The Art of Seeing: part I, Introduction
Photographic Evolution Series

This next set of essays will focus (excuse the pun) on what makes a good photograph, well . . . good.

We’ll discuss the new-age question of getting it right in camera as opposed to fixing it later, in your image-processing software. Also, we’ll consider a topic near and dear to the heart of photo-viewers everywhere: what makes a photograph interesting? We’ll explore several key methods to improve your photographs.

If you succeed in harnessing these techniques, your audience will thank you and may even ask to see more of your images. Imagine that! To be asked for more photos instead of having to pursue your audience with baying hounds until they submit.

As camera people, there are steps we can take to better facilitate the image-sharing process. Like so many things in life, most of these steps are mental exercises. Although not excruciating, they will require some commitment to master – to become reflex. Developing these reflexes is the single most important process to budding photographers. It will become their foundation, their grounding.

Photography is much more than point-and-shoot. When pointing our camera at a subject, the simple act of releasing the shutter doesn’t guarantee a captured slice of reality. Cameras compress three dimensional scenes into boxed, two dimensional images. Spatial relationships are altered and dynamic scenes can be rendered flat, with diminished perceived depth.

Cameras may be limited in what detail and perspective they can capture, but the human mind is not. Ansel Adams, a master image maker from the Black and White genre, recognized the shortfall of photographic capture equipment. He devised a regimented workflow from pre-capture visualization to post-capture processing. His entire workflow existed to infuse the image with a sense of energy that had originally attracted him to the scene. It was Adam’s mind that made his work stellar, not his equipment.

So, in the next several essays, let’s explore the art of seeing. We’ll talk about baby-steps to better photography, “Rules” of composition, and defining your subject. We’ll discuss why and how to simplify your subject. We’ll also blueprint a sure-fire way to draw a more favorable response from your viewing audience.

Not everybody raising a camera to their eye is an artist. This may be true; however, anyone who desires to take better pictures can do so. It requires only a commitment to learn and a little practice.

As always, I like to keep things light. I’m easily bored when material gets too dry, so be forewarned! I’ll likely take a jab-or-two at your funny bone as merrily we roll along.

Stay Tuned,
-Mike.