What Top Photo Pros Know: Focus on Capture

27/03/08

Digital imaging technology advancements have opened the floodgates. Never before has image capture been this fast or this easy.

But as market research firm InfoTrends documents image capture volumes dramatically rising, it’s important to understand that “capture” is more than the first step in a digital workflow.

What distinguishes the world’s top photographers -- besides their craftsmanship and attention to detail -- is their focus on what’s happening before their fingers ever touch the shutter.

Photography educators are helping guide novices away from the impulse to “shoot first and ask the questions later.”

“Students can fall into dangerous territory believing that ‘it can always be digitally corrected later,’ said Dan Larkin, BFA program chair for Fine Art Photography at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). “But you can’t really repair what’s deficient to begin with, in my opinion. To counteract that impulse, I don’t allow my beginning students to crop at all. This forces them to take the practice of photographing quite seriously, as they attempt to get it right the first time.” http://www.danlarkin.net

Pro landscape photographer Tim Wolcott concurs, “My mentor, George Philips, told us to ‘stop taking so many damn photos and focus on what you’re doing.’ So, it disturbs me when I hear a photographer return to the studio from a shoot and say, ‘Let’s see what I’ve got.’ I believe you should already know what you have. You were there – weren’t you?” http://www.galleryoftheamericanlandscape.com

Keys to Capture

For international fashion photographer James Russell, the moment of capture is key in the client relationship. “The first image on the screen sets the tone of the day. That first shot should make them say, ‘wow', without hesitation or us adding qualifiers or explanations. Every project has multiple objectives, obviously on some level to immediately please, but more importantly to do anything within reason to win.

“Post-production tools are employed more than ever – but they’re the tools we use to refine what must first be a stable image capture process. You have to begin by refusing to compromise on all elements – model, stylist, crew, camera, lights, etc. -- and you learn that from experience.”

“In still photography production values and complexity are higher than ever and though we are definitely hired for our art, just as importantly we are hired for our ability to produce a seamless, no problem production.” http://russellrutherford.com.

Renowned wedding photographer, Jeff Ascough says, “I believe that digital has allowed very low cost access to the wedding photography market, and many new photographers are content with shooting fantastic numbers of images hoping to get a few good ones. I still shoot fewer images at a wedding than many of my colleagues, and I attribute this to a desire to get things right in the camera.”

While the scattergun method of shooting is probably more prevalent in this genre of photography than others, for me a good wedding image should have at least two of these three elements: good lighting, strong composition, great storytelling. The only way to bring all elements together is to think about the shot before pressing the shutter.” http://www.jeffascough.net/

About Phase One

Phase One is the world’s leading provider of digital image capture and workflow management technology. Phase One P+ Series digital backs open new possibilities, putting the focus back on the moment of capture. Phase One Capture One software helps streamline the capture and post-production process. Supporting DSLR, medium and large-format photographic equipment, Phase One products are renowned for their superior quality, flexibility and speed -- enabling pro photographers to realize their most subtle and most complex visions without compromise.

Phase One is an employee-owned company based Copenhagen with offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Cologne, and Shanghai.

For more information, visit Phase One at www.phaseone.com.

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