Creating a Photographic Atmosphere

Posted July 6th, 2009 / By Stacy Christian in Architecture, Inspiration, Landscape, Photojournalism

This post features Chuck n Twist’s digital and 4×5 series of California and Route 66.

Our approach to photography has changed a lot in the past couple of years. Our main goal now is to become full-fledged cinematographers. One thing that you learn by making films is that the story is the key. Your whole universe resides within the text. You could be shooting a film with a HI8 camera and still make something amazing if you have a good story. A good photographic process will also come from your relations to your subject and your life experiences. You need to learn to trust your instincts; this is where the creativity comes from.

The process of creating a photographic atmosphere should be determined by an idea and a story. What am I trying to say here? Digital technology and the general instantaneity of still photography tend to take away from that. Don’t get me wrong this can lead to amazing results. But, the process of thinking something through and visualization can be an awesome experience. We actually recently bought a 4×5 camera for this exact purpose. We were tired of shooting away.

Now that we have an idea, what do we do next? We steal! Not literally! A good project will always start with some good research and references, especially when you are working with a partner (like us). This way you can communicate your idea clearly. Of course, genius ideas can always come to you (especially at 2am when you don’t want to get out of bed to take a note). But, good research into what you are doing might open some new doors or even make you realize that you should be rethinking your project. Most of the time what you’ll find as reference material will only solidify your idea and vision. The relationship you have to your subject will be heavily dependent on how much you know. It’s like reading a script 15 times and knowing each character like they were your friends. At that point you dive into your project with great confidence and dexterity. Of course, what you need is a cue – copying is never a good thing. Any good artist out there knows that once you’re on the shoot there is no way you could copy someone. You are way too concentrated on the creative work at hand.

Usually, from that point on you have pretty good idea of what you want your project to look like. This is where it gets critical. You have to stick with your look while leaving some place for new ideas and improvements. Your guts are 90% of your work and upon arriving on your shoot you’ll start to see new things. At that point it’s important to keep focused on what you’re doing (not forgetting your main idea) while letting the shoots’ energy and chemistry seep in. This is usually where the magic happens. A good dose of wild and unbridled creativity is always good.

It gets even more critical in post-production. This is the part where you really need to get your ideas straight. Post can become intensive when you find yourself spending too much time tweaking the reds and tuning down the greens in the shadows. “Oh hell! Why not dodge the whole sky!” Post should exist only to accentuate your work. Unfortunately, like we all know, we use this process more often to fix errors. Which brings us back to our planning and creative research process. Start well, end well, and don’t go too far in post! You just end up hurting your images and your wallet. It’s ok to say “I’m done!”.

The cinematic process we now use to prepare most of our shoots has helped us visualize our ideas, which is the key to creating any good photographic atmosphere. The whole idea of making a film is having the right universe around the story. Plan it, see it, bring all your visual tools to the shoot and give it a killer look in post. It might not be true for everyone but it’s definitely helped us.

About the Artists:
Chuck & Twist is a collective of long time friends that are passionate about cinematography and photography. We are also multidisciplinary artists that will strive to envision your story, message or idea with color and panache.