Posts by Robert Rodriguez Jr
Why I Don’t Make the Picture (90% of the Time)
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…
Read MoreLearning to See Is a Skill, the Slower Kind
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…
Read MoreThe Camera Sees Less Than You Do
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.…
Read MoreThe Most Powerful Tool is Subtraction
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…
Read MoreMake Everything In The Frame Earn Its Place
Every time I provide feedback on images in a workshop, someone eventually asks about cropping. How much is too much? Where’s the line? How do I know when I’ve gone too far? And I always give the same answer, which is usually not the one they were hoping for: there is no line, and you’re…
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