Robin Tryloff and Chris Foss honored for Photography Internships

The College of DuPage Photography Program is proud to announce that Robin Tryloff and Chris Foss were chosen to receive a Bronze Award and an Honorable Mention respectively in the 2009 Striving For Excellence Internship Program.

The Striving for Excellence Award program evaluates internships based on the students’ advancement of their employment skills, and professional and personal development. Gold, Silver, and Bronze, are the first, second, and third prizes, which include cash awards and recognition plaques. Honorable mentions also are awarded.

Tryloff was recognized for her internship with Miles Boone Photography. http://www.milesboonephotography.com/

“Robin is a great intern”, says Boone,  “COD taught her so well that she was able to jump right in during a shoot or back at the studio with Photoshop.”

Miles Boone © 2009 David Smith

“In addition,” he adds, “her professionalism and experience make her a great resource when dealing with clients.”

Tryloff  helps Boone with daily operations in his office, as well as with location shoots. She assists with processing, editing, and retouching images as well as scanning and storing published photos. She also arranges for equipment repair, handles some client communications, and does photo shoot pre-production by attending client meetings, and scouting locations. “I also manage the shot list, do some on-site trouble-shooting and assisting with logistics. This includes equipment set-up, adjustments, and breakdown”, she says.

Robin Tryloff assists Miles Boone

“Having an intern has helped my business tremendously,” says Boone. “Robin has helped with some of the work that I never seem to get around to doing, such as backing up files.”

He says that Tryloff has also reinforced some of his photographic practices and made him realize that some tasks could be eliminated or done differently.

“Having an intern forced me to rethink why and how I do everything.  Since an internship is designed as a learning experience, questions are very important.  It forced me to have better answers to, “Why did you do that?”

Tryloff says the internship helps her grow as a photographer because it “is an exceptional opportunity to gain insight into how a sole proprietor photography business is run. I learned assignment preparation; equipment operations and logistics; photo shoot management; advanced training in lighting and posing; client relations, and post-production digital asset management.”

She added, “ It also gave me my first opportunity to shoot professional projects, and led my first paid work. This real-world experience furthered my equipment knowledge, advanced my professional practices, and generally boosted my confidence in my abilities in this profession.”

To prepare for an internship, Boone recommends that students “learn as much as you can about photography in general.  This is obvious, but I don’t want it to be understated.  Pay special attention to workflow issues and Photoshop.  These are two areas that can be troublesome to working photographers.  You can make an impression by helping them with these things.”

He also advises,  “be sure that you are as professional as possible.  Show up on time and be ready to work.”

Tryloff’s advice for students who want to pursue a photography internship are “to learn everything you can in the classroom, and find the right mentor.

“I used every single thing I learned in class at COD. I was fortunate to find Miles and get an internship with him. With 20 years of professional experience, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and shares it generously. Miles always explained what he was doing and why, and encouraged me to ask questions. When I was not familiar with something, he gave me a tutorial on the task/technique, and was always patient with me. I feel very privileged that, after two semesters of internship, he has kept me on as an assistant.”

…

Greg DeKing owner of Insync Photography in Montgomery, Illinois, says he was very happy to have had Chris Foss work as his intern for the last two years.

http://www.insyncphoto.com/

Chris Foss

“Chris is very self-motivated and inventive in his work,” says DeKing.

“He developed new systems to facilitate our work in the studio from beginning to end. Chris assisted on wedding shoots, did Photoshop retouching, digital asset management, and created multi-page custom wedding albums. The wedding albums are assembled digitally, so brides can now get them a week after their final prints are chosen.”

“Unfortunately,” DeKing added, only ten percent of the wedding business is shooting, Very little time is spent behind the camera.”

Foss describes his experience at Insync Photography as “giving me a way to bridge the gap between school and the business world. It has allowed me to see how much hard work it takes to run your own studio.”

DeKing says, “I gave him a key to the studio and he came and went as he pleased. It was a good experience. I think he learned quite a bit as he looked at my photos and asked what techniques I used. He quickly got the feel of the system. It was good because it took some of the pressure off me so I could be more creative.”

“It takes a great deal of time, dedication and effort to run your own business,” he explains. “The most important thing that I have learned about running a studio is how to be responsible. You have to be responsible to your customers by meeting all their expectations. You have to be responsible to your studio and yourself by showing up every day, no matter what, even if you feel horrible. As a photographer and studio owner it is your responsibility to get all the supplies and do all the paperwork in order to ensure that everything runs smoothly.”

“The internship was good for my business because it took some of the load off of me.” says DeKing. “Chris noted my photographic style and decided to emulate and build on it. If a studio is looking for help, internships are a great idea.”

Foss says,  “I would advise other students to get as much from an internship as they can. My experience is over because my boss has retired and is no longer in the wedding business. Take advantage of every opportunity!”

(To read about the wide variety of internships COD students are doing, go to http://www.cod.edu/ratemyinternship/

Nature Photographers Do It In the Wild!

Nature Photography – Photo 1450

By Fred Drury

This course will introduce you to the specialized techniques for photographing the natural environment.   We’ll get off to a fantastic start, taking the COD jet down to the Cayman Islands for the weekend and learn about underwater photography at the famed Cathy Church School.  Think sand beaches, blue water, warm breezes and rum drinks! Hmmm…

The course runs the full Spring term and consists of 7, 2-week units, each unit aimed at a different topic in nature photography.  Units will include, but not necessarily in this order: Composition in landscape photography, Hyperfocal focus for better landscapes, Wildlife photography, Macro-and super-macro photography, Creative flash for nature photography, and HDR options in nature photography.  Several experienced nature photographers will discuss and demonstrate their favorite techniques both by lecture and by field participation.

Each 2-week unit will begin with a lecture-presentation-discussion of the topic (or technique) in the classroom.  The next week we’ll apply the topic in the field.  The following week (back in the classroom) we’ll begin the session with a unit quiz and then critique the images submitted from the previous week’s field exercise; then move on to the lecture-presentation-discussion of the next unit.

Some of the field locations are indoors, more often outdoors.  Indoor locations used in past years include Hauserman Orchids, and the Garfield Park Conservatory.  Outdoor locations used in the past include The Morton Arboretum, Lyman Woods, Fermi Lab, Starved Rock State Park, Warrenville Grove and Messenger Woods.

In the interest of full disclosure, the bit about the COD jet and the Caymans was ‘marketing fluff’ included at the recommendation of a former Governor’s aide.  Actually that first outing is usually to The Morton Arboretum and we dress for snow and cold weather!  But we do have fun, and we do get some great images.  If you have, or think you might have, an interest in nature photography, this course will give you the opportunity to learn more skills and field practices.

Included with this shameless promotional are examples of course work done by last year’s class, all of whom were very interested but relatively inexperienced nature photographers.  I think they worked hard and did a great job!

If you have questions, drop me an email at: fred@marklandimaging.com

 

Curto Talks Podcasting & Social Media at PhotoPlus Expo

COD Photography Program professor Jeff Curto recently traveled to New York, NY to give a presentation at PhotoPlus Expo, one of the world’s largest photographic conferences.

Daguerre Rocks the iPod

For the third year in a row, Curto was invited to be on the presenter’s roster at the Expo, which ran  from October 21 to 24. PhotoPlus is billed as “The most important event in photography” and is held at the Javits Center in NY. The speaker’s roster consists of a literal “Who’s Who” of the professional photography world and Jeff is really very honored to be asked to be a speaker.

“Because of my experience with podcasting,” Curto said, “I get to spend some time helping other photographers understand how to use that technology. I’ve talked about that in the past, but this year I brought in additonal content about using social media like Twitter,  Facebook and blogs to help photographers see how that can be used in their overall marketing and communication efforts.”

You can hear the presentation that Jeff gave by visiting this web page: http://jeffcurto.com/photoplus/. There you’ll find audio and visuals from his presentation, as well as hundreds of links to information about podcasting, Twitter, Facebook and blogging.

In addition to his solo presentation, Jeff took part in a panel discussion on “Teaching Photography in the Digital Age.” His  fellow panelists included the photography program chair from the Arts Center College of Design in California and a faculty member from the School of the Visual Arts in New York. As Curto put it, “I was in pretty good company.” The discussion centered around using new technologies to teach with as well as creating curriculum that takes advantage of new photographic ideas.

Not only did Jeff get to speak, but he also was able to attend any of  the other presentations that happened at the conference and visit the huge trade show that highlights all the new photographic products that are typically introduced at the event. “I saw some really great and inspiring presentations from photographers Phil Borges, Vincent Laforet and Stephen Johnson, as well as by gallery owners Brian Clamp and Debra Klomp Ching.” The interchange of ideas at an event like this is a big draw for Curto: “I went to Phil Borges’ presentation, and he attended mine; we learned from each other. I also spent some time talking with one of my favorite rock and roll photographers, Lynn Goldsmith, about how her new fine art work is progressing and ideas for marketing that work and separating it from her iconic rock and roll work.”

“It was a great week!” says Curto; “I hope to be asked back again next year!”

Resolution!

Q: “I have a dumb question. My client says he needs an image that’s 5×6 inches at 300 Pixels Per Inch, but the file as it came out of my camera is 72 Pixels Per Inch. What should I do? How do I make it the right size? Do I downsample the image? Upsample? I’m so confused.”

A: It’s not a dumb question at all. I think the “resolution” question continues to be one of the most misunderstood and confounding pieces of the digital photography era.

Remember that all Photoshop knows is “how many pixels are there?” It simply counts the total number of pixels (rows x columns) and doesn’t much care about the number of pixels per inch. The pixels per inch is really a “human construct” that simply defines the size of the image as it will be printed. The term “Resolution” is confusing and sometimes misleading, because it’s only when we define how big those pixels are (how many of them there are in an inch) that we have a sense of whether the image has “enough” resolution for a given printed size.

So, a file that is 1500 pixels by 2000 pixels will be seen by Photoshop as 20.8 inches 27.7 inches in size when given a “Pixel Per Inch” number of 72 PPI. To do the math, 1500 divided by 72 equals 20.8 and 2000 divided by 72 equals 27.7.

That same 1500 pixel by 2000 pixel image will be seen by Photoshop as 5 inches by 6.6 inches when the Pixels Per Inch are set at 300 PPI. (1500 / 300 = 5 and 2000 / 300 = 6.6).

In both cases, the TOTAL NUMBER OF PIXELS in the image DID NOT CHANGE. We simply reassigned the total number of pixels to a different number of pixels in every inch, resulting in a file that would print at such dramatically different sizes.

Now, the one piece of information you either left out in your question or that you didn’t get from your client is “at what size will the image be printed?”

If the example I gave above was your image and your client needed it at 5×6 inches and 300 pixels per inch, but your existing file is 72 pixels per inch, you wouldn’t need to “resample” the image at all. You’d leave the image at the same total number of pixels and just tell the file that there is a different number of pixels in every inch (just like in the example above).

You would do this in Photoshop by going to the Image menu and choosing “Image Size…” At the bottom of that dialog box, there is a checkbox for “resample image” which, when *unchecked*, leaves the total number of pixels the same and only changes the number of pixels in every inch.

The dilemma comes when you have either too many pixels or not enough pixels for the desired number of pixels per inch and printed size. At that point, you have to “upsample” (add more pixels to) or “downsample” (delete pixels from) your image to get the size and number of pixels per inch needed. The problem here is that when you do that, you risk having an image that doesn’t look as good as it might because Photoshop has to figure out which pixels to get rid of (“downsample”) or to add (“upsample”). You do this by checking that “resample” checkbox to the *on* position.

This is a task that Photoshop isn’t bad at for a small jump in total number of pixels, but when asked to get rid of a *lot* of pixels or (worse) to add a *lot* of pixels, the results sometimes look soft and lack detail. Think of it as if your photograph was a mosaic picture on a wall and you needed to fit it into either a smaller wall (downsample) or a bigger wall (upsample). Which of the mosaic tiles should you remove or add that would get you the right result but still have the picture look “right.”

So, for your purposes, I’d try using Image> Image Size…  with “resample” unchecked to get the right number of pixels per inch (in this case, 300) and see how big your image is. Once you’ve done that and you find that you need to make the image bigger or smaller, call up the Image> Image Size… dialog box again, check the “resample” checkbox and enter the number of inches x inches that you need the final image to be, aware of the fact that if you add or subtract pixels, your image’s quality may suffer.

Plan to Attend the National SPE Conference!

SPE National Conference - Philadelphia!

I know I promote the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) a lot… but, hey… I’m on the organization’s Board of Directors!

Photo students— you’d be amazed and astonished if you attended one of the national SPE conferences. Hundreds of students and faculty from other schools, some of the best photographers, photo educators and “photo thinkers” in the country and really excellent presentations. I know that many of you spend a lot of time and money going to things like Photoshop World… this is an opportunity to feed the NON-Technical side of your head (though there are also Adobe Demo sessions and Industry seminars, too). Photography is about ideas and an SPE conference is Photo Idea Central. Great Keynote speakers, portfolio reviews, portfolio sharing, gallery tours… there’s a lot packed into just a few days.

Download the PDF of the conference’s content and check out what’s going on at SPE in Philly this coming spring.

As an added bonus, student volunteer scholarships are available… volunteer and you get a dramatically reduced conference fee… AND you get a half-day seminar with Mary Virginia Swanson, Dennis Keeley and Susan kae Grant – “A Life in Art: The Realities and the Economy“

Photographer Oelerich Talks To Class

Winnetka-based photographer Kate Oelerich visited the Photography Program last week.

Kate Oelerich at COD

She toured the facilities and then spent a couple hours talking with students in Jeff Curto’s Photo 1201 (Tools & Techniques for Digital Photography) class and describing the trajectory of her 30+ year career as a photographer.  She brought examples of work in both print and electronic versions.

Oelerich’s work is mostly portraiture, and done  exclusively out-of-doors. She explained how she’s created an “outdoor studio” in her back yard by landscaping and terracing the space. She can shoot at nearly any time of the day by moving subjects around the yard.

She’s never advertised in any way, depending on word-of-mouth and strategic donations to events like charity “silent auctions” for spreading the word about her business. She also uses greeting cards, both as a marketable product and as a way to put her business name out there.

Kate Oelerich at COD

Some other bits that Oelerich shared with the class:

• On Pricing: “If no one complains about your prices, you’ve priced yourself too low.”
• On “Freebies”: “NEVER give your work away, no matter what the situation. Your work has value and you must always maintain that value.”
• On post-production: “I use a professional retoucher; it takes her a fraction of the time it would take me to do the same task, so I save money and can spend the time working on new business.”
• On web domain names: “Why would I want to have a domain name like “www.elitephotography.com” or something like that? My name is Kate Oelerich and, even though my name is a little hard to spell, I want people to remember me and associate me and my name with fine portraiture.”

It was great having Kate Oelerich visit the class; a big thanks goes out to her for making the trek from Winnetka and sharing her time and expertise. For more info about Kate, visit her website at: http://www.kateoelerichphotography.com/

Kate Oelerich at COD

Zombies Invade COD Photo Department

© 2009 David Smith

The COD Fall Portrait Class has welcomed local actors, celebrities, athletes fashionistas, students, families, children and dogs, to pose for them every Friday this semester. Things changed when some boisterous, disruptive and unruly visitors stormed the Photo Department just before Halloween.

Word about the weekly modeling opportunity got out to a student Zombie group, and what  usually is a calm day of structured, professional practice in studio photography became an unruly, dangerous and tumultuous one.

©2009 David Smith

First, the Zombies wandered into the Photo Lounge, where they threatened to attack and devour students if their demands to be photographed were not met at once.

©2009 David Smith

 

Thinking fast on her feet, makeup artist Lacey Mulder distracted them from their quest for human victims by demonstrating the importance of good makeup before having their portraits taken. Vanity won out, and several Zombies allowed Mulder to touch them up as Portrait students debated over whether or not to include the zombies in their photo sessions.

©2009 David Smith

David Smith was photographing twin models Hannah and Sharon Talcott when they heard the shouting and heavy footsteps outside the studio door. They ventured outside to be quickly surrounded by the crowd of impatient Zombies.

The mindless, unfeeling monsters with a taste for human flesh impatiently ignored all polite requests to wait to be photographed and began to move in on the twins.

Fearing for their lives, the sisters fled down the halls of the Arts Center, only to be pursued by the throng of hungry flesh eating zombies.

©2009 David Smith

Smith, realizing he had to make the most of this opportunity, had the presence of mind to grab his camera and began directing the Zombies to run down the hall while he photographed the action. Fortunately for the twins, the Zombies were slow on their feet and the twins were able to escape unharmed as Smith documented the drama.

© David Smith 2009

©2009 David Smith

Another Portrait class member, who wished to remain anonymous, also conquered his fears that afternoon and captured the horror in this video clip with his Canon 5D camera.

Finally satisfied that they had been photographed enough, the Zombies then proceeded to a Halloween party on the other side of campus.

Thanks to his uncommon bravery, Smith and the models came out unscathed, with memorable photojournalistic and studio images. Catastrophe was avoided once again by good photographic instincts.

©2009 David Smith

©2009 David Smith

Student Laurie Panico in International Photo Exhibit

A photograph by COD Photography student Laurie Panico was accepted into the Center for Fine Art Photography’s latest exhibition, “New Visions.” The Center

"The Door" - Photograph by Laurie Panico

for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colorado promotes the art of photography by supporting the growth of creative artists through exhibitions and educational programs.

Laurie’s photograph, “The Door” was selected by juror, Michael Itkoff, a Founding Editor of Daylight Magazine, a print and online publication that is one of the premier showcases for contemporary photography. Itkoff has been a reviewer for New York Photo Festival, En Foco, Critical Mass, ASMP and Santa Fe Center for Photography. He selected Laurie’s photograph along with 49 other images created by artists from Canada, France, Italy and the United States.

Laurie is understandably excited about being in the exhibition: “I’m happy that my hard work in the studio paid off!” Her image was one of 50 selected out of over 1200 photographs submitted.

The New Visions exhibition will be on display in the Center’s online gallery and physical gallery from January 15 – February 13, 2010. The public and artists’ reception will be held in Fort Collins on February 5, 2010 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm.

You can see more of Laurie’s work on her website: www.ptptphotos.com

Congratulations, Laurie!

Student D. Hagen Receives International Recognition

Denis Hagen - "The New Shape of Autumn"

College of DuPage Photography student Denis Hagen has received a Special Recognition Merit Award for artwork selected for the “11th Annual Painting,

Drawing, Photography & Print Juried Online International Art Exhibition” hosted by Upstream People Gallery.

This international exhibition received approximately 450 entries from around the world and 92 artists were selected by the juror Larry Bradshaw, Professor of Art at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, U. S. A. Professor Bradshaw states this about this specially recognized work: “‘Denis Hagen has a mastery in his digital manipulations. In “The New Shape of Autumn” he is able to develop a kind of fluctuating spatial sense.”‘

The exhibition will featured during November 2009 and continue online in the archives section at http://www.upstreampeoplegallery.com through October 31, 2010.

The prizewinning image is one of five photographs that Denis has in the show.

Congratulations, Denis!

Sevigny speaks to Pro Practices Students

Social Documentary Photographer John Sevigny spent almost a decade working as a journalist, including stints with the Associated Press Mexico City office, and the Miami bureau of EFE News, the official information agency of the Government of Spain. He has also worked as a human rights activist.

Sevigny spoke to the Professional Practices in Photography class last Thursday, October 8th and gave the students some valuable advice on how to succeed in today’s market.

He told them that the most important thing to do is to develop an online presence.” Show that you are savvy with technology,” he said. He advised students to “start a blog and learn to use good key words so that your work will be found by search engines.”

He says that he has gotten exhibitions through contacts he has made on Twitter, through his blog: http://www.gonecity.blogspot.com/ as well as his newsletter. “I get a lot of hits on my blog, and I send out a newsletter to tell people what’s on my blog.”

Sevigny has shown his fine art photography in Monterrey, Saltillo and Zacatecas in Mexico; in Florida, California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Louisiana and Colorado in the United States, and in Lisbon, Portugal. His work is collected throughout the United States, including the University of Miami’s Center for Latin American Studies and several private collections.

Sevigny has also curated art exhibitions in Mexico and is interested in promoting international relationships between young artists. He recently founded Galeria Sevigne at La Casa Tyihui in Saltillo, whose mission is to bring together artists whose work deals with social commentary and reform.

He said that students should contribute art to websites like the Center for Fine Art Photography’s website  http://www.c4fap.org/ because it is non-profit and has good themes.

He recommended http://www.socialdocumentary.net/ where “For as little as 99 cents per image you can put up an decent online portfolio”. He also recommended http://www.luminous-lint.com/app/home/ to reach fine art collectors.

He said the two keys to success in photography are to “distinguish yourself from the competition” and to “be completely dedicated to photography. Let it take you toward exactly what you will be doing. Work at whatever you can within photography full-time.”

“If you want to be a photojournalist, learn to write and you will be twice as marketable,” he advised. He also said that learning a second language may also lead to work. “Another marketable skill is teaching,” he said.

“The worst mistake you can make is to under price yourself” he said. ”Charge enough. Price yourself in a way that leaves you a cushion.”

“While you work you need to be very stingy with your money. Economize!  You are a small business – bookkeeper, secretary, janitor and photographer. Places like Costco can make beautiful prints for very little. You won’t make money if
you go to premium labs and don’t charge enough.”

Sevigny, who has had numerous exhibitions, advised photographers geared toward a fine art career to “start by doing juried exhibitions” like artshow.com.
(http://www.artshow.com/)

“Make contacts and more contacts.” “Organize your own show in a local venue and see where it leads. Look at paintings to get ideas for photo themes.”

He recommends a simple artists’ statement that says ‘here is what I do and why.’ “Be honest about the work.  Be clear and concise. Don’t think that flowery writing can make up for weakness in your photos.”

Another tip he gave was “look for mentors outside of school. Ask established photographers to mentor you. You will form relationships that will help you in the future.”

Sevigny has kindly offered to critique COD students’ artist statements. You can write him at sevignyj@yahoo.com.