If you want to be part of a small group of photographers all inspiring each other to become better, then the next Focus and Frame Cohort might be just the ticket for you. No egos, no gatekeeping, just a team in your corner helping you on your journey through photography. Next intake is open and the cohort starts w/c 12th August Click here for more info: www.thephotographiceye.info/focus-frame-cohort
I started photography with my father's point and shoot and I knew nothing about photographic rules. Today when I look back at those images, I feel they were incredible. Art cannot be bound by rules.
The best thing about transitioning from film to digital for me was being free to take as many pictures as I want. I keep it minimal, though...As I also quickly learned going through 100+ images and picking out 5 is a chore.
I came across one of your videos yesterday and am working my way through some of them. I'm primarily a sports photographer - doing high school sports. It's a very different type of photography in some respects but in others, it is still photography. There was one video of yours where you were at some sort of truck racing event. I would love to hear your thoughts and challengs with that vs other types of photography that are more static and you have more control over composition. I'm an engineer by training so have to work very hard at the artistic side of things.
Thank you for this. You’re one of the few who talks about the aesthetic side as opposed to the technical. Bombardment of the senses - experienced that on a recent visit to Cleveland. I had no idea that city was a photographer’s paradise, especially for abandoned, architectural, and street photography, not to mention the outstanding cemetery. I’m traveling full time in an RV, spending a week in each place. I could easily have spent a month in and around this fabulous city.
I took photos earlier today on a photo trip that were shot in a tunnel (under a river) and because of my settings the images needed quite a high iso and ended up with a lot of noise. As someone who loves black and white I just embraced the grungy effect and I called it an antidote to the many hi-res imagery we see so often. Interesting this video coming out today as, having seen photos from the same location (likely shot on a phone) I chose to shoot low down on my 40mm lens and with a slight tilt to give an interesting perspective you wouldn’t immediately see with your eyes. I’ll certainly be more mindful of the points discussed in this video as it can be too easy to fall into a rut and feel like there’s nothing interesting to photograph.
I love the idea of capturing your subject from different angles, I've noticed how much my photography has changed, just by getting lower to the ground or moving to a higher advantage point. Thanks again Alex, for this brilliant video, this amazing channel and for sharing your passion. Later, Later my friend.
this is my great quest, unable to travel a lot. The recent days, low summer sun showed me ordinary places in new light. I began to take photos. Not all of them are good, most are meh at best but some are good. Just some weeks ago I would have bet a large sum that there is nothing there worth to photograph. Now I hope this summer never end. SO MUCH TO PHOTOGRAPH. Every new hike.
Your personal framing in this video reminds of pictures l've taken recently, Also pictures in'/of parking lots with foiliege ,geometry, strong shadows and more. Also our mostly unkept yard. close medium And trees in the distance. bushes, f spiders, very close, and sun, landscape, abstract, and reflections. Here is a shot I rarely see. find a tree or tall object, walk very close to the trunk, look up. Differences in light, angle, ect. Thanks for your time and the channel.
As suggested by you, I have started using my phone more and it has really made a difference. It's almost as if my dslr is constraining my photography like a rule book. With the phone I take more photos. Because I've got big clumsy hands, I've even purchased a grip for the phone which helps a huge amount. Yes, the AI argument rears its head but these days isn't it the end result that counts as we all strive to be original. Good advice on this video thanks.
I'm kind of surprised someone hasn't jumped on the idea of marketing a gel filter system of varying density clear frosted filters as well as maybe colored filters for B/W photographers that stick together with magnets maybe to get an idea of the composition of the shadows and highlights.
An idea for a video. I have gotten better and better at photography but it seems like all that I have learned is now limiting what I am willing to try. I feel like I've lost a lot of the creativity that I once had. How can I regain that creativity? Or how can someone learn more and more techniques for taking better quality photos without losing their creativity.
I think that once a person has chosen to be a photographer, he/she should ignore anyone who teaches photography. If you want to take pictures, you will.
I take photo classes at the local community college, and I've rarely encountered any rules, except in composition class. But even in that class, it was more about the assignments (such as photographing paper) than the rules. Along with that freedom, we don't get much critique, but it's also an encouraging environment where we're all at different levels.
Hi Alex, just recently it grew on me, its one of the biggest disadvantages of digital photography , that pictures are becoming more and more arbitrary. Going out, taking photos of everything under any light, from every position under any circumstances. What counts seems to be the number of pictures which have been taken, not the picture itself. May be thats the reason why cameras these days can take up to 120frames per second😉. When I was still shooting film, I was happy guy, when out of a rool of ilm, I got one decent one. One which I could frame and putting on the wall. Today its all about keeper rates, means my next home needs a lot of walls more. Just kidding. Thats the reason why I sometimes go back to my fully manual film cameras, to slow myself down and deepen my knowledge how to take a correct exposed negativ of a scene I wanted to photograph.
One of the keys to creativity (in any field) is to avoid conventional approaches. Just as in music, in photography you need to learn the fundamentals (a.k.a. rules) in order to know when to apply, and more importantly, when not to apply them (not, in most cases). So, what's wrong with deleting in-camera? If I know I didn't get the shot I wanted, I'd just end up deleting it after uploading the images to my PC. Why not preemptively cull unusable images to shorten an inherently time-consuming step in the process? If it's borderline, I'll decide later, but some images are clearly not worth the time and effort to process, so why clutter a card or HDD with them?
The most interesting things to photograph aren't found imho. They are planned, put together, arranged and thought out in advance. Taking something you see in your head and making it real is to me infinitely more satisfying creatively than wandering about and hoping for something.
Clarify the acronym please. WAKE stands for... I know you walk thru this but I didn't notice any summary of the initials at first viewing. I likely missed it.
W - What? Choose simple elements by squinting A - Assumptions? Challenged. Din't follow every rule, it's boring K - Keep shooting. It's better to have a photo than not E - Experiment. Try and learn, get feedback etc.
And don’t be put off by so called experts at camera club judging. It’s all so subjective. I’ve won monthly competitions and the same image got nowhere with another judge in end of year comp. Also had images that went nowhere at club but were shortlisted for APOY. 🤷♂️🙄
I don’t know why, but that photo of yours, with the disembodied legs, so DOESN’T work for me. It feels so totally wrong to me. It’s like someone was shooting photos to advertise a horror movie… can’t look.
If you want to be part of a small group of photographers all inspiring each other to become better, then the next Focus and Frame Cohort might be just the ticket for you.
No egos, no gatekeeping, just a team in your corner helping you on your journey through photography. Next intake is open and the cohort starts w/c 12th August
Click here for more info: www.thephotographiceye.info/focus-frame-cohort
I started photography with my father's point and shoot and I knew nothing about photographic rules. Today when I look back at those images, I feel they were incredible. Art cannot be bound by rules.
There is only 1 rule in photography - be there
When walking through the woods looking for shots, I always try to remember to look back to where I had come, and to look up. Branches and sky.
First 30 seconds of the video I was about to go crazy because I did not see the coffee cup
The best thing about transitioning from film to digital for me was being free to take as many pictures as I want.
I keep it minimal, though...As I also quickly learned going through 100+ images and picking out 5 is a chore.
I came across one of your videos yesterday and am working my way through some of them. I'm primarily a sports photographer - doing high school sports. It's a very different type of photography in some respects but in others, it is still photography. There was one video of yours where you were at some sort of truck racing event. I would love to hear your thoughts and challengs with that vs other types of photography that are more static and you have more control over composition. I'm an engineer by training so have to work very hard at the artistic side of things.
Thank you for this. You’re one of the few who talks about the aesthetic side as opposed to the technical. Bombardment of the senses - experienced that on a recent visit to Cleveland. I had no idea that city was a photographer’s paradise, especially for abandoned, architectural, and street photography, not to mention the outstanding cemetery. I’m traveling full time in an RV, spending a week in each place. I could easily have spent a month in and around this fabulous city.
I took photos earlier today on a photo trip that were shot in a tunnel (under a river) and because of my settings the images needed quite a high iso and ended up with a lot of noise. As someone who loves black and white I just embraced the grungy effect and I called it an antidote to the many hi-res imagery we see so often. Interesting this video coming out today as, having seen photos from the same location (likely shot on a phone) I chose to shoot low down on my 40mm lens and with a slight tilt to give an interesting perspective you wouldn’t immediately see with your eyes. I’ll certainly be more mindful of the points discussed in this video as it can be too easy to fall into a rut and feel like there’s nothing interesting to photograph.
I love the idea of capturing your subject from different angles, I've noticed how much my photography has changed, just by getting lower to the ground or moving to a higher advantage point. Thanks again Alex, for this brilliant video, this amazing channel and for sharing your passion. Later, Later my friend.
this is my great quest, unable to travel a lot. The recent days, low summer sun showed me ordinary places in new light. I began to take photos. Not all of them are good, most are meh at best but some are good. Just some weeks ago I would have bet a large sum that there is nothing there worth to photograph. Now I hope this summer never end. SO MUCH TO PHOTOGRAPH. Every new hike.
The only rule one should follow in photography is the one that says "Step 1 - Push button x to turn camera ON" (then throw away the manual) ;)
Your personal framing in this video reminds of pictures l've taken recently, Also pictures in'/of parking lots with foiliege ,geometry, strong shadows and more. Also our mostly unkept yard. close medium And trees in the distance. bushes, f spiders, very close, and sun, landscape, abstract, and reflections. Here is a shot I rarely see. find a tree or tall object, walk very close to the trunk, look up. Differences in light, angle, ect. Thanks for your time and the channel.
As suggested by you, I have started using my phone more and it has really made a difference. It's almost as if my dslr is constraining my photography like a rule book. With the phone I take more photos. Because I've got big clumsy hands, I've even purchased a grip for the phone which helps a huge amount. Yes, the AI argument rears its head but these days isn't it the end result that counts as we all strive to be original. Good advice on this video thanks.
I'm kind of surprised someone hasn't jumped on the idea of marketing a gel filter system of varying density clear frosted filters as well as maybe colored filters for B/W photographers that stick together with magnets maybe to get an idea of the composition of the shadows and highlights.
Another very informative video of how to get going and to see things others don't and to create work to be proud of. 😀
Great advice! I will start to use it immediately! 🙂
Hi Alex, i enjoy this topic. Thanks 😊
An idea for a video. I have gotten better and better at photography but it seems like all that I have learned is now limiting what I am willing to try. I feel like I've lost a lot of the creativity that I once had. How can I regain that creativity? Or how can someone learn more and more techniques for taking better quality photos without losing their creativity.
How much for the image at 7:26 in various formats and sizes? Serious and genuine question
What sizes do you have in mind?
Very interesting and helpful. Thank you.
Great video as always
I think that once a person has chosen to be a photographer, he/she should ignore anyone who teaches photography.
If you want to take pictures, you will.
Agreed. Art is supposed to be personal and subjective, not prescribed and rules-bound.
I take photo classes at the local community college, and I've rarely encountered any rules, except in composition class. But even in that class, it was more about the assignments (such as photographing paper) than the rules. Along with that freedom, we don't get much critique, but it's also an encouraging environment where we're all at different levels.
Hi Alex, just recently it grew on me, its one of the biggest disadvantages of digital photography , that pictures are becoming more and more arbitrary. Going out, taking photos of everything under any light, from every position under any circumstances. What counts seems to be the number of pictures which have been taken, not the picture itself. May be thats the reason why cameras these days can take up to 120frames per second😉. When I was still shooting film, I was happy guy, when out of a rool of ilm, I got one decent one. One which I could frame and putting on the wall. Today its all about keeper rates, means my next home needs a lot of walls more. Just kidding. Thats the reason why I sometimes go back to my fully manual film cameras, to slow myself down and deepen my knowledge how to take a correct exposed negativ of a scene I wanted to photograph.
Thank you
How do you join 'aperture allies'?
One of the keys to creativity (in any field) is to avoid conventional approaches. Just as in music, in photography you need to learn the fundamentals (a.k.a. rules) in order to know when to apply, and more importantly, when not to apply them (not, in most cases).
So, what's wrong with deleting in-camera? If I know I didn't get the shot I wanted, I'd just end up deleting it after uploading the images to my PC. Why not preemptively cull unusable images to shorten an inherently time-consuming step in the process? If it's borderline, I'll decide later, but some images are clearly not worth the time and effort to process, so why clutter a card or HDD with them?
The most interesting things to photograph aren't found imho. They are planned, put together, arranged and thought out in advance. Taking something you see in your head and making it real is to me infinitely more satisfying creatively than wandering about and hoping for something.
Clarify the acronym please. WAKE stands for... I know you walk thru this but I didn't notice any summary of the initials at first viewing. I likely missed it.
W - What? Choose simple elements by squinting
A - Assumptions? Challenged. Din't follow every rule, it's boring
K - Keep shooting. It's better to have a photo than not
E - Experiment. Try and learn, get feedback etc.
Not sure I've learnt the rules well enough to be able to break them intelligently yet.
And don’t be put off by so called experts at camera club judging. It’s all so subjective. I’ve won monthly competitions and the same image got nowhere with another judge in end of year comp. Also had images that went nowhere at club but were shortlisted for APOY. 🤷♂️🙄
I photograph what appeals to me. I don't bother about I need this or that composition I take what appeals to me at the time
I don’t know why, but that photo of yours, with the disembodied legs, so DOESN’T work for me. It feels so totally wrong to me. It’s like someone was shooting photos to advertise a horror movie… can’t look.