One of the keys to great photography is to isolate your subject. So many times I see images that have numerous main subjects. They are confusing to look at because I don’t know what I am supposed to look at. It seems that the photographer has “taken” a picture without thinking before pressing the shutter. When creating a photograph (vrs. taking a picture) I am always thinking while I am working. I work slowly so that every detail is considered. The first thing I consider is what the main subject really is. Are there conflicting subjects? If so, how do I resolve the conflict? Would the photograph be better by eliminating part of it? Maybe there are multiple photographs to be made instead of just one.
The second thing that I consider is how to isolate the subject so that there is no question as to what the viewer is to look at. Do I use a wide open aperture so that the background blurs out or is the background an important element of the image? Can I change my camera angle so as to isolate the subject against a non-distracting background? That was the case in the photograph above. The sky was dark enough to not distract yet had some texture in the clouds for interest. The bluish tint in the sky perfectly complimented the golden color of the dry grasses, making it an ideal backdrop for the photograph.
Taking time to think while photographing can make all the difference between just taking a snapshot and really creating something nice! I would much rather return from photographing with one really nice image than a hundred mediocre snapshots.
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