Matt Suess – Dramatic Landscape Photography

Image enhancement has always played a huge & necessary role in my work. Many, many years ago when I used to print my photos in my b&w and color chemistry darkroom I was always working on enhancing the final print – from dodging and burning to masking using cut sheets of paper to adjusting the settings on the color enlargement head – anything was fair game in getting the results I wanted.

"Entwinement"

The same holds true in my digital darkroom. Look at the above photo, titled “Entwinement”. It is a new photo from my Contemporary Collection. What is remarkable is how poor that photo looked originally, straight out out the camera, with no adjustments made. You can see below how pale and lifeless the original photo was.

The original RAW file was processed in Lightroom with all of the settings and changes I made reset, showing you the way the camera saw the scene.

By shooting RAW I was able to, starting in Lightroom, find many of the hidden colors, textures and details that were part of my vision when I originally photographed it. All that texture, color and feeling was there somewhere in the original file – I just had to spend the time searching for and bringing it all out.

For me the image enhancement does not end with Lightroom. After I get the file adjusted and in the ballpark of my original vision, the file is then brought into Photoshop to complete the transformation. Sometimes the final results are not that far from the original, straight-out-of-the-camera file. Most of the time, however, it is. “Entwinement” was a particularly dramatic difference – many files are not that extreme.

Close-up of the detail in "Entwinement".

My goal has never been to show you what the camera saw and recorded. The camera is just a mechanical device, devoid of all emotion & feeling, lacking in color & intensity. My goal is to share with you my vision – a vision that comes from a living, breathing person – not a cold, plastic & metal box.

I love working in my digital darkroom just as much as photographing behind the camera. I get just as excited watching a new print slowly come out of the printer as I did watching a print come to life in the developer tray of a chemistry darkroom.

The excitement, of course, is due to seeing the final representation of my vision that started by tripping the shutter on a camera, grew in the enhancement & processing in the digital darkroom, and came alive after the printer finished laying down it’s last drops of ink.

Article by Matt Suess

On two separate occatiions last year in 2007 – once in late summer and again in early fall for a total of about 8 days – I traveled to New Mexico to two different locations for a photo shoot for a company looking to use the images to promote two new developments.

The client was a group who, as per their literature, “purchase ecologically important properties in the path of development, then protects them through a unique combination of low-density development and large, open natural areas. We designate a very limited number of homesteads, blending them aesthetically into the natural topography and leaving the vast majority of a community’s space open and permanently untouched.”

The client found out about me quite by accident. Attending one of my art festivals in New Mexico last year, he fell in love with my work. After exchanging a couple phone calls and emails and mentioning that I used to do a lot of editorial and advertising photography (I now primarily concentrate on my artwork full-time, accepting the occasional editorial/advertising assignments that really excite me) we both decided it would be great to work together on their project.

My assignment was to photograph the natural beauty of these two homesteads with an emphasis on the open space available, breathtaking views, wildlife, and beautiful atmosphere prevalent. After being given brief tours of the properties, I spent time either exploring and photographing by myself or with the company of the client and advertising agency that was hired to put the campaign together.

Photo shoots were scheduled for me to be on location before sunrise and during sunset – the normal ideal times for landscape photography. That usually meant getting up at the hotel a couple hours before sunrise and not returning until a couple hours after sunset. Two days of the shoot included working with a group of 4 models, as well as a hair and make-up artist.

The middle of the day was saved for meetings with the client and advertising company to look over photos taken so far. First I would download images to my Mac laptop. Viewing, selecting, and quick color corrections were accomplished using Lightroom and a slideshow was made as well for quick and easy client viewing.

On-site previewing has been something I have been offering clients ever since I moved to a digital workflow full-time some 8+ years ago. Long gone are the days of waiting for film to be developed and sent to the client. Instant approval or regection of photos while on-location provides the opportunity for both the photographer and client/advertising company the ability to both know exactly how the photo shoot is going and gives the ability to modify and adjust plans on the fly.

Once favorite photos were selected on-location I then further optomized the images at my home studio using my color calibrated system. Finished files were uploaded to the advertising agency via FTP, and were appearing in print by late fall of 2007.

The above two photos show how the photos look with the entire ad layout. Each of these layouts were standard magazine sized. Other photos used in this essay were taken from sections of the entire ad. Note that I added the ©www.mattsuess.com watermark prior to uploading on the web and did not appear in the ads.

© Matt Suess
October 2008
Phoenix, AZ

Article by Matt Suess

March, 2006

One of the most important, yet often overlooked or ignored necessities of digital photography, is monitor calibration. I have heard countless excuses as to why photographers do not calibrate their monitor such as: its too complicated, too expensive, the monitor is brand new and doesn’t need it, etc. Yet these same photographers spend countless time and effort struggling with their images because they are unhappy with the output, or worse, clients receive files that have a color cast or tonal range that the photographer was unable to see and therefore control. This article is here to help.

First I need to eliminate the myth that “my monitor is brand new and doesn’t need to be calibrated”. Unfortunately this is a bad assumption. Monitor manufacturers love to brag how bright their display is, or how saturated their colors are. When you first plug in your brand new monitor, it sure does look great – very bright and colors that just jump off the screen. Manufacturers intentionally set the defaults of their monitors to be at their brightest with highly saturated colors because they are after the wow factor, and want their monitor to stand out above the rest in a crowded showroom to get you to buy it. While it may look good at first, it is far from optimal in evaluating true color and tonal range.

Other photographers tell me that they use the Adobe Gamma monitor calibration software or similar that allows them to visually adjust brightness and color. Unfortunately these software “solutions” rely solely on software and the users eye to make adjustments – a poor solution when compared to using software and a hardware device that is designed to measure precise color and brightness.

But isn’t monitor calibration expensive and complicated? Not really, as the product I use and will explain in this article, the Eye-One Display 2 from GretagMacbeth, is relatively inexpensive at $249, and as you will see, the steps needed to calibrate with it are quite simple. If $249 is out of your range, you may want to look at the PANTONE® Eye-One Display LT at $169, and for the casual user there is the PANTONE® huey for only $89. I have not used either the Display LT or the huey, and the basis for this article is the Display 2, but both products would give much better results than not using any.

Eye-One Display 2 with Ambient Light Measuring Head

The Display 2 (called D2 here from now on) looks like a mouse, can be used on both CRT and LCD monitors, and includes an Ambient Light Measuring Head attachment. This attachment measures the amount and color of the ambient light reaching your monitor. It is important to make sure your monitor is in a location that is not too dark or too bright, as this will effect how your eyes see the monitor, and this attachment will let you know if you need to make adjustments to your room light. In addition, the space behind your monitor should be neutral in color, preferably a medium neutral gray. If you have a colored wall behind your monitor, your peripheral vision will pick up that color and effect the color you see on the screen. One should also use daylight balanced light bulbs for all light fixtures.

I would suggest performing the ambient measurement first, before you calibrate your monitor. Make sure there are no direct light sources shining on your monitor and that it is clean and free of dust. Also it is a good idea to let your monitor warm up for a period of time (up to 2 hours ideally) before calibrating and doing serious color correction. Plug your D2 into an available USB port, and launch the Eye-One Match 3 software. For this article I am using version 3.6.0.

When the Match 3 software is launched, you are presented with a screen from which to choose various devices to profile. As I am going to profile my main LCD monitor, I have that selected, and I also chose the advanced option. Click on the arrow in the lower right to move to the next step.

We will start with measuring the ambient light, so check that box and attach the white measuring head to the D2. For now you can ignore the White point, gamma, and luminance settings, as those have no effect on the ambient light (we will be coming back to this same screen after the ambient light check to then address those settings). Click on the right arrow to proceed. A new screen showing how to place the head on the D2 is shown. Here is also where you calibrate the D2 itself by clicking on the Calibrate button. When done click the right arrow.

Hold the device as shown above and click on the Measure button. Adjust your lights in the room so that the measurement falls within the green, or safe range. When done, remove the ambient light head.

Normally, if the light is relatively consistent in your room, you will not need to preform the ambient light check very often unless you need to set up lighting for use during daylight and nighttime.

Click on the left arrow until you return to the Calibration Settings screen.

Towards the lower right, you will see drop-down menus for White Point, Gamma, and Luminance. The settings I use are recommended for an LCD screen, and may or may not be ideal for a CRT. First I use the Native White Point and a Gamma of 2.2. Even though the native gamma for a Mac is 1.8, we do live in a PC world, so it is just easier to choose the PC standard gamma of 2.2. The luminance setting will determine how bright your screen is. After trial and error, I have come to use a luminance value of 130 – it is slightly higher than the recommended value of 120 for LCD monitors, but I have found that it more closely matches my output than does the 120 setting. Click the right arrow when done. You may notice that your monitor appearance has changed – not to worry, as the software is now disregarding any previous calibration settings and will start from scratch to build a new profile.

Place the D2 on the monitor and position it in the center. A counter weight is provided and attaches to the cable. This weight is placed behind the monitor to counterbalance the D2 and keep it in place. Make sure that the D2 is flush against the monitor and click the right arrow.

You now need to adjust the contrast and brightness levels of your monitor to reach the luminance level you specified earlier. Some monitors may have those adjustments on the front of the display.

For the monitor I am using – a 17 inch Apple LCD – I need to open the computer’s System Preferences, then click on Display to bring up the Brightness slider. This monitor does not allow me to adjust the contrast. Click Start to begin reading the luminance level. Match 3 will now take over your screen and perform a series of tests to determine the luminance level. Again, you are looking to match the value you set earlier as close as possible. Once adjusted, click on the stop button.

You are now ready to calibrate. Click on the right arrow, and Match 3 will again take over your screen, flashing various shades of colors and neutrals. After 4 or 5 minutes the calibration will be completed.

Once the calibration has been completed you will be presented with a results screen. Be sure to check the luminance values to make sure the target and current values are close. You can now rename your profile if you wish, and let Match 3 remind you to re-calibrate after a period of time – I have it remind me every 3 weeks. Click on the right arrow, and you are done. The profile is saved and automatically set as the default profile for your monitor.

That’s all there is – pretty simple and straightforward. Just make sure no one changes the brightness level and/or contrast settings, and you will now be viewing accurate color at the optimum brightness settings. Monitor calibration alone does not guarantee that your prints will match the screen, as there are many variables that need to be addressed when printing (some of which I may discuss in a future article), but it does guarantee that you are viewing your images correctly. And that is the first and most important step needed in troubleshooting poor output.