I recently ran into this Apple video which talks about design and form and realized how well it pertains to photography. While I am not an Apple fanboy, no one can argue they put the most effort to make design functional and transparent. While I have the iPhone and Cinema display and think they are very well designed, I have to say there has never been a practical mouse solution from Apple. How many novices know to actually CTRL + click to substitute the lack of a right mouse button? I won’t even get started on OS X. But enough of my disclaimers before promoting Apple in this entry.

The video talks about “getting design out of the way” and catering design based on the function and form of the device. Let’s talk about function first and how it relates to photography. Whenever you have an assignment, you need to decide what style are you going for, who the client is, and what is the final output of the product. Unfortunately most of the guys I talk to are tech geeks who think the highest specs are always better. While not a bad thing in concept, in reality it may be inefficient nor cost effective. The primary example is what file format to shoot, RAW, JPG Large, or JPG Medium. I’ve always said most beginners who shoot RAW are just using the massive handicap of RAW files as an excuse to shoot poorly. While there is nothing wrong with having higher quality than the necessary output requirements, think about the extra time needed to convert the files, the massive storage it takes up, and how many times you need to change a card while shooting. All these could be avoided by shooting in JPG mode and getting the shot correct in-camera.

When I shoot weddings, I shoot JPG at medium resolution. Most of you kids are probably gasping in shock, “I thought weddings require full RAW files cause they’re so important!” When was the last time your wedding client required a print larger than 20×30″ at 300 dpi? I only need two 4GB cards during a wedding day, and I also get the shot correctly exposed in-camera so minimum correction is needed in post. Color accuracy for weddings is also a minor issue. Brides don’t judge your photos based on sharpness of your lens, high ISO noise levels, or your white balancing. I shoot on Auto White Balance folks! Eat that. However, when I shoot something detail sensitive and color critical, such as an art portfolio, product shoot, or 15 topless girls, then I consider using RAW. Be aware of your final product and function.

The second and most important part is the conceptual photographer’s perspective. In the Apple video, Ive talks about getting design out of the way. A successful designer or photo journalist is one that is transparent to the audience and allows the product to do its job without extra effort or information strain. The iPhone or the Mac Air power indicator light has a transparent design form, where it works without the user having to think how it works, whereas an Alienware gaming laptop might be overwhelmed by design bells and whistles which forces the user to think about how it’s pretty and not get down to using the laptop. Geeks will probably appreciate the techy look of an Alienware over the minimalistic design of Apple. The same people will also analyze how a photographer took certain photos at which f-stop, shutter, ISO, lighting method instead of reading the story or mood of a photo.

In photo journalism, the photographer has to be transparent to the viewer. The photograph needs to successfully tell the narrative without adding effects, distractions, or suggestion of a photographer’s direction. Distractions and effects added to a photograph includes tilting the lens, or adding effects to post processing such as sepia, soft focus, or selective coloring. Photo journalism is the new trend in wedding photography, and while everyone claims to do that, I rarely see it in full practice. Clients tell me they hire me because I don’t fill my wedding website with high-fashion, special effects lighting to my wedding shots. While they look great in a portfolio, they lack narrative – they are dead poses that make the photographer look good. I think most photographers are pressured into creating the next style, the next cover shot, the next way to show off their photography skills, and forget to keep it simple and document the smiles and intimacy of a newly married couple.

Ive talks about reaching a point where design feels “undesigned” where a user would think, “Of course it’s that way. Why wouldn’t it be any other way?” I think that is the ultimate goal of any creator, whether in design, architecture, engineer, or journalist. To create something fundamental and unquestioned. Instead of trying to add bells and whistles to photographs, keep it simple and keep it the way it’s supposed to be. Why should it be any other way?

Sometimes I amuse myself how I take my bed shoots to a whole new level. The white bed seems to be my favorite canvas. When a model can just play on the bed, my mind starts to play with ideas. Here is a little more in depth look at the process. This method of composite is exactly how movie special effects are done. Think “300″ the movie where everything was shot on a green screen. Even evening scenes are taken at normal lighting and later adjusted digitally. The advantage of shooting in normal lighting is being able to focus and being able to control with accuracy the lighting in post processing.

Naughty poses are fun. Bad kitty, bad!

Royalty free stock images can be found online. Here I create a mask for the model.

Another stock image of a tree trunk with same mask copied.

Foliage image resampled many times for layered effect. Add depth by adding blur to different layers.

Foreground layer blurred even more.

All the layers combined with desaturation and curves applied. Notice I also blurred the background for greater focus on the mode, as well as added a highlight to her right side.

Three layers here. One layer with dust speckles. One layer with lens flare. One layer with a few areas of white with zoom motion blur applied about 20 times.

The final image with more lighting and color adjustments, added a soft texture to the whole image, and added scratches to the bark.

Download the long version of the Bad Kitty Photoshop video here! Make sure you use Quicktime player to watch, as you can use the left and right arrow keys to scan frame by frame to better understand the video. It’s at 130% original speed at 15 fps.

Just in time for the costume holiday. Here’s a 49 minute edit compressed to 9 minutes. The trick to a fast edit is memorizing pretty much all of the shortcuts in an application. The 1.5 seconds it takes to move the mouse to and back from a toolbar, times a few hundred throughout an editing session can mean saving lots of minutes.