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Chapter 17. Seeing Photographs. How do you learn to make better pictures?. You should know the technical parts by now. But what now? What exposure do you think is best? Do you want a lot of the scene or just a little? Will you make everything sharp? Or only part of the scene in focus?
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Chapter 17 Seeing Photographs
How do you learn to make better pictures? • You should know the technical parts by now. • But what now? • What exposure do you think is best? • Do you want a lot of the scene or just a little? • Will you make everything sharp? Or only part of the scene in focus? • Fast or slow shutter?
Before you shoot • Pre-visualize what you expect. • As you look at the scene, what should you eliminate and how? • Cut out the element or out of focus? • Should you change position?
What to shoot • Beginners often shoot objects in their entirety. • Photograph Dad from head to foot, even if we can’t really see his facial features. • What was it that drew your attention? • Peeling paint • Steely eyes • A bent branch of a tree
Full Length Classic Portrait
Robert Capa (1913-1954) • Photojournalist through 5 different wars • 1947 he co-founded the first worldwide agency for freelance photographers. • He said: • “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” • His advice can help
What is your photograph about? • Stop a moment to decide what part of the scene you want to show. • Shoot the whole scene. • Then shoot parts of the scene. • Visualize what you want the print to show.
The Viewfinder • How do the edges of your picture influence the part of the scene that is shown? • Place your subject close the the frame or leave space. • Know where you’ll have to crop in the darkroom. • Should your photo be horizontal or vertical? • If the subject is narrow, shoot vertically. Shooting horizontally may leave too much negative space.
Spot • A single small object against a contrasting background attracts attention. You can use that to help the viewer see your subject. • It is important for the photographer to understand design concepts like spot, line, shape, pattern, emphasis, and balance. • Certain elements of design can direct the viewers attention.
Choices • How much of your scene to show. • I’ve discussed to move closer to your subject • It should be obvious to the viewer what/who is the subject of your photo • Look at the area you are photographing • Shoot the whole area • Shoot parts of that same area • WORK THE SHOT!
Framing • The edges of the print isolate part of a larger scene. • A painter adds to a blank canvas • A photographer decides what to keep and what to exclude from the scene. • How you position the subject within the borders of the print. Look at the edges of the viewfinder and see what’s sneaking into your print. • Vertical or horizontal?
Backgrounds • The background becomes part of the photo. Obvious, but easy to forget. • Eliminate or minimize a busy background. • What do you do when the subject is in front of an uninteresting or distracting background? • Can you change the location? • Can you blur the background? • Blur the background shooting f/5.6 or more open. • Sometimes the background add to the subject by giving scale or tells us something about the subject.
Design • Remember concepts • Spot or pointagainst a contrasting background • Line • Shape • Pattern-repetitive • Emphasis • balance
Emphasis • Contrast attracts attention. • Sharpest/most in focus attracts first as does light side of high contrast. • Shooting close makes the subject bigger/more important. • Try a higher or lower angle. • Point at which two lines (real or implied) intersect.
Contrast –light to darkdiagonal line of stairs crossing building shadow
What all good compositions have! • Clearly defined subject and background • Sense of balance • Point of view • Degree of simplicity
Dark buffalo balances the gray background-Tonal Balance Include dark and light tones to balance your print
Simplicity • Move in on your subject • Eliminate the clutter (or blur the background) • Remove items like poles you don’t want • More obvious to the viewer where their eyes should go • A painter adds what they want • A photographer must subtract what they don’t want
Work the shot • Looking up the subject is more dominate • Looking down the subject is smaller and lower status • Change camera from landscape to portrait • One shot is never enough • Bracket each shot • Next move and bracket again • Move and bracket again • Frame your shot then look around the edge of the viewfinder • What’s there I don’t need?
Why black & white? • The world is tone, line, shape---simpler • Composition is stripped to the fundamentals • Any color and be represented by a shade of gray and therefore you control the tonal relationships.