Josh Ross Creative Blog

"Writing is thinking on paper." - William Zinsser.

[joshrosscreative]

http://ift.tt/2gjlqV6 represented by www.happylane.co Review coming soon at Cycle Tech Review Story: The difference between a brand new, never used, product and a mostly new product is a good two hours of retouching, at least! No matter how well you clean something it seems there is always residual dust and specs. That aside, the biggest thing I struggled with in this shot was finding a new way to present glasses. It can be hard to show what is essentially the same product in a new way. Sport glasses also really benefit from a side angle where you get the reflection along the lenses. For this shot I introduced a bit more motion than some of my other glasses shots using a combination of light, color, and angle. Lighting: Two lights on this. From the back there is a medium soft box. It’s aimed below the glasses and hitting a white bounce board in front of them. Then from above there is a light with a standard reflector. That light is just peeking over the bounce card and hitting near the hinge of the glasses. Everything is fired with pocketwizards.

[joshrosscreative]

http://ift.tt/2gjlqV6 represented by www.happylane.co Story: As a cyclist I take what I eat pretty seriously. I log and weigh everything I eat and religiously count my calories. Easiest way to do that is to make my own food and I also cook for the family. For the last 10-15 years I had a Global chefs knife and while it’s a great knife I thought it was time I upgraded to something a bit more custom. One of the things that was really bugging me about the Global knife was that I was getting a pretty large callous above my right index finger knuckle. It’s a thin blade and when I would cut hard vegetables, especially sweet potatoes which is a regular event, the way I like to hold a knife meant I was pushing on the spine of the blade with that part of my finger. So I met with Arnon from Bridgetown Forge and asked if he could make me one of his knives but do a bit of customization. He agreed and suggested the santoku. My Global had been a Santoku, although a very western version, so that made sense to me but I asked him to make a few small changes. I asked that the knife be made of a thicker steel so that the spine could be thicker and more rounded in the spot I like to press on it. I also asked that he leave the black marks from the forge, tighten up the space between the blade and the handle, and make the handle as dark as he could. Aesthetically I wanted strong contrast between the shine of the metal and the handle/spine of the blade and from a usage standpoint I wanted it to fit my hand, and grip, really well. I’m always nervous about making customizations, what if I get it wrong, but when I picked it up about 3 weeks later I knew I’d made the right choices. It fits me perfectly and it’s unbelievable how much nicer it is to use than even a very nice off the shelf knife. Since I was getting a new knife it seemed like it was time to replace my cutting board as well. My mom runs Wards Wood & Wool and I convinced her to slot me in for an end grain cutting board. She can do really amazing patterns and decorations but I requested very simple, inch thick, walnut. I wanted it to be very classic and let the wood speak for itself. The board is every bit a match for the knife! Lighting: The other shot I’d done of a knife and cutting board is one of my favorite shots so I wanted to be careful about competing too much. On that shot I’d used hard lighting so on this shot it’s soft lighting but no more complicated. Just a single light in a medium soft box. The box is above the subject but at the head of the shot and angled towards the bottom of the shot. On the bottom there is a large white bounce card.

[joshrosscreative]

http://ift.tt/2gjlqV6 represented by www.happylane.co Story: The boy hasn’t had a haircut in a few years but he finally decided he wanted to get the ends trimmed a bit when he started a dance class. Wanting to show off the new haircut for everyone seemed like a perfect opportunity to play with a new ring flash. It’s one of the Canon macro units so it’s not ideal but it managed f/18 at iso 100 at the distances I was shooting. This is actually 1/32nd or maybe 1/16th power. As far as the light it produced I can’t say I’m sold on a ring flash being anything all that special. The boy really made this picture though. His expression is perfect for the light! Lighting: A canon macro ring flash held against the front of the lens.

[joshrosscreative]

http://ift.tt/2gjlqV6 represented by www.happylane.co Review coming soon at Cycle Tech Review Story: This is the Kali protectives Kava helmet. It’s an aero road helmet that’s got a couple of unique features. As far as safety it’s got a system that’s designed to work in a way somewhat similar to the more well known MIPS system. That is, it’s designed to reduce rotational forces by allowing your head to move inside of the helmet. The system is called Bumper Fit 2.0 and not only does it work to reduce rotational forces but it also reduces impact force in low speed collisions. In addition to the safety features it’s one of the new crop of aero road helmets that are designed to slip through the air without all the compromises, and speed, of a full on time trial helmet. The thing that really caught my eye though is that BOA adjuster in the back. As far as I know it’s unique on the market and I knew when I shot it that I wanted to really put that feature in the forefront. It turned out to be a bit trickier than I’d anticipated to get just the right angle to showcase the most visually interesting features while at the same time getting a bit more of a detail shot than I might naturally gravitate towards. I spent a few sessions with it before I found something I was happy with and now that I’m ready to see how it performs… there is snow on the ground. I haven’t taken my bike outdoors for weeks. Lighting: I ended up using three lights on this shot. Camera right the main light is an Einstein in a medium photo flex softbox. It’s oriented vertically and in pretty close. Then above that light I’ve got an Einstein with a standard reflector to give a bit of definition to the top of the helmet. Camera left there is another Einstein with a standard reflector giving just a bit of light to the left side of the helmet as it leaves the frame. Everything is triggered with pocket wizards.

[joshrosscreative]

http://ift.tt/2gjlqV6 represented by www.happylane.co Story: Unschooling is a philosophy of schooling where you let kids explore their own interests and learn in their own way. It happens as a type of homeschooling and as such there is no picture day. Last year I did a picture day for a local unschooler group and this year it happened again. It’s not exactly a big event but I do it because I enjoy it and I see it as a community service. I kind of never know what I’ll get in terms of the kids. It rarely resembles a traditional school picture day where kids dress up and I always give way more care and attention than you’d get in that sort of setting. It’s ends up being an interesting intersection where the kids show up in all kinds of ways and I shoot and retouch them as I would any portrait client. The mother of these two is someone who has worked in the photo industry with big clients most of her career and as such the kids showed up well styled. The orange just happens to compliment the colors this year and I think I managed to snag a great moment. Lighting: I used a similar lighting setup as I did last year although things were a bit more compact. Camera right it’s somewhat hard light with an einstein in a beauty dish and the fabric cover. Then on the right I’ve got a white scrim and behind that another einstein with a standard reflector. Everything is triggered with pocket wizards.

[joshrosscreative]

Family Project 

Around christmas I ordered a print of my son for my mom. It came to our house first so I could check it and give it to her later. When he saw it he was beside himself that she would get his picture and didn't want her to have it. Instead he wanted to take a picture of his favorite toys and give her that. So we picked out the toys he wanted to include, I set them all up with his help and he took the picture (camera on tripod), then I asked him what sound they make, and this is the final. Just a fun project we did together. If I can collaborate with a 4 year old, imagine the work I can do with a talented art director! Check out more of my still life work. 

[joshrosscreative]

Unschool Picture Day

Unschooling is a method of homeschooling that believes in the intrinsic ability of children to define their own education. Hopefully I’m not mangling that too much but it’s a rather amazing group of parents and children who are doing things a bit different. One thing they miss out on though is school picture day. I recently had the opportunity to remedy that.

You can see more of my portraits at http://www.joshrosscreative.com/album/portraits  

[joshrosscreative]

Nike Overhead

Earlier this year I had the great opportunity to shoot an overhead Nike shot with upcoming baseball gear. As is the custom of this type of thing each piece was shot individually on white then put together. This was the kind of shoot I dream about! I’ve done this type of work, both the in-camera work and the retouching, hundreds of times. I could do it in my sleep. Not only that but the Art Director was a joy to work with.  Take a look at more work like this on my site and lets make more great work. 

[joshrosscreative]

A Chance Meeting

I’ve started working with a fantastic kids bike brand called Kundo Bikes. The bikes they make are unlike anything else out there in the market and I’m excited to be working with them. As part of the shooting I am doing for them I was at the park shooting pictures when this little girl asked me to take her picture. I looked up and realized it was our friend! Just a few happy images from a day at the park. 

[joshrosscreative]

Always Experimenting

When I pick up my camera, I almost always have a reason, a destination, in mind. It's just the type of person I am. I don't pick up the camera—or any tool—without some specific goal. I could imagine this being a hinderance for some people. It could be something that leads to stagnation, but for me, the photography process isn't so much about the end result. The end result is essentially a given at this point.  Even when I'm shooting something loose and fast, I have an idea of how I want the end result to look. I adapt the end results as I find new options along the way, and the end results do fill me with joy to see, but there is more to it than that. Instead, the way I stay fresh is to always be experimenting. I might always have a goal in mind when I pick up the camera, but I don't always have a sense of how the journey will go. In fact, while I typically think I know exactly how I am going to do things, so often I am completely surprised. It's this process of the journey that I find to be one of the most amazing parts of photography and the thing that keeps it so exciting. This image is a perfect example of that process.

My new rep, http://www.happylane.co, asked me to shoot an image for a Valentine’s Day promo she was doing. The theme was kiss, and I was otherwise free to come up with whatever spoke to me. The idea of the lipstick and paint came to me right away, but I wanted to try something a bit different than my past liquid shots. I wanted to curve the liquid towards the camera. I had this idea that I'd just put a piece of glass in front of the camera, throw paint at the glass and get the angle I wanted. I worked it all through in my mind and got everything ready to go. Then the experimenting began!

I don't know how you feel about throwing paint at very expensive equipment, but to me at the time, it made perfect sense. Depending on your initial judgement of the plan, you may or may not be surprised to find that it went horribly awry. I will tell you now that I did not destroy any gear. I did, however, completely destroy the clothes I was wearing, and it took me hours of scrubbing to get all the paint off the many, many, places in the studio it ended up. In fact, it's been more than a month, but I still find paint spots from time to time in places I hadn't noticed before. That's okay, though, that's the point! I experiment all the time, so that when a client asks me to do something, it won't be the first time I've done it. And even if it is the first time, it won't be without a deep catalog of past experiments to draw from. In the end, I got exactly where I was hoping to get with this image, but the journey had to be adapted. I switched up the process of capturing the curves in the paint until I got what I needed. And again, that's the point, always experimenting, always learning, always pushing the boundaries of my skills. That is who I am as a person, and that is who I am as a photographer.

Take a look at more of my still life, splash, and portrait experiments at http://www.joshrosscreative.com

[joshrosscreative]

Celebrating 

I can tell you a whole story about how I look to capture what is unique in a subject and tell a story. I could share my whole process. But sometimes it is nice to just celebrate a shot that happened between the "official moments" of a shoot. 

I caught this when I asked a client's daughter to put down her book and come let me take a picture. This wasn't on the shot list, but I found her intensity captivating, and was hoping she carried it with her in front of the camera. Enjoy.

See more of my work at joshrosscreative.com

[joshrosscreative]

When In Doubt, Simplify (a short bit of design education for those that care)

This is my biggest challenge. This is my mantra. Anytime I'm having trouble with an image, it's always, absolutely always, an issue of over complication and the solution is to simplify. 

Sometimes when I design images in my head, I think of these "grand" concepts with all kinds of pieces. It's never what works, though. What works is simplicity. When things begin to get overly complicated, everything falls apart. The pieces don't quite fit, and it can be really hard to figure out why. Your mind will tell you that if you only had one more element, everything would fit together. Don't fall for it, though. It's a lie. No matter how many more elements you add, it won't be enough. Instead, take a deep breath, look at what you've got, and start removing the unnecessary information. Always go back to your story. Think about your narrative, think about the concept you are communicating to the viewer, and decide what pieces are helping it and what pieces are hindering it. It's only once you've got the noise eliminated, that things will start to come together. 

Just removing information isn't always enough though, another place I sometimes get into trouble is with the information hierarchy. The concept is one that's tied to some basic design concepts, such as balance, but I'm going to try and separate it out a bit. You've got your narrative, and you've distilled it down to the necessary pieces. Now you've got to lead the viewer through those pieces in a way that makes sense both visually and conceptually. The most important pieces of the story should be the most eye catching and the supporting pieces have to support the central theme without competing. There are different ways of accomplishing this from a visual standpoint, but I don't think the specifics are important. What's important is, does it work? Is the eye drawn to the most important piece and is the frame visually designed in such a way that the other elements support it? When things aren't working, these are the questions I start asking. 

It's not a linear thing either. When you are working, there are times you will become so attached to a piece that you can't bear to let it go. For whatever reason, you may find some little element spell binding, and you lack the perspective to recognize the pieces that aren't necessary. Often it helps to start walking through the information hierarchy trying to make everything work. If you can't make a piece of the puzzle fit, toss it out, and see if the narrative isn't stronger without it. When I find myself in this place, the "aha moment" is practically magic. I'll be banging my head against the problem. Then I'll toss an element out of the composition, and all of the sudden everything else will just drop into place. 

The image of the coffee pouring was definitely one of those times when I concepted something entirely too complex. I tried a variety of creations with the coffee, and I almost gave up and moved on. Just as I was about to be done with it, I looked at some of my other images for a bit of inspiration, and I started taking things away. The narrative got stronger, the visual got cleaner, and things came together. A good photographer isn't just a button pusher. When things don't go as planned, you have to be able to asses the situation and find a solution. You have to be a creative partner. That's what I offer my clients. 

Take a look at more of my splash and liquid photography, and lets talk about your next project. 

[joshrosscreative]

Just Do What You Do

I don't shoot weddings. Actually, it's not that I don't shoot weddings, it's that I haven't shot a lot of weddings. There might have been a time when anyone could make a living shooting weddings. I'm not really sure, but even if that is possible in today's world, it's not something I'm particularly interested in. When I survey the landscape, from my vantage point, I see wedding photography as being every bit as competitive as other genres of photography. That means if you want to be a wedding photographer you have to work your ass off and dedicate yourself to being the best you can be, just like any other type of photography. At least that is what I would do. Since it's not something I find particularly interesting, it's not something I'm going to put the requisite 10,000 hours into. All that said, I have shot a few weddings when it falls into my lap. This was one of those times.

My wife is a part of a local mom's group on facebook, and this woman posted because she didn't have much money and wondered if anyone could help. I'm always a sucker for helping someone out, and so I sent her my site and said if you like what you see, let me know. Turns out she did, and I ended up with a Sunday afternoon wedding photography gig.

Now as I said above, I don't shoot weddings. I don't have much practice at it, and I don't spend time studying the minutia of how to do a really good job at it. Not only that, but this couple were not people who had a particular look in mind or were ready to be art directing every shot (if those people even exist). With that in mind, I could have spent time completely freaking out and trying to deliver something I thought they wanted. Instead, I just did what I do. She looked at my site and loved my work. In fact, I wasn't even the only one that offered to help her and yet she still picked me. So, I just did what I do. They had mentioned how important the groom’s car was to him, and as we were switching things up, I grabbed my Rolleiflex and ended up with my favorite shot of the day.

Showing up and just doing what I do is not something I've always been able to execute confidently. Back when I was a designer, I started my first really good design job as a freelancer. When we had the meeting to see if they were going to hire me, I remember one of the criticisms being that I didn't have a lot of confidence in my own design sensibilities. I spent a lot of time trying to deliver what I thought other people would want. For what it's worth, they did hire me, but it's something I've had to work on in my career.

Just doing what you do is all about putting yourself out there and not apologizing for it. That's a scary place to be! What if you say something and they hate it? The reality is that I'm not a mind reader, and whether I'm guessing what someone wants or being true to myself the same risk is there. In fact it's likely higher if I'm guessing and regardless, it's not personal. If I put an idea out there and someone hates it, then I come up with a new idea, or I let them explain what they want a bit more. It's not a big deal.

These days the briefs I get range from very fleshed out to a rough description, but there is always some interpretation involved. I don't spend a bunch of energy trying to guess what the client wants. I think about it, often do some research, then give some ideas based on the discussion. While I'm happy shooting to as detailed a brief as you might have, what I can really offer is a creative partner. You do what you do, I'll do what I do, and the work will be fantastic.

[joshrosscreative]

Shoot For Yourself

This is a photo of my grandmother. I took it because time has a way of slipping away, and I wanted to make sure that I had a picture of her. Getting a picture of her is tricky, though. She hates being in front of the camera, and she isn't accustomed to making concessions or allowing herself to be uncomfortable. I shot 6 actual frames of her, plus about 6 for the composite work involved, and she was already giving me a hard time about taking too many pictures and being too close and so on. Every time I talk to her these days, she makes a joke about the old lady she doesn't recognize who is staring back from her mirror. An image like this is just another reflection she doesn't really like. I didn't take the picture for her though, I took it for me. 

In fact, every image I take, I take for me. I don't punch a clock and show up to pass the time. I spend my time making the best images possible and the best way to do that is to always shoot for yourself. Obviously, I'm working for clients and making sure that they get exactly the image they need, but I'm still shooting for myself. And when I say that, what I really mean is that I work with my passion, rather than against it, to create images that fulfill the brief at the very minimum. If you are the kind of creative who spends energy being upset about how the client is limiting you, then you are missing the point. Create for yourself first, and look at anything the client requires as merely an opportunity to do the work in a specific way.  

It's also important to always keep in mind that clients hire you because of your unique way of seeing the world. If I were to suddenly shoot only what they asked for and nothing more, that would be doing everyone involved a disservice. Instead, I take every project on as if it were my own personal pet project, and I shoot for me. In this case, I was both the client and the creative, but I think it still works in the analogy. I know my grandmother isn't going to want a super up close image, and in this case I don't really either, but I also know that the only way to get the depth of field I want is to get really close. I could have gotten back and shot from much farther back. The results would have been fine, and my grandmother may have been happy, but it wouldn't have been my shot, and it wouldn't have been the best solution to the need either. Instead, I did something that my grandmother wouldn't have even known was possible. Every time I shot one image I also shot two others on the right and the left then stitched them together in post. By shooting for myself first, I was able to meet the request and at the same time provide an image that was above and beyond what was originally imagined. That's real problem solving, and that's what makes for great images.  

The conclusion to this particular story is that I got a beautiful picture that our family will be happy to have for many years to come, and when I showed it to my grandmother she said it was beautiful. So take a look at my work and if my vision fits your need, lets talk about your next project.

[joshrosscreative]

The End Goal

I read a lot of interviews with successful or up and coming photographers, and amongst those interviews, there is a subset that talk about how they don't think of the end game when they take pictures. They take them for the joy of it. I assure you I won't ever give an answer like that. Not because I'm not passionate, I am incredibly passionate, but because I think it's a lie or at least a missed opportunity. 

I am very passionate. I live or die by every image. A great image is the greatest thing in the world. It's the greatest drug, but better, because it's all internal. When I take a great image, I will sit back in my office chair with the image full screen while I brush my teeth. I will turn my computer on while I tie my shoes just to look at it for a bit. By the same token, an image that isn't right feels terrible. As anyone who takes pictures with any frequency knows, not every shot is a winner, and I will often sit at the computer as the images load off the card and my heart sinks as one bad image after another comes into Lightroom. Then all the sudden, when I feel as low as I think I can, the perfect shot will appear on the screen. That shot with just the right expression, or just the right composition, and my heart soars. I'm telling you this to be clear that this piece isn't about passion. I don't know if it's possible to be good at something without being passionate about it but I expect that those at the top of their game are passionate. Passion is a given, a requirement to even be in the game.   

So if passion isn't the issue, why won't you ever hear me saying that I just take pictures for the joy of it? It's because every time I take a picture, I have an end goal in mind. I don't take it for the joy of it, but that doesn't mean I don't derive joy from it. I take pictures to tell stories. I take pictures to solve a problem. I take pictures to amaze people. I take pictures to learn who I am or to teach others who they are. I take pictures to learn a new process. I take pictures for all kinds of reasons, but there is always a reason. Some part of me envies that idea of just being free to walk around and take pictures as a meditation, and in the past I've secretly thought it was somehow better. As I get older though, I realize it's BS. I'm driven, and I'm working towards a goal. When you take pictures without a goal, they tend to not be very good, and I don't want to waste energy taking bad pictures. In fact, I'd bet that if you challenged people who say they are taking pictures just for the joy of it, they actually have a reason that they might just be too afraid to admit. I don't want to live like that.  

How does this relate to the tear sheet above? It was Colleen Wainwright that helped me to realize the strength that comes with always having a purpose to my images. These days she speaks about marketing to photographers. I've never actually heard her speak. The only thing I know about its content is what I hear from those that hear her speak and occasionally contact me about it (she uses me as an example sometimes). In fact, it's not because she has ever given me advice. But she did recognize the way I am. I've always found her to be an admirable person and having her recognize something about me was a wonderful nudge for me to recognize it myself. 

I've known Colleen for close to 10 years since we were both designers, hanging out with a small group of other designers who wanted a community. We are both still a part of that community but neither of us are as large a presence as we were back then. These days we mostly talk via social media or when she occasionally contacts me to get some info about my marketing for her talks. But few years ago, she did something she called "50 for 50" where she shaved her head and raised $50,000 dollars for charity on her 50th birthday. She asked me to photograph at the event. I took portraits of everyone there, and I asked her if she would be willing to stop by my studio space the next day to shoot a few pictures of her new look. The picture you see of her was one of those pictures and it's gone on to live quite a life, even finding a home in a book called The Declaration of you. 

So remember, if you are going to do something then do it with purpose. I strive to be the best I can be, and I do things with a purpose. If you think that kind of drive and determination sounds good, then check out my work and lets talk about your next project.

[joshrosscreative]

The Liquid Flower

One of the unique things about my photography is my ability to photograph liquids in motion. There aren’t a lot of people that do this kind of work, and it happens to be one of my favorite types of photography. One of the things I love about it is the mix of analog and digital involved. It draws heavily on my background as a professional retoucher but in the same shoot, I get to take a can of paint and figure out how to physically create shapes while not getting it all over the studio and my equipment. It’s a ton of fun. 

Much of the photography I self-initiate comes about in a more intentional manner, but this photo was all about what I happened to have in my studio. When shooting the packaging and website images for What’s That Paint, I needed to use some green paint. I used a ridiculously small amount and after the shoot was done, it was practically sitting around the studio taunting me, daring me to come up with something cool! Even so, I spent a fair amount of time thinking about it as I had client shots and other personal work to finish first. Plus, it’s also always tough to come up with something when the metaphorical canvas is so blank. From the beginning I knew I wanted to do something on a background with a horizon line and on white but the question, of course, was what would I make with the paint. In this case, I decided to play to the cliche and make a plant. 

Once I had the idea in mind, I found a simple vector image to use as a template. Sometimes I find something online and sometimes I just make it in illustrator, but this planning is an important step. When you are throwing paint around it’s both tiring and random. You have to stay focused and you have to make sure you get what you need. For three dimensional shapes, you also need to use various things as a kind of mold. All of these things mean you need to know ahead of time what shapes you need. I like to use simple vector images because, like screen printing, you don’t want to get too complex with your shapes and the vector style lends itself well to that. These template images don’t actually reflect the final product much but they do give you an idea of the building block shapes involved. 

When you have planned well, the actual execution tends to be smooth and methodical and that was exactly the case here. Once everything was set up, it was a matter of first getting my hands dirty with the paint, then spending some serious time retouching the pieces and massaging everything into place. I follow the templates I find or create ahead of time, but I also allow for adjustments according to what I may have gotten with the camera. If there is a particularly cool piece I captured, I always look for a way to work that into the final composition even if that means changing the lines of the template. In this image, what I found was that I needed to add things that tipped off it’s composition. Once I got everything together initially it was looking too smooth and perfect so I had to go back and add more character and more drips. 

When the image is done, what I really love about the liquid work is the ability to create the images I want. I remember when I was a graphic designer, and I discovered how to create vector images. I told a friend at the time that it was a magical land where you could do what you want with no limits. Now, a great many years later, I’m finding that same freedom in a different medium. Working this way allows me to go beyond just making a product look fantastic. Working this way allows me to create things from scratch that tell the story that’s needed. 

So take a look at the splash and liquid photography, as well as the portrait and still life photography, on my website, and if you have a story you want to tell, lets tell it. 

[joshrosscreative]

Global Chef's Knife & A Custom Cutting Board I like my still life photography to be very simple in concept while visually surreal and illustrative. That means I tend to start by thinking of what I want to do, lots of things, then spend a bunch of time removing elements. This shot followed that pattern to a T. The cutting board is big and at first blush it's rather busy. I was also trying to use a piece of meat initially and I had all kinds of angles thrown in the mix. It wasn't until I broke the pieces down into their base elements and eliminated everything that was unnecessary that it came together. Always remember, restraint.       Check out more of my still life photography on my website and if you'd like to get yourself a cutting board like this let me know.