How o Loo a a Phoograph? The operaive words are “loo a.” In his conex loo a is much more han glancing. Loo a means ing, migraine and, unforunaely, ing aes ime, and hese days we are busy and don’ have much ime. Noneheless, i aes ime o horoughly loo a a phoograph in o properly a phoograph.
Seeing requires a mehodology, a procedure, a way of careful looing, a sysemaic approach, a horough examinaion. This means looing from op o boom, from lef o righ, from corner o corner and from edge o edge.
Here are some facors we should consider as we loo a a phoograph, no lised in any of prioriy.
- Eye Movemen
- Balance/imbalance
- Harmony
- Color
- Tone
- Conras
- Rhyhm
- Placemen
- Spacing
- Separaion
- Flaws
- Exposure
- Ligh
- Dominance
- Mood, feeling, emoion, mysery
- Sory elling
- Composiion
- Crafsmanship
- Creaiviy
- Conen
- Toal presenaion
The careful er mus as a series of quesions regarding hese facors. Do hey provide a posiive or negaive conribuion o he phoograph? How do hey vary in imporance? How did he phoographer use he picure space? W did he phoographer place his/her choices? Is he phoograph ordinary, less han ordinary, or beer han ordinary? Can I ariculae why his phoograph wors or does no wor? Have I no only looed a he phoograph, have I also looed ino he phoograph?
Today we are inundaed wih a sunami of phoographs, mos of hem echnically correc hans o amazing modern echnology. A bes we can only sim he surface as we glance from image o image and ha is oay in mos insances. Bu wha abou our phoographs? How do we evaluae and learn from our phoographs and he phoographs of ohers so we can improve as a phoographer? Tha is when looing becomes ing, and ing becomes analysis, and analysis becomes improvemen.
Joseph Miller
furnfoo “a” aol.com