- In Focus -
SONOPP's June Newsletter, 2006

Calendar of Events

MONTHLY MEETINGS
Fourth Monday of each month

Quality Inn at Bagley & Engle
7230 Engle Road
Middleburg Hts., OH 44130

Cocktails at 6:30 p.m.
Dinner at 7:30 p.m.

June 26
Installation Meeting

July 24
Rob Ledwedge
Studio Backgrounds

 

President's Message

This is my last official president’s message.  It has been an honor and a privilege to have served as your president for the past year.

I hope you will support the incoming officers and board members.  We have two new board members, Terry Biacsi and Dale Kincaid, and I’m sure they will bring fresh, new ideas with them.

The 26th of June is our annual Installation Dinner and 57th Anniversary Celebration.  So please plan to attend and take part in this important event.  It will be held at the Plaza Hotel – Cleveland Airport, formerly the Quality Inn & Suites where we hold our regular meetings – but we will be in Ballroom #1.  So get your reservations in and I’ll see you there.

Also, don’t forget your membership renewals; Bob Neldon is working on a great lineup of speakers for the coming year, so don’t miss out.

Carol Combs, SONOPP President 2005 - 2006
In This Issue
The Photoshop Corner Commentary

July 24 Meeting
Studio Backgrounds, by Rob Ledwedge

How to make your portrait studio fun and efficient

  • Is your studio atmosphere comfortable?

  • Is your studio fun?

  • Is your camera room efficient?

  • Is your client's experience memorable?

Rob will enlighten the importance of the background in your portraits.  He will show you how to design your camera room with painted muslin and canvas backgrounds along with 'sets' to appeal to every personality that walks into your studio.  He will go over some easy, economic and efficient ways to you to build your own backgrounds and sets.  And how to hang your muslin and canvas backgrounds.  He will explain how your studio's atmosphere will effect you, and your client's performance.  The first step to capturing a great portrait starts with your client being comfortable, not nervous and uneasy.  And don't forget... Let's have fun!
The Photoshop Corner

The Unsharp Mask is the tool most often used to sharpen an image that is a little softer than the retoucher wants.  The Unsharp Mask dialog has three adjustable sliders: Amount, Radius, and Threshold.  (We won't discuss Threshold here.)

Most books recommend an Amount of 100-200% or greater, and a Radius in the vicinity of 1-2.  The result can be seen in the upper right image, and is quite typical.

There is a little-known variant of the Unsharp Mask, however, which uses an Amount of ~20% and a large radius, ~100 px.  The effect of these settings is to produce more of a change in contrast than a change in sharpness.  (I typically reduce the effect using the Edit/Fade tool at 50%, as seen on the lower left image.)

The final image (lower right) shows the result of combining these two variations of the Unsharp Mask.  (I use them individually so much that I have made actions for each.)

Commentary

Last month's newsletter featured an article by Patrick Rice, deploring the present state of professionalism in our industry, specifically the use of photojournalism at weddings.  (If you haven't read it yet, click here.)

His article (published in two other newsletters as well) prompted some responses.  Here's one from our very own Chuck Humbert:

Pat, I commend your interpretation on the movement in Professional Photography.

I remember in the mid fifties when the trend to have 'Formal Portraits' done on location at outdoor settings began. This led to photographers, working out of their homes, being able to book weddings without having an 'In Studio Shooting Room'.  That was the start of the movement for anyone with a camera to be able to cover weddings.

Now with the advent of digital photography and quality inkjet printing I noticed another change.  Last month at the SONOPP meeting the speaker mentioned that he sold 8x10's for $10.00 each.  Wow!  When I closed Humbert Studio three years ago I was selling 8x10's for $59.00.  Times apparently have changed.  Where it will lead I do not know.

Your thoughts as published in the SONOPP newsletter are very appropriate. It is something that we all must be aware of.

Where have all the shoemakers and TV repairman gone?

Can we innovate and create a new market?

We must come up with a new product that requires our professional skills.

Bringing this up at the National Level will not help.  Our once-professional organizations now consist of anyone with a camera who is willing to pay the dues.  The professional organizations have become 'Large Businesses' in themselves, with big money going to the upper echelon.  They even publish magazines, again for big bucks.  In addition many of our fine photographers have joined the speakers circuit, putting on seminars for large fees.

Now, here I am just rambling on and not really adding anything to your eloquent epistle.  I just had to let you know that you have been heard and that your thoughts are timely.
 


Another response came from Paul Foreman of www.captivatingimagesphotography.com:

WOW! that was a great article your wrote for "Lens". I made similar comments on Monte Zucker's Forum and I got blasted into the next country!

Everything you said is VERY true, in spite of what the wannabe Denis Regie's and Gary Fong's say.  There are a lot of brides & grooms and their families that hired a photojournalist, and they will not know it now, BUT 20 years from now they will wonder why they do not have any portraits from their wedding.  I have all but "GIVEN UP" weddings.  There are so many PJ shooters who give away the CD here you practically have to crawl over them to get inside a church or reception area. 
 
GREAT ARTICLE !
 


So, has anyone got a contrary opinion?  A defense of photojournalism at weddings?  Is there a place for it?