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THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE: A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS AND ARTICLES

Seeing: Developing Your Eye

By Daniel P. Creighton, C. 2001

It is fime to talk about the benefits of a wide view in photography. Saying that immediately brings to

mind the use of wide-angle lenses. But they are only part of a wider view. You see I am talking about

seeing a wider view.

Seeing isn’t just about looking at something. It is about looking at something and then looking closer

unfil you see the li%le details as well as the bigger scene.

Seeing is a developed talent. Some photographers have it. Some may have even been born with it. I

have always had a “knack” for seeing images but that natural ability has been honed by years of pracfice

too.

You can learn to see without even having a camera in your hands. The next fime you see something that

you like stop and think for a second about what exactly it is about that scene that caught your eye. Ws it

the light, was it the pattern of the subject, was it the texture, or was it the color?

Once you see what it was that grabbed your a%enfion you can then go about pu.ng that element on

film in a pleasing manner. A0er all a picture doesn’t lie (well somefimes, but that is a whole other

arficle) and you are basically wrifing a sentence with your picture. But if you don’t know what it is that

you want to say, because you haven’t clearly seen it yet, how can you clearly voice your thoughts through

your picture. That is where seeing makes your pictures clearer and more compelling. Seeing helps you

to know what elements to eliminate fro, a scene as well as which ones actually make the picture

stronger.

And once you learn how to separate your visual reacfions you can also learn to separate images into

manageable smaller images or scenes. For every grand scenic there are literally dozens of smaller

images available for the taking within it, and vice versa. Seeing those secondary images also takes

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pracfice. You can do this anywhere. Stop look around. Now pull apart the scene into manageable

chunks that have good qualifies about them and then further see what makes those good qualifies

appealing.

Once you can see these secondary images you have the ability to photograph variafions of that scene.

Variafions can be as simple as shoofing a horizontal and a verfical, or shoofing a wide scene then a fight

scene. Shoofing with the light over your shoulder and then shoofing the subject backlit. The variety is

only limited by hour imaginafion, technical ability, possibly your equipment choices, but most of all your

ability to see.

Photographers o0en narrow their view in other ways too. Somefimes they limit their vision based on

the equipment they have available. For instance some may only take macro photos because they only

own a macro lens. But is that really the truth? Perhaps they are truly not opening themselves up to see

the bigger picture. A0er all most macro lenses make today also focus to infinity. Why not use that lens

to capture other images, even other images related to the macro images that already a%racted them. By

expanding their viewpoint their ability to see will be strengthened and empowered.

Others keyhole themselves and eliminate certain themes within their photography, like the work of man

everyday of our lives. And we may be fired of seeing it and want a visual escape to nature, we may even

need it, but ignoring the possibility of great images within our human world is also a very narrow

viewpoint. Somefimes an extra image can be made, and also made more marketable, by adding the

human element into a scene. Or perhaps we want to photograph nesfing birds but ignore the birds

nesfing in a 9owerpot, a glove hanging from a clothesline, a tra:c light, etc. Does that serve the best

interests of the subject and your best interests as an arfist? I don’t think so. By ignoring these images

you don’t show the changes or acceptance that our modern day consumable society needs to gain to

further allow wildlife to 9ourish.

If the general public perceives that nature only needs wide-open spaces and deep woods to live in then

they will be quicker to bull doze the small acre field around the corner. They may not realize that they

can a%ract and view dozens of species of wildlife within their urban backyards. And learning to see these

images that we pass by everyday can also sharpen our vision as arfists. And the images that are the

easiest to market are those that allow the buyer to imagine themselves in. You can create this imaginary

place that they want to be by placing an element of man in the picture.

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So the next fime you stop to shoot a scene realize that there are variafions within that scene that may

also be interesfing photographically. See them, photography them, and then show them. You will be

safisfied when you do.

How to Obtain A Photographic Eye

Posted Jan 26, 2006 by static

We’ve all seen really beautiful pictures. A quick glance through Time Magazine’s photos of the year or National Geographic

or Rolling Stone or Nylon make us very aware that there are great photographers out there. Problem is, just looking at

these photos doesn’t make us better photographers. I’ve tried to will some of their greatness into me by staring

deeply into the pictures but alas, it doesn’t work!

I’ve also done the deep diggin’ into what cameras are being used, which lens the photos are taken with, the f-stop

they’re shot at and what kind of film is recording it all. While these are all great things to know technically they really

can’t help you produce better pictures any more than knowing what kind of guitar Sigur Ros uses to create such

mesmerizing music. The most perfect guitar in the world couldn’t make me play like them and in the same vain the

best photographic equipment won’t a better photographer make.

So what is it? What’s that super-duper-alla-kazaam of a something that makes a photo so great? Simply – it’s knowing

what to look for.

If you think about the following guidelines in relation to the above picture it may help you visualise what I’m talkin’

’bout. Now…without further hesitation I give you my three basic guidelines on what to look for in order to enhance

your photographic eye and use that to make compelling pictures…

1. A good photograph has a theme. It’s about someone or something. It may even tell a story about that subject but

the main point is that the subject is clear and unambiguous. So going into your shot you should know what you want

the theme of it to be and this should be easily distinguishable to your viewers as well. To take it one step further, good

photos most often represent a universal theme – one that everyone can relate to.

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2. A good photograph focuses attention. Ask yourself how you can draw your viewers eye to the subject of your

photo. This is often done by having one major subject of interest, one thing that really stands out. In order to have

really focused attention you may have to get in closer to an object, gain eye contact with a person, compose the

subject so they stand out within the frame of your viewfinder. There are many ways to do this – but thinking about the

focus is half the battle. If you’re aware of drawing attention to the subject, you’ll likely be doing it.

3. A good photograph simplifies. In order to do this you really just need to ask yourself if you have included only that

which draws attention to the subject. In other words, have you eliminated everything that is non-essential or

distracting? Have you zeroed-in on the key element in the scene? This doesn’t mean that you have to cut out all

backgrounds, just be sure that the surroundings contribute to the story-telling aspect of your shot and that they add

an element of understanding rather than draw viewers away from your subjec

Developing a “Photographic Eye”

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Autho

Tim

Epp

Photography in many ways is an artform. I find this to be true the more time I spend in honing

this craft. Sure in one sense photography can be as simple as taking “snapshots” of the scene you

want to capture without putting a whole lot of thought into the photo, and many are content with

that level of photography.

What I want to share here though are a few things to keep in mind if you want to take a bit more

time and effort in “composing” a photo, which is really more the mindset to be in if you want to

take better photos. The tips I offer here are fairly basic and can be implemented with pretty much

any camera you may have.

I am primary a nature photographer, so it is with this in mind that I write this article.

1. Lighting

Photography literally means “writing with light”, so becomes easy to see that lighting can make

or break a photo. Cloudless blue sunny sky is wonderful weather for being outside, but at the

same time it makes for lousy photography lighting conditions. This is due to the fact that there is

a high contrast between bright light and dark shadows. This type of situation is almost impossible

to expose evenly unless you start getting into some fancy filters. If you set your exposure for the

sky, your ground areas will be dark. If you expose your photo for the ground, your sky will be

overexposed.

Unique lighting situations can offer up some really great photo opportunities; making what could

be an otherwise bland landscape into a truly memorable photo.

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Sometimes it takes awhile to get just the right lighting to highlight what you want. This is where

patience and waiting for that right moment comes into play. Some of my favorite times for photos

are during and after storms, as well as the “golden hours” of the warm, low lighting provided by

sunrises and sunsets. A sky with broken cloud, like the photo on the left, also provides some great

unique lighting opportunity. The photo on the right was taken just after a storm, and just before

sunset.

2. Composition

Photos themselves are 2 dimensional, but with some good composition, you can give your photo

a lot more depth of field. This can be a difficult thing to master, but patience and taking the time

to study your subject before taking the shot can really go a long way.

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All of these above shots involved using a fair bit of Depth of Field, or a combination of subjects

that are both close and far away. One of the tricks is to make your picture naturally “flow” from

one part of the photo to another. All of the above photos tend to “flow” from right to left. Good

photo composition takes into account where your eyes will naturally gravitate first within the

photo, then where they will go from there.

Generally it’s a good idea to practice using the manual settings on your camera if you have that

option. This way you have control over things like shutter speed, aperture, and even your ISO

settings. Explaining this stuff is a bit more technical than what I want to deal with in this article,

but basically the larger number that you have your aperture set, the more everything stays in

focus. This is particularly important when your photo involves subjects that are both close and far

away and you want everything to remain in focus.

A higher ISO, like in film, allows more light sensitivity, but at the same time can also produce

digital noise, or a grainy appearance in your picture. Higher numbered apertures, or “F-stops” lets

less light into your lens, so lower shutter speeds or a higher ISO setting has to be used to

compensate. Ah the balancing act can get tricky!

You’ve probably heard about the “rule of thirds” in photography. Basically what this means is that

you want the important elements in your photo to be where where these “one third” lines

intersect:

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Some cameras even have these lines on the viewfinder. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it is a

good rule of thumb to start with.

3. Contrast

Using contrast in photos is kind of a combination of lighting and composition, but using

contrasting colour can offer some really cool photos.

Contrasting colours can really make your subject stand out. This is where the vibrant fall colours

or spring flowers can be a lot of fun. Even contrasts such as dead snags and live trees or other

such natural “opposites” can really add to a photo.