A Technical Tuesday

Today we are beginning a slightly different kind of interview series. While on Sundays we get to know our Female Photographers of Etsy as the amazing women they are, on Tuesdays we will begin to discuss the "How" of what we do. Each woman in this group is amazingly talented, with some wonderful photography tricks up her sleeve. So today we asked Marico of M.Fayre Photography on Etsy to take us on a quick tour behind the scenes!

FPOE
Your work is really evocative, and from the front page of your shop we are greeted with this especially stirring image on the banner and the tag line "memory and metaphor." Can you tell me a bit about your process from conception to birth, so to speak?

Marico
I tend to photograph different subjects in a similar fashion, be they landscape, fashion, or self-portraiture. My way of seeing and of photographing the world developed from my undergraduate work with (mostly) film photography, the many photos of friends and family I took in high school (when I was basically attached to my Pentax), my years as an actress and a dancer and the character and poise I saw there. I've also spent lots of time spent reading, especially fairy tales and myths. I think that as a whole this means I look for or create some type of implied narrative in most images.

However, I see myself essentially as a medium-based photographer, meaning photographic elements like time, light, framing, and color inspire much of my work. Still, each image still has a subtle, underlying narrative or emotion. Usually I begin with an idea that I can "see" in my mind and then I work to find a location (and often a costume) that will represent this idea.

In terms of aesthetics, I always try to make images I find beautiful. For me this includes the color and tones, and an overall softness through focus, movement, or texture. I don't do this to necessarily make the subject "attractive," though that is important for the portraiture and fashion images I have taken. I see these photographs as a way to share my view of the world with others, and I keep coming back to images that elicit an emotional response and are usually pleasing to view, at least on some level.

I am getting long-winded so I will save specific examples for next time.

FPOE
I see that you have a commercial side to your business. How does the commercial aspect translate into your fine art and visa-versa?

Marico

Early in my studies and career I did mostly portraiture and fashion with a handful of weddings thrown in. After too many stressed-out brides and crazy in-laws, I decided I would rather have a day job to pay the bills and pursue photography that I enjoy, not as a full time career. This change in mindset allowed me to explore many different genres, including landscape and self-portraiture. I find that I create imagery that is more meaningful and satisfying to me and this is something that I absolutely love having the freedom to explore. Currently I sell my fine art prints on etsy and exhibit in galleries. Occasionally I still do some portraits and I enjoy photographing the food and scenery at the country Inn where I live for our website and collateral, but overall I focus on doing the work that I love when I pick up the camera.

FPOE
What is your preferred camera?

Marico
I use a Canon 5D with various accoutrements - I am definitely a Canon girl. :-)

FPOE
I see that you seem to do a lot of location shooting. Do you work mainly with natural light or do you supplement with fills? Reflectors?

Marico

I mostly work with natural light though I always have a reflector or two in the car "just in case." Depending on the situation I may use fill flash, but not very often. I live in the Pacific Northwest so we have a lot of cloudy days when the sky is basically one big soft-box.

FPOE
Tell me a little bit about your post processing. If you don't mind sharing a bit in depth about how you achieve that pictorial look I would love it.

Marico

I always shoot RAW and I do initial adjustments in Adobe Camera RAW. I really love the possibilities RAW offers, not only keeping the file size smaller than PSDs or TIFFs, but also letting me go back and change my processing when I learn something new, or if I look at the image in a day (or a year) and decide I want something a little different.

Initially I color balance the image and may tweak the exposure just a bit, though my film days taught me to "get it right" in the camera as much as possible. I use the histogram and a neutral white point to make my first set of decisions. I correct fringe if I need to and decide what contrast I want. If the image needs to be spotted I try to do this in RAW as well. I will often increase or decrease the saturation of certain colors a bit, though I try to create an image that looks very close to what I actually saw at the time of capture.

The environments I photograph often have a wide tonal range and though I can bracket the exposure when I am shooting landscapes, this doesn't work so well for my self-portraits or shots with movement. In this case I will often process the same RAW file twice, once for the highlights, once for the shadows. I have very light skin so I am often the highlight area, and I want to make sure I don't loose detail in my skin or the various shadows of rocks or trees, for example.

When I have something that is pretty close I take it into Photoshop as 16-bit PSD file. I don't usually make a lot of changes in PS, though occasionally I will do a clone shot or more of a "trick" image just for fun (like "Telling Tales to Fairies"). I use adjustment layers with layer masks for all of my adjustments.

FPOE
I see that some of your photos use textures - do you use ones you build or do you source them from somewhere?

Marico

I would actually like to get better at creating and using textures. Right now I rarely use them, so most have been experiments, but I have certainly been known to shoot images that I think would make a good texture layer (a crumbling wall is often the candidate). When I have time I like experimenting with different brushes and blending modes to use simple tools to effect the overall look of the image.

The world of Flickr is full of many talented artists and I have used textures from NinianLif (http://www.flickr.com/photos/beapierce/) for a couple images - always with a credit of course.

FPOE
You spoke a bit before about your self portrait work. Our readers can see that on Flickr you have a gorgeous series of self portraits. Some of them seem complex as well. Can you share with our readers a bit about how you achieve those, and some advice for those who might want to try self portrait out for themselves.

Marico

Thank you so much for your kind words - this series is very close to my heart, as you can imagine. I am still fairly new to the genre of self-portraiture, only beginning to use myself as a model over the last couple years.
I am inspired by the power I have as both the artist and the model and I am also mindful that historically, a female artist depicting herself and/or other women was a subversion of the traditional role of women in art: a subject to be passively viewed. I continue to explore the connotations of this role reversal in both portraits and self-portraits.

I believe viewers look to artists for an insight into the world, the psyche, and human relationships; I endeavor to communicate something of my world, real and imagined, not as a documentary of my life, but through the shared experience of creating and viewing artwork.

Advice?
Do it! Seriously. "Be Brave," as Cig Harvey tells me. Don't be worried about looking silly or un-photogenic. I honestly hate having my picture taken. I look like such a awkward dork in all family photos and I would never have believed I would willingly get in front of the camera. However, I moved from the city to the country and models were suddenly
much more difficult to find. I signed up for a Flickr account to feel like I was still connected to other artists and photographers and there I found the incredible work of women like Heather Evans Smith and Miss Aniela, as well as the Female Self-Portrait Artists Support Group. This supportive group helped me overcome my fears and see my body as part of
a work of art. Don't try to look like a model, make art that means something to you.

FPOE
Fantastic! Any other advice, in general, about working with other models (if you can find them), sourcing props, or generally finding that wellspring of inspiration?

Marico

I find props and costumes everywhere because I am always looking for them. Personally I prefer solid colors or subtle textures, more timeless or classic pieces I can use for many things, but that is my own preference. All those dresses you bought for a specific occasion and never wore again? Put them on and go traipsing around the woods/neighborhood with a camera - the possibilities are endless. I usually work on either blending or juxtaposing the colors and textures with the environment so I carry options with me (my car is a mobile wardrobe).

If you want to try portraiture or fashion start with your friends - they are very forgiving and may be more comfortable around you than a stranger. Craigslist is also a great source for models that will often trade their time for a CD of images or prints to put in their portfolio. This can be a great learning experience.

If you want to get into self-portraits and don't know where to start, look at how models pose and use this as inspiration - they are often overly dramatic and thus more expressive than a lot of us tend to be naturally.

If there is a particular genre you are interested in try and assist a local photographer or take a class if you have access to a University or Continuing Education program. I love learning new things and I can always find ways to incorporate other ideas into my own work.

Okay, that's some wide-ranging advice. ;-) Feel free to contact me with specific questions though.

FPOE
Lastly, anything else you want to add that I have not touched upon?

Marico

Love what you do and when you are not loving a part of the process do it anyway, but don't expect perfection. I will often go out and shoot just to shoot. It's good for you, like eating your vegetables. You learn something, you practice, you keep yourself engaged with your art and the inspiration will come back eventually so you can put all of the practice to use translating your idea from from mind to camera.

You have been very thorough, thank you for taking the time to look at my work and contemplate my art. I really appreciate your support!

To see more of Marico's inspiring work, check out her shop, M.Fayre Photography on Etsy, or her Flickr Photostream!