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12/05/2006 10:17:34 AM · #1 |
I've seen all of the workflows for post-processing, but is there a similar workflow to follow when taking shots? Basically, I'm trying to slow myself down so I really think more about composition (i.e. am i using the rule of thirds here or just snapping a shot), camera settings (why am I using this aperture, shutter speed, etc). It just seems like I go out looking for stuff to take photos of, and then I end up with random stuff when I get home. I feel like I should be learning from each shot, and that I need to be more aware of things when shooting. Just wondering if anyone has any pointers to help out.
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12/05/2006 10:24:01 AM · #2 |
Start by looking at EVERYTHING that will be in the frame. People tend to get excited about the duck and not notice the fencepost behind its head, etc. You may need to move something or add something to improve the scene. When you're sure you have a scene that is photogenic, look through the viewfinder and move the camera around quite a bit - sometimes the best composition isn't the first one you see. Once you're sure you have a composition that works well, THEN think farther about your settings (I'm assuming you've already set the camera close enough for the scene, but now may need to tweek) - is there a bright glare in your composition or a dark shadow that you need to expose for? Back to the viewfinder, double check your composition (LOOK AT THE HORIZON!) CLICK Now study that shot on the LCD, enlarge if needed, see if you got what you expected to get, if you didn't, reconsider your settings and composition and try again...
Granted, the duck may be gone by now... but you'll be more pleased with the end result.
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12/05/2006 10:30:46 AM · #3 |
I try to ask myself each time, 'what 3 things would I change' then I change them, then ask myself 'what 3 things would I change' and keep going until I've got the composition/ setup / shot that I want.
I look all around the frame, trying to consider the negative space, background, stuff sticking in the corners and so on and again try to think how I can change or improve things. A better angle, better light, simplification, re-enforcing the idea of the shot.
I also try to think about what the picture is supposed to be 'about' and how I can strengthen that message.
I keep doing the 'fix 3 things' thing until I'm happy. That could be walking half a mile away to get a better angle, or it could be tweaking a blade of grass - just keep trying to improve the shot. Don't settle with the first shot you took.
Depending on what the subject is, I might be shooting each of the intermediate ideas, or I might keep going until I have what I want before I shoot. Often I feel like I'm sketching/ groping my way towards the final shot while doing this.
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12/05/2006 10:40:14 AM · #4 |
I learn the most when I get specific. Just getting in my car with my camera and "seeing what happens" rarely produces much.
For example:
I might decide to go photograph a bug on a flower. It's specific enough to slow you down, easy enough to accomplish (it's where bugs hang out). I only bring the gear I need to accomplish the task, so I don't get sidetracked. Go to bunches of flowers (a park, easy enough) - and start looking for bugs. Not pretty flowers, but a bug on a pretty flower.
I learn more with this approach. I've done it for "landscapes with something in the foreground", "night shots", "movement shots", etc.
//www.shutupmilo.com/blog/index.php?showimage=23 |
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12/05/2006 10:42:26 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by hopper:
I learn the most when I get specific. Just getting in my car with my camera and "seeing what happens" rarely produces much.
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That works well for me too - I often pick abstract ideas if I'm going somewhere and try to shoot to that theme e.g., 'circles' 'lines' 'the letter S'
Doesn't matter what I'm shooting, but picking some sort of background theme helps me see things more quickly and start settling in to shoot stuff. I used to think that this would limit what I would get, but it stops you randomly flitting around from idea to idea and means you actually make some progress in a particular direction.
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12/05/2006 01:24:52 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by hopper:
... Just getting in my car with my camera and "seeing what happens" rarely produces much.
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That works well for me too - I often pick abstract ideas if I'm going somewhere and try to shoot to that theme... |
[Ommissions mine]
I think I function quite differently. "Just seeing what happens" is a stimulating premise for me. Often it is "just seeing/feeling/sensing what is". Nothing spectacular has to happen, really, to stir my interest.
Getting out of the car would be my first priority. Assuming I'm already familiar with my camera and equipment, so I can use it, at least, somewhat instinctively, I tend to preset for anything goes: TV (Shutter Priority) 1/1000 -1/640, ISO 200 with the 70-200mm, accordingly to a lower shutter speed with a wider lens and, again, lower even when the available light requires.
I may change these settings on the fly depending on what presents itself and on what occurs to me in light of this. So much for the camera. From this point on, I customarily try very hard to forget my equipment in order to pave the way for a kind of meditative approach to my environment and although I'm ever conscious of and fishing for light, light, light (yes, the right kind of light, a particular mood of it, if you will), go out with an open mind and two square eyes, the size of a viewfinder - well, one, really, since I'm in the habit of frequently closing one and framing the other with my hand and fingers.
With nothing in mind but the presence of things around me and the knowledge of who I am (all that I love and despise) I've found that much presents itself, especially without further interference on my part and without trying to sort things into neat little categories that are no part of an immediate experience.
The idea (my idea of photography, anyway) is to come away with one shot, and to have taken this shot in a kind of communion, to have been in the middle of it, to have, in a way, participated in a rhythm borrowed from the world.
So, as you can see, much of the thrill of photography (for me) is in the transport (from here to there), which, I believe, is an attitude, a stance toward everything that, without it, is all too easily perceived as mundane, trivial and equally easily as something not worth a picture.
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