If I could only give one of my Photography Tips to anyone who is taking photos it is this. I could refer to the archetypal dinner party story…
Let’s go to Dinner
The hostess says to a guest… ‘I hear you take great photos, you must have an expensive camera’.
To which the guest replies. ‘The fish is sublime, wonderful flavours, you must have a really expensive oven’.
The hostess blinks a while, takes a deep breath, and can say no more – well, could you?
Use Your Feet
So it’s not about about all the gear you have, it’s not about the lenses, it’s not about the filters, it’s not about Photoshop. It’s about your feet. Use them, see a great potential image, then walk around. Get closer, get further away, walk to the left, walk to the right. Really immerse yourself in where you are. Slow down, look around, take a deep breath (just like our dinner party hostess) and take it all in.
See, you have just removed that annoying fence, you have framed the tree at the edge of the frame, not in the middle… Etc etc
Please see the picture attached. Yours truly was standing in the stream to get that composition. And it was a cold day, but it was worth it. I simply would not have got any impact, no Strong Lines, had I stayed on the bank.
Most noteworthy, people knowingly smiled at my wife, and I smiled back. Even more knowingly.. 🙂 … I was having fun, and I got great results.
Are you?
Finally, by standing in the stream I have created a series of inverted V shapes that lead the eye to two out the three major water features in the image. Such a composition would not have been possible without a thick jacket for the cold suitably matched with shorts and teva sandals!!!
And of course I was using my tripod – more on that here. This also let me use the corners, well, at least the bottom corners – more here.
Thanks for reading this far
Andrew Barnes
The Landscape Photographer that doesn’t stand still 🙂
