The photographer's discernment determines his skill!
The photographer's discernment
1. What is a good photo
① A good theme: A good photo needs to have a good theme. Whether the theme has significance depends on the intended audience of the photo, which is known as consumer positioning. Photos with themes should be able to tell a story, communicate an emotion, or convey some information.
② A good subject: A good photo must have a subject that can attract attention. This subject can be a person, object, animal, or landscape. This subject is the vehicle for expressing the theme.
③ Simple composition: A photo should be simple and clear. Only when a photo is simple can it better highlight the theme. Compress and reduce those things that distract from the theme.
After learning these three principles, you can use a perspective different from others —— the photographer's perspective —— to observe, analyze, and comment on a photo.
Of course, the above principles are just the entry-level principles for photographers. As your experience deepens, you will find some photos that violate the above principles. They may have multiple themes or no theme at all, thus making the concept of a single subject or multiple subjects irrelevant. The viewer can pay attention to each theme in sequence, selectively focus on certain themes, or even ignore them completely.
2. Characteristics of the photographer's perspective Shanghai Photography Training [http://www.shainisi.org]
① Perspective
What is the photographer's perspective? It refers to the angle at which the photographer views the subject. The method by which the photographer observes the subject differs from that of ordinary people. In other words, the way the photographer looks at the subject is consistent with how the camera captures it. To become a photographer, an ordinary person must align their way of observing the subject with how the camera sees it, in order to capture the desired subject.
② Imaging principle
Both human eyes and cameras produce inverted images on the retina and film, respectively. However, the human brain gives us the sensation of an upright image through neural transmission. During this process, the brain's neural transmission can be influenced by other nerves, weakening or eliminating objects that are not necessary for our consciousness, while amplifying objects that the photographer focuses on. This is what we commonly refer to as "inattentional blindness." However, the camera does not think; it simply records the subject faithfully based on optical characteristics on the film. When viewing the photo, one might find that the main subject appears too small or that other objects, color blocks, or elements are prominently visible on the photo, drawing attention away. Reluctantly, such issues are attributed to differences between the human eye and the lens when recording the subject. Cameras record all subjects truthfully, often influenced by human emotions.
3. Photographer's understanding of the subject
① Formal understanding:
Light: Understanding light involves recognizing its intensity, direction, color, nature, and implications. In short, all knowledge about light.
Shadow: Light and shadow are interconnected. Shadows are not merely the byproducts of light but have strong functions in creating a sense of three-dimensionality, texture, atmosphere, balancing the composition, and framing the scene to enhance the image.
Color: Color gives vitality and passion to the world, making the image vivid and colorful. However, it can also make the composition chaotic. Colors influence emotions, set the mood, and evoke associations.
Shape: Shape refers to the form and outline. Each object has its own shape. Discovering, summarizing, and utilizing the relationships between shapes can create dramatic effects.
Texture: Texture belongs to the tactile sense within human perception, but vision can perceive texture with the help of light. Successful use of texture can create a second sensation —— touch —— in the image.
② Technical understanding
Forms of expression of motion in photographs include: A. Motion caused by the deviation of the subject's center of gravity, evoking associative motion. B. Motion created by photographic techniques. C. Recording of motion trajectories.
Distortion: Through technical methods such as lenses, mirrors, and special filters, normal subjects undergo distortion. Its aesthetic feature lies in freeing people from reality and purposefully emphasizing or highlighting certain characteristics, discovering phenomena and relationships between phenomena that were previously overlooked.
Reality vs. Illusion: Reality vs. illusion is a common technique in photography to express depth. It creates a sense of depth in the image and can simplify the composition while highlighting the theme.
③ Emotional understanding
Understanding emotions means understanding people, who are rich in emotion. Photographing people enters their emotional world and expresses their emotions. Photographing landscapes or objects should express the photographer's own emotions. Pay attention to human joy, anger, sorrow, thought, surprise, fear, and sadness.
3. Introduction to viewfinders
① Side-view finder.
The separation between the viewfinder axis and the shooting lens axis causes parallax, resulting in discrepancies between what is seen through the viewfinder and the final photograph. When taking close-up shots, the parallax increases significantly. To reduce shooting errors, small lines are added inside the viewfinder frame of compact cameras to indicate the offset marks.
② Single-lens reflex (SLR) viewfinder:
The SLR uses a mirror and pentaprism optical viewfinder system. There is no parallax; what you see is what you get. The mirror reflects all subjects onto the top of the camera, and the pentaprism device converts the image into an upright one. Related article: Good discernment is crucial for photographers. Good discernment is crucial for photographers. Good discernment is crucial for photographers.