Often a photo will comprise a patten of objects that are simply grouped or unified by other means. Perspective is key, the motivation and opportunism to slant the lens and tilt the camera and find a new angle on everyday environments. When a series of repeated objects are fresh to the eye, a positioning of the camera can obscure the immediate sensory obfuscations and clarify the lines of the series.
One of my assignments this month is to capture efficient yard tips for a landscaping website. These image files must demonstrate an idea about keeping back yards or front yard flowers and gardens efficient. But the challenge from straight photographic image captures is the composition requirements.
Imagine being able to finally grab an image confidently with the tulip lens setting without cowardly dependence on the SmartScene Kodak lens adjustment. Baby’s first steps as a micropayment photojournalist are when the tulip camera setting yields money shots like the one above. This image is exactly the quality and definition, composition and resolution the microstock galleries want to vend.
The stunning visual lines and “bones” of the architecture are marred by the ever-present telephone lines, one of many visceral tugs that strain against the quick and easy micropayment result. Factoring in bitmap editing for the RAW file means a lot of effort can go into what qualifiers inside a microstock site consider less than interesting. And many buildings have their own copyright, guarding their brand against would-be unauthorized resellers of their building’s image. The church is located right on the street with no frontage or borders, its edges come right up to Wilshire Blvd. bus stop signs and heavy traffic
Sometimes you close in on a shot and you thought there was something there, but the images just don’t read like a successful shot. With a little practice there are one or two tips to getting the best result when you have one location trip and and a few minutes with each payoff shot.