I love your page man fr, ur one of the few real TH-cam photographers that shares the true essence of the art of photography, instead of promoting gears and brands.
I feel like palette is the last stop in a photographer's training. First you tackle composition and then you grapple with light. Just showing intent with those two may take a lifetime. If you've made it out of the early stages and you can show intent with those two concepts with your camera you arrive at palette. I mean intent is what is going to define you as a photographer. The unspoken "artistic triangle" like the metaphor of the exposure triangle is - composition, light, and palette ;) Somewhere in those three is the next great photographer.
Yeah I always felt BnW made things easier. On the other hand, I’ve seen great coloring where composition was so basic but the coloring made the photo so attractive. Actually I think it might be an interesting exercise to see your photos in BnW then slowly add colors back in to see what works... hmmm im going to try this
I feel I have composition down, but work on considering the backgrounds. I am better than I was. But that is the step I feel like I am on right now. I see a good subject, and then struggle to get a good background, and the moment is gone. I come home with way less shots because of this. But the shots I get are way more intentional. Color is not even in my mind.
As an amateur your teachings are essential to my growth as a photographer, I get learn more than the software with you and I enjoy it immensely!!! Thank you and can't wait for the next one!!!
Informative video Ted. I appreciate the Art education you share in your videos. You expose us to more than photography, you expose us to the art world as well.
So on point Ted! Really enjoyed this video and looking forward to the next ones. As for my photography, I like to reduce the colours. Bring the tones of various colours closer together and reduce the palette to 2-3 primary colours. It can really clean up the composition and make the photograph 'easier to consume'.
Ted, I commend you for consistently sharing commonly overlooked knowledge in your own unique way. I am finding my way in photography and find you're opinions to be very refreshing! Compared to all the other channels its either yin or yang, very slow monotone boring lecture type dialogue or you get a young feisty creator who is all over the place. I find comfort in your grounded delivery of knowledge and overall aura of explanation. I truly appreciate you're thoughts and perceptions into photography, I am discovering many other facets to the complexity of photography as a whole. Please keep up the GREAT work it is immensely appreciated!! I am finishing up a new shirt release with my art along with prints, I will be sure to send you some!! Simply for the appreciation of art, you my friend deserve much more! Much love from Los Angeles!
Just awesome. You always talk more about the importance of using your head instead of the gear and retouching, that is what makes your channel one of the best.
I seriously wish that I could obtain a degree in art by watching your videos. They are that informative. I love the passion you relay through a simple video. I've been able to look back on my images prior to stumbling upon your channel and those after and can CLEARLY see a difference for the better. Thank you for all you've done for me as it relates to photography and all you will continue to do.
The negative (taking the image) is the musicians score, the print is the performance....paraphrasing Ansel Adams. Great video Ted...the kind of content that is hard to find on TH-cam
Love this. Your videos have taught me a ton about photography. You have a special spark. It makes your videos interesting to watch. I love the interaction you have with your audience as well, from the photo challenges last year to the mail videos you do. Very inspiring.
But what is interesting is that, on the cover shot of the NatGeo issue, the wall is a bluish cyan color, not the green as seen in the original. Great video as always
YES! Thank you. One of the best vids on photography and the core of the art. BTW, there was an interview with Steve McCurry online where he talked about the Afghan girl and the shot. From what I remember he was in a rush and only had his light camera with him and picked her out to shoot her in the hallway.
You are right Ted, INTENT first begins behind the camera. You’ve got to have something to work with, a good starting point, before any “editing” is applied. I always love Steve McCurry’s Afghan Girl for many reasons. Not only does he use a restraint color palette, but reds and green are opposite colors - they catch the viewer’s attention. These colors also reminds us of Christmas and if you look closely the rich deep tones unveils just that. Going a bit further, the girl wears torn clothing unveiling the poor nature of her condition. We usually associate Christmas with gift but here we are presented an awkward one - one that makes us think - on that incites the viewer to look right in those bright girl’s eyes to find out more. We want to look at her soul for us to reach into ours. We want to know, to feel… Another element adds mystique, the girl’s beauty. Within all that context, her beauty is unchallenged. And to me it’s the element that ties everything so beautifully. Steve McCurry’s has managed a great feat with this image, it seeks to mirrors our souls. Great podcast Ted - Keep going on those INTENTIONS, they are the nectar and ambrosia every photographer should feed on.
Just have to say that I really value your videos and the valuable insights into the creation of the photograph in all it's aspects, illustrated by your in-depth knowledge of the art and the artists involved. I learn more, and am inspired more, by these videos than by any other input. Thank you.
Well, Steve's photos do have special color appearance, especially, his photos render skin tones very uniquely. He likes to have contrast tweaked to be as high as in Kodachrome images. I like his images in general, not just Afgan girl.
Love your comment about hot the physical colour palette of New York has changed over the years and how that effects recreation of an image. Photography is very much about capturing now, be it because of the equipment, the situation, the understanding etc. Brilliant overview. Thank you.
I have only just started watching your videos. I really enjoy what you have to say about photography. It makes me stop and think and admire the art of photography even more. Makes me want to see what is in front of the lens first so I can become a better photographer. I am looking forward to your future videos. Thank you.
There was a message I sent you a while back... Maybe it didn't come off right or maybe you didn't see it but I'm stoked on these vids you're putting out! Thanks again!
Palette is often the last thing we think about as photographers if we’re honest, we tend to focus on just capturing an image and hope the thousands of presets we have will polish the image afterwards. This series has already started to challenge my thinking on how I approach my work initially and with this episode it’s now focused my thoughts on post production. Moving forward I now have to match this new knowledge with my eye for capturing street scenes in such a away as to not miss the spontaneity of the moment but to improve on it technically. Food for thought for sure. Awesome video, thanks for sharing.
I really enjoyed this Ted, and it's made me think about the relationship between colour and composition. Leiter's work is as wonderful as it is, in my view because of the way he seems to understand shape, spacial relationships and colour, and see them all at the same time. It's extremely difficult, for me at least, to get all these working together, but you've given me some things to think about here. Thanks again.
I’m late to this video, but am really appreciating how your videos and channel looks at art of photography in an artistic way and in less of a technical way 🙏
Great video. As your comments generated questions in my head, the next thing I new you were answering them. I shoot alot of found subjects so I have limited control over the color palatte. However, by working the composition, making it simpler, and perhaps adding some fill light with colored gels you can make it happen.
Your thoughts on all this are so right on.... just using the same gear, or a filter to make "the look" is to underestimate and misunderstand what "That Look" is... like Ansel Adams filters and so on. There's a lot more to it than just having the right stuff... being in the right place may not even be enough. Being the right photographer *may* be enough. (I say this as a photog that has been "the wrong photog in the right place at the right time" many times!). Now you mentioned "I've never met Steve McCurry"... and my first thought is "Perfect! Artist Series!"
Thanks for doing this Ted,I feel like this is the wall that has been preventing me from achieving growth as a photographer..I have been obsessing about color lately and hopefully this can help me get past the barriers that might be holding me back.
Excellent analysis, and as "light drawers" we can all stand to learn from painters, and particularly the concept of color palette, to help mitigate our continued obsession with gear, gear, and more gear....
Just found this. Interesting that you use painters as examples. I’ve recently been looking at Edward Hopper to see what I can learn and it’s challenging me to look harder and edit differently
Great Ted, again. But I think we over analyze way too much. That is good as a teaching tool, but in the field, you have to synthesize all the things we talk about and just use them as you find them. My mother was an artist, and as a child she taught me, not by rules, but by discussing things we saw. What worked, what didn't, and why. Now, I see, but don't rationalize. What I see is either good, bad, or Ok which could be made better with some work on my part. One of the things I love about photography is that I can work in many different styles (and yes, I have a style which is "me") because I can "see" in many different styles, rather than previsualize only in the way that I'm comfortable and try to force a situation into what I expect to produce. I do love that you are often bringing in past masters in all mediums, because they inform us what we could be seeing. And if we can see, we can shoot and utilize those tools.
Dear Ted, among all the different kinds of videos that you produce, this one where you present the work of great photographers is the best. Even better if you build up from that, like in this specific video, on the importance of a limited color palette. In my experience, these topics are hard to find on other TH-cam channels. Differently, reviewing gear, software or attending events is commonplace. Sharing your knowledge on history and the art of photography is your distinctive feature, that I appreciate much.
Great talk on colour in photography! Thanks for your articulate analysis. I think one's photographic colour palette should be intentionally restrained (and without being too saturated or altered in post); what's in front of the lens should reflect one's intention on colour. I love the examples here.
Ted, I just noticed that your eyes match the colour of the wall in your studio there! Thanks for this, I'm looking forward to you expanding on this theme!
This was an an amazing video. I loved how you used art to illustrate the point, then moved it to photos. Looking forward to more in the series. Im just getting back into photography, my first camera was a petri penta 5. Thanks, Sandy
Was able to get into National Geographic’s headquarters for a tour through a friend and saw the layout of the Afghan Girl image before it went to cover. It was amazing then and is still amazing now. Thanks for sharing Ted great insight.....
It's a vast, super vast I must say, kind of fathomless discussion about photography to reach a conclusion about how you as a beholder make it depict your observations to life with the available tool that you have in an era that you are physically exist and few of us are born to achieve things that are timeless for its values and keep you imagination bewildered as a spectator. It's never never and never will be easy to achieve something timeless however refinements you may have in the accessories to get one of a kind of a masterpiece. A special gene one must have in born to become one master of artists. Photography I believe is the most difficult medium to speak through your work because you are so poorly limited, even if we are technically superior to bygone eras of photography. You cannot change the primary colours of light and obviously secondary ones and so does others, you see you are not out of the chains and you are always inside this limiting factors and then comes your ways to technical expertise and vision how you will depict a certain message in medium of infinite possibilities. Now we definitely understand how difficult for a photographer to capture a moment petrified to say a thousand words and a thousand more. Photography in color will always remain as difficult as it has been till this day. Having said that though photographs in shades of grey is easy to achieve but a lot more easier depicting a certain mood in grey than color. The bottom-line is one can achieve something to earn a living but few will create something called masterpieces which are far more difficult to achieve through color photography and that in turn I reckon much more difficult than painting on canvas with pigmentation of colour.
I saw a short doc "The Last Roll of Kodachrome" it was Steve McCurry who was chosen to shoot that last roll that came out of the factory. The documentary is here on you tube. It was interesting how he made a decision of what he was going to shoot with that last roll of film.....what was his intention. With film you don't want to waste a shot, with digital it just doesn't matter, nothing is wasted just do it again and again and again....then if it's still not right there is a filter to fix it. However, your intention is what makes the difference. Thanks, for the good morning creative conversation.
Yes, 'spray and pray' seems the typical approach with digital. I have nothing against digital in principle, but my preferred medium is, and always has been, 35mm film. There's something intangibly organic about the 'feel' of a great print from 35mm stock, and that 'something' is missing from a picture made up of numbers.
I think what we need is a problem, film gives you problems, lighting, color, speed, focus, etc, your creative brain gets to exercise what do I do with this. Digital fixes those things (that's good too) and you focus on the composition. Technology in photography is good, but I hope we don't loose the ability to do it the old fashion way.
Shooting film for 20 years the habit has not left me to be carful what I shoot digitally I still try and make every shot count, when I shot weddings in the 1990's I'd buy a 5 pack of Fuji Professional film that's a 180 photos, you made every photo count.
Good timing for this, thanks. Limited palette, warm tones - we print so rarely these days but an image in ink enriches even digital photography (on the right printer ;). So many landscape images are now composites with significant alterations that rarely are you viewing a reality - but... Robert Capa's award winning iconic photo of the falling soldier is now said to be staged, Brian Brake's Monsoon Girl was shot with a water can not a monsoon... does it really matter - as you say, it is the intent. Images have a moment to make an impact. Salvador Dali's composite photography still looks great against modern computer PP because it "looks" real, using the ultimate limited palette of black and white - imhumbleo :)
Great video; it's food for thought. To be honest, I don't like color photography very much. It often seems to add unwanted elements and weight to the image. Now, I do love shooting in color because all of that extra information allows me to create a better B&W image. But, I will try limiting the palette. Oh, I also noticed that the color of the greens and her skin tone are reflected in her eyes.
Wonderful take on limited color palette. Too many photographers today go the total opposite direction and just blast the soul out of whatever they shoot. I was trained as a painter and Rembrandt is one of my faves for his mastery of chiaroscuro (light and shadow). As for Afghan Girl, her unusual (for that region) eye color matched the green on the wall and her undergarment. I don't know how much the shot was staged; I suspect it wasn't much. If the girl's eyes were a more typical dark brown, it's still a great image but not a haunting one.
Glad to see other things than gear videos again! :) One nitpick though, mainly because it kinda blew my mind when I first read it, and now have to point it out whenever I see it reiterated. ;) I don't think Afghan Girl uses complimentary colours, unless you like rounding colours up. The green in the background has a blue tint, the red is tinted slightly violet. Together with the skin tones (orange), this actually makes it a pretty good example of split complementary. Now, I don't have an art background, but from what I read, this is actually what painters are tought as the first colour scheme since it's really hard to screw up. Unlike actual complementary colours, which can quickly become overwhelming.
I definitely like this content. I have progressed well with the mechanics of photography and am focusing my learning on composition and seeing the image. Thank you for adding a new dimension to my learning. Leslie
It was not *"the Soviet occupation"* . It was simply a regular geopolitical strike between the USA and USSR. Afghanistan people were just expendable assets for both sides. Just like in Siria today.
I have a degree in linguistics and also Google Chrome autocorrection did not correct me, so please, kindly point out what's exactly wrong with my spelling =) Considering history... it's so obvious, that it's ridiculous to even discuss.
Paul Kretz Well, first of all its Afghani people not Afghanistan people and Syria not Siria. Second, USSR *did* invade Afghanistan. You can read about the Soviet-Afghan war that was extended throughout the 80s for almost a decade. And Afghanistan at that time was called the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan which was ruled by the socialist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan which was a Marxist-Leninist party under huge control and influence of USSR!
@@abraxamovic Obviously, you never read my previous comment, did you? Although, I might make an accidental mistake like any other guy, as a professional linguist I must say that English is not the native language in the territories that you mention, so the country name spelling is only correct in local tongues and should make no difference in foreign ones even if internationally claimed. If you did not know, the word "Russia" also has nothing to do with the country's native sounding in Slavic tongues which is more like "Rossiya or "Rossija". But Russians don't blame anyone for the wrong title, so you should not too. Next, I believe not all the people in Afghanistan are Afghani, but all the people in Afghanistan are Afghanistan people. And finally, I've studied too many wars to be so short-minded to think there's only one guilty party. In this particular conflict it was more of US-USSR rattle and Afghanistan was only a change coin in this bargain. And so is Syria today. Unfortunately. Big players make use of small problematic countries to their advantage all the time. Such is life.
Absolutely love this video stepping away from the technical and looking in to what it is that takes a photographer from good to great thank you so very much for sharing and for all the work that you do
When I go out with my camera, I don’t normally go out with an intent to focus on a limited color palette, a type of light or any other of the myriad components that make up an image. I either start with a specific subject or location in mind and then see what light/color are available and use those to the best of my ability to create an appealing image. I suspect it’s a very different story for those that work primarily in a studio. Philip Greenspun of the old photo.net once made a comment about studio lighting: “Studio photography is easy because you can get exactly what you want. Studio photography is hard because you can get exactly what you want.” While I don’t do much studio work, I feel like I do the best when I go in with a very specific plan about what I want to do. Shooting with a limited palette would certainly be one tool for such planning. I think the biggest takeaway, though, is what you mentioned about Steve McCurry’s experience. The biggest factors for using very refined tools like limited color palettes are the knowledge of what they are and the experience to recognize them while shooting/planning a shoot. As always, this channel is an excellent resource for those looking to learn. I think you do more to open then eyes of photographers to the subtleties of composition than any other TH-cam channel. Bravo for that!
Steve picked just the right film for that photo, Kodachrome was not as saturated as other slide films from the era as some of the early Fujichromes, if you have ever seen Kodachrome slides you will notice the colours are vibrant but they are extremely realistic, that is why National Geographic and other magazines always preferred Kodachrome for publishing full colour images in magazines, they wanted an image as close as possible to reality. I have thousands of Kodachrome 25 and 64 slides taken by my father from about 1980-1990, they have a unique subtle colour that i have not seen in any other film yet and excellent tonal gradation that captures subtle hues. That being said i adore Fujichrome Velvia, Velvia slides on alight table jump out at you with zero editing to them, however i shoot Provia more often when i want more realistic colours, i find it somewhat similar to Kodachrome, although Kodachrome had decidedly warmer tones :)
One thing that I keep learning over and over again, and something I re-learned yet again when I started painting, is don't copy anyone. Find your own style, your own medium. Find what represents YOU. Don't go out to Yellowstone with the intent to be the next Ansel Adams. There will never be a "next" Ansel Adams because they'll never be another. No-one can ever do what he did again. You can imitate someone's style to learn techniques or discover a new technique that works for you, but ultimately you can be nothing but you. Do not get frustrated while trying to find yourself. Every "failure" is a learning experience. You WILL take something good away from everything you attempt whether you meet the goal or not, and in painting, your painting will NEVER look like what you intend when you start. In painting, the painting takes on it's own life as you work with it, and will sometimes look completely different at the end, than what you intended in the beginning. Just because what you end up with isn't what you envisioned does not make it a failure. In many cases, it can be an unintended masterpiece. Just remember, even those with natural talent still need to develop their skills, and skill comes only with experience. Never stop burning film :D
Excellent, very informative video. I have already learned a lot from you, Ted, but this video is a gem. Thank you, i am looking forward to this series.
This series is going to be great! Very interesting topics, looking forward to the next one! 👌 Inspires me to use more intent when shooting and not just fire away 😊
I like putting on the 300mm lens (450mm effective) and looking at the surrounding through it. It lets you find little islands of calm in a riot of colours.
Colour is just another element of composition when all is said and done. Shooting b&W gives a focus on form sand structure. Colour brings in another degree of difficulty. Something else to consider as you examine the display in your viewfinder before pressing the shutter button.
Do you think that training yourself to check the RGB histogram in camera while composing the image would help? I think I'll give it a shot (no pun intended) and just try to remind myself to check the colors until I've done it enough times to be aware of them without checking.
Awesome, informative video! Really has me wanting to dig more into minimal color palettes in photography and even videography. And shoutout from just a few miles over here in Arlington lol
Interesting Video! Though it would have been better to understand WHY red blue and yellow go so well together or why red and green? (Even tho it's more of a teal green and orange red) Explaining how to construct a color scheme by looking at the color wheel is the best way. Red blue red is for example a triadic color scheme. Red green is a complementary. There are so many others as well!
It will be more interesting if you make another video and use original photo and compared it with another shot of same girl , which he took after so many years . i saw an article about he found this Afghani girl and took her photograph . I am sure new photograph is not clicked on film so it will be interesting to analysis of both shots film and digital . and its good to see how you shown some example of paintings .
I doubt there was much retouching done to this image. In the 1980s, there was a choice between dye transfer prints and retouching right on the chrome, usually 8x10. I assume he went with dye transfer prints since 35 mm was too small to work with. Dye transfer allowed some color shifting, taking out small distractions, whitening eyes and teeth, smoothing skin and a more natural retouching look but it was nowhere near to what is currently possible in Photoshop and Lightroom. A great picture done by a great photographer probably with bearded guys with guns all around him, especially since he was a man photographing a young woman in Pakistan.
A joke about a lost tourist in NY has him asking a man carrying a violin case, "Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall"? The man replies, "Ya, I tell you: practice, practice, practice", and he strides off down the sidewalk. Fancy cameras & editing presets, etc., can help the impact of a photo, but only if the content is there in the beginning. And for the most part that requires experience. S good job on the video.
Great video. I know I was quite young when I first saw this image, but it instantly grabs you, and I think my first interest in photography was born with this image. Years and years later, I found a documentary (probably NG) where they try to track down this girl/woman, and interview her about this photo. She had no idea that her portrait had become so iconic to the world, and told a more “grim” backside story of how this shot was made... She obviously was very young at the time, and also very shy. Due to culture, she didn’t want to show her face, and in the end, it was her teacher that convinced her to remove her scarf. I obviously wasn’t there, but Steve was kinda portraited as “a dick” in that docu... Forcing a young girl to remove that piece of cloth. I could be wrong, my memory could be off, but I’m sure anyone interested could google search “the truth” behind this image. Anyways, thank you for the great content, peace!
Hey Ted! Question, how have you gone around copyright with using these famous photos in your video? Really curious for future videos on my channel. Thanks!!!
There was a boy pictured in an ambulance he was covered in soot and that was photographed with no touch ups . That picture went viral . That type of true photography with no photo manipulation is true photography . Taking a picture and knowing it works without having to manipulate the colors in a photo. Tells a true story at that time and place. Just my preference is all. I see how someone can take a photo and manipulate it to bring out a idea of what he or she may see in it.
Again Ted, this is what only you do. No gear just wonderful analysis with a great deal of background. Please keep this up!
yes. it shows, the newest technic doesn't matter....
Today, only gear and mail openings - no more historical and artistic education at all.
I love your page man fr, ur one of the few real TH-cam photographers that shares the true essence of the art of photography, instead of promoting gears and brands.
I feel like palette is the last stop in a photographer's training. First you tackle composition and then you grapple with light. Just showing intent with those two may take a lifetime. If you've made it out of the early stages and you can show intent with those two concepts with your camera you arrive at palette. I mean intent is what is going to define you as a photographer. The unspoken "artistic triangle" like the metaphor of the exposure triangle is - composition, light, and palette ;) Somewhere in those three is the next great photographer.
Agreed.
Could be why photo schools focus on shooting BnW.
Yeah I always felt BnW made things easier. On the other hand, I’ve seen great coloring where composition was so basic but the coloring made the photo so attractive. Actually I think it might be an interesting exercise to see your photos in BnW then slowly add colors back in to see what works... hmmm im going to try this
I feel I have composition down, but work on considering the backgrounds. I am better than I was. But that is the step I feel like I am on right now. I see a good subject, and then struggle to get a good background, and the moment is gone. I come home with way less shots because of this. But the shots I get are way more intentional. Color is not even in my mind.
I like that 'artist triangle' thing....screen shotted !
As an amateur your teachings are essential to my growth as a photographer, I get learn more than the software with you and I enjoy it immensely!!! Thank you and can't wait for the next one!!!
Make more of this! You are one of the few photographers on youtube that are capable of saying why to do things and not just how
Now this is why I am drawn to this channel, thoughtful insight into the art of photography. Thank you Ted keep it up.
So glad to see the old form back. You do best when you talk about the art, not the tools. I look forward to the next instalment.
Informative video Ted. I appreciate the Art education you share in your videos. You expose us to more than photography, you expose us to the art world as well.
So on point Ted! Really enjoyed this video and looking forward to the next ones.
As for my photography, I like to reduce the colours. Bring the tones of various colours closer together and reduce the palette to 2-3 primary colours. It can really clean up the composition and make the photograph 'easier to consume'.
Ted, I commend you for consistently sharing commonly overlooked knowledge in your own unique way. I am finding my way in photography and find you're opinions to be very refreshing! Compared to all the other channels its either yin or yang, very slow monotone boring lecture type dialogue or you get a young feisty creator who is all over the place. I find comfort in your grounded delivery of knowledge and overall aura of explanation. I truly appreciate you're thoughts and perceptions into photography, I am discovering many other facets to the complexity of photography as a whole. Please keep up the GREAT work it is immensely appreciated!! I am finishing up a new shirt release with my art along with prints, I will be sure to send you some!! Simply for the appreciation of art, you my friend deserve much more! Much love from Los Angeles!
Just awesome. You always talk more about the importance of using your head instead of the gear and retouching, that is what makes your channel one of the best.
I seriously wish that I could obtain a degree in art by watching your videos. They are that informative. I love the passion you relay through a simple video. I've been able to look back on my images prior to stumbling upon your channel and those after and can CLEARLY see a difference for the better. Thank you for all you've done for me as it relates to photography and all you will continue to do.
The negative (taking the image) is the musicians score, the print is the performance....paraphrasing Ansel Adams.
Great video Ted...the kind of content that is hard to find on TH-cam
Just blow my mind. I'll come back to this again for sure. THANK YOU
I love your perspective on photographyand the beautiful coonections you make with history, facts, and the art of it. Thank you!!!
Love this. Your videos have taught me a ton about photography. You have a special spark. It makes your videos interesting to watch. I love the interaction you have with your audience as well, from the photo challenges last year to the mail videos you do. Very inspiring.
But what is interesting is that, on the cover shot of the NatGeo issue, the wall is a bluish cyan color, not the green as seen in the original. Great video as always
YES! Thank you. One of the best vids on photography and the core of the art. BTW, there was an interview with Steve McCurry online where he talked about the Afghan girl and the shot. From what I remember he was in a rush and only had his light camera with him and picked her out to shoot her in the hallway.
You are right Ted, INTENT first begins behind the camera. You’ve got to have something to work with, a good starting point, before any “editing” is applied.
I always love Steve McCurry’s Afghan Girl for many reasons.
Not only does he use a restraint color palette, but reds and green are opposite colors - they catch the viewer’s attention. These colors also reminds us of Christmas and if you look closely the rich deep tones unveils just that. Going a bit further, the girl wears torn clothing unveiling the poor nature of her condition. We usually associate Christmas with gift but here we are presented an awkward one - one that makes us think - on that incites the viewer to look right in those bright girl’s eyes to find out more. We want to look at her soul for us to reach into ours. We want to know, to feel…
Another element adds mystique, the girl’s beauty. Within all that context, her beauty is unchallenged. And to me it’s the element that ties everything so beautifully. Steve McCurry’s has managed a great feat with this image, it seeks to mirrors our souls.
Great podcast Ted - Keep going on those INTENTIONS, they are the nectar and ambrosia every photographer should feed on.
Just have to say that I really value your videos and the valuable insights into the creation of the photograph in all it's aspects, illustrated by your in-depth knowledge of the art and the artists involved. I learn more, and am inspired more, by these videos than by any other input. Thank you.
Well, Steve's photos do have special color appearance, especially, his photos render skin tones very uniquely. He likes to have contrast tweaked to be as high as in Kodachrome images. I like his images in general, not just Afgan girl.
Love your comment about hot the physical colour palette of New York has changed over the years and how that effects recreation of an image. Photography is very much about capturing now, be it because of the equipment, the situation, the understanding etc.
Brilliant overview. Thank you.
I have only just started watching your videos. I really enjoy what you have to say about photography. It makes me stop and think and admire the art of photography even more. Makes me want to see what is in front of the lens first so I can become a better photographer. I am looking forward to your future videos. Thank you.
There was a message I sent you a while back... Maybe it didn't come off right or maybe you didn't see it but I'm stoked on these vids you're putting out! Thanks again!
Palette is often the last thing we think about as photographers if we’re honest, we tend to focus on just capturing an image and hope the thousands of presets we have will polish the image afterwards. This series has already started to challenge my thinking on how I approach my work initially and with this episode it’s now focused my thoughts on post production. Moving forward I now have to match this new knowledge with my eye for capturing street scenes in such a away as to not miss the spontaneity of the moment but to improve on it technically. Food for thought for sure. Awesome video, thanks for sharing.
I really enjoyed this Ted, and it's made me think about the relationship between colour and composition. Leiter's work is as wonderful as it is, in my view because of the way he seems to understand shape, spacial relationships and colour, and see them all at the same time. It's extremely difficult, for me at least, to get all these working together, but you've given me some things to think about here. Thanks again.
I’m late to this video, but am really appreciating how your videos and channel looks at art of photography in an artistic way and in less of a technical way 🙏
Great video. As your comments generated questions in my head, the next thing I new you were answering them. I shoot alot of found subjects so I have limited control over the color palatte. However, by working the composition, making it simpler, and perhaps adding some fill light with colored gels you can make it happen.
close to tears . soul of photography . soul of art . art of photography .
Your thoughts on all this are so right on.... just using the same gear, or a filter to make "the look" is to underestimate and misunderstand what "That Look" is... like Ansel Adams filters and so on. There's a lot more to it than just having the right stuff... being in the right place may not even be enough. Being the right photographer *may* be enough.
(I say this as a photog that has been "the wrong photog in the right place at the right time" many times!).
Now you mentioned "I've never met Steve McCurry"... and my first thought is "Perfect! Artist Series!"
Thanks for doing this Ted,I feel like this is the wall that has been preventing me from achieving growth as a photographer..I have been obsessing about color lately and hopefully this can help me get past the barriers that might be holding me back.
Excellent analysis, and as "light drawers" we can all stand to learn from painters, and particularly the concept of color palette, to help mitigate our continued obsession with gear, gear, and more gear....
Just found this. Interesting that you use painters as examples. I’ve recently been looking at Edward Hopper to see what I can learn and it’s challenging me to look harder and edit differently
Great Ted, again. But I think we over analyze way too much. That is good as a teaching tool, but in the field, you have to synthesize all the things we talk about and just use them as you find them. My mother was an artist, and as a child she taught me, not by rules, but by discussing things we saw. What worked, what didn't, and why. Now, I see, but don't rationalize. What I see is either good, bad, or Ok which could be made better with some work on my part. One of the things I love about photography is that I can work in many different styles (and yes, I have a style which is "me") because I can "see" in many different styles, rather than previsualize only in the way that I'm comfortable and try to force a situation into what I expect to produce. I do love that you are often bringing in past masters in all mediums, because they inform us what we could be seeing. And if we can see, we can shoot and utilize those tools.
Thanks for this one Ted! Hope you keep this kind of video up as I think this is what pushes us beyond all that tech. Cheers.
Dear Ted, among all the different kinds of videos that you produce, this one where you present the work of great photographers is the best. Even better if you build up from that, like in this specific video, on the importance of a limited color palette. In my experience, these topics are hard to find on other TH-cam channels. Differently, reviewing gear, software or attending events is commonplace. Sharing your knowledge on history and the art of photography is your distinctive feature, that I appreciate much.
Great talk on colour in photography! Thanks for your articulate analysis. I think one's photographic colour palette should be intentionally restrained (and without being too saturated or altered in post); what's in front of the lens should reflect one's intention on colour. I love the examples here.
Ted, I just noticed that your eyes match the colour of the wall in your studio there! Thanks for this, I'm looking forward to you expanding on this theme!
Great video love Vermeer's work! No matter what you may think of Steve McCurry this is a truly incredible image!
This was an an amazing video. I loved how you used art to illustrate the point, then moved it to photos. Looking forward to more in the series. Im just getting back into photography, my first camera was a petri penta 5. Thanks, Sandy
Was able to get into National Geographic’s headquarters for a tour through a friend and saw the layout of the Afghan Girl image before it went to cover. It was amazing then and is still amazing now. Thanks for sharing Ted great insight.....
It's a vast, super vast I must say, kind of fathomless discussion about photography to reach a conclusion about how you as a beholder make it depict your observations to life with the available tool that you have in an era that you are physically exist and few of us are born to achieve things that are timeless for its values and keep you imagination bewildered as a spectator. It's never never and never will be easy to achieve something timeless however refinements you may have in the accessories to get one of a kind of a masterpiece. A special gene one must have in born to become one master of artists. Photography I believe is the most difficult medium to speak through your work because you are so poorly limited, even if we are technically superior to bygone eras of photography. You cannot change the primary colours of light and obviously secondary ones and so does others, you see you are not out of the chains and you are always inside this limiting factors and then comes your ways to technical expertise and vision how you will depict a certain message in medium of infinite possibilities. Now we definitely understand how difficult for a photographer to capture a moment petrified to say a thousand words and a thousand more. Photography in color will always remain as difficult as it has been till this day. Having said that though photographs in shades of grey is easy to achieve but a lot more easier depicting a certain mood in grey than color. The bottom-line is one can achieve something to earn a living but few will create something called masterpieces which are far more difficult to achieve through color photography and that in turn I reckon much more difficult than painting on canvas with pigmentation of colour.
I saw a short doc "The Last Roll of Kodachrome" it was Steve McCurry who was chosen to shoot that last roll that came out of the factory. The documentary is here on you tube. It was interesting how he made a decision of what he was going to shoot with that last roll of film.....what was his intention. With film you don't want to waste a shot, with digital it just doesn't matter, nothing is wasted just do it again and again and again....then if it's still not right there is a filter to fix it. However, your intention is what makes the difference. Thanks, for the good morning creative conversation.
Yes, 'spray and pray' seems the typical approach with digital. I have nothing against digital in principle, but my preferred medium is, and always has been, 35mm film. There's something intangibly organic about the 'feel' of a great print from 35mm stock, and that 'something' is missing from a picture made up of numbers.
I think what we need is a problem, film gives you problems, lighting, color, speed, focus, etc, your creative brain gets to exercise what do I do with this. Digital fixes those things (that's good too) and you focus on the composition. Technology in photography is good, but I hope we don't loose the ability to do it the old fashion way.
Shooting film for 20 years the habit has not left me to be carful what I shoot digitally I still try and make every shot count, when I shot weddings in the 1990's I'd buy a 5 pack of Fuji Professional film that's a 180 photos, you made every photo count.
Yes! This is great. Can't wait to see where you're taking us with this. But very happy to go there...
Good timing for this, thanks. Limited palette, warm tones - we print so rarely these days but an image in ink enriches even digital photography (on the right printer ;). So many landscape images are now composites with significant alterations that rarely are you viewing a reality - but... Robert Capa's award winning iconic photo of the falling soldier is now said to be staged, Brian Brake's Monsoon Girl was shot with a water can not a monsoon... does it really matter - as you say, it is the intent. Images have a moment to make an impact. Salvador Dali's composite photography still looks great against modern computer PP because it "looks" real, using the ultimate limited palette of black and white - imhumbleo :)
Great video; it's food for thought. To be honest, I don't like color photography very much. It often seems to add unwanted elements and weight to the image. Now, I do love shooting in color because all of that extra information allows me to create a better B&W image. But, I will try limiting the palette. Oh, I also noticed that the color of the greens and her skin tone are reflected in her eyes.
The Nickolas Muray portrait of Frida Kahlo With Magenta Rebozo, 1939, is another masterpiece. Keep up the good work, friend.
Wonderful take on limited color palette. Too many photographers today go the total opposite direction and just blast the soul out of whatever they shoot. I was trained as a painter and Rembrandt is one of my faves for his mastery of chiaroscuro (light and shadow). As for Afghan Girl, her unusual (for that region) eye color matched the green on the wall and her undergarment. I don't know how much the shot was staged; I suspect it wasn't much. If the girl's eyes were a more typical dark brown, it's still a great image but not a haunting one.
Your thoughtful comments are always appreciated, Ted. Thank you.
Glad to see other things than gear videos again! :) One nitpick though, mainly because it kinda blew my mind when I first read it, and now have to point it out whenever I see it reiterated. ;) I don't think Afghan Girl uses complimentary colours, unless you like rounding colours up. The green in the background has a blue tint, the red is tinted slightly violet. Together with the skin tones (orange), this actually makes it a pretty good example of split complementary. Now, I don't have an art background, but from what I read, this is actually what painters are tought as the first colour scheme since it's really hard to screw up. Unlike actual complementary colours, which can quickly become overwhelming.
Great series idea Ted! My fave since PhotoLit. Keep em coming!
I definitely like this content. I have progressed well with the mechanics of photography and am focusing my learning on composition and seeing the image. Thank you for adding a new dimension to my learning. Leslie
It was not *"the Soviet occupation"* . It was simply a regular geopolitical strike between the USA and USSR. Afghanistan people were just expendable assets for both sides.
Just like in Siria today.
Check your history and your spelling…
I have a degree in linguistics and also Google Chrome autocorrection did not correct me, so please, kindly point out what's exactly wrong with my spelling =)
Considering history... it's so obvious, that it's ridiculous to even discuss.
Paul Kretz Well, first of all its Afghani people not Afghanistan people and Syria not Siria. Second, USSR *did* invade Afghanistan. You can read about the Soviet-Afghan war that was extended throughout the 80s for almost a decade. And Afghanistan at that time was called the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan which was ruled by the socialist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan which was a Marxist-Leninist party under huge control and influence of USSR!
@@abraxamovic Obviously, you never read my previous comment, did you? Although, I might make an accidental mistake like any other guy, as a professional linguist I must say that English is not the native language in the territories that you mention, so the country name spelling is only correct in local tongues and should make no difference in foreign ones even if internationally claimed. If you did not know, the word "Russia" also has nothing to do with the country's native sounding in Slavic tongues which is more like "Rossiya or "Rossija". But Russians don't blame anyone for the wrong title, so you should not too. Next, I believe not all the people in Afghanistan are Afghani, but all the people in Afghanistan are Afghanistan people. And finally, I've studied too many wars to be so short-minded to think there's only one guilty party. In this particular conflict it was more of US-USSR rattle and Afghanistan was only a change coin in this bargain. And so is Syria today. Unfortunately. Big players make use of small problematic countries to their advantage all the time. Such is life.
Absolutely love this video stepping away from the technical and looking in to what it is that takes a photographer from good to great thank you so very much for sharing and for all the work that you do
Best vlogger on photography, thanks Ted!
When I go out with my camera, I don’t normally go out with an intent to focus on a limited color palette, a type of light or any other of the myriad components that make up an image. I either start with a specific subject or location in mind and then see what light/color are available and use those to the best of my ability to create an appealing image.
I suspect it’s a very different story for those that work primarily in a studio. Philip Greenspun of the old photo.net once made a comment about studio lighting: “Studio photography is easy because you can get exactly what you want. Studio photography is hard because you can get exactly what you want.” While I don’t do much studio work, I feel like I do the best when I go in with a very specific plan about what I want to do. Shooting with a limited palette would certainly be one tool for such planning.
I think the biggest takeaway, though, is what you mentioned about Steve McCurry’s experience. The biggest factors for using very refined tools like limited color palettes are the knowledge of what they are and the experience to recognize them while shooting/planning a shoot. As always, this channel is an excellent resource for those looking to learn. I think you do more to open then eyes of photographers to the subtleties of composition than any other TH-cam channel. Bravo for that!
Steve picked just the right film for that photo, Kodachrome was not as saturated as other slide films from the era as some of the early Fujichromes, if you have ever seen Kodachrome slides you will notice the colours are vibrant but they are extremely realistic, that is why National Geographic and other magazines always preferred Kodachrome for publishing full colour images in magazines, they wanted an image as close as possible to reality.
I have thousands of Kodachrome 25 and 64 slides taken by my father from about 1980-1990, they have a unique subtle colour that i have not seen in any other film yet and excellent tonal gradation that captures subtle hues.
That being said i adore Fujichrome Velvia, Velvia slides on alight table jump out at you with zero editing to them, however i shoot Provia more often when i want more realistic colours, i find it somewhat similar to Kodachrome, although Kodachrome had decidedly warmer tones :)
Always a good talk, you should have more subscribers. Straight forward stuff, even is this world
I started my photography journey as a painter. I remember all classes when they taught us colour theory and now it all makes sense 😀
Back to your roots (on AOP) on this one Ted - enjoyable video and topic.
One thing that I keep learning over and over again, and something I re-learned yet again when I started painting, is don't copy anyone. Find your own style, your own medium. Find what represents YOU. Don't go out to Yellowstone with the intent to be the next Ansel Adams. There will never be a "next" Ansel Adams because they'll never be another. No-one can ever do what he did again. You can imitate someone's style to learn techniques or discover a new technique that works for you, but ultimately you can be nothing but you. Do not get frustrated while trying to find yourself. Every "failure" is a learning experience. You WILL take something good away from everything you attempt whether you meet the goal or not, and in painting, your painting will NEVER look like what you intend when you start. In painting, the painting takes on it's own life as you work with it, and will sometimes look completely different at the end, than what you intended in the beginning. Just because what you end up with isn't what you envisioned does not make it a failure. In many cases, it can be an unintended masterpiece. Just remember, even those with natural talent still need to develop their skills, and skill comes only with experience. Never stop burning film :D
Excellent, very informative video. I have already learned a lot from you, Ted, but this video is a gem. Thank you, i am looking forward to this series.
Thanks Ted! I have been relying on presets for a while and I'm trying to get to the next level as a photographer and this video helps a lot!
Keep on with this kind of talk about photography. Great!
This series is going to be great!
Very interesting topics, looking forward to the next one! 👌
Inspires me to use more intent when shooting and not just fire away 😊
Looking forward to this series.
Ur thumb is the most known photographie in the world, i love it !
can't wait to hear more on the subject...thank you!
I like putting on the 300mm lens (450mm effective) and looking at the surrounding through it. It lets you find little islands of calm in a riot of colours.
One of my favourite videos yet
Colour is just another element of composition when all is said and done. Shooting b&W gives a focus on form sand structure. Colour brings in another degree of difficulty. Something else to consider as you examine the display in your viewfinder before pressing the shutter button.
I really like this kind of video because it reminds me of what is important.
Thanks once more, Ted, for the great and inspiring insights. I learn so much from these!
Great video. A weekly series would be awesome !
Do you think that training yourself to check the RGB histogram in camera while composing the image would help? I think I'll give it a shot (no pun intended) and just try to remind myself to check the colors until I've done it enough times to be aware of them without checking.
I start to love your videos aqain, Art's sweet information, this is what you are a master of.
Thanks Ted.
This was a perfect example of why I subscribed.
Thanks for doing this. Excellent information.
Awesome, informative video! Really has me wanting to dig more into minimal color palettes in photography and even videography. And shoutout from just a few miles over here in Arlington lol
You’re the best... Ted !!! Thanks from Mongolia.
Love this discussion and these types of episodes. Thanks Ted!
Interesting Video! Though it would have been better to understand WHY red blue and yellow go so well together or why red and green? (Even tho it's more of a teal green and orange red) Explaining how to construct a color scheme by looking at the color wheel is the best way. Red blue red is for example a triadic color scheme. Red green is a complementary. There are so many others as well!
It will be more interesting if you make another video and use original photo and compared it with another shot of same girl , which he took after so many years . i saw an article about he found this Afghani girl and took her photograph . I am sure new photograph is not clicked on film so it will be interesting to analysis of both shots film and digital .
and its good to see how you shown some example of paintings .
I doubt there was much retouching done to this image. In the 1980s, there was a choice between dye transfer prints and retouching right on the chrome, usually 8x10. I assume he went with dye transfer prints since 35 mm was too small to work with. Dye transfer allowed some color shifting, taking out small distractions, whitening eyes and teeth, smoothing skin and a more natural retouching look but it was nowhere near to what is currently possible in Photoshop and Lightroom. A great picture done by a great photographer probably with bearded guys with guns all around him, especially since he was a man photographing a young woman in Pakistan.
Nicely done! Thank you for this lecture :). I think I need to learn more about this ...
A joke about a lost tourist in NY has him asking a man carrying a violin case, "Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall"? The man replies, "Ya, I tell you: practice, practice, practice", and he strides off down the sidewalk. Fancy cameras & editing presets, etc., can help the impact of a photo, but only if the content is there in the beginning. And for the most part that requires experience. S good job on the video.
Great video. I know I was quite young when I first saw this image, but it instantly grabs you, and I think my first interest in photography was born with this image.
Years and years later, I found a documentary (probably NG) where they try to track down this girl/woman, and interview her about this photo.
She had no idea that her portrait had become so iconic to the world, and told a more “grim” backside story of how this shot was made...
She obviously was very young at the time, and also very shy. Due to culture, she didn’t want to show her face, and in the end, it was her teacher that convinced her to remove her scarf.
I obviously wasn’t there, but Steve was kinda portraited as “a dick” in that docu... Forcing a young girl to remove that piece of cloth.
I could be wrong, my memory could be off, but I’m sure anyone interested could google search “the truth” behind this image.
Anyways, thank you for the great content, peace!
Great content Ted, as usually!!
It reminds me your photo assignment RED ;-)
Hey Ted! Question, how have you gone around copyright with using these famous photos in your video? Really curious for future videos on my channel. Thanks!!!
Love this series, excited to follow along 👌
Love your videos. The sound is so good, too. What type of mic do you use while recording?
Sometimes you can't control the color pallet. I tend to use Black and White if there are too many competing colors.
I like the fact you process the video the same way :). 2 colours and that's all :)
That iconic Afghan refugee image was shot with the legendary Nikon 105 2.5 MF Lens!
That’s what he literally said
There was a boy pictured in an ambulance he was covered in soot and that was photographed with no touch ups . That picture went viral . That type of true photography with no photo manipulation is true photography . Taking a picture and knowing it works without having to manipulate the colors in a photo. Tells a true story at that time and place. Just my preference is all.
I see how someone can take a photo and manipulate it to bring out a idea of what he or she may see in it.
Your videos are great. Keep it up!
Bloody brilliant video mate! Thank you
I understand it was shot with a Nikon F3 not a Nikon FM2, can you confirm this?
Nope, it was shot on fm2
Very informative video! Thank you Ted!
I like to visualize a photo of what I'm looking at in my mind without taking the picture. I think it helps exercise your imagination/vision