Posts by Robert Rodriguez Jr

Have you ever had an image that seemed to work equally well in color and in black and white? During our last Academy session on black and white photography, a member asked a question that stayed with me long after we ended: if an image looks strong both ways, does it really have to be…

There’s a spot on the Hudson River about two miles from my home that I’ve visited hundreds of times over the years. I’ve photographed it, painted it, canoed and kayaked past it with my kids, and walked my dog there more times than I can remember. If any landscape in my life qualifies as overly…

When students tell me they’re stuck, it usually comes out in one of two ways. The first sounds like an apology: I still don’t understand what the Blacks slider actually does, I can never remember which way the paper feeds, my Lightroom workflow is a mess. The second way is more implied than said: I…

Have you ever stood somewhere with the light looking incredible, made the photograph you thought was successful, then looked at the file later and found it lacking, nothing like what made you stop and press the shutter? What I’ve learned after many years of this is that the problem comes down to perception and composition.…

There’s a moment we’ve all experienced—standing in front of an image that isn’t quite working, that feeling of almost but not quite. The subject is there, the light was good, yet something feels cluttered or unfocused. And our natural instinct is to add. More light on the subject, more saturation, more contrast, more processing to…