Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide
Lesson 5 of 138
The Story is in The Details
Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide
Lesson 5 of 138
The Story is in The Details
Lesson Info
The Story is in The Details
We're going to talk about details so many times over the course of this class. And I think that it's really important because we don't put a lot of emphasis on choosing every single one of these things, okay. So details would be things like: the time of day, what's in the space, such as props, colors, wardrobe pose. Can you guys think of any other, I mean there are probably a 100 details that you could possibly see in a photo. So what other details can you think of? Anything at all. Yeah. Light. Light. Where it's coming from. Totally. The shadows, same thing. Yeah, exactly. What your subject is looking at or doing. You're on a roll. Ya. That's great. And part of understanding what details we have to make choices about is part of just studying imagery. You know if we look at this image, we can say, okay, there's light coming from somewhere. Okay she's wearing a certain color. Oh, there's a certain prop in this. Oh, she's in a certain pose. These are all choices that ...
we need to make. But how often do we run through a checklist of every single thing for every single image that you create? Probably not that often. It's really daunting to do. And that's why I keep saying that art is difficult. Yeah, it's hard. Nobody wants to go through every single detail. But in this case, that's what we're trying to do. So if you had to pick out the important details now, in an image, for you they might be different than what they are for me. For me, the prop is important, and the atmosphere of the location is important. And the pose is important. Those are the really big things that I try to pick out when I'm location scouting, when I'm moving in, when I'm trying to find a story. But for you it might be different. You might be all about light, and light is your thing. Well, start with light and then build your details around the light. You know it's so much easier to just focus in on one element in a list, and then build everything to be associated with that one thing, instead of being like, okay, I have to pick a time of day, a wardrobe, a prop, and a color. What am I going to do? Then your brain just goes melty, and probably comes out of your nostrils. So, you've gotta really narrow it down. Think. So we've got a few images that deal with details here. And for this one, I want to point out the fact that there is a sort of color signature happening here. Where underground it's more blue, above ground it's more yellow, for example. So we've got that color thing going on that guides you into the story. We've got color of the dress, which might guide you into a story. And we've got so many things happening here because this is a very detailed image. But so many things that will guide you in this story But it wouldn't work unless each of the details was thoroughly thought out. Now with fine art you can make whatever you want. You can make a scene that did not exist at all, such as this space where the floor was different from the wall, was different from the underneath space, each human was photographed separately. None of this existed. I literally just started with a big white box and photo shop, and then tried to fill it with something. That's super daunting if you are not good at making decisions. So does anyone feel like you're slightly indecisive sometimes? I'm not. I am the most decisive person I've ever met in my life, and that's why I can more easily work from this place of making decisions. But I think it's really beneficial to just train yourself to work from a place of making strong choices in your images. I can not even tell you how many times I have sat with somebody, and we're trying to make an image together, and we finally figured everything out, and then they go and get in position to take the photo and they're wearing jeans and and a T-shirt. And I'm like, wait wait, we've got this cool location and this great light and all this, and you're going to wear your jeans and a T-shirt? And they're like, yeah, I don't have anything else. And I'm like, no, don't do it. Don't do it, unless that's what you want, as a strong choice in your image. So always make that strong choice.
Class Description
Creating a great photo for a client is one thing - but turning your passion and ideas into a series that is shared, shown, and sold is a whole different business. If you do it right, you’ll be shooting what you love all the time. Learn how to choose which ideas to create, how to turn your concept into a production, and steps to getting your work seen and even sold in Fine Art Photography: A Complete Guide with Award-Winning Photographer, Brooke Shaden.
This is an all-inclusive workshop that provides the tools you need to run a successful and creative business as a fine art photographer. You’ll learn creative exercises to find and develop your ideas, how to create an original narrative, how to produce your own photo series, post production techniques and skills for compositing and retouching, how to write about your work, ways to pitch to galleries and agents, and how to print your pieces so they look like art.
This workshop will take you on location with Brooke as she creates a photo series from scratch. She’ll walk through every step for her photo shoots including set design and location scouting, she’ll cover techniques in the field for capturing your artistic vision, post-production and compositing techniques, as well as printing and framing essentials.
She’ll round out this experience by discussing all of the details that will help make your career a success like licensing, commissions, artists statements, social media plans, gallery prep, and pricing your work.
This comprehensive course is a powerful look into the world of fine art photography led by one of the world’s most talented photographers, Brooke Shaden. Included with purchase is exclusive access to bonus material that gives exercises and downloads for all of the lessons.
Lessons
- Class Introduction
- Storytelling & Ideas
- Universal Symbols in Stories
- Create Interactive Characters
- The Story is in The Details
- Giving Your Audience Feelings
- Guided Daydream Exercise
- Elements of Imagery
- The Death Scenario
- Associations with Objects
- Three Writing Exercises
- Connection Through Art
- Break Through Imposter Syndrome
- Layering Inspiration
- Creating an Original Narrative
- Analyze an Image
- Translate Emotion into Images
- Finding Parts in Images
- Finding Your Target Audience
- Where Do You Want Your Images to Live?
- Create a Series That Targets Your Audience
- Formatting Your Work
- Additional Materials to Attract Clients
- Which Social Media Platforms Will be Useful?
- How to Make Money from Your Target Audience
- Circle of Focus
- The Pillars of Branding
- Planning Your Photoshoot
- Choose Every Element for The Series
- Write a Descriptive Paragraph
- Sketch Your Ideas
- Choose Your Gear
- How to Utilize Costumes, Props & Locations
- What Tells a Story in a Series?
- Set Design Overview
- Color Theory
- Lighting for the Scene
- Props, Wardrobe & Time Period for Set Design
- Locations
- Subject Within the Scene
- Set Design Arrangement
- Fine Art Compositing
- Plan The Composite Before Shooting
- Checklist for Composite Shooting
- Analyze Composite Mistakes
- Shoot: Black Backdrop for White Clothing
- Shoot: Black Backdrop for Color Clothing
- Shoot: Black Backdrop for Accessories
- Shoot: Miniature Scene
- Editing Workflow Overview
- Add Fabric to Make a Big Dress
- Edit Details of Images
- Add Smoke & Texture
- Blend Multiple Images Into One Composite
- Put Subject Into a Miniature Scenario
- Location Scouting & Test Photoshoot
- Self Portrait Test Shoots
- Shoot for Edit
- Shoot Extra Stock Images
- Practice the Shoot
- Introduction to Shooting Photo Series
- Shoot: Vine Image
- Shoot: Sand Image
- Shoot: End Table Image
- Shoot: Bed Image
- Shoot: Wall Paper Image
- Shoot: Chair Image
- Shoot: Mirror Image
- Shoot: Moss Image
- Shoot: Tree Image
- Shoot: Fish Tank Image
- Shoot: Feather Image
- View Photo Series for Cohesion & Advanced Compositing
- Edit Multiple Images to Show Cohesion
- Edit Images with Advanced Compositing
- Decide How to Start the Composite
- Organize Final Images
- Choosing Images for Your Portfolio
- Order the Images in Your Portfolio
- Why do Some Images Sell More Than Others?
- Analyze Student Portfolio Image Order
- Framing, Sizing, Editioning & Pricing
- Determine Sizes for Prints
- How to Choose Paper
- How to Choose Editions
- Pricing Strategies
- How to Present Your Images
- Example Pricing Exercise
- Print Examples
- Licensing, Commissions & Contracts
- How to Keep Licensing Organized
- How to Prepare Files for Licensing
- Pricing Your Licensed Images
- Contract Terms for Licensing
- Where to Sell Images
- Commission Pricing Structure
- Contract for Commissions
- Questions for a Commission Shoot
- Working with Galleries
- Benefits of Galleries
- Contracts for Galleries
- How to Find Galleries
- Choose Images to Show
- Hanging the Images
- Importance of Proofing Prints
- Interview with Soren Christensen Gallery
- Press Package Overview
- Artist Statement for Your Series
- Write Your 'About Me' Page
- Importance of Your Headshot
- Create a Leave Behind & Elevator Pitch
- Writing For Fine Art
- Define Your Writing Style
- Find Your Genre
- What Sets You Apart?
- Write to Different Audiences
- Write for Blogging
- Speak About Your Work
- Branding for Video
- Clearly Define Video Talking Points
- Types of Video Content
- Interview Practice
- Diversifying Social Media Content
- Create an Intentional Social Media Persona
- Monetize Your Social Media Presence
- Social Media Posting Plan
- Choose Networks to Use & Invest
- Presentation of Final Images
- Printing Your Series
- How to Work With a Print Lab
- Proofing Your Prints
- Bad Vs. Good Prints
- Find Confidence to Print
- Why Critique?
- Critiquing Your Own Portfolio
- Critique of Brooke's Series
- Critique of Student Series
- Yours is a Story Worth Telling
Reviews
April S.
I tuned in for most of Brooke's lessons in this course and watched some of them more than once as they were rebroadcast. First I want to say that Brooke is a very good instructor. Her easy-going, friendly, down-to-earth, somewhat quirky manner cannot be mistaken for unprofessional. She is very prepared, she speaks well (not a bunch of hemming and hawing), she is thoughtful, she is thorough, she is very relatable and at ease, and she is definitely professional in her presentation. I really thought when I first tuned in that it would mostly be background noise while I was at work, sound to keep me company. Not because I didn't like Brooke but I really didn't think I was into fine art photography nor did I think I cared about the business side of things much. Not now anyhow. I was really wrong. Brooke sparked a deep interest in me to delve into fine art photography, to consider creating images for myself, from my imagination. In fact, I realized that this was something I'd been thinking about for a couple of years though I hadn't put a name to it (the idea of creating pre-conceived images based on my own creative goals). I gleaned many little treasures from her about image sizes, working with printers, different types of paper, selling, interacting with galleries, and so much more. I may not need all of what she taught right now because I'm definitely headed in another direction at the moment, but she planted ideas and information in my head that I know will be useful at some point. Things I may not have thought of on my own, but that seed is in my head now so when the time comes, I'll know. I'd really like to buy her course but at the moment, with the holidays right around the corner, it's not in my personal budget. I'm grateful to have caught the live and rebroadcast lessons though, and her course is on my list to own. I think it's a great reference to be consulted over and over again, not watched once and forgotten. Kudos Brooke for really putting together an excellent course.
Ron Landis
I'm retired now, but spent decades in the people and training business. Brooke is extraordinary! Even though this course is extremely well organized and she's left nothing unattended, she moves through it with friendly conversational manners and without a sense of it being stilted. It's as though we are all her friends, not students, as she shares her heart and passion with us. What a joy it is to listen to her. And what a clear, unambiguous command of her subject. Wow! She explains it with such ease using explanations and techniques that won't overwhelm artists just starting their portfolio or the Photoshop-squeamish among us; but despite its simplicity her resulting art is breathtaking and beyond original. I wish more of my professors at school were as engaging. This was by far my best buy at Creative Live yet.
a Creativelive Student
What an amazing 20 days this is going to be! Brooke is so enthusiastic and has such a lovely manner. What a bargain for all of the information Brooke will be sharing with us. So excited. Thanks Brooke and Creative Live. :)