Since I posted “Recalling Pierre Cardin”, there have been several requests to post some of my earlier work from my archives.
I have always had the greatest respect for French Designer Guy Laroche’s work and found a couple of advertorials I did for him that appeared in VOGUE Paris and L’ Officiel magazines from the late 80′s. Again all of the lighting was a mix of diffused and mixed sources and all shot with Fujichrome 50 iso Slide Film. No Photoshop… As usual. So there you have it, another blast from the past. Being that the 80′s are coming back with a vengeance, these Guy Laroche images might inspire those of you wishing to get “That” look, to get “That Look…”
Is the April issue of French Marie Claire “throwing stones into the water? ” Their whole issue is without any retouching! Finally the readers will be exposed to the RAW truth without the artificial frills!
French Marie Claire cover April 2010
Well, almost… We have to pass through the multiplicity of advertising pages that are as expected, heavily retouched before accessing the first editorial photo that has not been tarnished by that Bad Boy on the Block, Mr. Photoshop. I personally really enjoyed the painted portrait of Julia Roberts with absolutely natural eyelashes for Lancôme and the no eyelid-ed Sharon Stone for Dior. You can even see Julia Roberts beauty mark under her eye! Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink, say no more, say no more.
Bad digital retouching can be worst enemy of celebrities…
… But it can also improve the overall image and atmosphere.
The recent brouhaha started in France last year with Valérie Boyer, a member of the National Assembly of France from the Bouches-du-Rhône district, has filed a new bill stating, any image that has been retouched or post processed should include the following preamble or text, “This photo has been retouched to alter the physical appearance of a person, “Failure to comply with this provision could result in a fine of €37,500, ($50,000) or as high as 50 percent of the space buying budget of the advertising campaign.
There is something unhealthy in the misrepresentation of body image in our society, said the Marseille’s Congress Woman who wants to “enlighten the consumer.” “It is outrageous,” she says, to believe that one side of the spectrum are the little people with their flaws, cellulite and at the other extreme there are the perfect people. There is an indecency in having us believe we look better at 70 than at 20. I wish to restore and highlight the barrier between the virtual and physical reality.
Turning the pages of the April issue of French Marie Claire I see that the photographers had to use the old technique ‘s before Photoshop existed…
Burning out the skin using overexposure, soft light, adding a half blue filter to whiten the skin, pulled back images, large smile’s for celebrities so their nasal labial folds are hidden, pulled back hair with hands stretching the skin and smoothing the wrinkles. Using grainy film and converting the images to black and white to neutralize the skin tones.
This is where I see digital retouching as necessary! Necessary for making banal images more interesting and a little more dreamy. Photography has changed a lot in the manner in which photos are captured. Today photographers have a lot more latitude giving them the opportunity to use more extreme angles, close-up’s and harder light.
To think that retouching is only about reshaping a model or celebrity or erasing the wrinkles and spots is quite naive. Photoshop is necessary for photographers who rely on the digital retouching process to make their images acceptable. Many of them wouldn’t have been published only 15 years ago, when fashion photographers had to know how to light an image, know which type of film should be used to give the most favourable rendition and how it will translate to print.
Photoshop is also a fabulous tool to enhance the artistic possibilities of the photographer and creative director as never before. I don’t think I would be interested in buying copies of Numéro, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, V, Pop or W magazine if the images, styling and scenery dramatizations were as banal as what I saw in the Marie Claire un-retouched issue. When I buy Feminine Press magazines, it is certainly not for its literary content, but more so for their Fashion and Beauty stories with their creative visual impact.
Even in the 1930′s photos were heavily retouched using traditional artisan methods, using pencils, paint brushes & spot removers as well as in the dark room with dodge and burn techniques.
No one is fooled and even adolescents know that a 15 year old model in a glossy magazine is retouched to the maximum. Many teen-aged internet users use a light version of Photoshop or other similar programs to retouch their own photos they post on Facebook! Does doing so lead them to anorexia? If so there would be many more cases. Why doesn’t Valérie Boyer also advocate for the censorship of TV programs like Extreme Makeover that shows how quickly and easily one can be “transformed surgically” from the ground up? What about 3D images, films, video games, cartoons or why not the censorship of sculpture-painter Fernando Botero who glorifies women at the other end of the anorexic spectrum?
French Elle Magazine went even further last year with actresses and models who accepted to pose for Peter Lindbergh without retouching and without make up!!
It does not say if the celebrities featured were botox free, hyaluronic acid or plastic surgery free… That might be a great next theme where there is no retouching, make up, injections or plastic surgery and what you look like first thing in the morning. This niche has already been taken by paparazzi and people magazines.
… And all of this makes me wonder if Valérie Boyer is using an un-retouched portrait of herself on her website?
Example of Digital retouching on gorgeous Super Model Natasha Poly
My second image campaign for Swedish Top Hair & Beauty Salon Mika’s Koivisto-Karlsson, as always creative direction by Tony Lundström & Jenny Karlsson using a whole slew of Mika’s models, notably Klara wester, Alina & Linnea Hellbom…
This time around, we were influenced by the Andy Warhol factory look + your the “extended family” concept + as well as an obvious “homage” to image maker Jean-Gaul Goude’s iconic Grace Jones nightclubbing” cover…
As I have been asked this question on a number of occasions, I thought I could attempt to tackle it. As everyone that has broken in to this business has done so via several avenues, I will attempt to share some of the common means of doing so.
There have been many stories of how those who broke in to the industry did so. Most of those were photographers who assisted professionals and learned the vocabulary by doing so. The apprenticeship route is a good one, as you are immersed into the business from the get go. There are also several examples of those entering the business via other means. One of note are models who wish to plan for their future and due to their being present during shoots (obviously) and if they are observant, can build a vast vocabulary based on those experiences. Hair and Make-Up artists have also broken in to the business and they have a very privileged relationship with the magazines and generally work with a vast range of different sorts and as a result have a lot more doors available to them. One example is “Tyen” who started as a Make-Up artist and eventually going on to become one of the most famous Fashion-Beauty photographers in the world. Another example of inner circle migration is the Fashion Stylist who has access to many magazines, especially if they are free lance. They know all of the Fashion and Beauty Editors and therefore are in a perfect position to solicit them.
However, in all cases the photographer must put a book together. When I say a book (portfolio) together, I mean a book that replicates the look of Fashion-Beauty or Still Life spreads. That is at least 6-8 fashion stories of anywhere from 6-12 pages each. Now this could be a mix of double and single page spreads and at least 2-4 Beauty stories of around 4-8 pages each. When putting these stories together I highly recommend you read some of my articles about the Fashion Biz. I don’t wish to repeat here what was said in those articles.
When putting your book together, just remember the golden rule of the importance of the team and that is what was adamantly expressed in the articles I have written in this blog.
Once you have put together your book from the tests you have done, mostly put together using the exchange system of images for services, I.e you give models, stylists, hair and make-up artists images for their services, you will be ready to hit the road running. I suggest you commence by contacting all of the hard copy and internet magazines in your region as well as those that accept submissions. Send them samples of your work that you have done and ask if they would be interested in doing a story (editorial) with you. Tell them you have access to teams for your productions and would be willing to co-ordinate the shoots for them. this is important if your client is in Hong Kong and you are in Chicago for example. If they prefer having you do a submission, ask them how much they pay for stories that they accept. If you agree with the payment, ask them to send you their “Themes” schedule to know what are the directions of their future publications, so that you can plan the right theme that corresponds with the themes of the issues they will be publishing. Put your team together based on who would be best to serve the story that you will be shooting. Produce the story, do the Post Prod, send it to them and cross your fingers. If they publish, you will get paid in 60 days after the date of publication.
You will also want to call all of the Ad Agencies, Press Agents of Designers of Clothing, Foot-ware, Beauty Products and anything that uses models for their productions. You may also go directly to the manufacturer if they don’t have an agent representing their line. Your daily rate is based on supply and demand, your notoriety and what they are willing to pay for a production. If images are being used in multi media, print, posters etc. Ask about royalties. They may wish to do what is called a buyout, i.e. pay one set fee for “X” usage over “X” period of time. Depending on locality, these figures swing dramatically.
This although a short primer will lead you in the right direction. How you get in to it has more to do with your knowledge of the business, research, luck and your own personal circumstances. However, always be diplomatic and attempt to put the shoe on the other foot when appropriate. But always go for as much as you can, as once you have set the precedent, it is always more difficult to go up than go down.
I am Seeking Contributors in Fashion and in the Fashion Photography Field as well as articles related to the “BIZ”. I would love to have other contributors to my Blog and would love to see some interesting, quirky and inventive articles coming from you. If you feel so inclined to do so, please e-mail me at: benjamin@benjaminkanarekblog.com
I decided writing this essay after going through and editing close to twelve hundred (1200) images this afternoon. Why? Because I want to share with you the importance of editing and how it defines what your style is and what your state of mind was at the time of your decision to make the choices you made. I have observed that depending on the time of day, the mood I am in and how I am feeling about myself, will have a dramatic effect on the choices I make and the outcome of the final published work. When having to make that very important decision it is important to be aware of the state of mind you are in. If you are willing to make the commitment at the time you are editing, that will be what those who view your image as you the artist photographer will see. They will interpret you and your work based on that juncture in time. That is why I usually go through several stages during the editing process.
1. The adaptation period which is based on the first 10-20 images per series. This is where I observe the images and get a general feel of what I might expect from the expression of the model, general sense of composition and overall feel.
2. The settling in period. Where I am finding indicators of where I think a sequence is going and I am starting to define preferences.
3. The marking of choices marked and noted generally from 3 to 5 stars. I am usually overly generous at the onset, until I see a knock me out shot, where I then go back and mark the now not so great image accordingly.
4. The moving of the selects in to a separate file.
5. A resting period. I do not look at the images for a few hours before making the final choices.
6. The final selects from a reduced selection from the original selections.
7. The commencement of the post production
The editing process really expresses more about you than what was expressed during the actual photo production.
Photo shoots are frenetic at best and there are a multiplicity of concerns that do not allow me to delve as deeply in to the scenario as does the editing process. It is akin to shooting a film and viewing the rushes. My general rule of thumb is, if I have not gotten that “WOW” moment during the shooting of a sequence, I keep shooting till I do. If I don’t, I know that the only thing that will save that sequence is a good rational or some damn innovative editing and post production work.
The photo shoot and production is not over until the editing and post production is completed. If you have poorly edited your images the outcome could be catastrophic. I cannot tell you how often a good editing job made the difference between an OK acceptably professional job and something very unique and special. If you saw some of the out takes of mine you would understand why choices in editing are so important. I could use all of the RAW material from the same photo shoot and produce what would look like two totally different photographers. Moods expressed as cold and detached to intense and passionate from exactly the same source.
That is why I said that the editing of the photo shoot or film is an extension of who you are and were during that process. Your mind set and emotional state at the time can be seen by those with discerning eyes.
I will end this with a short and rather amusing story. A wonderful Art Director named Martin Schmollgruber from Madame Figaro Magazine in Paris once said the following to me after I presented my photos from a shoot for the magazine to him, “I see that you have quit smoking Benjamin…” I said, “Yes I did. How did you know that?” He responded, “I could tell by your images!”
I would like to describe the process of photo shoots that are done for either a magazine or advertising and what happens in the process. In most cases the steps are similar for all productions whether it is me or any other photographer.
I will commence from the point at which the whole team has been hired and are present at the studio for the commencement of the day. In all cases there will be a photographer, photographers assistant or more, sometimes up to three or four, a fashion stylist, the person who chose the clothing and accessories for the photo session, the stylists assistant, a set designer, if one was needed and their crew. In most cases they had built the set the day before, but there will be someone there in case of changes that need to be executed, a make-up artist and assistant, a hair stylist and assistant, the model or models, the fashion editor and frequently the digital retouching artist, especially if there are going to be elements photographed to be added later.
In most cases the crew shows up at 09:00. There is always a breakfast waiting that usually includes juice, croissants, cinnamon buns, baguettes, butter, jam and tons and tons of coffee and tea.
The hair and make up artists set up their material in the dressing room, while the fashion stylist and the assistant start to unpack the clothing and hang them on clothing racks. This also allows the fashion stylist to present the clothing to the photographer. As there are always a lot more clothing than will be photographed, choices are often made in the morning to determine when they will be shot and how they will work together in a layout. The steamer and ironing table are set up and the assistant starts to work on the clothing to remove any wrinkles. Retouching out wrinkles is a major pain and it is preferable that the clothing are as close to perfect before commencing the shoot. While the stylist is preparing the clothes, the proverbial messengers are arriving with accessories from the different designer houses. These are usually very expensive jewelry and often come accompanied with a security guard. I have on occasion had several security guards attend my shoots especially if the pieces are worth over 50 thousand dollars per item. It is for that reason, that it is more problematic to shoot on weekends, as it costs a lot more for the jewelry companies to hire security guards on the weekend. Through out the day messengers are coming in and out of the studio, delivering items and picking them up after they are shot.
The hair stylist has already begun and usually starts before the make up artist. This is done to avoid possible smudging of the work that has been executed by the make up artist. The two of them discuss what they will be doing and then call in the photographer and the stylist to give us an over all view of what the model will look like. This is done to avoid any misunderstandings. Re-doing hair and make-up is a nightmare and will usually take another two hours of precious time.
While the hair and make up artist, fashion stylist and assistant are in preparation, I am directing my assistants regarding the lighting I wish to employ, color of backdrop (if that is what I will be using) or the lighting being used for the set. For this shoot, let’s say that I will be using large accessories for the set i.e. couch, large chair, bird cage etc. I ask my assistants to set up the four HMI 1.2 kilo cinema lights in their general position. I will make the micro changes I require for each shot with the model and the subsequent clothing changes. I now ask the assistant to set up the flash unit or units as well as their placement and the 1000 watt tungsten lamp I will also be using for this shoot. I go with one of the assistants and choose the background color I will employ, based on the color of the clothing I will use for that background.
The assistants set up the seamless backdrop and I unroll my package of gelatins that I will use on my shoot and decide on which colors I will use for the given backdrop. I ask the assistant to place the color I requested on to the HMI cinema lights as well as a full blue gelatin affixed to the tungsten lamp. I have also instructed the assistants to place two large transparent plexiglass panels on to the floor for this shoot. They will cover around 9 square meters. Once the lights have been set up, I place one of the assistants in the position where the model will be standing and start to meter the different light sources. Once satisfied I take several images and view them on the computer screen.
It is now probably around 11:00 AM and the assistant assigned to ordering lunch convenes with the team to determine what we all want. Once the bickering ends and a decision is made the order is placed.
I get called in to have a look at what has been done by the hair and make up artist and comments are made and some adjustments may occur at this time. Once all is well, the model gets prepared for her first image and the stylist assists the model in doing so.
The model steps in to the set and a marker is place where she will be standing, sitting or laying down. The hair stylist adjusts the hair for the initial position. The fashion stylist is called to adjust the clothing to suit the position that the model will take from the onset. Adjustments will be made as the model changes positions. The make up artist waits for the first test shot to see how the make-up looks under this particular type of lighting. Adjustments are made to the make up if it does not render well under the conditions. The look of the make up changes dramatically from the dressing room make up lights to the lighting on the set.
Once all of the necessary adjustments are made, everyone leaves the set except the model and I fire off another image. I look at it again and make any adjustment needed to get the effect I am looking for.
I now instruct the model to assume a role based on the storyboard of the theme of the shoot. I usually say, “… Do what you feel is appropriate and I will do my best to capture that moment…” Once I feel I have captured the image I usually say “Got it!” and the model leaves the set for her next change. We repeat the process and usually after a couple of shots, we break for lunch, which lasts no more than 45 minutes. I prefer not drinking any alcohol with my lunch, as it makes me want to break for a Nap.. LOL.
I will generally be able to do between 6 and 8 images in a day, if there are not a lot of extreme hair or make-up changes. If there are, I am lucky to get 4 off. Of these 6-8 images we can see around 8-12 pages, as some are double page spreads.
Throughout the day, I will ask the assistants to change the backdrop color as well as the corresponding gelatin colors for my image. By around 19:00 to 20:00 the shoot is wrapped. The stylist starts to pack the clothing, all of the accessories that were of value have already been picked up by the messenger services, the hair or wig is brought down and the make-up removed by the make-up artist. My camera gear and computer gets put away. Everyone says their good byes and ask to see the images once the post prod is completed. The editor has already given me the dead line for the post production, so we know what the turn around time is.
That is a short description of a day in the studio with a Fashion Photographer.
Hello all of you Pixel Peeping Maniacs…LOL!!! When I
posted my work flow, nothing is carved in stone. There will be
variations dependent on the contrast of the original photo as well
as the shadow definition. You may for example wish to stop at the
0.3 pixels from 200 to 330 percent and keep it as such. You may
wish to pop up the contrast by using the 40 to 60 pixels from 10 to
15 percent to give it more depth. You may decide not to add this
process knowing that you will add a duplicate layer in Soft light
which will enable you to go higher in the Fill and Opacity
coefficient. You mat not wish to sharpen at 0.3 percent at 300
pixels but just do the contrast pump formula of 40-60 pixels at
10-15 percent. You may wish to de-saturate your duplicate layer to
give great B&W dimension which subsequently reduces the saturation.
You will add saturation once flattening the layer…etc etc etc. I
use which ever process works best for me.
The work flow I employ that is intended for press or print. When shooting in RAW which is always the case, I open an image via Bridge in to PS3 which automatically opens in Adobe Camera Raw. As stated (Now this is an alternative method to the one given at “Pentax Life”) I will sharpen the image at 25 to 35 percent in ACR, Luminance Smoothing “0″ and Color Noise reduction at “50″. I generally click OK at this stage, (unless I am way off in my exposure, which if I am, I have to seriously re-consider my chosen profession)
When open in PS3 in 16 bits, I create a Duplicate Layer. Now here is where you can go both ways. (sounds a bit suspect) Depending on what I wish to accomplish in terms of saturation, I will either De-Saturate the image or leave it as a color image. The two are radically different in there outcome. Once I have created the Duplicate Layer, I will go in to the Layers Menu “TAB” and click on Normal which will open a large choice of different options. I will “Click” on “Soft Light”. When doing so and dependent on the contrast of the image, you will notice a radical increase in contrast and saturation if you left the original image in color. Generally with my stuff and I say generally as it totally depends on the lighting I have employed, I will set the “Opacity” and “Fill” sliders from 50 to 85 percent each. Once I am satisfied with the result, I will flatten the image, as it is not yet ready for re-touch, this is a pre-retouch manipulation that I do on every image in preparation for the Post Production retouch. Once in PS, I will in many cases use the Shadow Highlight tool at my Default setting being,
Shadows:
Amount 2%
Tonal Width 50%
Radius 30%
Highlights:
Amount 2%
Tonal Width 50%
Radius 30%
Color Correction +20 Mid-tone 0
It may change dependent on the conditions.
Now, if the “Duplicate Layer” I made used the “De-saturation” process, after I have flattened the layer, I might augment the overall Saturation by 10 to 20 %. If I wish to keep the image with “That” desaturated look I may do nothing. It depends on the effect I am looking for.
If I did not use the “De-saturation” process and left the “Layer” in color, I may “De-saturate’ the overall image by 10 to 20%.
If I do not sharpen in PS, I will do the following for a more “RADICAL” look. After I have imported in to PS from ACR, I will Unsharp Mask (Accentuate) from 120 to 330 percent at 0.3 pixels and I will Unsharp Mask again at 10 to 15% at 40 to 60 pixels to really “POP” the contrast. I will go to “Shadow Highlight” and do the required manipulations to compensate for a loss of shadow detail.
I am now ready for the “Retouch Artist”
When retouch is done and up-sized if necessary, I will sharpen again at 100 to 180 percent at 0.3 pixels.
That is my systematic “Workflow” method.
Here is an addendum to my workflow method followed by the original. Please note that this is NOT carved in stone and can be modified:
Another approach I use and am doing on the “Diva” story is this…
When the Raw image has been imported in to Camera Raw, I Sharpen at between 25-30 on the slider and 50 on Color Noise Reduction, Luminance Smoothing at Zero. Click OK.
When in Photoshop, go to Layers and make a Duplicate Layer. Now Desaturate the image. Go to the Layers Menu and click on Soft Light. Now, because you didn’t use the Contrast Unsharp move, i.e. 10-15 percent at 40-60 pixels you can push the Opacity and Fill sliders much harder. 60 to 90 percent. When back in PS you can now push up your overall Saturation if so desired by +5 to +10 to compensate in the loss of Saturation produced by adding the B&W layer. I don’t, I like that Desaturated look. It’s a matter of taste..
