the process
How do you actually work out ‘in the field’ when you”’re shooting?
Do you:
-see something you think would make a great picture, then work the subject with different approaches?
-have a feeling, and try to capture it on film (sensor) from your surroundings?
-see a subject that provokes a feeling, and try to capture that?
Do you think that you can put across a feeling in your images? I’m not talking about meaning here, like making a statement about society and the landscape or something, I just mean an atmosphere. What is it that could contribute to provoking a particular feeling on viewing the image, besides the subject – this goes back to thinking about style I suppose.
If you limit your style using particular elements of the craft like composition, scale, colour/mono, contrast, are you limiting your ability to project a particular feeling onto each image?
It’s like watching a third series of ‘Lost’ – they answer your questions with more questions. It’s just plain evil…
Julie, another interesting post. In most cases, I try my best to convey an emotion, based on what I saw. The byline of my blog is: Life. Stop and take a look. That’s what I’m trying to do. Not to necessarily ‘record’ life in documentary form, but to express my joy for living and also become an interested observer in other people’s lives.
With regards to the feelings that I try to convey, I limit my use of Photoshop, not because I don’t like it, but I like to see if I can get my message across with the images.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words; however, whose words? I like to write narratives along with my photos. The photos bring the words to life and I think that people like hearing more detail about the photo and, perhaps, my motivation for taking it. I think that words and photos are symbiotic and each add to the overall feeling that I’m trying to convey.
Sorry if I went far afield. :-)
I get my photos one of two ways: instant and deliberate (which is probably how most other photographers work):
INSTANT: I see something that I instantly KNOW will work as a photo. My pulse quickens and I cannot get the camera out of the pack quickly enough.
DELIBERATE: I notice something interesting and decide to study it a bit, plodding my way through a few uninspired images before finding (hopefully) something that works.