Feddo van Gogh is a still-life specialist and an early digital pioneer. He does his own image editing. In this article, he outlines the changes brought about by a digital workflow. At the time of publication, he planned to discuss various aspects of post-production in later articles.
When I bought my first Leaf digital back fifteen years ago, I barely knew what to expect. I had been editing my scanned slides for years and mainly saw the digital camera as something that eliminated the need for scanning. Everything else would stay the same. In practice, things turned out very differently.
Once you start shooting digitally, the entire creative process changes. Because the screen gives you such precise control, you make major adjustments to your subject much more readily than before. After all, you can easily return to the previous image.
We’ll just Photoshop that in, shall we?
In the past, after spending hours perfecting a setup and finally having a test slide developed, it took a great deal to make me change everything again. Add an effect light in the background or use a different light source? Forget it. I would have to start over with test slides to bring the result under control. There was also the constant threat of being half a stop over or under, which could make or break the image.
A Changed Workflow
Very little remains of my analog workflow. Still life is all about control, and digital photography provides it: correcting a 48-bit file by a stop in either direction is a piece of cake. But the possibilities do not end there. Suppose I want to brighten a spot with a small mirror, but it causes unwanted reflections elsewhere in the still life.
In the past, I accepted a compromise by using a smaller mirror that unfortunately could not produce the optimal effect. Today, I make two different exposures, one with the mirror and one without it.
During post-production, I combine the images using a layer mask. I use the same approach to deal with unmanageable contrast or reflective surfaces: I adjust the lighting for the second shot and merge the images later. The result is perfection without compromise.
Do Not Overdo It
With these possibilities at your disposal, you naturally have to keep a cool head: before you know it, you will end up with unnatural results. Making sound, responsible choices requires at least as much craftsmanship as it did in the past. You may be tempted to use every technique available, but true mastery lies in restraint. Fortunately, photographers are exceptionally well equipped to judge how light and shadow behave.
Making sound, responsible choices requires at least as much craftsmanship as it did in the past
Pitfalls
There are other pitfalls. My clients contribute to them as well. Once they realized everything that was possible with the new digital technology, they began tempting me into elaborate cut-and-paste constructions. They might, for example, arrive with a damaged or half-finished prototype. In the past, it would simply have been returned until something better was available.
If you are not careful, these days you are handed a jumble of objects and asked to turn them into something entirely new. ‘You’ll just have to Photoshop that in. Oh, yes… the color will be red, and I’ll email you an example of the texture.’ There is, however, a limit to what can be achieved. Stray too far and it is no longer a photograph but an illustration, which is a different profession.
Cutting and Pasting
Years ago, a client commissioned an image for a charter airline. The sketch showed an airplane tray table with several products in meal trays. None of the items truly belonged there, and most did not fit. I could photograph only the seat-back tray table on location; I shot everything else separately in the studio and composited it into the trays afterward.
I ultimately had a file in which all the objects and their individual shadows occupied 22 separate layers. It took us a week to construct summer and winter versions. Dozens of test JPEGs went back and forth by email. The client was satisfied: he had complete control over the production. Yet with a slightly more realistic concept, I could easily have shot these stills in a single day and achieved a more convincing result.
A Practical Approach
Sometimes digital techniques solve a practical problem. In the past, there was usually another solution, but today image editing can often solve it faster and more cheaply.
That tall stack of trade magazines is one example. The client has only a small stack, but the sketch shows a towering pile. I photograph the existing stack at different heights and arrange the magazines slightly differently each time. An hour spent creating paths and adjusting shadows does the rest.
The thick catalog of an electronics manufacturer is not photographed again every year. Unfortunately, products in the range do change regularly. Because they often appear in the large overview images, I account for this while shooting. I make extra exposures in which every object in the composition stands separately. Once the main photograph is finished, it is simply a matter of moving things around.
Good archiving is essential, of course. When the product range changes, I photograph the new item separately in the same position and regroup the composition. Adjust the shadows and the job is done. It is quite a lot of work, but reshooting the entire catalog each year is more expensive.
Learning the Ropes
The transition from analog to digital therefore involves much more than simply replacing your camera: you have to adapt your entire workflow. There are pitfalls everywhere. If you do not fully understand all the possibilities, it is better not to use them yet. It is important, however, to familiarize yourself with every aspect of post-production as soon as possible.
Outsourcing is expensive and cumbersome for the client. Moreover, clients prefer a finished product for which the photographer takes responsibility. The photographer is also best equipped for the task because they know everything about the images they created.
At the time, I planned to explore various aspects of digital post-production in greater depth over a series of articles to help readers get started.
