Its been a month since I last posted - got a little busy and distracted. Anyway as part of a little presentation I put together for the photo club at work here are my list of 5 ideas behind a good photo.
Photography and the appeal of a photo lies in the eye of the beholder. Before we get into all the processing techniques, the ideas behind creativity and inspiration and explore the elements of composition, a photograph starts with an idea - this may be on the spot spontaneous or a long considered project.
Of course like everything in photography these ideas are not always held in isolation and are often combined in any given image.
1. The Subject Itself
Probably the most common great photos feature a single simple great subject. Landscapes, portrait, food etc. Well composed, great light all add to it but quite often the main idea behind the photo is the singular subject that is it's focus. A person, place or thing of beauty or interest in it's own right.
The idea behind each is single simple but it is the subject itself that remains the key feature of the image.
2. Texture, patterns, lines, colours, geometry
Some photos are not about the actual subject. Photography also has the ability to capture and highlight textures, patterns, geometry etc. These two photos feature 2 relatively banal subjects - a bag of flowers and a staircase. However in both, the colours and patterns help create appealing images. Macro photography often looks to use these ideas behind its compositions.
The colours and lines of the threads and the loom create a vibrant flash of colour. The old style roof tiles on this Vietnamese house provide a patterned terrace that has the eyes wandering around the image. Whereas the simple angles, texture and line of the moss coloured fence top combine line and texture.
3. A magic moment
Some images are not just about the image itself but the moment in which it was captured. The main idea behind this type of image is to capture a special moment. This is often done in slow or fast capture shutter times. In these cases the idea is to grab a view of the subject that is fleeting or momentary.
Rodeo and Campdraft activities are an interest of mine and there are many opportunities to capture that magical moment. In the first image the horse rider grabs the ribbon from the top of the steer in an intense and skilful moment of balance and horsemanship. In the rodeo moment beast and rider are captured airborne before hitting the dirt.
4. A Story
The idea behind images that tell a story is that a number of elements in the frame combine to tell a joint story. The image itself remains incomplete or relatively dull with only one or two of the elements, but the combined interaction of these creates an interesting composition. This is not about just having many copies of the same thing in the frame but the direct relationship between the elements in the image.
In the photo above, the play of the cigarette, the dangling ash overhanging the freshly butchered meat are offset by the onlooker in the background whose expression is curious and not easily readable. The depth of field ensures that while blurred the onlooker is sufficiently in focus to be recognisable and clearly part of the pic.
5. An expanded creative vision
In the art of photography, the camera is a much a part of the process as are the wet and digital darkrooms. Probably the most common post processing technique is converting photographs into black and white. I know some don't like the idea of post processing but the type of processing I am talking about is not adding or removing items from the photo but playing with the light information in the photo to create an image conceived in the mind that moves past the simple captured shot.
Processing images is as much a part of photography as the capture of the image itself. Black and white editing probably remains the most common form of image editing in which contrast and features are outlined.
In the black and white version of these shots there is a lot more emotion and activity in the monochrome image providing a more dynamic representation of a simple natural shot. Interpreting into black and white provides a stronger and different emotional image.
Another technique is to move the camera itself during the capture process. In the image for the Buddha below there is no post processing. The zooming movement while depressing the shutter creates the moving image and a more interesting result than the simple stationary statue. Similarly the other image is merely a case of camera movement at night in an urban landscape creating an image "painted" by light.
Think about these things when out shooting and making images and use the above to help guide and direct your creative process.