The Story is in The Details

Lesson 5 from: Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Brooke Shaden

The Story is in The Details

Lesson 5 from: Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Brooke Shaden

Lesson Info

5. The Story is in The Details

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Yours is a Story Worth Telling

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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 Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Guided Daydream & Writing Exercises Workbook (Lessons 1-11)

Creating an Original Narrative Workbook (Lessons 12-18)

Finding Your Target Audience Workbook (Lessons 19-27)

Planning Your Series Workbook (Lessons 28-34)

Set Design Workbook (Lessons 35-41)

Compositing Workflow Checklist (Lessons 42-49)

Editing Workflow Checklist (Lessons 50-55)

Location Scouting Workbook (Lessons 56-60)

Stock Image Downloads for Practice (Lessons 61-72)

Organizing Your Portfolio Workbook (Lessons 77-81)

Pricing & Editioning Your Work Workbook (Lessons 82-89)

Writing Contracts & Licensing Images Workbook (Lessons 90-98)

Gallery Best Practices (Lessons 99-106)

Pitch Package Workbook (Lessons 107-111)

Writing Your Brand Workbook (Lessons 112-117)

Marketing Workbook (Lessons 118-122)

Social Media Workbook (Lessons 123-127)

Printing Methods Checklist (Lessons 128-133)

Self Critique Workbook (Lessons 134-137)

Bonus Materials Guide

Syllabus

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Brooke Shaden

Brooke explores the darkness and light in people, and her work looks at that juxtaposition. As a self-portrait artist, she photographs herself and becomes the characters of dreams inspired by a childhood of intense imagination and fear.

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topics covered in this class

Fine Art Digital Photography

Ratings and 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.

Angel Ricci

When the title says comprehensive, it means comprehensive! I loved every part of this course. It's inspirational, motivating, and insightful towards creating art work. Even if you are not necessarily considering a fine art specialty, the concepts discussed in this course are applicable to many areas! I find this super useful as a videographer and photographer and look to apply all of these exercises and concepts for my personal and business work moving forward. It is lengthy, but you will not regret a single minute. Brooke Shaden is an amazing artist and educator. I recommend keeping up with her work, presentations, and any future courses that may come in the future.

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The Story is in The Details

The Story is in The Details

Lesson Info

5. The Story is in The Details

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