Before I get into the description for this week’s assignment, first I’d like to provide a little background that you might find interesting. I volunteer as the chairman of NANPA’s (North American Nature Photographer’s Association) College Photography Scholarship Committee. Each year NANPA awards scholarships for college students to participate in the Nature Photography Summit, a week-long gathering of nature photography professionals. The application process for the scholarship is fairly rigorous, and the applicants must submit a portfolio of images and answer a series of essay questions. During the selection process for the scholarship, we evaluate the student’s portfolios (which are typically very, very good).
Because we need to evaluate hundreds and hundreds of images in a relatively short period of time, the “scoring” for the portfolio portion of the evaluation is kept fairly simple. Each image in the portfolio is allocated from zero to three points, with 0 = missing or unacceptable, 1 = below average, 2 = average, 3 = above average. The genesis for this week’s assignment came from my pondering about what set apart an “above average” image.
There are many, many criteria we use to judge images, but most of those are what would separate an “average” image from a “below average” image. The image has to meet certain criteria in order to be considered “average.” Among other things, it must be exposed properly, focused properly, and without any obvious errors in composition. So it is a given that all the “above average” images must also possess these qualities. It’s tough to nail down one single criterion that differentiates an above average image (because there are many); however, almost without fail, the images that I judged as “above average” possessed a high degree of “clarity.”
So, all you need to do is move the “clarity” slider to 100 in Adobe Camera Raw and you images will become “above average,” right?
(Sorry, I just couldn’t resist that one.) We’ll talk a bit more about the “clarity” slider later.
As with many of the other terms we have discussed, the definition of clarity changes based on context. One of the best definitions of clarity that I found is from Encarta Dictionary, which defines clarity as:
1. Clearness of expression: The quality of being clearly expressed
2. Clearness of thought: Clearness in what somebody is thinking
3. Clearness of reproduction: The quality of being clear in sound or image.
4. Transparent Quality: The quality of being clear, pure, or transparent (wine of great clarity)
Dictionary.com defines clarity as: “clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity.” And lists synonyms as: “intelligibility, exactness, simplicity.”
So now you can get a sense of what is meant when we use the term “clarity” to describe an image. Just as with well written prose (linking us back to the concepts in our “Telling a Story” assignment) the photographer has clearly and succinctly conveyed the subject to the viewer. The image will have a “clearness of reproduction” composed of clear, pure, well-defined lines, forms, colors and textures, and will be free from “indistinctness or ambiguity.” The viewers’ appreciation of the subject, of the fine details and texture, will lose nothing during the transmission through the recording device to the screen or print.
Please don’t confuse this to mean that everything in the image should be sharply defined. As we have discussed in previous assignments, isolating your subject against a soft out-of-focus background can be a very effective way to increase the “clarity” of the image. Of course the background (and foreground) should be “clear and pure,” and not a muddy mush of indistinguishable color. No foreground elements should obstruct, impede, or distract from the “clearness of reproduction” of the primary subject. You might want to review our past assignments on
“The essence,” “Distraction Free” and
“Simplicity” for a review of concepts that can be used to add “clarity” to an image. It goes without saying that good shooting technique (appropriate shutter speeds, use of a tripod and cable release, using an appropriate ISO for the light levels) is required in order to not rob your image of clarity.
So before we end, I promised to talk a bit more about the “clarity” slider in Adobe Camera Raw. This slider adds “local contrast” to an image, which can be used to compensate for an image taken with a low quality (low contrast and sharpness) lens or filter, or an image taken through contrast reducing (dirty) glass or atmospheric haze or pollution. By adding in “local contrast” i.e., greater contrast separation between adjacent elements within an image, it can remove some of the “indistinctness” caused by low quality lenses or atmospheric conditions. If you haven’t played with this control before, it is worth playing with to see how it can bring out the detail and texture and add more “punch” to a soft or "flat" image. Just don’t overdo it, since too much local contrast can make the image look garish. (And a well-shot image will always look better than one with artificial “clarity” added after the fact.) Just remember that this local contrast adjustment can improve the perceived clarity of the reproduction, but will do little to improve clarity of thought or expression.
Your assignment for the week of 16 – 22 November is “Clarity.” You should strive to create an image that incorporates all of the aspects of "clarity" that we have talked about above, to include clarity of thought, clarity of expression, and clarity of reproduction. Please upload your images to the “Clarity” album in the Weekly Assignments category of the gallery no-later-than midnight Mountain Time (GMT -07:00) on Sunday, 22 November 2009. (NOTE: The album will be open for posting on Monday, 16 November 2009.)
I’ll look forward to seeing your images.
Keith
P.S.
I invite (and encourage) your feedback on assignment topics. If you have any ideas for assignments please let me know.
