3.27. The kitsch and the quirky

While some photographers pursue classical beauty and others seek out the newsworthy, there are a few who make a virtue of kitsch and the exceptionally ordinary. Making tourists the focus of a composition shows what the experience of visiting great monumentsthe Leaning Tower of Pisa, sayis really like, which today means recording the mundanity of the single remaining space in the parking lot. Through the eye of a skilled observer such as British photographer Martin Parr, such shots force the viewer to see something afresh. Grouped together and juxtaposed, they go beyond the quirky and offer a wider commentary. Parr has shot many images of tourists, food, and flags; Elliott Erwitt portrayed dogs and dog owners; Stephen Gill shot the unglamorous space behind advertising billboardsit's often a question of picking an everyday subject and persisting until it becomes thoroughly offbeat.

Cheap and nasty subjects typically have sickly sweet colors. Or perhaps it's the other way round and it's the color that cheapens? Imagine Las Vegas photographed in black and whiteit might appear alternately seedy or high tech, but not necessarily kitsch. That's not to say that vivid color is obligatoryErwitt shot mainly in black and white, and Gill's pictures all seem to be shot under overcast skiesbut ultra-saturated colors really help to reinforce a kitsch quality.

After finding this souvenir stall on Westminster Bridge in London, it was just a matter of waiting until the tourists became oblivious to the camera, and for the sun to shine on the flags.

When shooting for this project, aim for an artless quality. Don't avoid bright, midday sunlight or try to rake the light across the subjectyou'll be fine with the strong sun behind you, flattening the scene. Add flash if you wish, or emulate it by applying Photoshop's Shadow/Highlight adjustment. Start by making a copy of the image layer, because this adjustment changes the pixels and their color values. Use Alt/Opt + Ctrl/ Cmd + J to copy the image and name the layer. Select Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlights and adjust the Shadow and Highlight Amount sliders to lift the image. Aim to simulate the effects of a fill-in flash by increasing the Shadows Amount slider. (You may find that not all of these options are visibleclick on the Show More Options check box to open the full array of sliders if you want to experiment.) Although this picture was shot with a polarizing lens filter, the saturation of color wasn't maximized because the sun was coming from behindnotice the pale sky above Big Ben. The obvious way to boost saturation is to go to the Layers palette, click the "Create new fill or adjustment layer" icon, and select Hue/Saturation. Drag the Saturation slider a little way to the right, and click OK. If you go too far the result can quickly become brutal. In order to make more subtle changes, try another type of adjustment layerSelective Color. To emphasize all the blue tones, choose Cyans from the pull-down menu and drag the Black slider to the right, then do the same for the Blues. The Selective Color adjustment layer produces a much more natural color saturation, so try duplicating the layer using Ctrl/Cmd + J. The more copies of the layer, the stronger the effecthere I've made three copies. Complete the effect by moving the Hue/Saturation layer back to the top, as the stacking order makes a difference. You can barely see London's Houses of Parliament and Big Ben behind this souvenir stall. Boosting its colors gives the image more punch, and also emphasizes its tackiness.