“Though I successfully captured
the moment and produced an image
that was both sharp and well-exposed,
the unedited RAW file didn’t convey
the moment I had experienced on
that city street. I needed to work on
the image in Adobe Raw Converter
and Photoshop to produce an image
that aptly reflected the moment.”
VISUAL STORYTELLINGKELBYONE.COMBecause this was a busy street, there were other
elements in the frame that I had to consider. There were
several distracting elements including some people on
the right and the sun shining on a skyscraper in the
back. I recognized that these were things that I couldn’t
address by a compositional choice. It would need to be
addressed later.
Though I successfully captured the moment and
produced an image that was both sharp and well-exposed,
the unedited RAW file didn’t convey the moment I had
experienced on that city street. I needed to work on the
image in Adobe Raw Converter and Photoshop to produce
an image that aptly reflected the moment.
Though Photoshop provides an abundance of tools
with which to process the photograph, I preferred to
do as much as I could within Adobe Camera Raw. This
allowed me to leverage the flexibility of the RAW file
to refine the look of the image. The convenience of a
single interface window provides easy access to all the
controls that I need to take care of some critical global
and isolated adjustments. With the RAW file well-exposed,
retaining valuable shadow and highlight details, there
was much that could be achieved before sending the
image over to Photoshop.
Note: Even though I’m using Adobe Camera Raw
here, you can follow along in Lightroom Classic, as
both applications have the same features. I’ll notate any
differences between the two apps as we go along.
With an image like this, I wasn’t just looking for a
well-processed RAW file, but a file that helped tell theSuch moments are fleeting, requiring more than fast
autofocus and reflexes. It demands that the photographer
be able to read a scene as it’s playing out. He or she
has to understand that all moments evolve, having a
beginning, middle, and end. With that understanding, the
photographer can anticipate that peak moment where all
the visual elements of light and shadow, line and shape,
color and gesture culminate in a moment that can only
be captured in a fraction of a second.
Such was the case with this scene in Vancouver,
where a woman was speaking to a man. Though I
couldn’t hear the woman’s words and the man’s back
was to me, her gestures and body language made it
clear that she was giving him directions. The expressive
gesture of her repeatedly pointing her finger provided
me both a visual flourish and an important storytelling
element. It was a gesture that she repeated, giving me
time to find my composition and to take several frames,
paying careful attention not only to her hand but to the
appearance of her face over his shoulder. Only one of
the images featured part of her face and the pointing
finger, which was all I needed.