Project Planning

[daveleo]

I am contemplating a project, based around the city of Boston and including people (!) in my photos. (That sounds weird, but I very rarely allow people in my "serious" pictures, but life changes, you know.)

I do not shoot RAW files, I use ooc jpegs, and please no criticisms on that topic - I am very well aware of the +'s and -'s.

Never having planned a project, I have some thoughts about how to do this, so that the images have the visual coherence of a series.

The final product will be a printed book ( I have no idea what I will do with it when it's printed ).

1. Use the same camera - Fuji X100 in this case.

2. Use the same camera settings and keep a note card in my bag to
check before shooting ( setting "film" type, contrast, saturation, NR etc)

3. Manual white balance always.


Then . . . I run out of planned steps.

So, my question is, if you plan (multi-image) projects in advance, what thinking do you include in your planning?

NOTE: If this has been covered in another thread, I'd appreciate that link, as I did not see it.

 

[robert blu]

i would start to write down a list of the possible subjects, to include and to look for. You can see down here a photo of the list Alec Soth taped on the steering wheel of his car when he was shooting "Niagara". I find that writing a list of subjects helps you to in seeing and "recognizing" them when out on the street, just my idea.

robert

 

[willie_901]

Hi Dave,

You don't need to worry too much about the in-camera JPEG rendering parameters before you shoot. The Fujis let you export in-camera jpegs with different parameters from the same images. Fuji calls this RAW Conversion and everything is done in-camera. You do have to use JPEG + RAW mode. In this mode you can also apply Film Simulation modes. The SDHC card then is a virtual sleeve of negatives. Of course you can just export the JPEGS as if you did not have RAW images. Please don't confuse this advice with advice to convince you to switch to a RAW-only work flow. The end result would always be in-camera JPEGS. Instead RAW Conversion eliminates the worry that a mis-set RAW rendering parameter in JPEG-only mode will produce images inconsistent with the project photographs.

A completely different step to plan for is editing. I like to use prints when I edit. I buy thin foam-core boards and hang them on walls. I order 6X9 prints from a commercial lab. I use two foam-core boards. On the first board I use push-pins to show the prints in the order they were taken. I move keepers to the second board. When the keeper board fills up, I take the prints and store them. This process repeats until the project is over. When I have 16 to 24 photos I use the same boards to sequence the photos. Of course this could be done just using a computer. But having the prints on the wall for days or even weeks at a time means you can evaluate them at any time.

 

[Particular]

A completely different step to plan for is editing. I like to use prints when I edit. I buy thin foam-core boards and hang them on walls. I order 6X9 prints from a commercial lab. I use two foam-core boards. On the first board I use push-pins to show the prints in the order they were taken. I move keepers to the second board. When the keeper board fills up, I take the prints and store them. This process repeats until the project is over. When I have 16 to 24 photos I use the same boards to sequence the photos. Of course this could be done just using a computer. But having the prints on the wall for days or even weeks at a time means you can evaluate them at any time.

This is a great technique. I edit in lightroom, but it is really hard to evaluate images side by side on a small screen. Also it is valuable to have images 'out in the open' for a period of time.

My advice would be to not get discouraged by early results. I have found that when I am trying to follow all the 'project rules' I set myself, it becomes stifling, and it takes a certain amount of mediocre work to get comfortable enough to produce the good work. I also find myself making the most baffling technical errors, until I have figured it all out.

 

[Sustich]

Hey Dave, Rich Sustich here. The Nikon and lenses I bought from you are working perfectly! Unfortunately my older son "stole" them from me, but at least he left my RD-1 and my film cameras.

Your timing on this topic couldn't be more timely for me.

I'm planning a 2-week trip to Nova Scotia in late September / early October to explore fall colors and lighthouses, and to partake of the NS Wine Festival. When I thought about "planning" this project, I wanted to strike a balance between total chaos and OCD. At a minimum, I want to have some consistency in my photographs as I travel around the Province so that later I can organize my work in perspectives such as geography, subject, and history. I will look to capture 3 main themes in no particular priority: the natural environment, the built environment, and people and culture (including of course, the wine festival).

In practice then, I'll use this "mental matrix" and work to fill the cells in the matrix.

 

[daveleo]

I appreciate and am absorbing these comments, but let me just say that
willie_901 has opened a gateway to a larger world (for me).

Hi Dave,

You don't need to worry too much about the in-camera JPEG rendering parameters before you shoot. The Fujis let you export in-camera jpegs with different parameters from the same images. Fuji calls this RAW Conversion and everything is done in-camera. You do have to use JPEG + RAW mode. In this mode you can also apply Film Simulation modes. The SDHC card then is a virtual sleeve of negatives. Of course you can just export the JPEGS as if you did not have RAW images. Please don't confuse this advice with advice to convince you to switch to a RAW-only work flow. The end result would always be in-camera JPEGS. Instead RAW Conversion eliminates the worry that a mis-set RAW rendering parameter in JPEG-only mode will produce images inconsistent with the project photographs. . . . . . .

I never really paid attention to this Fuji feature, and just read up on manual page 67 and I am changing my religion. This is really an eye-opener for me, and "from where the sun now stands in the sky" my Fuji will be set on RAW+JPG and I will learn how to do this!

 

[daveleo]

Hey Dave, Rich Sustich here. The Nikon and lenses I bought from you are working perfectly! Unfortunately my older son "stole" them from me, but at least he left my RD-1 and my film cameras.

. . .

Rich I was planning at that time to sell off all my Nikon stuff, but instead have been buying more Nikon stuff (it's a sickness, I know!)