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The Big Q
March 4th, 2009
Some outstanding questions from the past weeks, both those you left in the comments of the Big Q, and those sent by emails, etc. And by outstanding I mean they never got answered, not so much that they’re really exceptional questions, necessarily. For those unfamiliar with the Big Q, this is a new feature where you ask questions and merely answering them relieves me of the need to scour my brain for more blog material. 
Wallpaper. A number of you have asked how I make the wallpaper. One savvy reader even wrote in begging me how I do it because he currently makes one in Photoshop, creating 31 text layers on a grid and painfully moving them around into alignment. So I copied his text and replied with, Heres how I do it…and pasted that sucker right back in there. I wish I coulda given a better answer, something more magical. But that’s how I do it. Open Photoshop, create a grid with guides, and lay it out layer by layer. the good news is once you’ve done one you only need to do seven versions as every month will begin on one of the seven days o’ the week. And once in a while you turn the 31 off, once in 12 you turn of the 29, and 30 too.Then I pick an image, drag this group of layers on top and I’m done. Option 2 – do a screen capture of the calendar on your Mac Dashboard, then crop it and overlay it onto your image. Easy but not as custom. As for the actual image on the March wallpaper and the work done in post-production, which is what some of you were asking, I’m working on a Here’s How/Here’s Why, kind of video thing.
Model Releases. Oh, the amount of questions I continue to get about this. Do I? Don’t I? Let me simplify this to terms that would make a litigator break into hives. A model release is needed to satisfy legal issues surrounding publication, ie USE of the image. It is not required to CREATE the image. There’s lots of places on this planet where you can get arrested for pointing your camera at anything other than a bug, there are places you need a permit to set up and shoot, and there are places you’ll just get stoned (with rocks) if you shoot the wrong thing. But model releases are not needed to create images. Do I get model releases? Yes. And no. Depends on the situation and it depends on the application for which I am creating the image. When I am working, for example, for World Vision, i have an assistant or producer who gets these releases filled out and signed and we carefully caption my images so we can cross-reference them with the releases. When I am shooting in India on my own travels I do not. Just imagine how you would react if a foreigner speaking no English walked up to you, took your photograph, and then presented you with a legal document. I don’t think so. Yes, it can be done, and it has been. But it’s not my way (you have to read this line with an Obi Wan Kenobi voice). Anything more on model releases should be gleaned from actual lawyer types. There’s an excellent on-going column in Photoshop User magazine, and as a bonus, if you buy the next issue there’s an article in there about my travel workflow.
Lens or Camera. Should I spend my money on a better lens or better camera? This depends largely on whether you have a lens or not. If you do not have a lens, your camera will work better if you get one. But if you already have both, and all other sarcasm/considerations aside…the better investment is in the glass. Why? Bodies obsolesce within about, oh, the time it takes to remove the new camera from the box. Lenses take longer. And a quality lens has a more significant effect on the look of the image than making the jump from, say, a 20D to a 30D. I try to get minimum 3 years out of a camera body, but way longer out of a lens. It’s smarter money spent on better images.
In my absence the Big Q got neglected. Let’s ramp it up again, folks. If you have a question about gear, travel, shooting, or business-y kind o’ stuff, leave it in the comments and I’ll pick one or two to reply to next week.
Thanks David, I’d just like to add, for the people who think either body or glass will make a HUGE difference, that spend the money on travel, or don’t – and take the time to take more photos. Nothing will help you improve more than practice. Though when it comes to wanting and buying gear to do something “better” I’m as guilty of this as anyone.
Set the dates in Illustrator, drag the file on to your PS image, scale if necessary, move until you’re happy with it, job done
Just for reference for german readers: In Germany it is illegal to “take pictures” on the street without permission of the photographed person. Usually it doesn´t make a difference to the people photographed, but legally there is a difference.
I don´t wanna be a smartass, but it´s important to not get in trouble…
Sebastian – I don’t think you’re being a smartass at all – there are plenty of places where the right to photograph whatever – and whomever – you like is no right at all. But in terms of the issue of model releases, that’s a different issue. Permission to shoot is one thing, but it’s not a matter of signed documents (I’m assuming). Permission to publish often is. For the photographer carrying a stack of model releases and wondering when she needs them signed, it’s a question of end-use. If she’s making the images for her own use with no intent to sell or publish beyond editorial use, those releases can stay in the bag. She should still get permission, implied or explicit, if that’s what satisfies the laws or values of the context in which she’s shooting.
I know it’s tougher and tougher to shoot in the UK, and France was making noise about making it illegal to photograph people without their permission, I don’t know if it ever happened.
Ow I’ve got one.
When I’m making pics and post-processing them later, I always find it hard to be objective. When a photo reminds me of a good time, it’s more likely that I’ll like it. But that’s very subjective.
How do you handle these kind of problems?
With all the traveling you do, you must get a lot of crud on your gear. What would be your gear cleaning routine?
I’m often troubled from shooting at family dinners (kids spit, pets lick, food splatter…), and also blown dirt from coastal areas. Often a big air blower bulb doesn’t dislodge anything that’s been wet, but i hate to wipe filters and bare glass (often forced to take filters off at night) from fear of scratching the coating, even with 3M micro fibre cloths.
What should I be doing? What would you do?