Saturday, May 29, 2010

What makes an image great!

I wonder; As our equipment becomes more advanced how many of us get lazy, you know set that bad boy to auto and fire away at a blinding 10 fps. I mean it's natural isn't it? We can sort through the rubbish later on our desktop and perhaps find our jewel. I was as guilty as the rest, it wasn't until I ventured back to film that I had to be more conservative and again began to think before I fired.

I began again my love affair with the medium, now it's personal again - I like to think of it as art. As I ponder this concept of thinking before shooting I realize there are considerations that one must be make before one clicks the shutter....
  • What is it about the image that caught your eye in the first place?
  • What will best suit the image - colour or b/w?
  • How does the light look (remember photography means painting with light)?
  • Will you need a filter? (neutral density, graduated grey, colour balance, polarizer) etc.
  • How will you place the subject within the frame? (composition)
  • Have you considered depth of field? (that which is in focus vs out of focus)
  • How about camera angle (remember to look at your subject from different angles)
  • Is your camera on a tripod? (a good habit to be in - it does make a differance)
  • Do you use a cable release? (reduces camera vibration - as does locking up the mirror if possible)
A friend once told me I had an eye for photography. I don't, I have a passion and thus the desire to create something that pleases me first. If others like that which I have created then I'm flattered but I must first satisfy myself. The bullet points listed above are basic considerations I make on most of my images, only when I get lazy do I realize there will be little worth looking at when I get my film back!