PHO101_1_subject_x_3

One Subject x 3

Let's choose a subject to photograph—a location, an object, or a concept. When we photograph with a purpose, starting with a clearly defined subject gives us a goal. This is how we begin a focused project or series.

A Few Possibilities:

Corners: Explore the meeting points of architectural elements or natural forms. Whether it’s the corner of a room, a building's exterior, or an intersection, corners provide strong geometric lines and can reveal the way light and shadow play together.
Behind Glass: Capture the world through a layer of transparency, creating a mix of reflections, refractions, and obscured views. This subject could include people, objects, or scenes partially hidden by windows, emphasizing separation or interaction between inside and outside worlds.
Gestures: Focus on the subtle language of movement, the way hands, feet, or even objects move through space. Human gestures can tell powerful stories without showing the entire person, capturing a fleeting moment of expression.
Strip Mall Exteriors: Document the uniform yet distinct faces of suburban commerce. This could involve signage, facades, parking lots, and the interactions between people and these everyday spaces, exploring a blend of the mundane and the unique.
A Simple Suburban Neighborhood: Capture the essence of ordinary residential life. From the symmetry of houses to the small personal touches that make each home unique, this subject could reveal hidden layers of beauty and routine in the everyday.
Behind the Scenes: Photographing "behind the scenes" offers a unique opportunity to capture the hidden, often unnoticed moments that occur away from the spotlight. This subject can evoke a sense of intimacy, candidness, and authenticity. The interactions between people, the tools and objects in use, and the process of creation all become potential focal points.
What else can you come up with?

Spend 20-30 minutes on each exploration, making 20-30 images. You will do this with 3 different subjects.

Photographic Strategies:

Explore Your Subject from All Angles:
When photographing a subject, take the time to view it from different perspectives—high, low, near, and far. Each angle reveals something unique about the subject and can evoke different emotions or interpretations.

High angles can make the subject appear smaller or more vulnerable, offering a bird’s-eye view of the surroundings and the relationship between the subject and its environment.
Low angles can make the subject appear larger or more imposing, giving it a sense of power or importance.
Near perspectives allow for intimate detail, highlighting textures, expressions, or smaller elements that might be overlooked from a distance.
Far perspectives reveal context, placing your subject within a broader scene and showing how it interacts with its environment.

Incorporate the Surroundings:
Don’t isolate your subject immediately—start by including the surrounding environment. This can provide context and help tell a more complete story about your subject. Think about how the background and setting contribute to the mood or message of the photograph.

Fill the Frame:
Once you’ve explored wider compositions, get close. Fill the frame with your subject to eliminate distractions and focus on the details. This approach brings viewers right into the heart of the image, emphasizing form, texture, and intricate features.

Get Inside Your Subject: (If Possible)
When it’s feasible, immerse yourself in your subject. This could be literal—shooting from within a structure or object—or metaphorical, by zooming in on details that are typically overlooked. By getting inside your subject, you can capture perspectives that are rarely seen, making the viewer feel as though they’re experiencing the subject from an intimate or unique viewpoint.

This process of exploration, from wide-angle to close-up, ensures a deeper understanding of the subject, giving you multiple ways to interpret and present it visually.

Consider the Mood You Want to Convey:
When photographing a subject, the mood is often shaped by the light. Ask yourself: What mood do you want the viewer to feel? The way your subject is illuminated will play a key role in achieving that.

Harsh, contrasty light: Creates drama, intensity, or tension. Often found in strong midday sunlight or directional artificial light. Shadows will be deep and sharp, enhancing the mood of boldness or conflict.
Soft, diffused light: Brings a sense of calm, subtlety, or gentleness. Achieved in overcast weather or through diffusers like curtains or softboxes, this light softens shadows, resulting in a more tranquil and flattering image.

Control the Light:

Is the light natural or artificial?
Natural light is ever-changing, while artificial light can be manipulated. If you’re using natural light, think about how the time of day affects the lighting and the mood it creates. Early morning and late afternoon (golden hour) provide warm, soft light, while midday light is strong and direct. Artificial light allows for more control, enabling you to move or adjust the light source.
Can you move your subject?
If possible, place your subject in better light—closer to a window for natural light, or under diffused or directed artificial light. Small adjustments in light direction can dramatically affect the look of your subject.
Can you change the light direction?
Try lighting your subject from the side, behind, or above to create different shadows and highlights. Side lighting reveals texture and shape, backlighting adds drama and mystery, and overhead lighting can create a soft, diffused glow.
Can you revisit the subject at a different time of day?
Sometimes the best lighting isn’t available in the moment. Consider returning when the light is softer or more dramatic, such as early in the morning, during golden hour, or even in the blue hour (just after sunset).

Highlighting Texture, Reflection, and Dimension:

Is your subject textured, reflective, or dimensional? Texture and reflectivity are key elements that add depth to your image. To bring these qualities out:
For textured subjects, use side lighting to enhance shadows that reveal texture. For example, lighting the rough surface of stone, fabric, or skin from the side will create shadows that highlight the texture’s depth and detail.
For reflective subjects, like glass or metal, consider how the light interacts with the surface. Adjust the light angle or use diffused light to avoid harsh reflections or glares. Sometimes reflections can be used creatively to add dimension or layers to your image.
For dimensional subjects, use light to emphasize their shape. Shadows will define the depth and contours, making the subject pop in the image.

By thinking carefully about the mood you want to convey and how you can control or adjust the lighting, you can create an image that draws out the best qualities of your subject—whether it's soft and calming, bold and dramatic, or something in between.

Avoid Centering Your Subject in Every Shot:
Instead of always placing your subject in the center of the frame, experiment by positioning it off-center. Utilize negative space to guide the viewer’s eye toward the subject, creating a more dynamic and engaging composition. Negative space not only provides balance but also adds breathing room for the viewer's gaze to explore the image before settling on the focal point.

Playing with Horizon Placement:
Position the horizon either high or low in the frame, rather than always centering it. This simple shift can dramatically affect how we perceive both the subject and the overall scene:

A high horizon gives more prominence to the foreground, making the subject seem more grounded or dominant in its environment. This approach can emphasize texture, patterns, or elements in the lower part of the image.
A low horizon opens up the sky or background, creating a sense of vastness or isolation for the subject. It often gives the impression of openness and expansiveness, which can make the subject feel smaller in relation to its surroundings, creating mood and depth.

By experimenting with these compositional techniques, you encourage viewers to engage more thoughtfully with your photographs, adding layers of meaning and visual interest.

Objective:
Spend 20-30 minutes on each subject exploration, creating 20-30 images for each chosen subject, providing a broad range of visual options to select from. This exercise is designed to enhance observational skills and encourage deeper exploration of the subject. By photographing from different angles, lighting conditions, and perspectives, the goal is to uncover unique elements and subtle details that may not be immediately visible. The final aim is to choose the strongest images that effectively define the subject and tell a cohesive story.

Submit:

3 edited images for each subject you explored.
In Canvas, provide a written description in the comments section detailing the 3 subjects you chose to photograph and what drew you to them.
After the broad subject description, provide specific insights about each set of 3 images. Explain why you selected these particular images and how they work together to represent the subject. Consider how the images convey a sense of place or reveal something new to you and your audience. Be sure to clearly articulate why you chose these images and why viewers might find them compelling.