David duChemin - Ten More Ways To Improve Your Craft.pdf - FOTO KSIĄŻKI ANGIELSKIE - GO2SPOTTY

Ten Ways To Improve Your Craft. None of them Involve Buying Gear.

Introduction

Ten More is a follow up to my irst eBook, Ten . The goal is simple; to cut through the clutter

and give emerging photographers solid steps on which to take their craft and art to the next

place, wherever that place is.

The internet is full of so much nonsense, so much noise, and - positively - so many great tips

and tricks. But in all that noise it’s easy to lose our focus, to begin to wonder which voices to

listen to and in which direction to aim your eforts. Ten More is a collection of another ten

ways in which you can work on your craft. They are steps I think we need to return to once

in a while, to return us to the basics, or to re-calibrate ourselves. There’s nothing magic here,

this second group of ten is pretty much like the irst in its goal - to bring us back to the most

important stuf, which in turn will free us from the endless tips and tricks and how-to stuf

and set us on our own path of artistic discovery.

There are no rules here. In fact, I’m hoping this loosens our dependence on rules and the

endless need for articles titled “The 3 Rules of Composition,” and so on, and pushes us to a

place where the deeper principles give us a solid foundation without the need for gimmicks.

I think if we all spent less time reading how-to stuf and more time out shooting and explor-

ing our craft, we’d be miles better at our photographic expression. We need this how-to stuf,

I know we do, but there’s a danger of addiction and the sooner we are free of the depen-

dence, the more we’ll lourish. As such, the following ten are less about the how-to, and more

about the why. Here’s my 10 more:

1. Get Closer (p.03)

2. Embrace The Constraints (p.07)

3. Study The Masters (p.08)

4. Learn The Digital Darkroom (p.09)

5. Play. Risk. Fail. (p.11)

6. See With The Eyes, Shoot With The Heart (p.15)

7. Shoot In Manual (p.19)

8. Simplify (p.21)

9. Honour The Frame (p.25)

10. Shoot Monochrome (p.27)

Bonus #11. Memorize The Camera (p.31)

Viewing Tip

Make sure you’re viewing this in 2-page spreads if you want this to look its best.

In Acrobat go to View > Page Display > Two Up. Also checking “Show Cover Page

During Two Up” will make sure the pages aren’t out of sync.

Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2009

Canon 5D Mk2, 25mm, 1/125 @ f/2.8, iso 100

Safron robes of Buddhist monks hang to dry

at a monastery outside Chiang Mai.

1. Get Closer

One of the oft-cited tips for new photographers is to get closer. I can only imagine how

many photographers end up shooting macro images of butterlies on account of this

advice. Getting closer can be done in several ways, and for several reasons, each of which

can make your images stronger. Most of them don’t include butterlies.

1. Proximity. Move your feet. This is the most literal interpretation of the Get Closer max-

im. Get your camera closer to your subject matter. Of course, the opposite is true, often

we need to back up - especially if you’re using the next method to “get closer” but there

are times your proximity to the subject can’t be replicated with a longer lens - like when

you’re shooting with a wide angle lens and want to be in tight. Sure, you could use a lon-

ger lens but it would change the whole look of the image, and that’s the point, isn’t it? The

look? Still, moving in and being unafraid of being close can dramatically improve images,

especially portraiture where proximity implies intimacy and allows you a deeper connec-

tion with your subject.

2. Compression. Use your lens. A longer focal length will allow you to get closer when

you yourself are unable to. It will also allow you to pull that background close to your

foreground, and in some cases where this efect is important you’ll ind yourself needing a

longer focal length but having to back up to use it. Getting closer by walking backwards.

Weird, but helpful. Too many photographers get stuck in a tripod mentality, planting

themselves in one place and using a zoom lens to frame. Sometimes necessary, but often

too limiting. Move around. Move forward, move side to side, and when what you really

want is the gorgeous compressed look a longer lens will give you, then put it on and back

up!

3. Exclusion. Sometimes getting closer is merely a matter of reducing the number of ele-

ments in the frame and creating a photograph that looks at one thing prominently. Don’t

hesitate to experiment with sparse compositions, reducing the image to its simplest form.

When there are less things to look at the remaining ones pull our eye the strongest.

4. Research. The more you know about your subject, the more intimate and revealing

your images about that subject will be. This is not physical closeness at all, but a mental,

emotional, even a spiritual, proximity to it through familiarity, intimacy, or respect. The

more you know a subject the deeper your images are likely to be.

Shanti Stupa, Leh, Ladakh, India, 2008

Canon 5D, 17mm, 1/320 @ f/10, iso 100

Photographer Matt Brandon shooting out over the valley in Leh. This framing, and the abil-

ity to get Matt within the colourful context of the Shanti Stupa, was possible only with a wide

angle lens and getting close. Really close.

David duChemin - Ten More Ways To Improve Your Craft.pdf

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