NZPhotographer Issue 15, Jan 2019

The background for the Santa photo was taken
on our way from Wellington to Auckland in July
when my children had the opportunity to see snow
for the very first time. So when we photographed
families in Auckland for Christmas Wish, I knew that
I wanted to include that scene in one of the families
special images. I added some trees, a sleigh and
of course Santa with the family. I love that the work
I create for others often contains many of our own
family memories within them because of the photo
adventures we go on and the images I take along the
way.
As well as being involved in other projects with me,
Nikon offered to partner with us for Christmas Wish
2018, and have gone above and beyond with their
support of this global project. They have been on the
ground with us at the various hospitals, helping with
gear and shooting behind the scenes, and have also
helped with funding.
Since a trip to New Zealand was scheduled for the
Auckland Hospital Christmas Wish, we decided it
would be a great opportunity for me to also run
some talks and Photo walks in New Zealand for the
photographic community. These were incredibly
successful, attracting sold out crowds in Auckland and
Christchurch. The attendees had the opportunity to
try out the new Nikon Z’s and various lenses on photo
walks through the zoo and I had the opportunity to
share my story and a little about my Heart Project
work and my 'Elephant in the Room' creation in the
presentations.
The New Zealand Photographic Community
embraced me as one of their own so it feels like family
now whenever I visit.
CAN YOU GIVE US SOME TIPS FOR CREATING
A SUCCESSFUL COMPOSITE?
When people first start compositing they are often
just focused on getting a clean cutout and placing it
into a new scene. The mistake many make (and don’t
realise) is that just as important is matching the subject
to the scene. Consideration must be made of light
direction in the background and that light matching
on the subject, both in direction and in quality of light.
This is then closely followed by the importance of
shadows and embedding it into a scene. Perspective
is also often forgotten. Matching perspective is
incredibly important in the quest for a convincing
composite.
I often hear people say Photoshop compositing is not
‘Photography’. I agree that it’s not ‘A’ Photograph
(because it’s many photographs). But I have had
to polish my photography knowledge and skill
set far beyond what I needed as a wedding and
portrait photographer. The understanding of light,
perspective, depth of field, shade, and more are a
prerequisite to a successful piece of photographic art.
I teach all this and more in my education site and am
offering 1 month free access for NZP readers. To claim
just visit www.storyart.education/mygift/
WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ONLINE?
www.facebook.com/storyartaustralia
www.instagram.com/storyartaustralia
www.storyart.com.au
26 NZPhotographer
January 2019
27