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UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL EXPOSURE:

Part 1: Exposure Reduction for Highlight Retention
Part 2: Digital Exposure & Noise
Part 3: When Blocked-up Shadows Aren’t Really
Part 4: Take a Balanced Approach to White Balance
Part 5: Dynamic Range
Part 6: Extending the Tonal Range
Part 7: What’s the Real Difference Between RAW and JPEG?

GENERAL:

1) COST-EFFECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY
2) CONTROL THE RANGE OF FOCUS
3) IMAGE INTERPOLATION
4) LOSE THE DEAD SHOTS
5) SCANNING 35MM FILM
6) THE RAW vs. JPEG DEBATE…
7) IS PHOTOGRAPHY EASY?
8) MUST EVERYTHING HAVE AN ADOBE SLANT?
9) A CAMERA TO PAINT WITH
10) WHAT'S THIS COMPOSITION THING ABOUT?

What's this Composition Thing About?

In the right hands any modern DSLR with a zoom lens is all that’s needed for successful creative photography. Add a tripod and a couple of useful filters and you can take things even further. If you have them all, and software too, you’re possibly well on your way to producing some eye-catching images.

Of course we need to challenge ourselves at the start. Do we know how to fully control our DSLRs and lenses? It can be tricky and lots of daily practising is essential. Shutter speed, focal length, aperture setting (and range), ISO setting and available light are all linked. Even the subject itself plays a part. So we need to be skilled with our gear.

Can you make good use of Depth of Field? Do you know how to avoid Camera-shake? Do you know how to read the histogram and avoid blown highlights?

These are the things you really need to know each time you step out with your gear. Essays in this section and elsewhere on the site should help you with those essential practical skills that matter most. Not everybody has an eye for image content that gels. So what’s going on here, and can we be taught the right way too see? Possibly not.

Every now and then I buy a few Sunday papers. It's a middle-age thing. One day as I waded wearily through the business, fashion and political irrelevancies I came on a couple of reviews of a new album release by a well known young actress (see image below). All seemed well with buckets of praise and appreciation. So I took a chance, bought it and gave it a spin.

Now, I can listen to different stuff. As a teen I was into Yes, early Genesis and even Jon Anderson’s revolutionary Olias of Sunhillow, and I still am. So I’d like to think I’m no musical prude or, worse still, addicted to sugary pop. But as the strains of the last track on this new CD petered out through my head I began to understand what had happened.

The critics had been rightly sceptical. We all know that these actor people don’t do music very well. In fact they don’t do it at all. There’s the very real risk of a mind-numbing Minogue/Spears sound, largely manufactured in a machine by ex-university computer geeks with patchy beards. But no. This girl was totally different. Definitely a distinctive sound! So much so the reviewers were nonplussed. So, not wishing to seem out of step with their peers they gave it a cautious thumbs up.

Different, like salt in your coffee.

Well, it’s rubbish. There's no other polite way to put it. It’s back in its case collecting dust alongside the fading National Geographic magazines. I can’t even tell you if this girl can sing, so veiled was her voice by monotonous musical arrangements that suggest band members merely hoped they knew what they were doing. To add insult to ear injuries there are saxophones here and there barfing in the mix. And as cultured music lovers here in Ireland all know, unless played very aggressively saxophones sound like Harpo Marx’s horn and should be melted down and made into tin whistles.

So what has this musical digression to do with photography? Well, with the music being crap, all that was left to do was look at the album’s pictures. They’re mostly in keeping with the music, I have to say. But they got me thinking about compositional skills in creative photography.

Several years ago I was taking part in a newsgroup thread where composition was being discussed. Someone suggested we should have a look at his website where he had put together several pages explaining the theory of composition. I read his work with interest and asked him if it was actually possible to teach photographic composition. Wasn’t it better suited to artists working on a canvas or paper with pencils and brushes? He wasn’t at all happy. Nevertheless, are the questions valid?

It’s almost guaranteed that any article on composition will include a comment along these lines: “These rules on composition can be broken with impunity.” Or something equally ambiguous. This should leave us wondering about the apparent contradiction. How can we be taught constructive rules that can be broken so easily and regularly whenever the creative urge takes us? "You should do it this way, but really, you don't have to..."

Some are of the opinion that true compositional awareness in creative photography happens in your gut as you look through the viewfinder at the elements that make up the scene. Arnold Newman said it well: “There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition... You have to compose by the seat of your pants.” And Bill Brandt believed that “Composition is important but... is largely a matter of instinct...”

If someone says he needs to learn the basics of photographic composition, should we be questioning his ability to intuitively create a pleasing arrangement in the frame? Sometimes this has to be done quite quickly. It’s a gift. Try teaching football to a teenager with no natural talent and two left feet.

It all happens in the frame, and sometimes frames are different shapes in which the visual elements have to be arranged. Pictures that appear in CD booklets are square, so framing and composition must take that into account. Some cameras are designed around that format, but typically our DSLRs have the more common rectangular shape.

So, is it actually possible to teach composition, or can we move no further than to offer a few guidelines that are already being expressed by an inner gift? After many years I’m still not convinced that true photographic composition can be taught. Instead I’m sure that the natural ability some have can be cultivated and inspired. One way to achieve this is by thinking about how other photographers have composed their images. We can also find an inner resonance with the work of some film directors. Some old B&W films are truly superb. Every shot has been thought through meticulously.

Are you familiar with the work of Ansel Adams? I'd bet you are or you wouldn't be here. In 1932 he captured the image Rock and Grass, Moraine Lake. It’s certainly not one of his inspirational best but nevertheless it illustrates his wonderful vision very well. At first glance it seems not a lot is happening but then we should notice that the main rock mirrors the mountain reflection that fills the space on the lake. This is good example of compositional skills, albeit in an average shot that will set you back $100 if you want it hanging on your wall. Er, no thanks.

Inspirational imagery on TV. Left: Ray Mears with Les Hiddins. Right: a still from the BBC's superb
series Wild China. Did you buy it on DVD? To leave room for ads and trailers, Satellite channel
repeats will cut out over 15 minutes from each hour-long episode. Programmes may not broadcast
in their original 16:9 widescreen format.

Quality TV productions can inspire us too. Recently I watched two programmes broadcast one after the other on the same channel. I was seriously impressed by the cinematographers’ compositional skills. I really connected with what I saw. The images above are just a couple of examples from many eye-catching scenes over a two-hour period.

Are You Interested in the Craft of Photography?

Let’s be honest about this. Attention to detail is the proof of photographic discipline. Unless we get lucky, the desire to be artistically creative will find fulfilment in our enterprising images only. Awareness is key. Conscientious artists don't step back from doing their best simply because they know some of those who look at their work won't be able to appreciate the many skills involved. Not everybody's opinion is valuable. Even humble dedicated amateurs must work above that.

Few will offer praise for this shot but it speaks volumes about how life can seem.

There is everyday photography for the masses with all that that entails, and there is serious creative photography for dedicated enthusiasts and professionals. If we want to create something meaningful in the frame we have to take into account where the various elements fall – we must arrange them to inject creativity into our images.

This happens when we instinctively 'see' all that we have to work with.

On this site I've dealt with the indispensable fundamentals of photography – the stuff we actually need to get consistent results. Like just about every other subject under the sun, we can get ourselves bogged down in the science, theory, ideology and philosophy of photography. Occasionally it’s an interesting ride – occasionally... But after all the reading, writing and migraine-inducing analytical study it still comes down to this, and only this:

1) SLR enthusiasts must know their equipment inside-out.

2) They must sense what goes where in the frame.

3) The craft of photography is the bringing together of practical training and creative vision.

Overall, a simple concept.

But don’t let it end there. When we get the content of the frame and the exposure sorted out we can take the file into software and make the very best use of all the tones we have captured. We can manipulate the image in a way that best suits the subject. This is much the same as the classical art of black and white darkroom technique.

In the old days a good negative – colour or B&W – was the starting point. Today, a properly exposed digital file can be subtly manipulated to produce exactly what we have in mind. We can work in RAW-editing software and/or conventional software – using both can maximise the creative possibilities. It may depend on the image itself.

What we actually get from photography can vary from person to person. Recently I was invited to a BBQ. Now to be honest, I’d rather chew on a pig farmer's wellie than stand in a cloud of smoke eating barbecue food. But this was a family thing, so I buried my bias and spent the day shooting all around me with my G9, getting both stills and movies. We all had a great time.

Having family fun in Windows Vista.

When I got home I quickly put together a DVD presentation using Windows Vista software. I didn’t have to take time to edit the images. I just dragged them down onto the timeline, with the movies, added a few tidy effects and burned a few discs for family and friends. Everybody loved them.

This is photography at a level that’s not too involved or technical, and we can all do it. Even happy-snappers do it! But the meaningful craft of photography is somewhere else. It is found at a deeper level that’s much more fulfilling. It’s truly rewarding. Think of the difference between happiness and joy. We’ll chose joy any day.

I recently watched a TV programme that featured an artist who was using his natural talent to carve uniquely Irish designs into stone and local slate. He was essentially creating works of art that would last beyond his lifetime. He wondered if someday, hundreds or even thousands of years in the future, someone would unearth one of his ornate handmade carvings.

His hard work and vision brought home to me, once again, the immense value of crafted image-creation as opposed to the more casual shooting that’s typically the fun part of photography. Yes, it’s a good thing to do but it largely bypasses the spirit of honed photographic expression. In the richest vein of photography we always find intelligent planning, expertise, discipline and vision. The reward is significant – even for dedicated amateurs. It’s lasting and deeply satisfying.

Each of my very best images is a crafted personal achievement. I don't expect them to win any
awards – not that I care – but I can look at them any time and know I’ve worked really hard
to create something I think is worthwhile.

Are you a photographer who feels now is the time to push your hobby a bit further? If so, try to develop your skill through your vision. Work steadily until photographic expression becomes a craft that’s much more than an interesting record of personal events and travels. That’s were the real reward is to be found.

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