craft and vision Archives - John Paul Caponigro

5 Ways To Use Abstraction

Creativity - Composition Comment

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1 – Simplify

2 – Clarify A Structure

3 – Show A Process

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4 – Visualize A Concept

5 – Create A Pattern

To one degree or another, every photograph is abstract. At a minimum, photographs are flat rather than three-dimensional. Some photographs are more graphic than others, and the origins of a few photographs are virtually unrecognizable. Determining to what degree a photograph is abstract, how it is abstract, and why it’s abstract will help you understand more about it and its creator’s intentions; this might be you.
Abstraction can serve many functions: it can direct, structure, inform, and express.
Whether you use it a little or a lot, abstraction is a vehicle that can help you strengthen your stories and clarify your point of view. As every image is abstract to one degree or another, ultimately, the question is not whether you will use abstraction but how you will use abstraction in your images. Exploring abstraction is time will spent.
Read the full article on Craft & Vision.
Learn more in my creativity and digital photography workshops.

David Du Chemin's – Making The Image

Books - eBooks, Discount Limited Time Comment

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“Have you ever wanted an experienced photographer to look over your shoulder once in a while and ask you why you’re doing this or that, and whether you’d considered trying something different? Have you ever wished you could peer over the shoulder of a photographer who makes work you respect, and see what decisions they’re making and why? Yes? You’re exactly the person I made this latest book for.
Making the image is a 160-page PDF eBook, and comes with a 45-minute companion video, and a handy Quick Reference PDF for your iPhone or Android. Get Making The Image this week, save 20% and get a chance to win one of 3 image / portfolio reviews with me.
Wanting to make this resource as accessible to as many people as possible we’ve priced it at $25, but if you pick it up before August 12 at 11:59 PM (PDT) it’s yours for $20. And there’s one more thing.
Everyone that picks up Making the Image before August 12 at 11:59 PM (PDT) also gets a chance to win one of three portfolio or image reviews with me. This gives me a chance to connect with a couple more of you, and gives three of you a chance to go a little deeper with your own images and process. No restrictions, no fine print. Everyone that gets Making the Image before August 12 at 11:59 PM (PDT) gets a great resource for 20% off what I hope is already a really great price, and a chance to win some time with me.”
– David duChemin
Get Making The Image here.
Plus check out PHOTOGRAPH magazine.

Check It Out – PHOTOGRAPH Issue 12

Books - eMagazines Comment

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Get 20% off PHOTOGRAPH 12 through Wednesday, April 21, 2015 here.
“Issue 12 of PHOTOGRAPH magazine celebrates diversity of expression, from imaginative portraiture, to the sensual canals of Venice, the solitude of dales in snow, and the joy of telling stories about oneself.

Portfolios and interviews include John Keatley (interviewed in Episode 5 of the C&V iTunes Podcast), who lets us in on the behind-the-scenes nerves and excitement of photographing celebrities, and what it takes to come up with ideas to keep portraits interesting and entertaining; David duChemin, who opens his heart—and his portfolio—about his ongoing photographic Venetian love affair; Doug Chinnery, who explains why sharpness is overrated and that there are no rules (or police) in photography; and the Instagram stylings of Pilar Franco Borrell, who—despite her claims of “being a bit of a mess”—creates light and fun photographic stories in which she is often the main character.

Regular contributors John Paul Caponigro, Michael Frye, Guy Tal, Chris Orwig, Martin Bailey, Piet Van den Eynde, Adam Blasberg and David duChemin express themselves with articles on discipline, position, knowing where to stand, letting go of perfectionism, choosing risk, metering modes, the evolution of a portrait, the power of persistence, and creating a presentation folio.”
In my column Creative Composition I discuss the importance of Position within the frame.
Find PHOTOGRAPH 12 here.

PHOTOGRAPH – The New eMagazine

Magazine, Magazine - PHOTOGRAPH Comment

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There’s a new electronic magazine in town – and I’m delighted to be a part of it.
The 132 pages in Issue One of PHOTOGRAPH, A Digitial Quarterly Magazine for Creative Photographers. features …
Columns include Martin Bailey’s The Art of the Print, John Paul Caponigro’s Creative Composition, Kevin Clark’s The Studio Sketchbook, David Duchemin’s Without The Camera, Chris Orwig’s Creativity, and Piet van Den Eynde’s Lightroom Before + After.
Portfolios by Art Wolfe, Nate Parker, and Bruce Percy are followed by short interviews.
Featured articles by Younes Bounhar, Andrew Gibson, Jay Goodrich, Al Smith, and Nicole Young.
PHOTOGRAPH is available now through Craft & Vision, as a PDF download, for USD$8. A 4-issue subscription for US$24 (or buy 3 issues and get one free). You can subscribe today, or, if you want to do so risk-free, we’ll send a short email to everyone that buys Issue One and give you the chance to top-up your subscription with the remaining 3 issues for US$16, as long as you do it before the end of November 2012.
Find out more and subscribe on David Duchemin’s blog.

Here’s an excerpt from the first article in my column Creative Composition.
Dynamics Not Rules
“When it comes to composition, there are no rules . . . except, perhaps, never say never and always avoid saying always. I recommend you don’t ask, “Should I . . .?”; rather, ask “What happens when I . . . ?”. But there are principles. Each element has a unique force and contributes to the whole. Each element influences the other, creating a cascading chain of action, reaction, and interaction. These forces are definable and consistent, so you can understand them and apply them repeatedly. An understanding of what these elements are will open up possibilities and create opportunities for you. An understanding of how each element works will help you apply it so that you can improvise given the unique characteristics of a specific situation and your own con- cerns. Versatility with many strategies enables you to be more successful in more varied situations and to make more varied statements. Understanding the principles of visual dynamics will help make your decision making pro- cess more informed, but it won’t make choices for you. Awareness is the key. Better awareness brings better choices. Better choices bring better results …”