Training the Photographic Eye

Photography is best described as a technical art. A painter can paint the scene to express an idyllic version of the landscape, but a photographer must take an ordinary scene and find a way to make it beautiful and eye catching. Like an artist you must create an interesting composition by using lines, texture, tones, and colors. But you must do so without being able to paint over the imperfections. Still, the image may not be exactly the scene you saw; it is the scene, slightly altered by what you choose to show your viewer. Do you want to zoom out to show the vastness of the scene? Or zoom in close for a detail of the landscape? And as with anything there is a certain reliance on luck for favorable weather, lighting conditions and fortunate events.

One of my best photographs was from an exposure that I was convinced would be ruined. While I was shooting night photography in Arches National Park - a thirty second exposure - a car drove behind me, its headlights illuminating the rocks in front of me. Thinking that the shot was ruined I took a second one, but it turned out that the first one was the best image. And while it does not show the scene as I saw it, it does a better job of showing the magnitude of the red rock looming in the foreground, showing the viewer to look at both the stars and the rocks. Some of the greatest photographs have been a matter of luck. Ansel Adam's photograph Moonrise - Hernandez, New Mexico was shot spontaneously before the sunset, and allowed time for only one exposure. However it is one of the most valuable photographs of all time; some prints of it have sold for more than $100,000.

Still if luck is not on your side, then as a photographer, what are you to do? In a case where nothing screams "photograph me" you simply start setting up compositions. No matter how boring a scene, if you can seek out a good foreground, middle ground, and background you have increased your chances of having a strong photograph. Look for interesting lines, a ridge, the tree line, a fallen log guiding your eye to the background. Lines, especially curves or diagonals, will lead your viewer's eye around the photograph and make it more interesting to look at. Horizontal or vertical lines, if not carefully placed, will split your photograph into two pieces. In general, horizon lines belong in the top or bottom third of an image and vertical lines belong in the left or right third. In my photograph, Zion, the horizon line is near the top of the image, and my subject, the sunlit mountain, is on the left hand side. Placing the horizon at the top of the image and using a wide angle lens allows you to place an interesting object in the foreground and make the viewer feel as if they are standing in the scene. Another composition to look for is a repeated shape. Does the tree in the foreground create a shape similar to the rock formation behind it? This creates a pleasing effect and causes your viewer to look back and forth between the subjects of your photo. It is important to think about the rules of composition as you shoot. You must think of more than finding a pretty scene; you must find what will make that scene interesting to look at later. After you master the technical aspects of photography, it is your vision and ability to find a good shot that makes your images stand out. Your eye is a photographic tool that is more important than any other. A good image has more to do with your eye's ability to find a good shot than it has to do with what camera or lens you shoot with. Though, unlike a camera or lens, you cannot trade in your eyes for new ones, don't be disheartened - because your eye can be trained.