Mastery is a Worthy Pursuit...If You’re Chasing the Right Goal

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Inigo Montoya—The Princess Bride

I’m going to give you a simple tip today that will change the way you shoot, but first, I want to dive into the big picture. Indulge me, won’t you?

You’d love to master digital photography and processing, right? 

Cool. But what is mastery, exactly? 

How will you know when you’ve achieved it?  

For many industry professionals—and folks who’d love to join their ranks—mastery means knowing EVERYTHING. They have the latest and greatest equipment and every top-of-the line accessory. They’ve memorized every secret shortcut, and can navigate the most arcane nested menus in Lightroom in the blink of an eye.

Mastery, right? 

I say no way. 

How about we think about mastery more like taming. For me, mastering my craft means having confidence in my ability to use tools like Lightroom to bring the stories and images in my mind to life. Knowing how to get the look I want from the tools at hand.

Memorizing every possibility shouldn’t be the Holy Grail. Knowing how to bend the tool to your will? Now, THAT’S power.

That’s mastery.

Trust me. After nearly 28 years in this gig, I discover new things about apps and equipment daily.  A new way to colorize an entire piece,  or a one button illustration solve. 

And I do this every day.

I’m not interested in memorizing stuff. I’ve got the internet for that. What I rely on as a professional is my ability to get to my destination quickly. I know the look I’m trying to achieve, and I know how to use my tools to get it.

Mastery.

Keeping up with technology is critical, sure, but it isn’t enough.  It isn’t mastery. 

Relax. Have faith that if you keep doing the work, keep creating, keep experimenting, you’ll arrive.  

The seductive thing about knowing every in and out of of a freaking complicated app like Lightroom  is that it FEELS like mastery. Progress toward that goal is measurable. 

Mastering art... not so much. It’s elusive, for sure. Unmeasurable. There aren’t any merit badges to collect along the way. Where’s the freaking finish line, anyway??

How do you even begin?

That one, I can answer. 

Practice.

Do the work.

Create.

Ask better questions.

As an instructor, my main goal is to get you comfortable with the technology—-so you can grow your vision.

Let’s take basic shooting, especially MOBILE shooting.  I promised you some actionable information today. Here it comes...

Most folks just take out their phone and click. Maybe they click on a point to focus on. 

But how many folks are exposing for PROCESSING?

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Its time to take the camera off it’s version of automatic.

Expose for shadows, then do another shot exposing for highlights. This is a great way to give you more range in processing. 

Cover your bases in order to get the best file for your style of processing.

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Shooting in HDR on Lightroom camera will generally give you the most range.

This way you can edit freely and be sure you have the information you need. And for god sake stop shooting so many shots that you get overwhelmed. No “photoria”. Just take enough to get a range.

Then have fun with your processing.

Come join me on CREATIVELIVE for Mobile Photography BOOTCAMP.

Get your learn on , and make some magic.

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To Plug in or not to Plug in….

Heres the thing. I KNOW you understand TIME is money. Both budgets and timelines are at straining points. And yet in my industry, I feel like there’s this disdain for software short cuts... if you didn’t illustrate it or photo composite it yourself, it’s somehow not valid. Kind of an “it’s cheating” quality to using plug ins. 

Here’s my take on that. My job is to do the best quality work, as quickly as possible. An unwritten rule in retouching is to know when to use plug ins. Underneath that is knowing WHERE to get your plug ins. There are a variety of places you can get good or “useful” plug ins, actions, presets.

While these aren’t always as advertised, for a fairly small investment you can often get pretty good results.

(caveat here - you need to KNOW that these results are PRINT ready OR that you would know how to fix/re do if file gets signed off on)

 Alien Skin       Creative Marketplace       Flaming Pear

 EnvatoMarket       GraphicRiver

 The above apps offer some great “CHEATS.” 

Take this nifty solve below.

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This image needed to be extended—no biggie—but then the client wanted different variations of water tension. The image on the left is the original image extended. On the right is my first pass with the FLOOD2 plug in.

 

 Check out FLAMING PEAR - Flood 2 plug in.

For a whopping $33 I was able to give them LOTS of different options in less than 10 min. AND, the images are not stock. No rights managed or usage fees to be concerned about. TOTALLY worth the $33. Oh and see below... it also does fantastic reflections.

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Interested in learning more? Check out our CREATIVELIVE classes. The Filters (plug-ins) class

Dive deep into plug ins, then get the real scoop on making your business thrive.

Grief

I have been a bit quiet of late. Life has been giving me a bit-o-time on the ropes. Loss and injury have been constant companions for last few months. However, an amazing thing has been happening. I have been returning to art.

Art for healing and expression.

I am remembering that expression is not reserved for the good times. That I don’t need to only make “pretty” pictures.

I’d like to share a few images with you. Perhaps someone else will see themselves in this process and know that they are not alone in their pain.

I am hopefully that beauty and love will return in 2019, in the meantime I shall continue to create.

HERES TO LOTS OF ART FOR ALL this coming year.

Drowning in Grief

Drowning in Grief

Sitting in it.

Sitting in it.

Paper Maché Man

Paper Maché Man

Out of water

Out of water

Those left behind

Those left behind

Surrender

Surrender

The Calvary

The Calvary

King of the Road

King of the Road

D’ Nile

D’ Nile

Camping Out

Camping Out

Cycle of Love

Cycle of Love

Photoshop. It’s inspiring. It’s intimidating.

And there’s buried treasure hidden inside. It’s my mission to help you find it.

I’m not talking about mastering every tiny, excruciating detail of PS. I’m talking about skipping right to the hidden gold. Hidden gold I’ve discovered through 25 years of relying on PS as an industry professional.

The key to unlocking the mysteries of PS is learning HOW to work in it, rather than memorizing every bell and whistle. And whoa, there are a LOT of them.

Buying PRESETS is a popular short cut, which is cool. They certainly get the job done… until they don’t. Ever had a preset stop working after a PS update?  Yeah, me too. Hope you weren’t on a hard deadline, ‘cause wow, now you’re hosed.  Once you learn the HOW of PS, you can create your own effects. Drive your own creativity. 

Photoshop and I are going through a new renaissance of discovery. I’m finding new functions and techniques and using them in new ways to create my visions faster and easier… and under MY control, in a way I can change or replicate any time, no matter what changes are made to the program.

I’d love to take you along on this new journey. You’ll finish Filters and Smart Objects (https://www.creativelive.com/class/filters-and-smart-objects-lisa-carney?via=upcoming-classes_7) along with the Photoshop Brushes (https://www.creativelive.com/class/working-with-brushes-in-photoshop-cc-lisa-carney?via=catalog-class_2) class with the skills to:

•Use older models (filter/brushes) in a whole new way as well as discover some fantastic new ones.

•Use Flame render to make hair - look beyond what the filter or brush was intended for.

•Make beautiful water scenes with nothing but plugs ins, a lasso tool, and one stock shot

I’ve been stretching the bounds of render and filter functions with amazing results. My latest project shows what you can create when you work with minimal images and focus more on the fantastic abilities inherent in the render and filter functions. Take a look at how quickly and easily you can create your OWN image. 

The new brushes, what can I say? Just wow. The crazy thing is, these functions have been in the brushes for EONS… but now Adobe has pre-set the variances so you don’t have to be a genius to unleash the power.

If I sound excited… I AM. Photoshop should be fun. Creating your own images—your way—should incite joy, not chair-tossing frustration.

Come learn how to find your own buried treasure.

Check out my two new courses starting Dec 11-12 on CREATIVELIVE.com