Early Musings of an Amateur Photographer

It was quite a decision for me to finally get involved in serious amateur photography. As I pondered how to 'take the plunge', I did a great deal of searching on the internet for the appropriate camera and supplies that would be necessary to take me to the next level of photography.

You see, most of us start out, regardless of our camera model or price, by placing the main subject in the middle of the frame, setting the camera on automatic and pushing the shutter button. This new-fangled expensive camera will do the rest, we assume. This is how we set about to take vacation pictures, family photos, birthday celebrations and the like. We are ultimately satisfied when there are no red eyes in the picture and everyone who should have been included actually was. While this satisfies the needs of most people, it is a far cry from serious amateur photography and galaxies from the professional level.

I started out the same way. Certainly my new Canon Rebel XT(MSRP $799) would do most of the work for me. I took some pictures and voila'!! Horrendous doesn't even begin to describe the look of the first few hundred pictures that I took. They looked nothing like the beautiful artful photographs made by serious amateurs that I'd seen on the internet. What was I doing wrong? I bought a nice camera and lens. Had I wasted my hard-earned money on equipment that wouldn' work in the hands of Ansel Adams? Frustration was the emotion that haunted my first few outings with my new camera.

And then I thought about something about which my father used to tease me. He would say, "son, when all else fails, read the directions." So, I followed his advice and read the directions. I read all of them and set out once again. The photographs were better(a term whose intent I use quite loosely in this context), but only from a technical perspective. The colors actually began to look like the ones in the scene I had photographed. Hey, it was a start. But I was the tortise in a race with the proverbial hare. Technically, they were better but the still lacked any semblance of art.

So what did I do, you ask?(Thanks for asking, by the way, or I'd have to stop here) I read and read and when I was done reading, I read some more. I read articles on the internet and I read books. My reading concentrated primarily on the compositon and art of photography and less on the technical aspects of the trade. I literally read 10 books on the art of photography in 30 days. I also looked at every good photographers web site that I could find, including blogs like this one.

While there has never been a true epiphany, I have slowly but surely learned some basic techniques that have made my photographs more artful. Notice that I intentionally did not say that my photographs are art. Far from it, I suspect. But I am enjoying making them and looking at them more and more.

Well, what have I learned that made my photographs better? Here are five rules that I follow that I believe have made my work product more esthetically appealing.

1. Ensure your camera settings are accurate and make some photos. Then(and this is the fun part), make sure your settings are inappropriate and make some photos. While you will have tons of photographs that make it quickly to the trash bin, you'll have a few that will surprise you. BE CREATIVE AND TAKE CHANCES. Some of the best photos that I've seen were the result of not following the 'rules'.(Funny that I would place this in a list of rules, huh?)

2. Fill the frame with your subject. If my photos are not pleasing to my eye, the first thing that I do is move closer and fill the frame. Remember that the camera sees everything in the frame, while the human eye ignores some things and fills in others. By moving in closer, we remove the natural tendency of the brain to ignore inappropriate items in the photo. Try it, you'll like it!

3. Watch out for distractions in the background of your photos. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like a telephone pole growing out of your son's head or a power line across a beautiful sunset to make you want to turn your camera in for a six pack of beer and a pizza. Look around the entire frame of the viewfinder. In most cases, you have plenty of time do this and it is well worth taking the time given to you!

4. See shapes, colors, patterns and textures, and the like instead of seeing items that you want to photograph. In other words, don't photograph an old man, photograph the lines on his aging face and capture the essence of what makes him sage and wise. Making ordinary items look extraordinary is the mark of photographic genius. Along this same line, understand the principle that flat horizontal lines are dull. Instead use diagonal lines, shapes(eg, triangles circles, etc...) and curves to make your photos come to life.

5. Don't place the main subject of the photo in the precise middle of the frame. Instead, place it off to one side or the other. If you think I'm kidding, look at photos in magazines or at video on television. Placing the object off center creates more visual tension in the photograph and this interests viewers in your work.


Well, that's about it for today. In the next installment, I'll show examples of some of these principles in action. For now, I'll leave you with a photograph of my son Cole. Good lookin' like his dad, huh!!?? LOL

He is my rainbow. After his picture, you'll find a poem I wrote for him a few years back. Enjoy!


























My Rainbow


In every life, a miracle arrives
A gift sent from heaven above
Mine is a rainbow, a brand new life
Graced by unconditional love

A million adventures for you await
But none as important as these
Learn how to give and to create
Of comfort, a provider be

I pray the Lord will keep you safe
And ever questioning why
Marveling at the beauty of life
And why stars fill an evening sky

Do not regret your choices, my son
Be they good or bad, you’ll see
Lessons taught are not undone
If we learn, we’ll better be

I wish you peace in every way
That indifference may pass you by
Fear not the future and live for the day
When you are a better man than I

Someday I will leave and forever be gone
To be in heaven with a watchful eye
But never forget that my love lives on
Until we’re together again on high


Love,

Dad
December 2002

Remember to keep clicking that shutter, because if you aren't clicking, you're just holding an expensive black box that makes lots of noises.


Please don't pirate my images. I've worked hard to make them. Please enjoy them, but don't steal them.

Copyright 2007 Lawrence H. Wyatt