Bill posted:
>I was wondering if I was the only one who
>noticed that the list is almost entirely dedicated to hardware. We have
>some great photographers who participate on our list; the photos on
>their web sites is the proof, but they never talk about how they achieve
>those results. They may have a vested interest, not wanting to give away
>their "secrets", but the techniques used by the very best will probably
>only work for those who are really good to begin with, and work their
>tails off to achieve similar results.
>I could use some advice, call it remedial instruction for a guy who
>already knows the zone system, but needs...; heck, I don't know what I
>need, but it's the "it" that I see captured by others, that is seldom
>present in my photos. I may be shooting the wrong subjects, or using the
>wrong techniques, but I aced my photo classes and finally got a job
>shooting for a newspaper, and did pretty well when it came to shooting
>for money. The problem is not lack of decent equipment, or of sound
>darkroom technique; maybe my inability to define what I'm looking for,
>is the reason why it is not discussed on the list. Why can some catch
>magic in a bottle, while some of us can only recognize and admire the
>ability, and make new examples of the same boring photographs we made 20
>years ago.
Bill,
I'd recommend that you put some study into a few basic compositions
techniques, then study the works of others.
There are a few very basic composition techniques that recur incessantly
throughout the art world. Some that come to mind immediately are: The RULE
OF THIRDS (a biggie), leading lines, the 'S'-curve 'L'-shaped compositions,
triangular compositions, circular compositions and repetitive patterns.
Check your library for books that explain these concepts.
Study the work of others. Not just photography, but classic hand drawn or
painted art and sculpture. Visit museums, study art books. Notice how the
basic compostiton rules are applied to classic works. Study the works of a
favorite photographer. Try to duplicate the work, not for plagerism's sake,
but to learn through experience how to compose and light the scene. Study
advertising. There is a surprising amount of good (and some bad)
photography in the advertising world.
Chose your medium to suit the subject. Black and white photography is at
its best when the subject can be portrayed with various gray tones to
illustrate shapes and textures. Color media are best suited to portray
(ain't it a miracle?) colorful subjects. Sometimes color can provide the
visual 'key' that allows the viewer to recognize shapes and objects that
wouldn't be apparent in a black and white photo. When I use my Mamiya RB-67
I have the ability to change backs (film holders), thus allowing me to
shoot color and black and white shots of the same scene. Some shots I
thought would look great in black and white turned out to need color before
they would 'grab the eye'. The oposite can be true, as well. Sometimes
color is so distracting that the shapes and textures of the scene that
almost allow the viewer to feel the subject are lost in the mental
distraction that color affords. In other words, the brain concentrates on
the color and ignores the other elements of the scene. When shooting 35mm,
I either have to decide ahead of time what kind of scenes I will be
shooting and chose the film accordingly, or take two bodies, one with
color, the other with black and white.
Patience is another helpful quality. Photojournalism frequently requires
'shooting from the hip'. Speed is often the difference between getting or
not getting a 'winning' photo, one that will please the editor. For 'art'
photography, patience is frequently much more important. I've waited hours
for the light to change on some scenes so the highlights and shadows would
make the best photo. I've also waited weeks or months for a certain weather
condition, or for leaves to either be on or off the trees for some shots.
Being able to visualize how a scene might look under different conditions
will guide you to choose when you shoot.
I don't believe anyone's hiding these techniques to protect their 'realm'.
All the photos on my site are captioned, including some equipment and film
details. Most 'good' photographers have learned and practiced the above
techniques so much that they aren't consciously aware that they're using
them, so they don't often speak or write about them. Kind of like John
Wayne's walk. It's unique, he did it without thinking about it, and I don't
think he ever wrote about how he came to walk that way. Good photographers
view a subject from different angles (important) and try to see if it will
fit the composition rules. If it fits, and the light is right, a good photo
can be made. If not, they save their film for a better subject. They 'see'
when everything falls into place, composition wise, without conscious
thought. They don't choose a subject, then arbitrarily choose a composition
style and try to force the subject to fit it.
I hope this was of some help.
Best regards,
Stew
--
Photo Web pages: http://www.inficad.com/~gstewart
UNIX: It's not just 'User-Unfriendly', it's 'Proactively User-Hostile'!
Nothing generates so much silence as confronting a person with an
undeniable truth which is contrary to that person's beliefs.
Manual cameras, Luna-Pro's and stick shifts.
