About moving:

It’s about taking the risk of never coming back, about exploring, about instinct, about creating new connections, about making a new place its own, about pulling the plug, about…

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The other way I was surprised to hear that the crew of “This Week in Photography” were not that sensitive around the value of limited edition prints. They were debating the case of a customer that had sued a photographer for creating more prints from an already sold out limited edition. What struck me the most is that they did not seem to react in any way to this model. I simply got the impression that they did not see the reason to create limited edition prints. Anyway, it must have been a combination of the topic in discussion during that episode and probably the people around the table since generally speaking the TWIP crowd are extremely knowledgeable people in all fields of photography. They always have great opinions around all topics.

In any case, this gave the me inspiration (and excuse) to write a few lines around why limiting the number of prints is important. This topic resonated within me since the value of my work resides on this precise point.

Why should you limit the number of prints?

• Limited edition creations give buyers the possibility to own exclusive pieces of art. Their value will depend entirely on the level of exclusivity granted (and of course the market ‘value’ of the artist but that is a complete different topic). The higher the exclusivity, the higher the value of the creation. In other words, if you print only a few samples of your photos they will have a much higher value than if you print hundreds.
• Limiting your prints increases the value of your work.

What is the price of limited editions?

• Price is directly linked to value. What is the price of a postcard and the price of a painting? Which one is more exclusive?
• Different market segments will bear different prices and it is important to determine what is the segment that you are addressing. Art collectors, art lovers , decorators, affluent middle classes, etc
• The more prints there are on the market, the lower the price will be, however the starting and end points of your price range are to be determined and there is no simple way around this. For instance, you can buy Limited Edition prints at Yellow Korner from around 160 euros limited to 500 prints.

How many is too many? Where is the limit? 

• The limit depends on you (the artist), the market and sometimes law (for instance in France, 30 is the limit for a specific photographer status, not in all cases).
• The criteria for limits vary. The limit could be applied, for instance, to the number of prints of a given size or the total number of prints regardless of the format (i.e. the size). So you could for instance, create unlimited postcards with an image, and then propose a series of big prints limited to 100.
• I personally chose to limit my series to 30 prints all formats included (see here).

How do you guarantee buyers that your work is indeed limited?

• Some simple rules. Each print must be signed and numbered by the author (1/100, 2/100, etc)
• By signing the work you authenticate your print and it shows the future owner that you have personally supervised and validated the work.
• You can provide also a certificate of authenticity that mentions the title and print number (e.g. 3/30). Also some other modern methods exist like ARTtrust tags. However, this come at a price that may not be adequate in your pricing model.

The position with respect to the topic above will depend on the type of photographer that you are. Are you a professional or an artist? Are you more on the artistic side or the commercial side. Do you do this for living or for passion? In other words, do you need to sell prints to  pay for your heating or this is just for the love of art? The worst case is: you are an artist that needs to pay for his heating with this. How about stock photographers? Wedding photographers? Journalists? I suppose the need to have limited edition prints will change completely from one position to the other. Which one of those are you?

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Last weekend I did a photo walk with friends in London. We went to Brick Lane and it was great!

However, in preparation for the event (and even during) there were some things that came to my mind as I was wondering what are the things you need to have a successful event and  get good images. This is after all what we all photographers are aiming for right?

My personal goal for this one was to get a small series of pictures that reflected the soul of this street, and so I took the steps below to help me get there (I let you decide If I did or not)

1) Select an location and understand what’s interesting about it?

It’s simple, if you want great pictures, stand in front of a great location!

You can have a good eye and be able to take great pictures no mater where you go, but this is not my case, and therefore when selecting a place, pick one with lots of opportunities to take images.

Now, before going you need to have some directive lines to help your eye (and heart) know what to look for. Do some research about the places in your list. Is it a historical venue? Is it full of beautiful buildings? Is it the home place to some celebrity? Do your homework before!

Brick lane is a street full of ‘street art’ and also lots of ‘characters’ walking around in exotic clothes. There is a mixed community, and this reflects  in great  food and in ethnic decorations and signs. Brick Lane is also known for its vintage market and lots of people go for a walk on sunday. So, as you can see it promised to be a ‘good’ location.

2) Select an appropriate time

Thumb rule: (according to Scott Kelby) Great pictures are taken at two times during the day sunrise and sunset. I know it sounds cliché but it is damn true believe me!

When you have to select between bad subject with good light, or good subject in bad light; go for the former. Light makes a big difference.

In my case it was not really an option to go early in the morning. Not because I wouldn’t get up to go, but my friends wouldn’t, since they had  gone out the night before :) So the option left was : afternoon until sunset.

Now, I also checked the orientation of the street to understand where the light would come from. Since we were heading from south to north the light would be on our left (and lower and lower as the day would advance).

3) Do your homework on Google Images

Google some of the images taken by oher photographers on the same location.  Look at the work they have done, but don’t look to much either. This is to avoid simply copying what others have done.

The ‘Stuck on earth’application for iPad is your friend! Flickr is another friend!

4) Work your theme

You can take as many shots as you want, but  when it comes to the end result. No one wants to see 300 images about your photo walk. Not even your dog. The rule: less is more!

Aim to create a small significant number of images. Like that you will concentrate on really the stuff that matters to this place and the message that you want to get across when people look at your images.

Select a reasonable number. I suggest 10. This is your target and don’t  forget the theme. Look for what you are looking for and use the mood of the place to dictate the ‘flavor’ of your images: moody, funny, spontaneous, carefully composed, etc etc….

5) Share with others and Coach Others

Photowalks is a great place to get things explained by other fellow photographers that are as passionate as you are. You are not there only to take pictures and walk. Use this opportunity to learn.   Get critics back and don’t forget to give critics. Photo talking is also allowed!

At the end of the photo walk don’t forget to agree on a place to share your work. You choose: flickr, Facebook, dropbox, etc.

6) Bring one camera and one single lens

Don’t let equipment numb your creativity. You will do more with one single lens and one single camera than if you had brought all your equipment with you. One of the reasons is that if you do, you will be looking for opportunities to use every single piece of your equipment rather than to get the images for your theme.

Well, that’s it and I hope this helps you organize your next photo walk and keep on shooting and sharing!

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Now exhibiting in Paris, March 24th to April 30th 2012

Venue : FIL’OFROMAGE, 12, rue Neuve Tolbiac 75013 Paris,France. Metro Bibliothèque F. Mitterrand or Quai de la gare

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The sketches below were created using the Paper application for iPad (available here). I have never really created any drawing in my life and this is my first time, hence all the excitement!!

After having lots of fun drawing and sketching I thought this could also have a positive impact in the skills of photographers.

Here are my thoughts on that:

1) MEANINGFUL LINES

When I start drawing I will always start with the lines that define the most important aspects of someone or something. So for instance, to draw a face there are important lines that will convey a big part of the message. For instance the hair, the lines that define the shape of the face (including the jaw line), the neck, etc…. These lines give power to a silhouette and make some things recognizable (even when the drawing is not finished). These are compositional elements that are also present in photography and that you can either capture as they are (i.e.shaped through natural light) or that you can actually model by any means (e.g. by changing pose, light, contrast with other shape sin the frame…) to accentuate and give more aesthethical value to your pictures.

2) CONCEPT CREATION

To draw something you need to imagine a scene from scratch. You need to make sure that you include elements that actually reinforce the message that you are trying to convey. For instance, when I decided to create a sketch for a photography studio I had to think what elements will actually provide the environment and atmosphere of a studio. The cameras, the light, the model, etc etc All of this help photography skills since you can apply the same technique during the creation of a photography. You need to choose a subject, choose objects, choose a location and a time of day to build the right elements for your creation. Sometimes you will simply choose the absence of elements (see sketch below) to reinforce a central topic.

3) SKETCH PHOTO PROJECTS

I have started also using this application as a way to document future projects. Besides taking notes, I can also imagine the compositions I want to create and sketch them as they come to my mind. This will help me to have a clearer idea of the final result I am aiming for and could also be used as a communication tool to explain others what the final graphical representation should be. For instance, I am currently thinking of creating a series centered around the neck. I like this topic because of the sensuality around it and since its a simple element to force creativity (less is more right?)

4) MARKETING YOUR BLOG

You can this application to illustrate posts with a bit of humor. Adding sketches to posts (besides pictures) improves the visual appeal of sites and since these are custom made you can basically set the theme and the elements that you exactly require to illustrate your post. You are your own graphic designer! The one below will be used to promote selling of my prints for instance.

5) INCREASE CREATIVITY

All of the elements above are good for photographers and for sure in due time will become hard muscle when composing through the view finder and help you be more creative and ultimately a better photographer !!

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Printing and framing pictures is great. It is the accomplishment of a photographer to see its work on a wall. Does not matter which wall, your own or at an exhibition. Going from virtual to real life is like giving birth to a child. Pictures are the photographer’s children after all!

Photo frames, masking tape, scissors, card board frames, pictures, some cord to attach the frame on the wall…

Much cheaper to do it yourself than professionally, specially when you start on a budget.

Once you have all the materials it’s quite simple, you will just need some patience :)

And finally up on the wall!

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This was my first exhibition in Paris. October 2011 will be a month I will never forget. The preparation was intense and I learnt lots. Great experience :) Thanks to all that supported me at the Vernissage and for your friendship!

(Music by: Tryad, Under Creative Commons License. www.tryad.org)

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Many photographers today have been asked at some point two common questions:

• What camera do you use?
• Did you use photoshop?

Concerning the first question: What camera do you use?

The first question obviously suggests that the more expensive your camera is, the better your images will be. This is partially true, but also partially false. The camera and the equipment are tools that any photographer should (aim to) master over time and that can for sure make a difference between a snap shot and a nice photograph. In my case, I use a range of different cameras and equipment, and although I have a reasonable amount of gear, this remains very basic (you can check the list here).

In my case, every piece of equipment has been carefully selected to avoid spending huge amounts of money. Photography is an expensive hobby and one should try to select the equipment that could provide the most versatility for a given budget (this is of course different for a professional photographer). The cameras I use range from around 40€ for a Diana F+ to around 600 € for a Canon Reflex. The distance between these two is huge in terms of optical and build quality. However the main question lies in the purpose to select either of those. The final rendering will be completely different!! The plastic optics of the Diana F+ will give the low-fidelity dreamy look with lovely saturated colors. On the other hand, if fidelity is the objective, then the Reflex camera would be the choice.

So, the camera used to create an image is r-e-l-a-t-i-v-e-l-y important, but not the most important. It is what you put inside an image that’s important. The camera is just a tool.

Concerning the second question: Did you use ‘Photoshop”?

There is a whole debate in the industry around how much post processing and retouching are you allowed to do to a photograph. This debate is specially acute when it comes to digital photography, and the gray line is thick between what is “acceptable” and what is not. This, as many topics in art, is completely subjective.

Somehow, the use of digital post-processing techniques seem (in some cases) to lower the value of an image. However, these techniques are not always that different from techniques used in the past in the analog days. Photographers were confronted to several decisions when doing film development and finally printing (using an enlarger). For instance a choice of contrast, paper, deepness of blacks, decisions on the areas to dodge/burn, reframing, size of the image, etc. All of these are still applicable (and are in fact applied) in the digital darkroom.

Taking into account the retouching aspect. Retouching can go from typical color (or B&W) processing to actual modifications of the image. For instance removing a street sign from a picture, or removing wrinkles from a face. Is this right or wrong? In my view, this is not so different (in essence) in the analog world. For instance, the simple act of framing is in itself an act of “retouching”. The photographer has decided to remove/include certain objects to create his composition. Or how about choosing a perspective? Taking a portrait with a wide angle lens to take someone’s portrait and shooting from a low perspective will make the person have a “mean” look. However, shooting with a 85mm from a higher position will make the portrait be softer. Or, how about the choice of makeup and clothes. Is the model really what the photographer has decided to show through his lens?

In this article you can see a series of hybrid images. They were created using 35mm film with a Nikkormat analog camera. Development was done in the classic way by an external laboratory, and finally the negatives were scanned digitally and color processed using Adobe Lightroom.

The process used is, in nature, the same as the one used for 100% analog development. So, the question, is how much processing is too much? What is the boundary that says “No Trespassing” ? The answer will for sure change from person to person, but I believe that the real question is: Is it a good image in your own opinion? Then, if the answer is YES, then the debates around the camera used and the digital post-processing techniques are not important.

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