Rules are made to be broken, they say. Not necessarily true; if the past two years has taught us anything, it’s the importance of following the rules in particular during a time of emergency. In photography it’s arguably another matter. By breaking the rules we can sometimes create the most impact. But I’m a firm believer that in order to effectively break a photography rule you must first understand it.
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Maybe it’s the ex-librarian in me that drives me to put things into categories. But as a librarian I learned that some things fit into categories more easily than others! That was certainly true of my favourite photos from last year, and when I’d finished sorting them I was left with a set that didn’t neatly fit into a single theme.
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Increasingly as a photographer I find myself drawn to the little things. Even the most ordinary of sights, the places we pass every day, can seem more interesting if we focus on the details. And when travelling somewhere new, picking out those details can add colour and texture to a record of our travels.
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You can’t get much more black and white than a zebra! But actually many animals look good in monochrome. I’ve had a go at editing some of my favourite wildlife shots – mammals, reptiles and birds – with my favourite software. Let me know which versions you prefer, colour or black and white?
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One possible twist to the usual alternatives of colour or black and white is the use of selective colour. This can look quite gimmicky, so I prefer to keep the colours muted to tone in better with the grey shades.
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Alexander McQueen is not the first person to suggest that nature is the best designer. Indeed, as far back as the Ancient Greeks similar things were being said.
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Normally when I edit an image I do so with the intention of bringing out more clearly what I saw when I took it. However, sometimes it’s fun to take things to extremes.
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I am always on the look out for interesting details to capture with my camera. I find it fascinating when the everyday can be made to look beautiful or remarkable when only a small part is picked out by my lens.
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The number one rule of perspective is that lines that are parallel to each other appear to converge to the same point in the distance. This point is known as the vanishing point.
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I wonder which way you usually point your camera? I’m guessing that most of the time, like me, you point it forwards. Maybe you tilt up for a tall building or tree, or downwards to capture a plant or small animal. But what if we were to point it directly upwards or downwards? What would we see?
