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08/13/2004 03:52:56 PM · #1 |
Does anyone have some insights for those of us who re new to the concept of Photography as Art? I have an artistic gap of about 15 years between the last time I took photography semi-seriously and now, when Iâm older and wiser and have pictures in my head that I probably will never see come to fruition.
Now, to put things into perspective, Iâm just barely getting used to taking out my camera and pointing it at things without worrying about wasting film or âdo I need to take a picture of this?â Pictures as functional recordings are one thing, but trying to squeeze out things as lovely as most of the shots I have seen here seems like tilting at windmills at this early point. How do you guys (and Gals) turn the things in your head into digital pictures, and how often do the two actually match? Does anybody have a story about an elaborate idea that they managed to miraculously change into a decent photo?
Gimme the dirt, folks. Help me (and other newbies) out.
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08/13/2004 04:13:04 PM · #2 |
The 'vision' part of this game is the difficult part.
This is an example of an idea I had that was partly based on other ideas. I can't really claim "uniqueness" with this photo but I haven't seen anything like this particular composition. The wooden mannequins have been a part of artistic photography for a long time. I have seen them photographed in various ways, beginning with some stuff by Man Ray in the 1940s or so.
Your pursuit of 'art' may be best described with the 'learn to walk first' cliche. Spend some time looking at photos that inspire you. Think about why they inspire you. After you decide which avenues of photography you enjoy viewing the most, you may be able to guide yourself towards 'fruition'. I haven't completely discovered my niches yet, but there are some themes that are bubbling to the top in my own portfolio.
It takes time for your 'taste' to develop. It also takes time for your eye to become trained on what makes a good photograph. Some people have a natural talent for this and some don't. I am one of the ones who has struggled to develop my eye. I find it even more difficult for me to develop my 'eye' because I don't focus on specific types of photography yet.
One tool I have found that helps me 'see' is to work on series photography. I have recently started shooting lots of photos on specific themes. I can browse through these over time and then decide what could be better... how they make me feel... If you like flowers, spend some time making flower photos. Figure out what makes them work for you and learn from that.
Back to your question about 'turning things in our heads into digital pictures'..... In many cases, something like this will happen over time rather than simply having an idea and executing it. You may develop a single photo over a period of time by making improvements on somethign you already have. It is possible to have an idea and then turn it into a photograph. This usually involves some amount of setup and patience. If you have a vision of a still life that you want to try, set it up and shoot at it :) Look at your results. Are they what you saw in your mind's eye? If not, fix it :)
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08/13/2004 04:26:24 PM · #3 |
I completely understand your position. I shot film, very casually, for many years, and my style was very utilitarian, documentary, stilted. I knew what I was doing technically, but artistically? Nope.
Digital changed all that for me, I felt liberated by the "instant feedback" and the fact that I could shoot as much as I wanted without the costs skyrocketing. I immersed myself, looked at thousands of pics here and elsewhere, and read everyting in sight. I started very deliberately trying to take my mental concepts and make photos that accurately reflected my vision. I certainly feel I've improved by leaps and bounds, in no small part due to the influence of DPC. I'm continuing to work on the artistic, "seeing" side of my photography, which I still feel is my weakest point.
My advice is, look, read, and above all shoot, shoot, shoot. Take your concepts and keep shooting them, working on improving what was less than perfect the last time. Find concepts that inspire you and try to duplicate, or improve upon them. The more you shoot, the better you will become. you will look back in a short year or two and be amazed at how much better your current work is than your "old stuff".
BTW, welcome to the asylum er, DPC. Enjoy what's sure to become an addiction.
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08/13/2004 04:38:04 PM · #4 |
I tend to start with the concept of what I would like to see hang on my wall (or someone else's). There are times during challenges that I lose sight of this, so I would try to tap in to your own artistic likes and dislikes which may open the gates of creativity a little wider.
Someone once suggested that a good exercise is to shoot the same scene/object in a 20 different ways to see how viewpoints/exposure/technique can change perceptions of it.
Not being blessed with stuning landscapes at hand I have to resort to shooting city scenes, so I have to apply my own artistic preferences to the world around me. These shots were an attempt to create 'hangable' pieces that showed my sometimes mundane environment in a more interesting light.
  
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08/13/2004 04:38:57 PM · #5 |
I am a dinosaur, I go out, or stay in and take photos. I don't care if it is a great pic, I just click away.
Then I found this site and everything changed. Now I look at the composition, balance and all that other fancy stuff...and still take photos that sit at the bottom of the pack. Do I care? Nope, having fun and doing what I enjoy, taking photos.
One day, I will enter a challenge and score more than 4.00. Til then, I am just along for the ride and having to think hard. |
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08/13/2004 04:49:57 PM · #6 |
Be sure to remember that, while this site is great at bringing to the surface the kind photography that is popular, photography as art tends not to do well in the challenges. I, for instance, believe Imagineer to be one of the masters on this site...in addition to dustin03 and jus6681...and not a one of them have a ribbon.
So, as recommended before, keep shooting and the beauty within the everyday world will make itself visible to you...eventually.
Message edited by author 2004-08-13 18:52:57. |
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08/13/2004 04:58:15 PM · #7 |
I think it's pretty commonly accepted that less-experienced photographers and snapshooters tend to be too far out from their main subject, including too much extraneous background material. When I first started submitting here, I found that one of my "specialties" was finding the "picture within the scene" (I think that's how I put it in a very old thread); cropping a "good" image out of a much larger frame.
Sometimes this technique is unavoidable based on the circumstances of the photo shoot (especially with candid or photojournalistic captures), but more and more I find that I am better able to "crop" the scene mentally and compose it in the camera, so that the images need less or no cropping.
I think that learning to "see" the interesting and unusual things all around us, which are "normally" hidden or camouflaged by stuff we see so often we tune it out, is the real skill to learn -- all the technical stuff may or may not improve the quality of your presentation, but by themselves are no substitute for compelling content.
Early Entry:  Original: 
Message edited by author 2004-08-13 17:00:54. |
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08/13/2004 07:00:13 PM · #8 |
Thanks, all of you. I have a long road ahead, and I'm beginning to understand more what the process is, as well as a few pitfalls to avoid, and things to expect, or not to expect, rihght off the bat.
Know that by sharing you're helping me greatly.
Side note: Positively Brilliant crop, GeneralE! |
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08/14/2004 12:05:03 PM · #9 |
I will not enter into the description of the Art of the photo. However, you indicate a healthy interest and I do have an idea on how you can begin to spark the muse of creation. When I say, begin, it is exactly what I mean.
There are many processes, as John Setzler rightfully point out, that need their completion before the muse can be heard.
What I present here is a backward entrance that will have you mimick art almost from the start. Once you complete this exercise a few times, you will be looking for ways to improve whatever weakness you detect. The ultimate object is to change the mode from recording to creating.
Begin with a table covered with a neutral color. White is best. Now take either a cup or a mug. I suggest white. If you lack a lighting system, simply get two 100 watts bulb and use whatever fixtures you can, such as lamps. You will need a tripod. Start with just one light. If cup is in front, we can say cup is at 12 o'clock: you are at 6 o'clock and you will place the light at 8 o'clock. Now your object here is to capture the cup from different angles And as close as you can get. For this task always focus on the rim. Try to find an angle, while getting as close as possible, where the cup almost loses its identity.
Next: plug in the next light and place it at 2 o'clock, but place it twice as far as the first. Be careful with flare and move around the image like before. Try to get as close as possible.
Download the works into your computer and examine your effort. Remember, you can always go back and place the lights in different positions. If you do this in total darkness, that is with no ambient light, the results will be more dramatic.
Looking at the results you will at once begin to see possibilities that you never entertained before and hey, one of those shots may be even worthy of framing. Next go and repeat using a glass half filled with water and then move on to wine. When doing liquids, as a starter, I would suggest placing your lights at 9 and 3 o'clock. Also emply a piece of white poster board as a background. Figure out how to make it stand.
I am not going to get into exposure and reflective light nor to address the many avenues of photograhy and subject matter, but at least you will have 100 percent control in learning these few first steps. But I think this simple study may start you off in the right foot. Come back and show us some of your results. |
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08/14/2004 03:14:05 PM · #10 |
Photography & Art can and often blend as one.
I believe it comes from concept and a different way of thinking.
Here are two early examples of what I dabbled with a
little in this area, and was thinking outside of the box:
A Broken Home
Shell in Blue
I think they safely fall into the Abstract catagory...
Message edited by author 2004-08-15 02:36:15.
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08/14/2004 04:02:14 PM · #11 |
I would divide the production of photographic art into two types:
1) by discovery (on location)
2) by allowing and encouraging an idea/concept to form and flourish (in studio)
The two are probably related and they obviously take place in your mind's eye. A key point to be made here, I have found, is that for me, I have had ideas that I thought were very good, but when it came time to carrying them out and setting them up, I failed lousily (is that a word?) Part of the problem for me is that I'm fairly new to photography, and art, and I haven't got the technical knowledge in my head yet. I think that's one place to start...getting to know you're equipment, and what's it's capable of doing, and also, what you can do with light, how to light. Get to know the technical aspects of photography, and then you'll be able to carry out better what you have in your head (provided you also have what's needed in your wallet).
Another aspect of this is how to see and I think with what I've learned over the past couple of years is that I"m always alert to seeing what's beautiful and could make a good shot. Different subject matter and lighting situations. I think a key here is patience and allowing an idea to bubble up from your mind and letting it seep in and you'll get more ideas of how to develop it. I think patience is a virtue when it comes to photography, as they say, and so try to get out of the habit of snapshooting. Choose your scene based on what you like and be certain of what you want to express...what you want to convey to the viewer. when you do that, you'll have a more definite idea of how to carry it out.
I have been developing an outline of some things to keep in mind to help me sort through all the impressions and images when you're out in the field on location. I'll post it here and you're free to use it if you like.
I call it Pre-Processing the Picture:
I. Assessment â of the scene
a. What are the pictorial elements in the scene?
b. Is there a story?
c. What compositional elements exist? ( line, point, form, shape,color, tone, texture, pattern, converging lines)
d. What is the mood/emotion/atmosphere of the scene?
e. Light and shadows of scene?
II. Photographer's vision
a. What the photographer wants to convey in the image & how to express it.
b. Include which compositional/pictorial elements
c. How to arrange the compositional/pictorial elements in the scene (cropping/framing, point-of-view, alignment).
d. Expressive vs. literal/representational image?
e. Define the subject.
III. Practical & Technical â Settings
a. metering
b. exposure settings
c. focal length
d. other settings (white balance, saturation, etc)
e. focus
f. flash
I invite anyone to add or subtract and expound/expand it.
I hope this helps. |
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08/15/2004 12:22:10 AM · #12 |
Thanks again for those just recently adding input. This is all the kind of advice I need. In browsing through your portfolios, I see a wonderland of great images. I'm fortunate to get responses from you all.
I noticed that you had an idea similar to one of mine, Graphicfunk, in terms of a Digital Photo Tarot. When I start making my vision come true I will definitely be putting them up here. But you put it best: walk before I can run. I'll put your suggestion to the test.
Olyuzi, I'll try to do something akin to your pre-shot checklist when 'in the field'. And yes, I need some time to get to know my camera. As it is, I've made it my constant companion.
I don't expect instant results, but I'm hopeful. And all your help is encouraging.
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