I started this week off by taking the recommendation of The Visual Toolbox and checking out numerous photos taken by photographers I follow on various mediums--Facebook, Instagram and web. Instead of looking at the photographs at face value alone, I began to notice where my eye was drawn first, what each photographer did to send a clear message through their photo, and how that impacted the story they were trying to tell.
Visual Mass is a principle of photography that says certain things will attract your eye more than others. I did prove that with my examination of the photos of others. The key question I still have is, did my eye go where the photographer wanted it to go, or did my eye go where it went because I am predisposed to look for certain things? I am honestly not sure of the answer to that question, but I do know that some photographers probably did a better job of using this principle, than others.
I know that in the past I have been guilty of totally ignoring this fact. I know this because I also went through some of my past photos in my photo archives. An eye-opening exercise. It's why I like going through this text so much as a part of the 52 week project--because as a photographer, you never stop learning, and because I want to offer my clients the best photo experience I can.
This week I walked into a field with the intent of taking photos of horses, but instead had a barn cat follow me, and decided he was a good candidate to help me explore and explain visual mass a bit more.
Visual Mass is a principle of photography that says certain things will attract your eye more than others. I did prove that with my examination of the photos of others. The key question I still have is, did my eye go where the photographer wanted it to go, or did my eye go where it went because I am predisposed to look for certain things? I am honestly not sure of the answer to that question, but I do know that some photographers probably did a better job of using this principle, than others.
I know that in the past I have been guilty of totally ignoring this fact. I know this because I also went through some of my past photos in my photo archives. An eye-opening exercise. It's why I like going through this text so much as a part of the 52 week project--because as a photographer, you never stop learning, and because I want to offer my clients the best photo experience I can.
This week I walked into a field with the intent of taking photos of horses, but instead had a barn cat follow me, and decided he was a good candidate to help me explore and explain visual mass a bit more.
This photo is not the result of a totally planned session. This is an off-the-cuff photo of a cat in a field. There is a lot visually to see. The story here is that while there is nothing magical about barn cat life for me--full of hay naps and green-grassy field sitting--it is Ricky's world. To Ricky, those fields are an exciting place. He knows them well. He knows the horses well. He sat posed and handsome on the crest of a hill looking up at small bugs whirring around. When I turned to look at him, it was his eyes I noticed first, and so, amidst all of this greenery, that's what I wanted the viewer to also see.
I used a hand-held off camera flash to throw light to Ricky's right (camera left) just above his head, because I did not want this entire frame to be bathed in light. It was 6:45 pm and the sun was headed to the horizon. Hopefully, your eye is drawn to Ricky's right ear, which leads you to his eyes. I have placed greater weight on these elements by throwing some light on them, and so I've created visual mass, hopefully, as part of the viewing experience. Ricky is a very personable cat that has been living among his horse pals for many years.
Let me use one more example to illustrate visual mass. The photo below is straight out of camera with nothing done to it except to change its size. If you know me and have followed the goings on of my dogs, you know this is Piper, the Kitty Manager, and he is making sure that Barney will not be disturbed while napping. He watches over all of the kitties here, whether they like it or not. There is quite a bit to see here. There are many elements vying for your attention, some of them that lend themselves to the story, and some of them that are in the way of the story. Where does your eye go first? second? third? There are a few ways to tell this story and send perhaps a clearer message.
I used a hand-held off camera flash to throw light to Ricky's right (camera left) just above his head, because I did not want this entire frame to be bathed in light. It was 6:45 pm and the sun was headed to the horizon. Hopefully, your eye is drawn to Ricky's right ear, which leads you to his eyes. I have placed greater weight on these elements by throwing some light on them, and so I've created visual mass, hopefully, as part of the viewing experience. Ricky is a very personable cat that has been living among his horse pals for many years.
Let me use one more example to illustrate visual mass. The photo below is straight out of camera with nothing done to it except to change its size. If you know me and have followed the goings on of my dogs, you know this is Piper, the Kitty Manager, and he is making sure that Barney will not be disturbed while napping. He watches over all of the kitties here, whether they like it or not. There is quite a bit to see here. There are many elements vying for your attention, some of them that lend themselves to the story, and some of them that are in the way of the story. Where does your eye go first? second? third? There are a few ways to tell this story and send perhaps a clearer message.
One way to make the story clearer might be to crop this image down and get some of the visual excess out of the way. Let's try that.
I don't know about you, but if this image is cropped drastically, as to hide some of the extra visuals, I think it loses some of the story. Piper is already blurry, but to also be earless is a crime. Barney is too close to the edge of the frame, albeit still napping (he could sleep through a vacuum cleaner running right next to him), and some of the more appealing and serene elements are missing.
How about a not so drastic crop and maybe a clean up?
How about a not so drastic crop and maybe a clean up?
Here I used a more vertical crop, removed the umbrella stand over Piper's shoulder, cleaned up the stone pavers a bit near Barney, use a matte over everything but the kitty, and changed the temperature of the photo to add a little more blueish tint. I don't know about you, but the message here is quite a bit clearer for me, and the visual mass should bring you to the front of this photo before you examine the back. Barney is the main subject. I would title this "Someone To Watch Over Me."
It was kind of fun to look at photos and challenge my eye to decide where it would land first. Why not try it yourself and see where your eye tends to fall, or what you tend to look for when viewing photos? It will help out in the long run, to make you more aware of all the elements that appear visually in your photos. I know this week has been a great help to me in examining some of the ruts I get stuck in with my photos.
Now to see what others have learned and done with "visual mass" this week, start your trip around the blog circle with Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati and the San Francisco Bay area. See you next week!
It was kind of fun to look at photos and challenge my eye to decide where it would land first. Why not try it yourself and see where your eye tends to fall, or what you tend to look for when viewing photos? It will help out in the long run, to make you more aware of all the elements that appear visually in your photos. I know this week has been a great help to me in examining some of the ruts I get stuck in with my photos.
Now to see what others have learned and done with "visual mass" this week, start your trip around the blog circle with Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati and the San Francisco Bay area. See you next week!
RSS Feed