Nothing, but nothing, makes a stronger photograph than it being alive. Not perfect focus, not a great exposure. Life. Spark. Energy or emotion that gives you goosebumps and doesn’t let you go all day. Earlier this week I encouraged you to consider the question: is my work authentic? as one way to take a next step in your photographic work. …
Your Next Step: Authentic Work.
If you’re at the place where you no longer wrestle as much with the basics of exposure and focus, it could be time to work on the photographs themselves: on content and composition, on vision and the deeper aspects of your craft and art. There are 4 questions I keep encouraging my students to ask themselves as they consider their …
Consider Your Colour Palette
One of the things you’ll notice consistently about the bodies of work of photographers who’ve been doing this a while, is that many of them, though not all, seem to work very intentionally to create a consistency within that body of work – some kind of unifying element. Often that element is on a theme, so it’d be a body …
Learn to Isolate More
Isolation: Use a Longer Lens The Visual Toolbox, Lesson 13 Nikon D800, 300mm, 1/400 @ f/11. ISO 800 This Whooper swan was photographed tight with a 300mm lens. Telephoto lenses, anything over a 35mm equivalent of 50-60mm, have the opposite effect of a wide angle, and the longer they get (200, 300, 600mm) the greater the difference. As telephoto lenses …
Approval & Art
It is a short step from learning to use a camera to hoping others like what we create. It’s a natural step. But when the next step is allowing the tastes of others to change what we create, it’s a step in a direction that leads away from art. We are responsible for our art, and to be honest with …
Learn To Isolate
This Red Crowned crane was among many, but isolated with a longer lens it creates more impact within the frame than it might have surrounded by context. POINT OF VIEW The first and most obvious way to isolate elements with the frame is the intentional use of point of view. What appears and does not appear, in front of, around, …
Chasing Photographic Style.
We value style, forms of expression so unique to shooters that you can identify their work immediately. Show me a Jill Greenberg photograph, or an Annie Leibovitz cover and their name comes to mind without a conscious thought, much less looking for the photo credit. So valued is the notion of style that it won’t be long before someone writes …
Just Print It – Epson P800
I’m running out of ways to creatively say some version of “print yer damn work!” But seriously, print yer damn work. Live with it. Study it. Hold it in your hands. Give it away. Experience the joy of seeing it matted and framed and hung on walls. For some that means using a service like mPix or WHCC or, my …
It’s the Vision Is Better Show!
Today we launched the Vision Is Better show, a mostly-weekly 10-15 minute video podcast about photography. I’ve pre-recorded the first 6 of them and they’re live now on You Tube and I’m hoping that you’ll do 2 things for me – the first is subscribing. The second is asking questions in the comments. I’m hoping these questions will become the …
Tell Stronger Stories
Through the ages, myth and stories have been the primary vehicle for communicating meaning and truth. They are not merely the stuff of bedtime tales. The primary storytelling medium in our culture is the cinematic film, and given the billions of dollars attached to the film industry, and the royal status given to its stars, it should be clear how …