Beyond the selfie…

Have you ever looked at a photograph and wondered what it is that makes it special and have you ever wished that you could take photos that stand out?

A photograph captures an instant in time and creates a lasting reminder of that moment. The digital age has opened up a whole new world in which we can record our daily lives and then share events and personal experiences with others. Social media is awash with images that we share. Does it matter if that selfie is a real shocker or the photo of Uncle Bill ice skating has him so far away that not even you can recognise him? At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter because the intent was not to create an award winning image. It was to capture something that we want to share with others. The fact that the image does not show the subject as we saw it at the time or in the best way is of little concern. On the other hand you might look beyond a selfie to the art of creative vision.

I was 10 years old when I received my first camera. It was a very basic Kodak Instamatic and kindled a love of photography that has stayed with me. Over the years I have taken more photographs than I care to remember and have owned a number of different cameras. I have read numerous books and done a couple of photographic courses that helped me improve my photography. I learnt the laws that govern the art of creative vision in photography. Those laws are, – (1) Know the scope and limitations of your camera. (2) Understand composition. (3) Understand exposure. (4) Understand what happens when you alter shutter speed and aperture. (5) Understand light and its effects.

Modern digital cameras set on auto mode make it easy to achieve good photographs. But the ones that stand out are the ones where the photographer has applied an understanding of the above.

This may sound all too complicated to those of us who just want a selfie or a happy snap for the family album yet with even the simplest of digital cameras you can get good shots. Here are a few things to remember. Use the existing light source to best advantage. Natural light beats artificial light every time and keep the light source behind the camera. Make sure that your subject is the main body of the photo by moving in closer to whatever it is you are shooting or if your camera has a zoom, use it. Compose your shot to best effect by being aware of what you have in the view finder. Think, foreground, middle ground and distance when taking a landscape and if what you see in the view finder looks good; take the photo.

In the quest for that special shot it is easy to fall into the trap of trying too hard or to try and make the camera see something that isn’t there. Photo opportunities are everywhere but being able to recognise those opportunities and being aware of such things as colour, form, texture, lines and patterns is the essence of creative vision and the secret to creating a great  photo. I have found that photography is like most things we do. The more we do it the better we get at it.

Do you enjoy photography? What kind of photos do you enjoy taking most? Tell us in the comments below… 

Spider Art. – colour, form, texture, lines and patterns.

What are you lookin’ at?

My world is all up the pole.