brusby
Well-known
A brighter/better version of this shot, but I'm sure I'll be doubting myself about it at some point.
Jim and Jose Checking for Bugs by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Very nice print.
When I was first learning to print professionally at a local architectural photography firm, I had come from a background of being entirely self taught and I tended to print some subjects a bit dark as so many in the art field do and as so many of the art prints I'd learned from appeared.
On the first day at the new studio the owner and head photographer asked me to print a photo of a white house with an open garage door bathed in full summer sunlight. I happily did and I made sure to have plenty of detail in the white wooden boards on the surface of the building.
He looked briefly at my print and asked if the feeling I got from looking at my image was the same feeling I would have had standing in front of the building viewing it in full sun. He followed up by asking if I've ever stood in a similarly lit place and whether I could recall having an urge to squint from the brightness reflected from such a large, white structure. I immediately recalled that feeling when not wearing sunglasses on bright summer days.
Also, by printing it down in tone I had lost detail in the open garage which was in full shade. He asked about that too, and whether in real life would't I always see detail in those spaces. Yes, of course, he was absolutely right. We almost always see detail in the shadows.
But his main point was that good prints -- at least good commercial, architectural ones -- should replicate the feel of the scene. Sure it's critically important to retain both highlight detail and shadow detail, but equally important was to pay attention to the overall emotional feel of the print and to try to have it convey the feel of the actual scene being photographed.
You did a very nice job of capturing that bright, airy, sunlit feel of this scene without losing important details. Kudos!
