Layers of interest
Before reading this post, for all of you that have taken my part I and II classes, the school is bringing back my Gestalt class for a month, starting the first week in May. Here’s the link: https://bpsop.com/courses-1/
In my opinion, based on fifty years of being not only an Advertising, Corporate, and Editorial photographer, but a teacher for almost forty of those years as well, I’ve found that there are two kinds of pictures.
In my daily critiques during one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all around our planet, I see first hand the photos that are being shot. I’ll often be standing next to someone that’s actually shooting….anything!!!
I also critique countless images sent in by one of my online students with the BPSOP…so, I’ll ask them what kind of photos is this going to be for. Is this shot going into the family and friends slideshow that will be seen on a Saturday night while eating pizza and beer, or is it going to be more serious and perhaps wind up on a website?
If it’s the former, then I say shoot away and let the explanation be told with a slice of Pepperoni Pizza as your pointer. It really doesn’t have any content as far as a photo with more things to look at than a flower arrangement outside a tourist store in some village in France; or some clown with a monkey begging for spare change in some square.
However, if it’s something more important to you (while also being in the slideshow), then it will need layers of visual interest. In other words that flower arrangement now has a small child smelling one of the flowers while the owner is watering the rest of them. Now it tells a story, a visual story that doesn’t need anyone talking…while chewing.
Here’s what I suggest, don’t separate pictures into different categories. Make all of them important, and you’ll come out better for it moving forward.
Visit my website at www.joebaraban, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB
