What’s your first impression?
A couple of years ago I conducted a workshop in Sicily and was walking next with a fellow photographer who signed up for one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet.
We were walking next to the Ionian sea on Ortygia, an Island in the historic section of Syracusa and I was talking about one of my personal pearls of wisdom that I also discuss in my online classes with the BPSOP….”Seeing past first impressions”.
I stopped in front of this boat that was moored and asked her what she saw…besides a boat waiting to be chartered by tourists; at first all she could see was a “cute) red striped boat.
I said yes it was that, but it was so much more. I saw several elements of visual design, namely shapes, patterns, color, and balance. Upon seeing past her first impression, she also saw the same things and also the fact that these elements seemed to her to be in three dimensions.
We talked about composition and the fact that it was partially cloudy so we couldn’t include a lot of environment (at least with this subject) because of the flat light. Showing a gray sky would not benefit this subject.
I suggested to use the edges of her frame to help create visual tension (by placing the subject close to the edges of the frame) and to put all the emphasis on this beautifully designed and painted boat….making it a study of someone’s three dimensional work of art.
So the next time you’re out and about shooting don’t view things as they are and what you first see, look past those initial reactions to things so you can see what else they represent. It will open so many other photo possibilities.
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2018 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.
This coming July 29th will be my 30th anniversary teaching at the Maine Media Workshop. I’ve always picked this time as it’s the week of the Lobster Festival down the road in Rockland. This ofers a unique set of photo ops, different from the Maine Coast, fishing villages and lighthouses. The Lobster Festival is all about color, design, light, energy, people watchng and environmental portraits everywhere you look; some people are there in costumes and loved to be photographed.
In conjunction with The Santa Fe Workshops, on October 2nd I’ll be leading a group in San Miguel de Allende. A beautiful oasis and artist colony, and the entire city is a UNESCO site.
Come join me for a week of fun and photography…what could be better?
JoeB
JoeB
