition from that audience.

If I want to impress that set of photographers, then I need to develop my technical skills.

If I want to win more prizes on competition sites where there is crowd voting, then I need to abandon subtlety.

And if I want to impress on Facebook, then I need to do more selfies with my daughter.

Most of us want some form of recognition and praise for what we do, but for that we either need to adjust our style to suit particular audiences, or we have to seek it from those who already share our tastes and values.

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0.00 - What's coming up
3:00 - Introduction to the Pip and Ell photo shoot
14:30 - Using Pinterest Boards for working with clients
16:00 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
30:20 - Who is qualified to judge your photo?
1:35:00 - Coming up next week

Wednesday, September 09, 2020

The Proof is in The Pudding - and Episode 23 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

What makes it a good photo?
Or a good piece of art?
Or a good meal?

As someone who now has a weekly podcast where the lion's share is dedicated to helping people improve their photography, this is something I come back to again and again.

Is what makes a good photo the fact that the photographer was skilled and knowledgeable about all the technical aspects of the camera?

Or that they enjoyed creating it?

Or that they put a lot of effort into creating it?

Or that this particular critic or knowledgeable person says it's good?

Or that the image contains at minimum of a 126 of the 437 rules of colour and composition as laid down in the Ancient Chronicles of Sinullia and carefully controlled by the Custodians of Gaethred?

Is it all of these things?

Is it none of them?

A few weeks ago I wrote about how many artists see art as the process, and how the final piece is almost a by-product. But the moment it is complete, then everyone else gets their say and places a monetary value on it.

So in that case, the first question is, who is asking the question?

That photo will mean different things to different people, and thereby induce different judgements.

But there is a widespread idea that, at the very least, the creator should be highly knowledgeable of the technicals.

I have seen multiple variations of this over the past few years, and to begin with it used to make me chuckle.

But now, I find it annoys the hell out of me.

Because for me, the proof is in the pudding.

What makes an image a good photo for me is whether it connects to me on some level.

Perhaps it reminds me of a person, a place, an event, or an emotional state.

Or maybe it inspires, or fascinates, or evokes a new train of thought.

Now perhaps knowing the skill of the photographer, or the story of what went into the creation of the image, or even knowledge of their personality, will have an impact on how I view it.

But that doesn't override the simple fact of whether it does it for me.

Do I, as a viewer, get something from this?

And if I do and you don't, or the other way round, then who is right, and does it matter?

However, if you want help with how to convey your story, then I can give you assistance with my knowledge, skills and experience.

And as someone who offers critique to anyone wanting to improve their photography, I would encourage you to understand how the camera works, become familiar with different kinds of composition, and to learn how light can be manipulated to create different moods and effects.

It's not that you have to know all these things before you can create, rather they are tools that will help you to capture the story or mood you want to convey.

Whether the photo is only ever going to be for you to look at, or if you want other people to feel the same emotion you did when you took it, then understanding how the camera works, and notions of light, line and form, is extraordinarily useful.

But rule number one is - does it tell the story you want it to. And if it does, then job done, and no one has the right to tell you it's wrong.

Not even me.

Although I do retain my right not to have to buy it from you...

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0.00 - What's coming up
2:35 - Introduction to the Earth's Crust Bakery photo shoots
20:05 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
25:00 - Dealing with shadow patterns
55:09 - Using the Orton effect
1:14:20 - Coming up next week

Wednesday, September 02, 2020

Resistant to Change - and Episode 22 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

For a species that owes it's survival, evolution, and ability to conquer and occupy every corner of the world to our ability to adapt, we humans can be remarkably resistant to change.

Forget global pandemics, the rise of fascism, and the wholesale destruction of the planet – the new layout of Facebook seems to trump them all.

Change: we really don't seem to like it very much.

I guess sometimes, though, it's the little things can act as the trigger for all the emotions we've been desperately trying to ignore, because the big picture is, well, just too big.

In the past few weeks, it's not only Facebook that have made changes in the apps I use.

Camera Raw – a part of Photoshop I've been using for many years – recently decided to alter it's layout and each time I go to make a particular alteration to an image I have to hunt to find the button or slider that is no longer where I expected it to be.

And for those who use Google's Blogger as their primary platform for blogging, they too have changed their interface and until I've adapted to it, everything will take longer and therefore be more irritating.

There comes a point where we just want to scream.

It's the sense of a lack of control.

We just want to get on with our lives, but other forces, bigger forces, forces that could squash us like an insect – political, environmental, biological - get in the way.

We are so helpless in the face of these huge things that, mostly, we can only get by by pretty much ignoring it all.

Keep calm and carry on.

But the small things, the ones that really shouldn't make any difference – like a new layout Facebook, someone jumping the queue, or getting a spam phone call from a marketing company – these are the things that tip us over the edge.

These are the things where we feel we ought to have control, but still don't.

They might be trivial, “first world problems”, but they remind us just how vulnerable we are.

I remember when my mother went for an operation to remove a small cyst in her ear. As they started to cut it out they discovered she had cancer and had to cut much deeper. When she came to, she was missing the entire ear and half her face was paralysed.

But it was when she went to read a book and suddenly discovered her glasses wouldn't stay on her head because there wasn't an ear for them to hook over, that she had a bit of a meltdown.

What this has to do with last night's podcast, I'm not entirely sure.

Mind you, few of my weekly blogs seem that closely related to the podcasts.

I think I mentioned the changes to Camera Raw during the episode at one point, and it seemed to tie in with the new changes to Facebook. It felt like something I could blog about.

But sometimes it seems like I don't even have complete control over what I'm going to write...

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0:00 - What's coming up
2:10 - Introduction to the "Dr Megaphone" photo shoot
12:50 - Creating an old glass-plate photo effect
24:10 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
48:50 - how the angle of the camera affects a portrait
1:15:45 - Coming up next week