Snap Tip: Look Close Before You Hit Delete | jonathan baker (jb studio CA)

I had the most wonderful opportunity to photograph the amazingly creative, gifted and talented Jonathan Baker.

One of his latest endeavors, Naked: A Guy’s Musical, is a short film based on a feature musical that is currently in development. Check out the site: http://www.nakedmusical.com/ to view the trailer or click through to download the entire short from iTunes.

Anyway - Jonathan and I have been friends for what seems like a gazillion years so I enjoyed capturing a few of his signature looks from behind the lens.

Take a look at the before and after images below. I’m using them to illustrate a few points and my tip of the week. Point #1 … I’m not perfect. I take bad photos too! Point #2 … I snap several images to capture the one that really “works.” Point #3 … Sometimes an image that initially looks like a dud, may turn out to be a keeper with a few tweaks.

The picture on the left was just wrong … my mistake as I had snapped the pic quick before changing my camera settings from the previous location. I nearly deleted the image as I was downloading it to my computer, but decided to give it a closer look. With a bit of TLC in Photoshop, I was able to create the image you see on the right. It happens to be one of my favorite images from the entire collection. A bit gritty? Yes. A bit grungy? Certainly. A bit dark? Of course, but I love the mood and subtle emotion that it evokes. I can’t believe I almost deleted it.

Here are a few other favorites … hope he doesn’t mind me sharing!