ESFotoClix Blog

Almost two months ago, I read through a book I picked up several years ago, John Shaw’s Landscape Photography. While the edition I have focuses exclusively on film photography, most of the principles and advice the author lays out transcend whether one is shooting film or digital.

On this reading, a statement that had gone unnoticed previously struck me with great force: “think photo-graphically.”

John Shaw points out that most of what most amateurs photograph falls into one of two categories. First there’s the recording of everyday life: birthdays, vacations, get-together with friends, the coming of a new pet… you get the idea. He calls this a photo-journalistic approach. In doing so I don’t think Shaw is diminishing the great talent many professionals exhibit in this field, but rather pointing out that we should not approach landscape photography in this way: it’s not about recording what we saw for future generations to know we were at this or that magnificent national park, etc.

The second approach Mr. Shaw points out hinges on capturing natural beauty. I would call this the photogenic approach. I’ve certainly chosen many landscape compositions and scenes based on what is beautiful and disdain that which is not. Shaw points out that this, too, is a poor way to select and arrange our subjects.

Instead he wants us to think photo-graphically. Chiefly, he wants us to think about shapes, lines, colors, textures and other graphical elements. Don’t notice a mountain peak; notice a triangle. Don’t notice a rock formation; notice its textures and forms. Don’t notice the beautiful colors in a sunset sky; notice how the interplay of hues compliments the overall image and whether colors clash or hang together. Well, I’m putting this in my own words, but that’s essentially what he’s saying.

Armed with this admonition, I headed out to two very photogenic locations where I would normally be very tempted to photo-journal the great places I had just visited. Looking for graphical elements and finding ways to arrange them inside my frame, I came away with images that begin to deviate in character from most of what I’ve shot to date. (While I’ll admit some of my prior work effectively combined graphical elements, I’ll also cop a plea that this was mostly either coincidental or intuitive, and did not result from forethought on my part.)

Point: lines, shapes, textures

Face: shapes, textures, complementary colors (orange and blue)

Thumb rock: shapes, textures

White bokeh: lines, textures

Kayak: lines, textures (water), color

How do you select your subjects, whether they be landscapes, people, stills, etc.? How do you compose them inside your frame? Maybe it’s time to start thinking photo-graphically.