The Visual Palette: Defining Your Photographic Style

251 Pages·2015·25.38 MB·English

by  Brian Matiash

THE
VISUAL
PALETTE
Defining Your Photographic Style
BRIAN MATIASH
The Visual Palette: Defining Your Photographic Style Brian Matiash
brianmatiash.com
Project editor: Ted Waitt
Project manager: Matthias Rossmanith Marketing: Jessica Tiernan
Layout and type: Charlene Charles-Will Cover design: Charlene Charles-Will ISBN: 978-1-937538-69-9
1st Edition (1st printing, October 2015) © 2015 Brian Matiash
All images © Brian Matiash unless otherwise noted Rocky Nook Inc.
802 E. Cota Street, 3rd Floor Santa Barbara, CA 93103
USA
www.rockynook.com
Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services Distributed in the UK and Europe by Publishers Group
UK
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015947297
All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized
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and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.
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While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author
assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in Canada
Dedication
To my awe-inspiring wife, Nicole. Without your support and encouragement,
this book would never have happened. Thank you for the limitless love you
provide and for being my beacon of inspiration. I couldn’t do it without you, and
I’m so thankful that I never will have to. I love you with everything that I am.
Acknowledgements
Part of me is still in a bit of shock that I’m writing these acknowledgements
because it means that I’ve actually finished writing this book—my first. Anytime
I put my name on a project, I want to be absolutely certain that the results will be
excellent. This project has proven to be the toughest one I’ve ever undertaken
due to how much of myself I poured into it. Putting all of my ramblings together
into a cohesive body of work is no easy task, and that’s why I’d like to first
thank my editor, Ted Waitt. They say that a good wedding photographer also
plays double duty as a therapist for the soon-to-be married couple. For authors,
that responsibility is bestowed upon the editor, and for that, I am eternally
thankful, Ted. Your guidance and friendship throughout this process were
completely instrumental in getting this book across the finish line. Wicked
pissah, dude!
Of course, I’d also like to thank my longtime friend, Scott Cowlin, for giving me
this opportunity to begin with. You wouldn’t have this book in front of you if it
wasn’t for Scott’s strong belief in me. Thanks to you and the entire staff at
Rocky Nook and c’t Digital Photography magazine for your generosity.
Unfortunately, I don’t have enough pages allocated to properly thank my
amazing parents, Ann and Willie, and my beloved sister, Greta, for giving me
every building block needed to grow upon. Thank you for serving as such
wonderful role models, shining a bright light on what can result from hard work,
wholesome ethics, and loyalty. I love and respect you more than you’ll ever
know.
Speaking of family, I want to thank my surrogate west coast family, the
Bonhams—Brian, Kathi, Brianna, and Alex. While I live 2,904 miles from my
biological family, it is so wonderful to have your love and support in such close
proximity. I’d also like to give a special thanks to Brian’s manly calves that are
displayed in full regality on this book’s cover.
While gear isn’t everything, it does play a critical role in allowing me to execute
on my creative vision. So, I’d like to thank my partners at Sony Electronics,
Zeiss US, Really Right Stuff, Formatt-Hitech, G-Technology, on1, Peak Design,
and F-Stop Gear for your support in my photographic pursuits. In particular, I’d
like to thank Kayla Lindquist at Sony, Rod Clark at Formatt-Hitech, and Aimee
Davis at G-Technology for being such strong champions on my behalf. You rock
my world.
As the song goes, I get by with a little help from my friends, and fortunately I
have some truly special ones. You guys ‘n’ gals know who you are because
you’re the ones who have to deal with me the most. Thank you for always
sticking by, for keeping me grounded, and for having my back. I’d like to
especially thank some of my closest friends—Colby Brown, James Brandon,
Dave Veffer, Jeffrey Yen, and Matt Kloskowski—for the roles you’ve played in
my life. Also, this will be the last nice thing I’ll ever say to you five, so get this
page framed for posterity.
Finally, I’d like to thank the collective “you”: my fans, followers, and
supporters. Simply put, you are the reason why I do what I do. I am indebted to
all of you for your support, dedication, and friendship. I promise to keep putting
every ounce of energy I have into the effort to help all of you help yourselves
define your own visual palette.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
THE EVER-EXPANDING JOURNEY
Growth Is a Lifelong Process
I, Photographer
You’ve Got to See. See?
It’s Mine. My Precious
The Roads of the Journey
PART I
COMPOSITION
CHAPTER 2
RULES, RULES RULES
Obey the Rules . . . Sometimes
Rule 1: The Rule of Thirds
Rule 2: The Construct of Depth
Rule 3: Leading Lines
Your Takeaways
CHAPTER 3
LOOKING TO SEE
The Task of Seeing
A Case for Rubbernecks and Ballheads
My Legendary and Infinitesimally Short Attention Span
The Big Apple of My Eye
Your Takeaways
CHAPTER 4
ALLIES IN DISTORTION AND PERSPECTIVE
See What You Want to See
Leading Lines
Depth of Field
A Friend in Distortion
The Dutch Tilt
The Funkbuster
A Word about Distortion and Compression
Your Takeaways
CHAPTER 5
THE “GIMME” SHOT
What Exactly Is the “Gimme Shot”?
The Gimme Shot in Practice
Your Takeaways
CHAPTER 6
THE BEST-LAID PLANS
Fortune Favors the Prepared . . . Most of the Time
Before the Shoot
Heading to the Shoot
After the Shoot
Your Takeaways
CHAPTER 7
FOREVER THE TOURIST
A Fateful Stroll in Infrared
When in Rome
Your Takeaways
PART II
POST-PROCESSING AND STYLIZATION
CHAPTER 8
POST-PROCESSING AND THE RIGHTINGS OF WRONGS
The Tragedy of the Sloppy Photo
Correcting Perspective
Correcting Color
Correcting Anomalies
Your Takeaways
CHAPTER 9
PHILOSOPHIES OF STYLIZATION
Photography’s Cosmetics Department
Seeing with Your Creative Eye
Greatness in an Ensemble
Your Takeaways
CHAPTER 10
THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Rhyme and Reason
Your Bag o’ Tricks
High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Split Toning
Texture Blending
Black and White Conversions
The Case of Protanopia and Deuteranopia
Your Takeaways
PART III
SHARING YOUR WORK AND YOUR BRAND
To Thine Own Self Be True
CHAPTER 11
YOU = YOUR BRAND
What’s in a Name?