It's all about perspective...

I saw an interesting tv program today that gave some great advice on how to improve your photographs with creativity.  I thought I'd pass on the info.  Photographer Justin Hackworth discussed three exercises that will help improve the quality of your photographs by changing your perspective.

#1.  The Alphabet Exercise:  Have you seen the displays that spell out words like "family" or "love," etc., by using a photograph that resembles each letter?  This is just like that.  In this exercise you should look for the letters of the alphabet in the everyday objects around you.  For example, the tines of a fork turned sideways resembles the letter 'E'.  Looking for 'hidden letters' in everyday items will help you see things in a different way and will change the way you look at the subjects you photograph.

#2.  The Unmade Bed Exercise:  This sounds weird, but is one of the assignments famed photographer Dorthea Lange gave to her students years ago.  Take a picture of your unmade bed, then notice how the light (preferably natural light) falls across the object to define shapes, lines and accentuates textures.  Notice how the light changes at different times of the day.  Understanding how light falls on an object and emphasizes line, shape and texture will help you recognize 'good' light when you are photographing.  Utilizing good lighting when you are out photographing will improve the quality of your photos.  The inverse of that is true:  poor lighting will ruin a great shot.


#3.  The One Shot Exercise:  Force yourself to pause, and slow down before taking a photo to really think about what you are doing.  Instead of taking 20 or 200 frames, which you can with a digital camera, only allow yourself one shot.  By doing this, you'll be forced to pay attention and really focus on your subject matter.  Be deliberate when you take a photo.

Over all, he emphasized that good photography takes time, dedication and repetition.  By doing these exercises your perspective hopefully will have changed and you will begin to see the world in a new way.  Because in creating art, it's not what you see, but rather how you see that makes it great.