Blog Has Moved

“101 Quick and Easy Secrets” is now “Text and Image Photography”

The 101 Quick and Easy Secrets blog has moved and has a new name.

Check out Text and Image Photography.

Welcome

This is my first post for the blog for the new Quick and Easy Secrets book series.

I present you with my first picture, a picture that will appear in the first book of my book series, 101 Quick and Easy Secrets to Create Winning Photographs.

Just in case if you wanted to know that’s rat-pack member Peter Lawford drinking out of the hose. I photoshopped him into the TV.

Okay, so I’m not a purist. Anyone who manipulates in Photoshop might be considered by traditional photographers as “unpure.”

Hey, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go both ways–taking some photos on film (or on a sensor) and not manipulating them a bit. I do do this sometimes, actually about half the time. Sometimes I’ll hit a perfect 10 with a photograph, getting the right amount of light, framing to my (and others) likings and capturing what the editor of Popular Photography magazine might look for–a photo that makes you say, “wow!”

TIP: Remember that the “Wow!” is a matter of taste.

What one person thinks is a spectacular photo might just look derivative to another. For example, you may have taken the brightest, clearest and most colorful picture of a flower and the editor of many photography magazines may like it and publish it.

But that same picture may not appeal to someone who’s looking for an offbeat image or an image that no longer can be obtained. This second scenario would more likely be an image that might be accepted by a avant garde gallery or museum.

Take for example the image posted at the bottom of this entry. I submitted it to Popular Photography magazine. No dice here. But that doesn’t mean I tossed it to my computers trash can or recycle bin. I print it out and sell it regularly. The hip modern people love it.

Oh by the way, I transformed (select the part of the image you want with one of Photoshop’s selection tools, then click on Edit>Transform, then pick one of the transform tools) the image and put it inside the old television set I had shot when I saw it in a museum in Paris.