We all tend to wait for “special moments” to pull out our cameras and start clicking. Somehow, we need to be transcended above the everyday to get a great photo. Where do these special occasions come from, and what about the “ordinary?”
Consider the following: Annie Leibovitz told us, as she toured us through her exhibit this spring, that her favorite photo was the one of her mom. Wow—consider her catalog of amazing people—from Mick Jaeger, Robert DeNiro to the Queen. But from her vast library that was it. Why? She said because she knew she had really captured her mom, the others were with her a short time for a photo shoot, and showed her whatever side of themselves they were willing to.
So let me ask you, when was the last time you took a great shot (not a snap shot) of your mom? Or brother, son, next door neighbor,…?
How about Edward Weston, with that marvelous shot of his…toilet in Mexico! Diego Rivera called it the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Or his shots of the bell pepper. How about how he and Ansel Adams captured the almost identical egg slicer!
I’m reminded of Picasso from David Duncan Douglas’ epic work. He showed us how Picasso turned all sorts of everyday experiences into art—such as when he finished eating a fish dinner, Picasso took the skeleton and pressed it into clay and put it on a plate, to replicate and preserve this moment!
So, get your camera out and go get those “everyday” shots!
Photography is such a technical subject that many photographers get caught up in it, or snarled up in it, as the case may be. Cameras are such wonderful contrivances that we can get lured in by the latest gadgetry. While it certainly is important to know your camera, the camera doesn't take the photo, you do!
So how do you learn to get better shots and find your "voice" (or eye) as photographer? Are there some practical steps to take?
I believe there are. These are the steps that I recommend to my students, and that I myself have taken along the way:
1. You must get out and shoot, shoot, shoot. Like any activity--tennis, surfing (my sport of choice)--you name it--you've got to stay in shape by constantly looking for and capturing images.
2. Critique your work: Look over your shots and see if they match what you visualized. If not go back out and, if you're able to, get more of the same shot, or in any case more shots.
3. Look at other photographers' work for inspiration. Look through photography books and exhibits. Look at other visual artists' work too.
4. Go and get more of your own shots.
5. Find out what other photographers have said about composition. Here are two of my favorite quotes:
“Composition is the strongest way of seeing.” Edward Weston
"Our eye must constantly measure, evaluate. We alter our perspective by a slight bending of the knees; we convey the chance meeting of lines by a simple shifting of our heads a thousandth of an inch…. We compose almost at the same time we press the shutter, and in placing the camera closer or farther from the subject, we shape the details –taming or being tamed by them." Henri Cartier-Bresson
6. Go out and shoot photos using these points: Really look for the strongest way of seeing the image you have visualized. Bend your knees, tilt your head, look up, down and around until you see that shot.
7. Go out and shoot some more!
I’ve taught hundreds of students how to improve their photography; I’ll be passing tips to help you get better shots right away.
First of all, simply take more shots! I don’t mean go out and take random shots. The curse that comes with digital cameras is that many get “trigger-happy” and simply snap lots of shots in the hopes of getting a good one. 10 sloppy-random shots do not make a good one! Look for your shot, visualize it (see my interview and Ansel’s own words about what he means by this) frame it, capture it.
Take other versions of it, MOVE around, look for different angles, high, low (just like tennis, you can’t stand in the same spot and expect to win!)
Now go back to your computer and critique your work. Here are some of the guidelines for doing so:
a. Technical quality?
i. Focus?
ii. Exposure: Light or dark, contrast?
iii. Lighting?
iv. Colors?
b. Composition? Framing, what should and shouldn’t be in the frame?
c. Emotional impact?
After you’ve done this, pick out your best shots and process them (meaning, use your software to finalize and even correct any of the above.) Print them, share them, be proud of them.
If you’re not quite satisfied with your shots it’s very helpful to go back, after having reviewed the above points, and try to get closer to what you had visualized. You can even do this over and over again until you get the shot to match what you had in your “mind’s eye” to begin with.
Try this out and let me know how it goes for you.
Stay tuned for more tips and have a great 4th!
My interview with Michael Adams was intentionally directed towards what I knew were key points in Ansel’s books having read these in my teens and then recently re-read them with the digital age in mind. There is no doubt about it, Ansel was a generous teacher who left us his wealth of know-how. In my interview I wanted to highlight some of his key points (BTW, there are two excellent documentaries on Ansel that cover his life and history, my interview with Micheal was never intended to compete with them, rather I wanted to focus on key points of photography.)
The story of how Ansel got the shot of Half Dome
in 1927 “that probably changed his life and his future.” This was when
he realized the process of visualization which became the key to his
mastery of photogaphy.
The effect of his musical background on his photography. “It taught
discipline and practice.” BTW, the piano you hear is Ansel, this
recording generously loaned to us by Micheal.
To master the skills of photography you have to thoroughly know your equipment, lighting, your tools.
What it was like shooting with Ansel — sometimes hectic because of
changing light conditions but it was usually fun, enjoying being in the
environment he was in. You’ll see 3 photos of Michael and Ansel
together, and one that includes his friend Cedric Wright. It was on a
trip with Cedric and Michael that Ansel took, probably his most famous
shot, the haunting Moonrise, Hernandez, NM.
Ansel said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” (Look for cutaways to his darkroom.)
Ansel generously moved his negatives to the Center for Creative Photography for others to be able to print.
Ansel’s work flow: He would go into the darkroom soon after
shooting to make sure he had the negative he wanted. How easy we now
have it!
Ansel was a tech guy, for example he was an early user of Polaroid.
He would have embraced digital read what he wrote in 1981.
You hear straight from Ansel exactly what he means by visualization: “The whole key lies very specifically in seeing it in the mind’s eye, which we call visualization.”
Use of the framing card. You can read about this here
(Print out the card on cardstock, cut out the black rectangle and
practice looking for shots. This is vital training for your eye–the
equivalent of going to the driving range for a golfer.)
Hope this data helps. Stay tuned there’s a lot more to follow.
Well folks, today we at FastCompany.TV launched PhotoCycle, which Robert Scoble, Rocky Barbanica and I have been working on behind the scenes for months. Here’s the short version of the back-story:
Robert brought me on as a guest for his show PhotoWalking. I am a pro photographer, and have also given plenty of photography workshops, so what I did was give an on line workshop to Robert in a very photogenic location above the San Francisco bay. The show was a hit so Robert and I decided to collaborate on a regular show that would cover the full cycle of photography, from beginning inspiration to tips and tricks culminating in the final print and even selling work. Hence the name PhotoCycle.
I went to work lining up guests. Our first stop was with Annie Leibovitz, classmate from the San Francisco Art Institute. Annie led us through her show in San Francisco discussing her shots and telling stories behind them. Rocky, Robert and I were pretty exhilarated by this.
Next stop was Yosemite with Ansel Adams’ son Michael. When I teach, I constantly refer to Ansel, not just because he was an icon of photography but because he was a generous teacher himself who set out his photographic know-how in a series of 6 books. To my knowledge, he is the only major photographer to have done so. But rather then just discuss what I had read, why not hear from his son Michael who clearly knows more about him than anyone (he is Chairman of the Board, Ansel Adams Gallery). We arrived in Yosemite and interviewed Michael at the Adams Gallery, then he took us on a tour of some of the major spots in the valley where Ansel had taken his timeless shots. This was really getting to be an amazing tour with video footage to prove it.
Next morning, Michael had arranged with the Park Service to grant us access to Glacier Point, which was still closed for the winter. We wound our way up and arrived with a full vista of the valley and the high country above. It was here that I did my interview with Michael that you see launched today. My passion in teaching photography has been to bring the masters of photography as close as possible to my students. PhotoCycle gives us this ability and opens our classroom up to everyone. Not only do you hear Michael speaking to key points of photography, he loaned us unreleased footage of his dad. You hear straight form Ansel what he considered was the key to an outstanding photograph.
In this interview you’ll get an idea of Ansel’s’ workflow, his passion and sheer joy of being a photographer. You’ll learn how he used his framing card—the black rectangle is cut out it gives you a viewing area the shape of your digital camera. Go out and look for shots, to train your eye. This is the equivalent to a photographic backboard or driving range—practice, practice, practice.
We’ve got lot more in store for you in future episodes, but I also want to hear from you in designing these episodes! Leave your comments and let me know where you’d like us to go and explore.
I’m very excited to be your host and to take you on the PhotoCycle.
