04 May, 2009
The hows and whys of the photographs of our lives
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Photography
Subtitled: Why there are 15,000 photos in our iPhoto library
I received a very very nice email a couple of weeks ago from the father of two young girls in Wellington Village.
Not only was his email immensely kind, flattering and complimentary towards me and my photography (!), but he also asked me if I would consider writing a few words about photographing kids… Why do I take the photos I do? Which are the photos I love and why are they special, who takes the photos in our house etc.
Little did he know that I was going to say YES, and that he had just opened the door to an immense topic I love to talk about.
I did a really fun photo shoot for our local paper last week, and as I poured over the photos I came home with, it got me thinking about this topic again.
Does everyone have it in them to take a good photo? I’m still mulling that one over. I think everyone has the ability to snap a decent photo, just like everyone has the ability to write a letter. But not every photo is a *great* photo, just like every letter isn’t a great letter.
Some people have a better handle on lighting and are more creative with timing and composition, I think that’s the big difference between pros and amateurs.
If you want to take some good photos you need to (a) know what makes a good photo and (b) try to remember it next time you have a camera in your hand. :)
It’s not like I’m revealing any secrets here… just my opinions on the matter. But if this is a topic which interests you, please read on.
1) Why do I take the photos I do
Why indeed? Because I love it. I looooooove taking photos. Sarah refers to my Nikon D70 as my “best friend.” She’s right. I love capturing my perspective of a particular moment in time, not just the Christmases and birthdays, (in fact those occasions aren’t my best) but all those ordinary moments in between. So much can be revealed in that blink of an eye: love, fear, joy, sorrow. I love it even more when all the elements come together. Which leads me to…
2) What makes a good photograph?
You probably already know the answer to this one already. A great photograph tells a story.
As I look over my library of photos I realize I’m not taking many still-life portraits of arty stuff anymore. I used to, but they’re boring to me now. It’s not something I’ve given up on entirely. I’ll still happily take a photo of a flower or a regal-looking tree, but the photo must be part of a larger story otherwise it’s not worth the time. I don’t take photos every day. Sometimes there’s just nothing worth taking a photo of. A forced photo isn’t a good photo.
When the girls are weilding a camera (that is, any camera that is not mine) I tell them to take photos of things that are meaningful. The picture should be able to do all the talking.
You know what makes a really great photo? Emotion. And PEOPLE. Especially kids. Kids are just natural hams. My favourite photos have that unspoken something that forces your eye to dwell a second longer, and makes your mind linger on the subject as if you were turning a chewy caramel over in your mouth.
PHOTOGRAPHS: CHEWY CARAMELS FOR THE MIND
Wow. That’s profound!
3) What about composition?
Personally I like to get close and fill up the frame. That’s when the best stories are told. Before I release the shutter I make sure that what I’m looking at is actually the picture I want to capture. It’s interesting how many people skip this step, and how easy it is to focus on the subject of the photo and ignore everything else. But take a couple seconds to ask yourself a few questions. Is there too much room around the head? Are the feet or hands cut off in a weird way?
When I’m not getting in close I’m taking a step back. Is there something else in my field of view that might add to the photo? What is the person looking at? Will the setting add to the story or detract from it? Is there anything weird happening with hair, zippers, boogers? In-camera editing will save you time and heartache later.
Once I took a photo of a bridesmaid and didn’t notice she was sitting in front of a giant orange extension cord. When I got the photos back it looked like it was coming out of her butt. *sigh*
Some general rules:
- A great photo isn’t necessarily a “posed” photo. I have my camera set to take multiple exposures if I keep my finger on the shutter. It’s ideal for squirmy kids, who tend to move around a lot and do goofy things with their faces. I might take five photos in a row, and then I keep the best two.
- A great photo isn’t necessarily centred in the middle. Think of your viewfinder divided into thirds and position your subject off-centre to one side and see what happens.
- Don’t forget about post-processing. Photoshop is your friend!
- Consider turning off the flash. A flash is likely to wash out your photo. You’ll lose the emotion and the drama that natural light provides. Only a flashmaster can make it look good using a flash.
As for who takes the photos in our house? I do. The Nikon is my camera, well, we bought it for me when I started getting photos published here and there. It was worth every penny. Mark is a very good photographer in his own right. He just doesn’t get to use the camera as much!
Where do our photos end up?
Well, this is where my best intentions start to slide. The switch to digital was supposed to change what our photo albums looked like. The old way: rolls of 24 or 36-exposure film stuck into albums. The new way: select/best photos for a scrapbook. But it hasn’t really happened. 99.9% of our photos are on Mark’s computer. I’ve recently been given the opportunity to print more photos (which I’ll be blogging about later) so I hope to change this very soon. It’s nice to have thousands of digital photos floating by on our screensavers. The girls love it – every once in awhile a random photo will tweak a fun memory of a family holiday or a special event. But it doesn’t quite beat the tactile hands-on feeling of a paper album. I’ll be exploring more of this topic later.
In the meantime I am gearing up for a super-intensive professional photo lighting course at Algonquin which starts tomorrow. I am nervous and excited about it. I know it will take my photography to the next level. As many of you know I am getting into family-related photography. (That is, families other than my own!) I haven’t made a formal announcement (my photo site is still under construction) because I want to make sure my ducks are in in a row before I venture much farther. So far it’s been a soft launch into the photo biz. :)
I can write about this all day, but I am cutting this post short for the time being. I would like to dwell on this topic some more in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts about photography and what it takes to snap a good photo.
Maybe you can start by filling in the blank: “My favourite photos are… “
