Profiles


How Erich Caparas Learned to Create an Award-Winning Image

November 14, 2018

By Erich Caparas

All Photos © Erich Caparas

Photography is not rocket science. And in a way, there is a formula I use that I like to share. There are three items I consider necessary to create impactful images: concept, execution and mastering.

Concept

Collaborating with a team of creative people is ideal. In the beginning, having to create a team of makeup artists, stylists, designers and models may be necessary. It’s also good to create a mood board to visualize a concept and to gain inspiration from it. The keyword here is to visualize, because this will be carried through to the next item of importance.

Execution

The concept must be executed properly. The ingredients for proper execution are lighting, composition and posing. Lighting molds the subject. The intensity of the light, the number of lights, the angle, height, and placement of lights are all necessary to create the mood and drama you want to convey. Posing flow should be natural and relaxed. The placement of the hands, the direction of the fingers, the expression of the face and where the eyes look all play important roles in composing the image properly. Each plays a role in expressing the story you want to tell and the emotion you want to evoke from the viewer.

Mastering

This is a word I borrowed from my audio days. It’s the final step of audio post-production to balance the stereo mix and optimize playback across all systems and media formats. Mastering, as it applies to photography, involves putting the finishing touches to add drama, impact, advanced post-production skills and mentoring—the “wow” factor to the image. This is where your trademark and signature look emanates. Attention to detail is of utmost importance.

The Next Level

To be the best that you can be, learn from some of the best in the industry and have them share and demonstrate their “secrets.” Join photography associations that will inspire you to be your best in this constantly changing and ever-challenging industry. Join competitions where you receive not only a score, but the judges’ feedback on improving your entries. This will grow your art in leaps and bounds. Who knows, you may even get addicted to it!

Makeup: Mary Letim-Ponce. Model and concept: Jean Dara

“Silver Swan”

This was one of my first award-winning images. Originally, the concept was focused on the model’s face only. Last minute, though, I decided I wanted to include the arms and hands. Since we were on a budget, and the makeup artist ran out of paint, I identified the capture I wanted and finished the body makeup in post-production. When I first competed with the image second from right, the judges’ comments included everything from, “Tilted, flat and needs better cropping,” to, “For symmetry, make it as symmetrical as possible.” This was my first lesson in paying attention to details. After some tweaking, the image on the far right scored a gold and placed first.

Styling and design: Lina Teixeira. Makeup and hair: Hendrickje Ewen. Couple: Bianca Persechino and Billy Glass

“Painted Passion”

This was an image our team did rather well but was full of challenges. The couple agreed we could do whatever concept we wanted. I wanted to create something with a lot of contrast so, we painted her white and him black. I figured if I could pull this off, I’d have something. The two challenges I faced were getting all the highlights and shadows details to come out and cropping for maximum impact.

Model, stylist, designer, makeup and hair: Jean Dara

“Paper Doll”

When I work with a designer I’d been working with for a while, I don’t give a lot of direction. Often, I say, “Surprise me.” The concept here was fashion made of paper. As soon as I saw this, I immediately knew I was going to do it in black and white. I also immediately thought of the character Loki from Star Trek’s episode “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.” (Yes, I’m a Trekkie.) I told her not to do the body makeup as I could do this quite easily in post-production.

Makeup: Kath Dennia. Model: Vivien Seeken

“Beneath the Sea”

It’s a blessing that one of my clients is Scandinavian Makeup Academy (SMA), an international makeup school in Thailand, Myanmar and India. I often shoot their quarterly final exam in creative makeup and bald cap application. The students prepare for days with a theme given by the school. With the guidance of the instructor, the students conceptualize and bring their vision to life through the techniques learned during their creative makeup artistry course. As the photographer, my challenges are in light shaping, posing and lots of intricate detailing in post-processing.

Model: Kelly Woodcock. Hand model: Jean Dara. Makeup artist: Gold Magtoto

“Hand Maid”

This was an impromptu concept conceived in a taxi on our way to an editorial shoot in Bangkok. It’s nice, but I think it’s best to file this under “Don’t try this at home” concepts. The composite would have been easy with a tripod, but I didn’t bring one. When editing, I usually don’t edit right on the image with piles and piles of layers. I usually do a quick study, in low resolution, just to see how the image might look (middle image). I often ask my peers what they think before I embark on making the final full-resolution edit. This image earned me a creative Grand Award in WPPI’s online competition.

Model: Santiara Basa Prop: Leandre Guevara

“Praying for Rain”

The original image is on the left, the edited image is in the middle, and the final image is on the right. I went from mediocre to masterpiece using channel masking. Concept and execution will take you far, but your editing will be the final stamp—your signature.

Model: Jean Dara. Styling and design: Lina Teixeira. Makeup: Hendrickje Ewen

“Green with Envy”

This is my light setup from start to finish, using a beauty dish for my main light in the middle of the subject and two rim lights with gels on the side. The rest is positioning the model’s head for the desired lighting and catch lights.

Erich Caparas, based out of Tampa, Florida, is a multi-award winning international photographer, lecturer and educator specializing in creative photography. With over 40 years of experience, he holds designations in several organizations as master photographer. He is shown here winning 24 trophies from WPPI’s 1st half, 2nd half, and print competitions 2017-2018.

Related: The Real Motivation Behind Entering Photo Competitions

A Unified Approach

Wedding Photographer Jerry Ghionis Breaks Down the Process of Creating an Entirely New Body of Work