Photography 101 Part 3
Photography 101 Part 3 Content
Even if you feel that you already know what kind of photography
you like to do, it’s always a good idea to try your talent at
different aspects of photography. Pictorial, this is a general
term but it applies to any photographer who’s goal is simply to
create beautiful photos. This breaks down into smaller subsets
but the most popular form is landscape and nature photography.
This is what I do and it’s tempting to go on and on but I will
just say that this form of photography, to me, is a real art. At
least that is goal to create art in photographic form. It is the
goal of the photographer to use their abilities to capture an
image in it’s moment of beauty and simplicity. Portrait, this
can be people and even animals. It also includes wedding
photography as well. This is an aspect of photography that can
be a lot harder than it seems. Not only do you have to know your
basic photo composition but you need to understand what makes
each person look their best. You must know how to bring out
their personality and character in the shot. If you love working
with people this may be your field. It’s fun and challenging.
Photojournalism, now this isn’t just press photography, though
that is one aspect of it. It is also documentary photography as
well, the latter doesn’t always need an event to occur right in
front of you. Either way the purpose is to tell a story. Really
good photojournalism shouldn’t need the text below it to tell
you what is going on. It should be compelling and storytelling.
Composition still plays a part, you can’t tell a story if the
story can’t be seen. And while these photos can be beautiful in
their technical aspects they aren’t necessarily beautiful
images. The story telling is as important. Abstract, probably
not as common of a form of photography but I’m seeing it more
and more. This is usually characterized by extreme close ups of
detail of something, so much so that you can’t identify the
original subject. But in this case that doesn’t matter since the
abstract detail or pattern is the subject of the photo. (Color
can also be the subject as well.) Basic composition still plays
a part, maybe a bigger part in this form of photography. This
week’s assignment: Four rolls of film again. Roll one,
pictorial, get outside and try your best using all your
abilities to capture moments of beauty and simplicity.
Composition is key here. Roll two, portrait, get somebody to
volunteer for you. Remember composition but really focus on
finding the shots that make that person look their best.
Different light, background, camera angles, or even clothes.
Roll three, photojournalism, outside or inside anywhere you see
stories. This can be as simple as a child playing with their
toys. Find the appropriate moment to take a shot that tells the
story. Roll four, abstract, details, details, and more details.
Get in close, make sure that you can’t identify the subject but
find beauty in the color or details of the item.
If you have some specific questions please visit my Photography
Forum at:
http://kellypaalphotography.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/index.php and
post your question there.
About the author:
Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and
Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and
internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly
Paal Photography (www.kellypaalphotography.com). She has an
educational background in photography, business, and commercial
art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography
principles to her web design.