Seeing in Pictures

• Have you ever wondered why your photographs never seem to show a scene as you saw or remember it?
• Do people groan or yawn when you offer to show your holiday snaps?
• Are you always left wondering why your pictures never resemble the shots you see on postcards or in travel brochures?
• Do you suffer from equipment envy?

Relax. After you've read this lens, and a little practice, your pictures will start looking a whole lot better.

"My camera takes lousy pictures!"

You need to dispel this notion once and for all. Cameras don't "take" pictures - people do. A camera merely records the light coming in through the lens at the moment you press the shutter. This is true of all cameras from the cheapest to the the most expensive. I know many people who have very expensive cameras with all the bells and whistles, yet they still take lousy pictures.



Why is this?

Simple. These people have never developed the ability to see in pictures.

"Seeing in pictures" is nothing more than the ability to spot photo possibilities in any situation, whether you're looking at the best Grand Canyon sunset in 37 years, or the simple bric-a-brac in your garage. Like most things in life your ability to see pictures increases with practice. And if you are using a digital camera you can experiment endlessly - no-one needs to see your bad pictures, you can just delete them. This gives you enormous freedom to try different things and see what what works for you.


Great pictures don't happen by accident


They are the result of the photographer being at one with his or her equipment, coupled with a keen eye for the finished picture before they ever press the shutter!

Seeing in pictures means you do need a basic understanding of how your camera "reads" light.

No two cameras read light in exactly the same way. The manual that came with your camera is your first stop for information as to how your camera "sees". After that it's down to a little experimentation and some trial and error.

Take this shot of an ordinary suburban road. I, and thousands of other motorists, drive this route almost every day. I bet very few of them realize this could make an interesting picture. But in the right light (early morning in this case) it becomes an almost monochrome semi-abstract graphic shape.

Instead of just pointing your camera at a scene and taking a shot, spend some time looking at the scene. Are you using a wide angle lens? If so, what'll happen to those beautiful snow-covered mountains in the distance? They'll end up looking like a thin line in the middle of your picture and nothing like you remembered.

So you'll need to include something much closer to give the picture depth and drama.

Look for pictures wherever you are

Take a look at the spanners picture on this page. I took the shot in my friend's workshop. When I said I wanted to shoot some pics in his workshop he thought I was nuts (no pun intended). But today this is the most viewed picture on my Flickr stream! But the pic isn't a fluke. I knew what I wanted the finished picture to look like before I pressed the shutter.

In other words, I could see the picture before the picture existed, and, knowing my camera's limitations and strengths, I could set up the shot accordingly.

This picture was not shot with a high-end camera. I used my trusty Fuji Finepix S5600. It's a good camera, but by no means as versatile as even an entry-level Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex).

Practice, Practice, Practice


The more pictures you take, the better you'll get.

Look at the world around you - your kitchen, your garden, you neighbourhood...once you start looking for pictures you'll be truly amazed at how much you can find to photograph!
Instead of just taking pictures of happy people at your party, ask yourself what you want to "say" about the party, then look for pictures that express your point of view.

Instead of just snapping another dull image of that famous landmark, investigate the scene and see if you can think of a different way to show it. Show us something we haven't seen before. Don't be afraid to experiment.


Look at the work of other photographers

Today, with the internet, the work of the world's best photographers is at your fingertips. Spend time looking at their pictures. It can be very inspiring.

Photo sharing websites like Flickr are also good places to explore the work of other photographers. With over two billion(!) pictures in it's database you'll find pictures of every conceivable subject under the sun. It's a great source of inspiration.

If you're going away on holiday do a Flickr search for pictures of the place or places you're visiting to see how other people have approached the same subject.

Many of the pictures you see wont be good, but you'll also find some truly great work.

Above all, remember that your eyes and your legs are the best pieces of equipment you have

Use your eyes to see and your legs to explore. Don't have a zoom lens? Your legs can do the work of a zoom lens. Walk closer. Or walk further away. Walk around.

AND NEVER STOP LOOKING!

PSSST! If you want to learn a lot more about digital photography, and photography in general, David Peterson has put together a fantastic e-book called Digital Photography Secrets that teaches you just about everything you need to know. Why spend years learning the ropes when you can learn in days? You can find the book right here. Enjoy!

This is a simple, straightforward armchair just outside the boardroom at the office. I was struck by the way it caught the sunlight, creating sharp geometric shapes and very high contrast. I'm fascinated by light and the way it can change our perceptions of the world around us, as in this case where a simple chair is transformed into a dramatic abstract shape.

This is the Pinnacle, in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Many snappers think you need bright sunshine to take good photos. But take out your camera when the weather goes bad and you may end up with some really pleasing results. Overcast skies and misty conditions combined throw out the detail that would have been lost under sunny conditions, making for a view of this tourist attraction you don't usually see. Click on the picture to see a larger version.

This shot was hastily made and suffers from a little camera shake. However, despite this problem I'm just using it illustrate the point. The blue overalls of the guy closest to camera caught my eye because of the contrast with the red wall and the red Coke crate he was sitting on. There are usually cars parked in front of this wall so I was lucky to get the shot. You should always have your camera handy in case opportunities like this present themselves. Larger here.

This would an ordinary picture of a stone wall in the grounds of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa, if it weren't for the protruding legs of the student engrossed in his mobile phone (at first glance I thought he was reading). Keep your eyes open for small details like this that can turn an ordinary picture into something special. This one is also available larger.

Most holiday "snappers" would just set up a basic framing for a shot like this. Then they'd snap. They'd end up with a shot that shows the pool and the slide, which they would then show to friends with a commentary along the lines of: "And there's this amazing pool there and a great slide for the kids..."

I'm sure you've been subjected to this kind of agony...you know...where you're thinking to yourself; "Good grief! How many pictures did this person take?"

The picture above still has the same basic framing I described. But now there's an element of interest in the frame. I realized that if I waited for people to walk through the frame I may get an interesting shot or two. When this rotund gentleman appeared I waited a second or two - until he was positioned to my liking - before pressing the shutter. If I had waited any longer I wouldn't have captured the guy in the pool scratching his head.

Below is another of the pictures I made while sitting in this chair by the pool.



The point with these pictures, and all the pictures on this page, is that anyone could have taken them. No fancy equipment needed. Just a basic camera...and your eyes.

When you know how your camera "sees" you can work around its limitations to get very pleasing results. The small Nikon "point and shoot" film camera I used to photograph this scene has a fixed 28mm wide angle lens, which makes things appear much further away than they actually are. If I had tried to capture the mountains in the background this would have been a very dull picture. But including the flowers in the foreground makes for a much more pleasing image.