Improve your Photography
by Chloe Johnson FRPS

'Lake View'

Here are some commonsense guide lines, many learnt from artists who start with a blank canvas and build up an image they consider expressive. By contrast, our cameras record all that is seen through the viewfinder accurately and realistically. A successful picture results from your interpretation. Modern technology has made focussing and exposure easy so just a record of what is in front of you is no longer sufficient. A successful picture results from your observance skills, your reaction and your interpretation. Design, mood, character or atmosphere - each is more important than the subject itself. The subject is just a vehicle.

Know WHY you are taking that picture. If you are vague the result will not hold attention reflecting your dithering indecision.

One obvious technical difficulty is that the sky in good weather is six times lighter than the land so correctly exposed sky results in very dark land. Three positives are:

1. Eyes go to the lightest part of the picture.
2. Eyes go to the zone of sharp focus.
3. Eyes go from left to right in the Western World.

Colour is a big factor. These days most work is in colour, so what is colour? My definition is ' colour is a quality of sensation caused by rays of light'. Thus colour is emotional and our sensitivities are aroused.

A pictorial picture captures and communicates the SPIRIT rather than the substance of the subject.  To sum up, a picture needs a soul. How do you give the scene selected this soul? You do this by composition, light and colour.

COMPOSITION:
To me there are no rules of composition. The image should hold attention. The subject should be sharp and have a secondary subject to provide balance or have a complementary background. Composition is not only placing subjects but also the balance of areas of colour and mass. High or low, right or left viewpoints change the relationship of objects.

Your eyes see shapes that are similar and link them forming pattern and movement which create visual emotions. Patterns of shadows are potential eye-catchers. Diagonal shadows can link two different colour areas        

Decide whether a horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait) format suits the subject. Look for line, contour, the relationship and unity of subjects. A lead in - foreground interest -can be better featured by a different angle of approach or a wide angle lens. Perspective is thus strengthened. Link the foreground with the distance. If in between there is a strip or water or bare land use a low viewpoint to make a foreground object stretch up to the horizon. Simplify, walk round to eliminate clutter and check for background intrusions. Just a zone of sharpness across the main subject letting differential focus minimise other areas help manipulate the viewer to see your interpretation.

LIGHT:
This is a vital element in all pictures. The weather is dictatorial. Sunshine and scudding clouds provide contrast, dark angry skies are dramatic. Low 45 degree and back lighting are ideal for pictorial shots illuminating hairs and emphasising textures. (most effective on colour transparencies). Light reflected from a person's white clothing will illuminate the face. Remember the beauty and serenity of dawn or sundown with its warm rosy light. It can suppress unattractive detail by presenting the scene in muted hues.

On dull days forget landscape, think of developing your 'seeing eye' in urban areas. Take shop window shots looking for reflections in the glass, make double exposures of clothing models, perhaps one in focus and one not. Without harsh shadows think of portraiture, sports shots in parks or at the local football match. Slow shutter speeds introduce movement and blur. Rain provides a wonderful luminosity and interesting reflections.

COLOUR:
Masses of colour can be so overpowering that it fails your picture-making. A picture solely of Autumn tints becomes simply a record. Control vibrant colours by inserting their complementary colour such as a green shrub or plant in the foreground to promote restfulness. When looking, if your eye sees a primary colour, it searches for the complementary colour. A balance or harmony is created by the combination of the two colours. It is natural for our eyes to seek harmony.

A palette of similar colours encourages an emotional reaction. The blues and greys of smoke, steam, fog and drizzle are atmospheric They can make a sense of mystery. We take the normal for granted but talk about fog, rain, sunrise, sunset and moonlight.

Black backgrounds are acceptable in flower catalogues because a potential customer wants to be able to compare the colours of the flowers free from background influence. Take city lights just after sundown when briefly the sky is a rich blue. The contrast between a dark sky and artificial illumination is at opposite ends of light intensity so when brought together the eye has difficulty in looking at both simultaneously.

Water reflects light from the sky and can look blue but with an increase in colour saturation. This intensification is a useful picture asset. In nature photography if the true colour is desired the reflected light can be removed by using a polarising filter but avoid using it for very thin ice on water - only the water not the ice may be recorded on the film. Using a polarising filter plus a neutral density filter to obtain a darker sky will enable the shutter exposure to record sky correctly without a dark landscape.

Because white is a combination of all the colours of the rainbow, placing it in a picture demands thought. Usually avoid white at the edges of the frame. Avoid white clouds in top corners - wait until they have moved away - otherwise the eye will be drawn upwards and outwards away from the main subject. An archway frame around tiers of white buildings concentrates viewing centrally on the subject.

The elements of visual perception are line, form, colour texture, area, space, tension and direction. The elements of composition are unity, harmony, balance, rhythm, dominance, contrast, selection and effectiveness.           

Learn to be observant. To the attentive eye each moment of the year has its own beauty. In the same field it beholds every hour a picture which has never been seen before and which will never be seen again.

Thus my analysis for successful pictures is:
     Selection of components - simplification.
     Unity amongst components - balance.
     Connection between components - linkage, shape, contours, texture.
     Colour of components - communication by emotion.
     Emphasis of components - focus.
     Surround of components - subordinate subject, background.
     Sensation of components - Effect, impact, reaction by the viewer
     ie RESULT.

This can be used to assess your pictures. Allot your picture one mark for the achievements of each of the 7 vital requirements. This leaves one to three points for an overall assessment - one if minimal or ordinary, two if good and three if effective - that is the picture which has spirit. Maximum total 10 out
of 10.

Finally, be adventurous. Your success will increase and you'll become stimulated to continue improving your photography.

Chloe Johnson FRPS