backup: A learning process

My first time taking part in a competition (SYPA) seriously.. and the first time I had to print some of my favourite images. There’s a lot to learn from the process.. the selection of pictures, the editing, proofing and finally printing. Click on for the whole story…

Photo selection

As a photographer, our sense of judgment is often affected by the process of obtaining the pictures. A lucky shot, or one that you’ve put in extra effort in taking, is likely to rank high among others. However, in a competition, you are not the judge (obviously). The judges have no idea about the story behind, and hence it is up to the photo to tell them how much you’ve been through, to demonstrate your photog skills, and to scream at them to “look at me!”

The only way to know the strength of your pictures is to get feedback from others.. others who are more experienced. I’m glad I enlisted the help of protogs like Ray and Guoxiong, who’ve probably seen millions of pictures up till today (and perhaps was a judge themselves in the past). One has to learn to put your ego aside, and accept the criticisms they might give. Suck it up even if they tell you to discard your prized pictures. This is how you know your weaknesses..

Getting it in print

This is not as simple as it sounds.. as it isn’t easy to get prints to match what you see on your screen. Screens are transmissive, while prints are reflective.. Prints are meant to be seen from afar, while on a screen you could zoom down to the pixel level. How to judge? Lucky for me, I have a beautiful screen to take advantage of. Set it to the right orientation, black out everything else, and stand from afar. Remember to use the correct profile for proofing, and with a bit of adjustment (after comparing prints with the screen), i was able to get the colours to match almost exactly with the 2nd print.

There’s one thing i must mention… printing large (about S8R size) tends to give your photos a very different effect.. Composition plays a very important role here.. especially negative space, as the eyes will tend to roam about when faced with a large picture. Details will be visible without zooming too.. so one has to be very meticulous about what you want to show/hide.

But when an image is printed well.. the satisfaction is very high. Your favourite image.. which previously only existed in digital form.. is now tangible.

Submission

Every picture must come with a title.. and I’m not the chim type who could generate poetic titles on demand. Lucky for me (again), I have someone who compliments me very well, and I love the titles as much as I love the pictures =)

Finally, here are the submitted pictures:

From Heaven to Earth – NightScene