Rhadit Three Blog

grasping the technicalities photographs are used to a lot of research and practice. Today, digital camera, autofocus, metering systems, etc, are so good it's really no excuse for failing to get the technical aspects of the law.

However, if you look at the galleries in many of these sites that cater to one particular make of camera, you'll find that there are an awful lot of dross. People spend hundreds of pounds on equipment and then just take snaps of their pets and their children.

it occurred to me that, although these photographers now have the means to take sharp, well exposed images, they have no idea what a good photograph above those qualities.

the development of photographic "eye"
Their problem is that they spend too much time looking at the camera brochures and articles explaining how to perform certain techniques, without trying to develop an eye for photography ".

So how do you develop the "eye" then? Well, you make the target image. No camera, lens or other piece of equipment, but the pictures. That's the key: the creation of images all at the end all of photographic processes. It might seem obvious, but a visit to the "marque web page I mentioned above and you'll quickly see that some people are getting the message. Caressing the camera, "testing" their lenses and purchasing additional equipment seems to have goals in many cases.

Make image count
Once you decide to concentrate on the pictures, your pictures will take off in another direction. Web sites you visit will not change. You'll start to look for photographers' website before the camera review sites. You'll stop looking at the pictures the camera and start looking at more photos and that's when the breakthrough comes.

Looking at the photos, in fact, not just "looking", but "really looks", is a way to develop an eye. I have no scientific evidence for this, but I firmly believe that looking at great photos encourages types of pattern recognition to develop in the brain. You subconsciously absorb the elements that make up the picture appeal to you. That is what happened to me and my photography has come on leaps and bounds as a result.

Armed with this "template", you will begin to notice the pictures would not have seen before. Keep in mind that this is not the same as copying someone else's photography: it is a way of using compositional and tonal strength on the scene in front of you and making something coherent of it

But back to looking at photos. I'd suggest getting a book Magnum Landscape (Phaidon 1996, ISBN 0714836427) and looking at no other book or publication for at least two weeks. It is expensive but it has some fabulous photos.

Learning to look
Look at it from cover to cover spending some time actually scan the image. There will be some you like, let not the only one that will stop you in your tracks. Really examine the "wow"image. Ask what is on them that you like. Try to understand why photography works. Is the quality of light? Either way the picture is composed? Does it make you wonder what is happening or why a photographer who was in the first place. In fact, ask yourself why the photographer took it and try to find the answer.

The more you think about great images like this, the more you will start to recognize, in everyday life around you, the potential for good if not great-photos.