Mentality
A Photographer’s Mentality
by Tim Webb
Good photos have to be Visually Interesting. As the photographer you are the parent of that photo. It’s your job to make it visually interesting. Visual interest starts with taking a little extra time to make sure the photo is what you want it to be. Don’t settle for a mediocre photo. Before leaving the photo, ask yourself, “Have I done all that I can do with this shot?” Photography is no different than any other endeavor in life. You have to work to make it better. For me, as a photographer, visual interest is a simple formula, with simple elements.
My formula has always been, “Find good light, and then work the angles.” It doesn’t matter how good the angle is, without good light, nothing else matters. The first question that I ask myself, before I take any photo, is “how good is the light?” If the available light is good, then I stick with it. If the available light is bad, flat, or boring, then I create my own with artificial light.
Once I’ve established the light, then I start figuring out the angle, and more importantly, I figure out how I want to tackle the angle. I use a technique that involves primary subject and secondary subject. Obviously, the person or thing that I’m photographing is usually my primary subject. Then I try to surround my subject with things and elements in the background and foreground that support it, and that tell a story about my primary subject. I call any of those things a secondary subject.
If you read a text book definition on the Rule of Thirds, you will find a definition on how to compose your photos, by dividing the frame into three equal parts. I’ve always simplified the Rule of Thirds into my own formula; fill the entire frame with interesting stuff, and don’t be afraid to move your subject away from the center. As part of my Rule of Thirds, I always try to compose my frame with secondary subjects in the foreground and background that matter.
I also try to find unique angles. Jeff Miller, the University Photographer at the University Wisconsin-Madison, used to say that if he was in a room with ten other photographers that he would work to find an angle that the other photographers didn’t see. A unique angle will turn a mediocre photo into good photo, and a good photo into a great photo.
I'm always looking for a good angle to turn a boring picture into a good picture. I used the KY Horse Park emblem to frame riders on the sidewalk, during the Rolex Games.
A small shaft of light hits the corner of a bourbon barrell at Woodford Reserve.
The circles and shapes of the rotunda in the Kentucky Capital form the illusion of an eyeball.
Sometimes the unexpected make the best pictures.
I used geometric lines to frame a tunnel my son under the boardwalk on the beach.
The umbrella and the horizontal line of the ocean made for good composition
The dogwood tunnel in the ravine at EKU was an annual favorite hotspot for me to shoot.
It always pays to have a camera with you. I shot this with a point and shoot while deer hunting.
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Great shots Tim, and your motto is right on. I really like the shot of the cheerleaders.