Photos with a Purpose: The Art of Photography

I went to a great presentation tonight by local photographer Hank Erdmann, titled the Art of Photography. He focused on getting back to the art of the medium. The talk really got me thinking of the purpose of the photos and videos I (as a hobbyist) shoot. Am I thinking of how they will be viewed when I click that shutter or press the record button?

My apologies to Hank as I am adapting his focus on landscape photography to my focus on family snapshots and video. The points I will concentrate on are composition and technology. And let me make it perfectly clear that the moderately decent photos shown in this post are mine (so you don’t think less of Hank Erdmann).

Composition

One of Hank’s points was to step back and look at what you see when composing a shot. Huh? What that means is, what is the point of this scene? Why am I capturing it? What do I want people to see when they look at it? What is the essence of this scene?

Asking yourself these questions before snapping the shutter can mean the difference between a photo that merely documents what was occurring at that moment in time, and a photo that evokes the emotion and sentiment of the moment.

boooooring

Aside from being out of focus, this photo of what could be Butterfly bush, is suffering from too much. Too many people almost in the photo. Too much of the surrounding landscape. Too much sunlight in the background. Some of this can be cropped out; but you can’t fix blurry. This could have been fixed by a simple look at the LCD prior to pressing the shutter.

Had the subject been limited to the Butterfly bush, the camera would have adjusted the exposure accordingly and it would have been better lit as well.

Really look through that viewfinder (or realistically, look at the LCD). What do you want people to look at when they see this photo? Is the scene too busy for viewer to find the subject in the photo? Can you simplify the background, even by changing your position relative to the subject or removing some background items?

Technology

Forget the technology. At least for a minute. Don’t worry about what kind of camera you’re using; whether it’s a DSLR, point-and-shoot, Canon, Nikon, Brownie (I actually own of those). Remember how to take a photo and don’t worry about the technical aspects of your equipment. A badly composed photo on a $5000 camera may be crystal clear in low light, but it’s still ugly.

Hank made the interesting point that he usually uses a point-and-shoot when he goes on vacation because he’s more busy enjoying himself than taking the mythical “perfect” shot. But, he did say that his vacation photo of waves crashing on the shore, although not technically great, evoked clear memories of the day… standing on a particular rock… the smell of the ocean.

Now that’s the reason you take a photo! Don’t you want your photos to bring back memories from the day? Although that’s possible with visually unappealing photos, you are more likely to actually feel like you were at the scene if the photo makes you really concentrate on a particular aspect of the day.

Can't you smell it now?

Now this photo isn’t technically perfect; I didn’t touch it in Photoshop. The colors are off, it’s not centered, nor artistically off-center, but it’s pretty and makes me remember that beautiful summer day. And, it was taken on my Nikon Coolpix.

The Challenge

Do you find yourself taking a zillion more photos now that we’re in the digital age, yet they are still just as boring? How about this? Limit the number of photos you take at your next event, but put real thought into each one. It’s fine to take multiple shots of the same scene to ensure you get at least one good one, but try to put some thought into each time you click the shutter.

Pretend you are back in the days of film photography and are limited to 24 exposures at your next event. What 24 photos are you going to take? Who are you going to feature? What scenes are most important to you? How do you want to remember the day?

Posed photos are fine, but really put some thought into where they are standing and how well the scene is lit. Did you really mean to catch them with a mouth full of food or were you merely snapping the shutter because you thought of it at that moment? Is that photo going to make the cut when you decide which photos to share with family and friends?