Sorry I've temporarily stopped posting. Tomorrow I leave Paris and go back to America. But I plan to devote what's left of December to retouch recipes. I'll explain it in the next post, but for now let's try an experiment. If someone out there has a photo they want retouched, email it to me and we can use it as an example. I may only choose one, possibly more depending on what we might all learn from the retouching workflow. Put "Take-Out Retouch" in your subject header and I'll see what's waiting for me when I get home.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
December monthly special is coming. I promise.
Monday, November 30, 2009
I've been busy with graffiti in the metro...
No, I didn't do it. I couldn't draw to save my life, let alone spray paint. I'm working on a metro project that will probably take another 10 years to finish. It's not about graffiti, but I just discovered that line 3 has more graffiti on the cars than all of the other lines (as far as I know) combined. This is my last week in Paris, and I'm running all over the place trying to finish up projects before heading back to the U.S.
As I write this, it's 1:42 a.m. in Paris, so technically, I should have a new monthly special ready to go. But given how tomorrow (or rather, today) looks (last day teaching, special photo lecture to a local women's group), I may be a day late. There are still things I wanted to cover in November, but I'll have to get to those later.
For those who have been missing the tutorials, once I'm back in the States, the slower pace of things will definitely be more conducive to tutorials. But for now, it's madness.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
When plain old photos just aren't good enough...
I saved the strangest ideas from Paris Photo for last.
If you want a creepy portrait of a friend or family member, why not just have them sit still for a video and then dedicate a framed monitor to your masterpiece? Because we're not at Hogwarts, that's why.
Don't know what to do with that old photo of your great great uncle Tobias? I hear embroidery floss adds zing when your Bedazzler has run out of rhinestones.
Covering a photo in semi-opaque cloth can serve as a socio-political commentary on the veil in contemporary Iran or it can just be a good way to use up that extra bolt of fabric in your sewing room.
Who says the glass over your framed photo needs to remain clear? Tell Windex and their neatnik cronies where to go. Fight the power in the comfort of your living room with some acrylic craft pens and some free association graffiti.
One example of the altered glass approach that I actually loved (but no pic, sorry) was a photo of a plain wall with graffiti tags sprayed all over the inside of the glass.
In spite of my mocking commentary, I do like how the examples above make me consider alternatives to the traditional framed photo.
What do you think? Ever done anything unconventional with photo presentation?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Ideas for displaying your photos (part 2)
In the last post, I looked at examples of lines and grids of framed photos at Paris Photo. This post will give examples that break with those basic layouts.
This combination of portrait and landscape frames is made more interesting by staggering the portrait frames rather than keeping them symmetrical.
Here, the arrow-like triangular positioning leads your eye from left to right.
This is an attempt to break up the traditional gallery-style line of photos. I'm not sure how I feel about the near-checkerboard look, but I guess it depends on the context.
One central photo (hidden by the man's head) seems to sprout wings from either side. Note how the ample matting helps contain what would otherwise be too many competing images. To me, this looks very Martha Stewart. And speaking of Martha, one of her tips that I have used is to cut out paper versions of all your frames and arrange them on the wall before you commit. I use paper grocery bags and painter's tape.
If there is any philosphy behind this arrangement, it is to avoid lining up any two frames. In my opinion, the quare white space on the left side draws too much attention to itself.
I love how the one landscape-oriented frame pops out of the grid in this set of Lartigue photos (which can be yours for a mere 120,000 euros. Yikes!) Once again we see the small photo / large matte look.
I also love how a couple of huge photos can fill a room.
Two groups of three. Good? Not so much? What do you think?
Symmetrical, but different. Makes me think of an owl.
And finally, a reminder that you don't have to let the shape of your photo determine the shape of your frame. Experimenting with mattes can make your display look more high end.
Friday, November 20, 2009
How to display your photos: Ideas from Paris Photo (part 1)
Paris Photo is a massive 4-day event happening right now through Sunday in the Carrousel du Louvre. The show features 89 galleries and 13 editors from all over the world. I went last night and found it to be at once heavenly and torturous. Heavenly, because the scale of the show and the variety of major photographers on display outshone any photography museum I have ever seen. Torturous, because I couldn't take it all in (much less take any of it home). Want to buy a Klein? A bargain at 9,000 euros. A signed Cartier-Bresson will run you about 25,000 euros. A passport-sized Lartigue (and I mention the size because I overheard some Americans talking about prices in the cliché "size matters" way) costs 30,000. Although most of the prices were on display, I think it's safe to say that the "Well, if you have to ask, you can't afford it" rule applied to everything.
If you budget is like mine, the only things you can take away from the show are the memories, maybe a catalog, and some inspiration. Since I can't give you the first two, let me help out with the third, specifically, some inspiration for photo displays.
How do the galleries display their photos? In the next couple of posts, I'll give a few examples (also, let me give a disclaimer that my photos of the displays are quick snapshots). In this post, we'll look at the most common methods of display: the grid and the classic line.
Simple, modern, and elegant. A line of photos gives a classic look similar to what you might see in a museum. However, many museums would put more space between the frames for the practical reason of filling the space and of allowing more room for visitors to look at the photos.
A variation on the straight line that I love is this symmetrical display with a round photo and frame in the middle.
Larger spacing in this six photo grid of Duane Michals photos (being photographed by a woman who looks exactly like the one in the photos), is a safe choice.
Large photos arranged in a triptych work especially well if the center photo draws the most attention.
A long two-line grid of photos with identical matting and with no spaces makes a bold statement.
A vertical version of the two-line grid takes a more innovative approach by playing with the colors of the frames (but keeping a sophisticated black, white, gray palette).
A dramatic three-line grid of large color unmatted photos and minimal spacing makes a strong, modern statement.
Closely spaced grids sometimes use large matting to let the photos breathe and give a more classic look.
In my opinion, the wide black frames and black matting in this grid borders on overpowering the photos themselves.
No spacing between frames, small mattes, and color photos on a unified theme (painted trucks).
Photos of different sizes are cropped here to fit in a grid of identical frames.
Getting inspired for displaying your own photos? I know I am.
Tomorrow, I'll go beyond the line and the grid for more inspiration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
