Thoughts on Photography

It's been quite awhile since I've written any posts for Shades of Art. Those of you on my email list have already found out why: I left Tennessee and am currently traveling around the U. S.! While I've been writing a good deal the last week or so, the art I've probably been focusing on most is photography (and clearly not blogging.) After all, what better things to take pictures of than the Washington Monument, the Statue of Liberty or my best friend that I finally met in person? I've been learning and practicing a lot, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to see some of our country's greatest landmarks in person! (And on the 250th anniversary too! The celebration over the event has been everywhere!) So buckle up and find out what I've been practicing! Maybe you'll see something you'd like to start practicing.

1. My dad and I have talked about this a lot, and it doesn't just apply to photography. Tools do not make you talented. At the beginning of this year, I was blessed to be able to purchase a Nikon D7100. While I haven't researched a lot about different camera brands and models, I know that my new one is one of the top amateur cameras you can buy. The difference between it and my old Nikon D100 was jaw-dropping. Suddenly, my pictures were much clearer. However, even though I have a fancy new camera, my actual skills haven't improved. That only comes with time. The camera will better display my skills, but it won't improve them. After all, if I take a messy photo on the D7100, the sloppiness shows up even more clearly than before! You can buy the nicest camera out there and still have unsatisfactory photos. Practice is way more than half of the battle---buying a professional grade camera does not make you a professional. On the flipside, you can take this as the sign that whether or not you have a nice camera, there are things that you can work on.

Ah, the pride and joy of my heart.

2. One thing that I do before taking a photo is scan all the corners before I snap the photo. This helps make sure that you haven't cut off anything or included anything you didn't want to! I got this tip about scanning all sides in your viewfinder from Robin Conover, a frequent writer for The Tennessee Magazine. It's annoying to look at a photo later and find you cut off your subject's left hand! After all, one downside to digital photography is a drop in pressure, therefore resulting in a drop in quality. What do I mean by 'a drop in pressure'? Well, when photographers shot on film, there was only a limited number of photos allowed, and you couldn't see them until they got printed out. (Which costs money, of course!) Therefore, it was only natural that you slowed down and looked carefully before you hit the shutter button. Now, because of the digital camera, you can take as many photos as your SD card can hold. If it fills up, you can just delete your bad ones and take some more. While it's definitely more convenient, it can also create lazy photographers!

   

   This house is missing the point of its roof. Annoying!! Obviously, I wasn't paying attention here.

   
   

3. A third tip is to remember to shoot on the shadow side. I had no idea what this meant a couple months ago. Then, in Virginia, I had the privilege to meet and talk with Spencer Cameron, a professional filmmaker and photographer. Besides looking carefully at each of my best drawings and paintings, he gave me a full lesson about photography. After taking a glance at my galleries, he told me something invaluable. Remember to shoot on the shadow side. When I was confused, he looked up examples for me. Great photographers and movie directors shoot their main subjects at an angle from the side that has the shadows. "Once you see it, you won't be able to not see it," he said. He was right, and it transformed my photography. Yes, it gave me something else to think about when I was setting up a picture, but it heightened the quality in the end. Here are some examples.

   
   

As you can see, in all three of these posters or stills, the photo was taken with the shadow side of the subject angled towards the camera! This was even in movie stills that I had drawn from or art that I loved to look at!

In the past, I would get lucky and take a photo from the shadow side. I didn't know why it turned out better than other photos. Now that I do know why, I can look back and understand. Clearly, there's some "rule" in the vast, beautiful creation that God made that makes these pictures look better.

This is still one of my favourite photos, and now I think it's because I captured the dark side of the main subject: the shed!

Here are pictures from a shoot I did last fall.

While I like this picture a lot, I can't help but feel something is a little bit missing. The brighter side of my friend's face is more towards the camera than the dark side.

This picture is one of my favourites. While there is very little noticeable "shadow side," I can see it on the left side of her face (when she's facing you.) And since she is tilting her head just the smallest bit towards me in that direction, the lighting is almost perfect. I wasn't alone in sharing that opinion. Spencer Cameron, whom I mentioned earlier, said he thought this could go in my portfolio. Obviously I put a lot of stock in shooting on shadow side. Truly, though, it makes a difference.

I have a few more tips for shooting better pictures, though I won't elaborate as much on them.

4. If you can avoid it, don't take photos in the middle of the day. Light is very harsh at that time, unless it's a cloudy day. Golden hour is something I haven't shot in very much, but it really does make a difference. The light is much softer then, making a calmer feel. The last two hours of light before the sun sets are not essential to creating a good photo, but it does enhance the warmth and beauty of the subject.

Example of a photo at noon.

However, noon doesn't necessarily doom you. I don't mind this picture, and I took it a minute or two later.

But although the second picture of the Statue of Liberty is better than the first, the lighting isn't as calm as this one I took close to sunset. This is The Badger, the last coal-run car ferry in the U. S. It's a beautiful ship and makes for great photos.

5. Thirds are pleasing in a picture. I learned this at art camp, and of course photography is art as well, so it also applies. Plus, when you crop a photo, the guidelines are often divided up by thirds, giving you a little heads up that this is something you should pay attention to. I tend to centre the top of my subject's head (because I mostly do portrait photography) two-thirds up the picture. There are other things you can do of course, but that's a rule of thumb I've learned looks nice.

I decided to grab the opportunity outside the National Gallery of Art in D. C. and take a few of my own pictures of the bride. This is cropped so that her head comes two-thirds up the length of the picture.

6. Snap a lot of photos in the space of a few seconds. Let me explain. This sounds contradictory to what I said at the beginning. Before snapping a lot of photos, be sure that everything is set up the way you want. Nothing distracting is in the background, all the limbs are in the picture, etc. Then take several in a row. Sometimes the best photos are the ones in between poses. Just imagine the little movements that take place in between a smile and a laugh.

7. When taking pictures of a person remember that the eyes are most important. This is the same in sketching or painting. The eyes make the person (or animal!) look like only they do. You can make the eyes stand out especially if your subject is looking in the direction of the key light.

   
   

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post about photography. It was fun to write, and I enjoyed thinking carefully about what I apply to each photoshoot. And I'm always learning! Who knows? Maybe I'll have to write another one of these posts again soon. I'd love to know what you think, and whether you have anything to add. Thanks for reading!