Improving Your Photography by Mike Busby

Photography is not about the subject: It is about the attributes of the subject. Artists first learn the fundamental structures of their craft, and then they build on those structures to manifest their creations. Major design elements come first, details are then added, and then the subject is realized. Newer photographers, on the other hand, place their awareness on the subject, but not on the background or the underlying visual structures. The subject comes first, but the traits that give it life are frequently overlooked.

Consider the following images. They are of the same subject with similar compositions. However, they are distinctly different because of their attributes. The image on the right has more color, depth, contrast, and drama because of the night lighting. Yes, the subject is important, but it's the attributes that give it life, and paying attention to the attributes will separate your work from the rest.

Viewers respond to bold colors, big shapes, high contrast, and very bright or dark areas. The subject will come into play, but the major design elements are realized first. Design elements determine the first impact, or the lack thereof, and it is the design elements that get our attention from across a room, or makes us walk by without a second glance.   

When we realize design elements are important, then we start looking for them, and then we can start shooting to emphasize them. If a city scene has strong leading lines, then we can change our angle of view to emphasize the angles. If color is important, then we can look for contrast in the background. If we come across a flat-lit landscape, then we can return later when the shadows are longer. There are a ton of things we can do once we start seeing specific design elements.

For example, I was drawn to the backlighting and colors of this leaf. The first shot was good, but the background was light and the composition had distractions. Again, I’m not so much focused on the subject as I am the design elements. A step to the right did two things for the image. It removed the distractions and thereby isolated the subject, and it aligned the leaf with a darker background. The small shift and recomposition immediately gave me what I wanted to showcase.

  

The same design elements were used for processing decisions. The blacks were lowered to darken the background, and the whites were lifted to pop the leaf. More contrast was added to further emphasize the lighting. Finally, for those of you with the critical eye, two distractions were removed. The little bright spot in the upper left of the leaf, and the bright slash on the right side. I wanted people looking at the lighting on the leaf and not to the minor distractions.

How does this apply to you? Start looking for lines, shapes, color, and lighting and you will find more interesting subjects. It's the opposite of how we generally view the world, but it works. Shoot to emphasize those design elements and your photography will improve. You will also find those design elements will help you with composition and decisions in post.

We’re not always in a position to get great lighting or to change our view when we come across interesting subjects. It’s also hard to learn how to see design elements because our culture and way of being is so heavily subject oriented. However, when we start seeing the power of specific design elements, especially those that catch our attention, then we can start shooting for them and we will see a dramatic improvement in our images.

Thanks for reading and let me know if this helps!

Mike Busby

Mike Busby Photography and Mike Busby's School of Photography

Busbywc.com