Girls on a Beach

There are as many different ways to present an image as there are people in the world. Everyone of us, given the opportunity, would present the same image in a different and creative way. Whether it be by just leaving it as the camera saw fit to record it or, the other end of the spectrum, taking it to extremes that would make the image almost unrecognizable using all sorts of programs or plug-ins, every one would be different.

That is ART. It is the attempted and sometimes successful communication of an idea, a feeling or a concept via one’s chosen medium. It speaks to the eye of the beholder, either in apathy, fear, anger or exhilaration, it evokes a response. Sometimes its just “why?” and sometimes its “wow”, but all the same, we want a response in the observer.

I love to take photographs. As I excitedly go from one subject to the next, the thought in my mind is, “I can’t wait for people to see THIS one!” My subjects  are evoking a response in ME and I want to share the joy, the beauty, the wonder, the questions that come to me as I make images. I am driven to improve the quality of communication from my images. That is why I have moved into making paintings out of some of my images just to make them move to “that place” of higher emotion, conciousness or response from others. I don’t think it is because of my skill as a  photographer, it is because my vision pushes me out of the proverbial photographic box and explodes into more color! more detail! more story! Or less color, softer focus, more dreamy!

The images in this post started as photographs that I made and transformed into pieces of art. Check out more at www.images.sharonbeth.com!

I am continually amazed at the number of commercial buildings in San Bernardino county that are available for rental or purchase! As a seasoned photographer of real estate and other commercial buildings I realized that marketing these buildings is going to get more competitive and more demanding as the inventory increases. A professional series of images of these buildings would go a long way in showing the true impact of these buildings in terms of aesthetics, capacity, location and even its utility to the prospective buyer or renter.

I worked with an Orange County realtor who had a residence on the market for a few months with a single, “drive-by photo shoot” image displayed of the front of the house on her listing. The interest in the home was unremarkable until she hired me to photograph the home to present it in its best light. Within three days of the images being uploaded for display, she reported six new prospects who wanted to tour the home and it was in escrow within a week!

There are several points here; one is that, in our current society, people use the internet more and more to shop for a property before they choose which ones to venture out and walk through in person. As a matter of fact its been said that over 90% of people search the internet as a first action in the purchase process. Two, a picture is really worth a thousand words to a prospect who wants to start by creating in the mind how they will be able to use this property for their business. Three, I have been looking at listings and the images that represent most of the properties are dismally lacking in professional presentation.

A property that is worth from $1-5 million dollars certainly deserves proper representation on behalf of the agents that are attempting to sell it. And last but not least, the more eye-catching a photograph is, the more it will get attention, leaving other similar properties in the dark and passed over. Think about it. Which would you rather view? Visit http://www.magalli.net  for more.

…like a big pizza pie that’s amore”…The song by Dean Martin is all about falling in love and how it makes you feel.  Love. That is what I feel for an image I have created for myself or a client. And unless I am loving that image, its not done. There is no place for anything less. An image needs to impart an emotional response, whether it be the towering, the intricate, the magnificent or the drab, all need to make one fall in love. Photography, cameras, equipment and post-editing skills all play a part in creating a perfect rendition of my vision. This applies to images of any subject, but most particularly to buildings, inside and out, which are my specialty. I create the “love” using composition, subject placement, point of view, lighting, color, shadows, detail, visualization, and most of all that special artistic viewpoint that develops through years of experience and care. It is also the intense exchange of ideas between myself and the client from which new creations are born.