Part 2 of photographing for print
Posted: 13 Nov 2020 04:11
I thought everyone would be bored by first post. But Rob mentioned part 2, so I will write now.
What I discussed in part 1 was in relation to prints which are meant to be looked at over time. The same thing can be used for online photo sharing of course. It may be overkill for something that will be looked at for a few seconds or maybe a minute as opposed to something that will be hung on a wall and seen daily for a long period.
I previously discussed a subject which is many times (but not all) the purpose of taking a photo. Today I would like to discuss the background. I am not going to go into all the rules you can see all over the internet.
I see many people using a zoom to crop in. They may move back and forth or even better up and down to get the right composition. Then if they want to work a scene, they will zoom into certain areas and end up taking a multitude of shots to choose the best ones later. This is completely valid. I would like to discuss another use of zoom.
I learned on a 4X5 film camera beginning when I was 7. My allowance allowed about 1 photo a week. When I chose my subject, I had to make sure I got it right or else it never got printed. I had a cardboard with a square cut in it for each lens. Although originally, I only had a 6 inch lens, I soon added a couple more. So I could hold it and see what the photo would look like. Since I had a lot of time to take one photo, I would walk around a lot before setting up my camera. This would give me plenty of see my subject at different focal lengths and distances. This would allow me see the subject in relation to the background.
Today with the excellent zooms we can do this with a digital camera. I do not see this much if at all which is why I am writing this. If you read the first part about the subject and have chosen a subject size you are now ready to work a background. It is quite simple but can be the difference between a photo you want to live with and one you want to look at for a short time. After you have taken the subject with the different apertures and whatever bracketing you do, now you can change the background. I am assuming here you were at mid zoom, but you can start anyplace. Now as far away as you can. And zoom in to get the subject size. Shoot your shot at different apertures like usual. By further away you will have less background which can clean up the background. It can also enlarge things in the background which will give a very different bokeh. The different apertures will of course give the different looks as normal.
The other end is often ignored. This is working the widest angle you have. As you walk closer and use a wide angle, you include more background. However the things in the background get smaller making the subject more prominent. This also allows you to hide distractions in the foreground. As you move closer, you may move past them. Or you may have something that will cover them as foreground objects become larger eliminating busy distractions. Here you want to do something never thought of at longer lengths. While you have the apertures to shoot at for different lengths, you can now change focus. Because of the depth of field at wider angles, you can change the focus distance. Your subject will still in focus, but you vary what parts of the background are in focus. This can change the look of the photo completely.
When you get done, you have your chosen subject with a variety of looks. You can then curate them over time until you find the one you like best. I suggest over time, because initially you have emotions and memories of the shoot which will color your judgement. The same as when you process a photo for print, one you have chosen one. As you process it save virtual copies along the way. The Ctrl + (apostrophe) makes cirtual copies so easy there is no reason not to make many. You can delete them later when you are finished and ready to print. Then give come back to it after a few days for a fresh look. I personally find that I get to into it and usually go to one of the virtual copies. You bought a camera because of its capabilities beyond a smart phone. This is one way of exploiting those greater capabilities. It is a lot of work for one photo. That is why I refer to it as print photography. If you take a photo that you can see every day online, there is no reason to print. This is part of the process, to make something special. If you sometimes sell prints as I do (well did before the pandemic) to buy gear, this makes a print people will buy because they know they cannot take it on their cell phone.
Again, this is nothing against the now usual way of taking photos and I do not do this with majority of my shots. This is when you want to take a subject and make it yours for a print or something special. However, the more you do it, the more you learn. One day you will see something to shoot and know right away what focal length you want to use and how close or far you want to move. Of course if you are like me, you will sometimes be wrong and one of the other positions will look better. But understanding the differences, when you are in a hurry and only going to shot from one spot with a few different apertures, you will have a idea where to go to get that one shot.
I hope this is of benefit to someone. It seems things like this that were common knowledge among film photographers awhile back are not really available to people starting out today.
What I discussed in part 1 was in relation to prints which are meant to be looked at over time. The same thing can be used for online photo sharing of course. It may be overkill for something that will be looked at for a few seconds or maybe a minute as opposed to something that will be hung on a wall and seen daily for a long period.
I previously discussed a subject which is many times (but not all) the purpose of taking a photo. Today I would like to discuss the background. I am not going to go into all the rules you can see all over the internet.
I see many people using a zoom to crop in. They may move back and forth or even better up and down to get the right composition. Then if they want to work a scene, they will zoom into certain areas and end up taking a multitude of shots to choose the best ones later. This is completely valid. I would like to discuss another use of zoom.
I learned on a 4X5 film camera beginning when I was 7. My allowance allowed about 1 photo a week. When I chose my subject, I had to make sure I got it right or else it never got printed. I had a cardboard with a square cut in it for each lens. Although originally, I only had a 6 inch lens, I soon added a couple more. So I could hold it and see what the photo would look like. Since I had a lot of time to take one photo, I would walk around a lot before setting up my camera. This would give me plenty of see my subject at different focal lengths and distances. This would allow me see the subject in relation to the background.
Today with the excellent zooms we can do this with a digital camera. I do not see this much if at all which is why I am writing this. If you read the first part about the subject and have chosen a subject size you are now ready to work a background. It is quite simple but can be the difference between a photo you want to live with and one you want to look at for a short time. After you have taken the subject with the different apertures and whatever bracketing you do, now you can change the background. I am assuming here you were at mid zoom, but you can start anyplace. Now as far away as you can. And zoom in to get the subject size. Shoot your shot at different apertures like usual. By further away you will have less background which can clean up the background. It can also enlarge things in the background which will give a very different bokeh. The different apertures will of course give the different looks as normal.
The other end is often ignored. This is working the widest angle you have. As you walk closer and use a wide angle, you include more background. However the things in the background get smaller making the subject more prominent. This also allows you to hide distractions in the foreground. As you move closer, you may move past them. Or you may have something that will cover them as foreground objects become larger eliminating busy distractions. Here you want to do something never thought of at longer lengths. While you have the apertures to shoot at for different lengths, you can now change focus. Because of the depth of field at wider angles, you can change the focus distance. Your subject will still in focus, but you vary what parts of the background are in focus. This can change the look of the photo completely.
When you get done, you have your chosen subject with a variety of looks. You can then curate them over time until you find the one you like best. I suggest over time, because initially you have emotions and memories of the shoot which will color your judgement. The same as when you process a photo for print, one you have chosen one. As you process it save virtual copies along the way. The Ctrl + (apostrophe) makes cirtual copies so easy there is no reason not to make many. You can delete them later when you are finished and ready to print. Then give come back to it after a few days for a fresh look. I personally find that I get to into it and usually go to one of the virtual copies. You bought a camera because of its capabilities beyond a smart phone. This is one way of exploiting those greater capabilities. It is a lot of work for one photo. That is why I refer to it as print photography. If you take a photo that you can see every day online, there is no reason to print. This is part of the process, to make something special. If you sometimes sell prints as I do (well did before the pandemic) to buy gear, this makes a print people will buy because they know they cannot take it on their cell phone.
Again, this is nothing against the now usual way of taking photos and I do not do this with majority of my shots. This is when you want to take a subject and make it yours for a print or something special. However, the more you do it, the more you learn. One day you will see something to shoot and know right away what focal length you want to use and how close or far you want to move. Of course if you are like me, you will sometimes be wrong and one of the other positions will look better. But understanding the differences, when you are in a hurry and only going to shot from one spot with a few different apertures, you will have a idea where to go to get that one shot.
I hope this is of benefit to someone. It seems things like this that were common knowledge among film photographers awhile back are not really available to people starting out today.