I regularly receive newsletters from Kat Eye Studio. Kat always has some welcome tips
for photography that
seem so simple. Yet I don't always think of them. The most recent newsletter focused on
"Allowing Space" and the "Process of Elimination". For this post I will
focus on "Process of Elimination".
How many times have we taken photos and they just don't have that special area of focus?
I decided to randomly choose some of my less than stellar photos and
put her suggestion to use.
Here you will see a very ordinary image of a bicycle (my baby "Peggy Sue"). By cropping it, I think
the result is far more interesting.
I wanted to eliminate the annoying shadows as much as possible.
Next, a photo I took at a mall in my area. It's okay but just okay. I wanted to capture the long corridor.
I found this photo of Mike and Ollie in my archives.
I thought it would benefit from some "elimination". Awwww, aren't they cute? Look at
those adoring eyes!
And, finally, an image I took at Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach.
It needed a layers adjustment. I also wanted to eliminate the man in the blue shirt if
possible. I could have cropped the door out, but I
would have lost some of the pumpkins. It still has the annoying
fawcet in the foreground. I could clone that out if I really want
to make this image "perfect", but you get the idea.
You can get some more great ideas from Kat -- perhaps sign up for her newsletter. She also
does some great workshops. I've taken one on "Finding Your Eye"-- very good!
4 comments:
Wow...will definitely sign up for that...love what you have done with your already great shots!
Wonderful examples of how using the Process of Elimination makes for stronger images! I especially love the last one, how not just cropping but changing the orientation completely changes the result. Something good to remember the next time you go out to photograph! Thank you so much for joining in Exploring with a Camera this month.
I learned this important approach from Kat too and from my other composition teachers. It is fabulous to see how you have employed it here to improve your images. It amazes me that I used to just go out and point my camera at something nice without really seeing clearly what was in my shot. I just pressed the shutter and hoped for the best. Now I ask myself what I am trying to capture and why and focus on that. Not only are the images more successful but I am more fulfilled.
I guess I just came by crop naturally ... I call myself the queen of crop, but the reason was not necessarily artistic. It would seem that I don't have a zoom lens strong enough to get close enough to things I want to take pictures of so I crop them out. In the process, I did learn that I could get better quality artistic pictures with my crops ... so I have to agree with Kat, less is more in many cases. I think the bike is the best example. I may have cropped more off of Mike and Ollie, but I love the way yours turned out as well. I am thinking I should go over and see Kat:) Very Impressive Marilyn.
Andrea @ From The Sol
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