Monday, November 06, 2006
Burning Bush on Fire
Think Outside the Box - if there is a rule in photography, break it because you my like the result. Freeman Patterson and John Paul Caponigro have really influenced my thinking about the art of photography. Try some of the following ideas.
1. aim focus / defocus
2. hold the camera still - move during exposure
3. make exposures at decisive moments / make exposures just before and after the action starts and stops
4. freeze motion with fast shutter speeds / explore the distortions and disappearances long exposures can produce
5. maximize depth of field with small apertures / limit depth of filed with large apertures: alternatively, take two exposures to maximize/minimize depth of field.
6. minimize noise (with ISO ratings) / accentuate noise
7. keep shadows open and highlights full / make high contrast graphic representations
8. search for interesting subjects - find the extraordinary in the ordinary: alternately, make the lack of something interesting seem profound
9. don't subject your images to unnecessary wear and tear / distress, stain and weather your images
10. shoot black and white in black and white / shoot color and convert later
11. eliminate unwanted compositional elements with the picture frame / include unwanted compositional elements in exposures and retouch them later
12. keep the horizon level / tilt the horizon
13. don't shoot into the sun / shoot into the sun to produce lens flare
14. avoid verylow contrast lighting (separation) / shoot it and accentuate it later
15. avoid very high contrast lighting (dynamic range) / shoot it twice and reduce contrast later
16. expose to create complete pictures / shoot fragments and incomplete compositions (stages for future actors)
17. previsualize during preparation for exposure / postvisualize after exposure; alternately, visualize ling before exposure
18. follow the rule of thirds / establish a compelling set of proportions no matter what the ratio.
19. don't place compositional elements directly in the center of an image / do
20. don't place diagonal leading lines so they bisect corners / do
21. shoot children and pets at their eye level / explore very low and high levels
22. avoid enjambment / use enjambment for irony or poetic effects
23. don't have pure white compositional emements touch the image border / disrupt the rectangular shape of an image's borders by placing pure white elements along them
24. use rectangular image borders / explore other shapes for borders
25. photograph a thing for what it is / photograph a thing for what else it is or what it is not; expose the underlying metaphor, impose one or imply absence
26. assume the optimum viewing distance of an image will be 3 times the diagonal / make work that can be seen an any distance
Keep going. And revisit this list frequently. ¶ 3:43 PM
Think Outside the Box - if there is a rule in photography, break it because you my like the result. Freeman Patterson and John Paul Caponigro have really influenced my thinking about the art of photography. Try some of the following ideas.
1. aim focus / defocus
2. hold the camera still - move during exposure
3. make exposures at decisive moments / make exposures just before and after the action starts and stops
4. freeze motion with fast shutter speeds / explore the distortions and disappearances long exposures can produce
5. maximize depth of field with small apertures / limit depth of filed with large apertures: alternatively, take two exposures to maximize/minimize depth of field.
6. minimize noise (with ISO ratings) / accentuate noise
7. keep shadows open and highlights full / make high contrast graphic representations
8. search for interesting subjects - find the extraordinary in the ordinary: alternately, make the lack of something interesting seem profound
9. don't subject your images to unnecessary wear and tear / distress, stain and weather your images
10. shoot black and white in black and white / shoot color and convert later
11. eliminate unwanted compositional elements with the picture frame / include unwanted compositional elements in exposures and retouch them later
12. keep the horizon level / tilt the horizon
13. don't shoot into the sun / shoot into the sun to produce lens flare
14. avoid verylow contrast lighting (separation) / shoot it and accentuate it later
15. avoid very high contrast lighting (dynamic range) / shoot it twice and reduce contrast later
16. expose to create complete pictures / shoot fragments and incomplete compositions (stages for future actors)
17. previsualize during preparation for exposure / postvisualize after exposure; alternately, visualize ling before exposure
18. follow the rule of thirds / establish a compelling set of proportions no matter what the ratio.
19. don't place compositional elements directly in the center of an image / do
20. don't place diagonal leading lines so they bisect corners / do
21. shoot children and pets at their eye level / explore very low and high levels
22. avoid enjambment / use enjambment for irony or poetic effects
23. don't have pure white compositional emements touch the image border / disrupt the rectangular shape of an image's borders by placing pure white elements along them
24. use rectangular image borders / explore other shapes for borders
25. photograph a thing for what it is / photograph a thing for what else it is or what it is not; expose the underlying metaphor, impose one or imply absence
26. assume the optimum viewing distance of an image will be 3 times the diagonal / make work that can be seen an any distance
Keep going. And revisit this list frequently. ¶ 3:43 PM
