The following thoughts were initiated by a recent experience at work where somebody had difficulties choosing what to present and what to leave out. Although this situation had nothing to do with photographs, it is just as relevant in photography and in many other aspects of our daily lives as well. It is important to choose, to be choosy and to leave out.
Have you ever seen a man wearing ten precious designer watches on each arm? Or did you ever have the chance to admire a women's ear with all of her most sparkling and beautiful earrings on display? Or did you ever watch a movie with seven different endings and 13 main characters? Most likely not.
Have you ever seen a man wearing ten precious designer watches on each arm? Or did you ever have the chance to admire a women's ear with all of her most sparkling and beautiful earrings on display? Or did you ever watch a movie with seven different endings and 13 main characters? Most likely not.
Besides the impracticability of wearing 20 watches, beauty only exists in isolation. It is impossible to appreciate the beauty of a single piece of jewelry in a treasure chamber or an interesting movie plot amongst all possible parallel universes. This blog post is of course not about watches, earrings or movies, but about photography.
On one hand, you cannot use several lenses or cameras at once - a reason why I am an advocate of moderation when it comes to equipment. On the other hand, you cannot photograph multiple subjects simultaneously (you can of course, but in my opinion your photograph will be difficult to appreciate). Finally, you also have to be choosy when it comes to selecting and editing your photographs.
Before photographing a scene, decide what you want to capture. For a wildlife or wildflower photographer, the gist is obvious, but subjects worth recording on a memory card may also be a particular quality of light, a color, a structure or pattern. In either case, your goal as a photographer should be to emphasize and isolate the core of your photograph. Choose what you want to photograph, isolate the main subject and emphasize the essence of your capture by arranging the elements of your composition. You have to choose and to be choosy!
Before photographing a scene, decide what you want to capture. For a wildlife or wildflower photographer, the gist is obvious, but subjects worth recording on a memory card may also be a particular quality of light, a color, a structure or pattern. In either case, your goal as a photographer should be to emphasize and isolate the core of your photograph. Choose what you want to photograph, isolate the main subject and emphasize the essence of your capture by arranging the elements of your composition. You have to choose and to be choosy!
"M" - A simple composition from the Drapes & blinds gallery. I have several versions of this photograph - this is the most "intimate" and my preferred composition. Obviously, I have been fascinated by the waving pattern of the shadows that the morning light paints on this curtain.
