If there's time, have the student shoot everything at the extremes--wide
open and closed down--and then compare the affect afterward. The other
thing is to first take an establishing or reference shot of the entire
scene, and then move in as close to the subject as he (practicably) can
before squeezing off the next (reference) frame. This will afford
after-the-fact comparison of what he originally saw wide field and what his
camera was capable to do when properly positioned.
Finally, work in B&W. Too many young photographers start out in color.
That's always a mistake.
By the way, please keep in mind that my bias is for (old) faces and detail.
There's more to photography than that, of course. But the thing is by
looking for and then successfully capturing selected detail out of the
larger scene the student must learn effective composition techniques along
the way, learn how to add and subtract critical compositional elements
abstractly upstairs so that his lens is given the best to work with in the
end.
Tris
At 07:28 PM 7/10/01 +1000, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>> The best photographic advice I have ever
>> received (to date): "Don't use
>> your camera to frame your shot." Not relevant
>> for action photography, but
>> for everything else. Standard method is to
>> have an empty slide holder and
>> hold it in front of your face. Move it and you
>> around a lot until you have
>> the shot you want and then get your camera to
>> reproduce this (focal length
>> = distance of slide holder from eye).
>
>Hm, while that method sounds really clumsy and
>awkward to me, I do notice that I do a lot more
>composition without lifting the camera these
>days. I will typically try to find an
>interesting viewpoint first, and double-check
>with the camera when in doubt.
>Peter.
Actually this works rather well for photography students when you are
trying to teach them to 'see' photographs around them - helps them separate
out potential subjects from the context and clutter. Some seem to be born
with the ability but most aren't. some never 'get' it. I've used a large
window card, like small odd mattes from a store, to help them but the slide
mount trick is nice as a quick aid for the more experienced.
The other big problem is getting them to see the background as well as the
subject before pressing the trigger. Anyone got an aid for that? :)
AndrewF
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