simplicity

If there is a single dominant feature to be found in photographs, which catch the eye, win prizes and grace the covers of newspaper and magazines it is that they are invariably quite simple. ‘Keep it simple’ is one of the most useful rules of thumb for a photographer, which comes naturally. Often a simple picture needs to be carefully contrived.
One of the most basic ways in which a minimalist approach can be made to photography is to simply move closer with the camera. Standing too far back to take a photograph is perhaps the overwhelming fault which befalls most beginners.

Move In Closer ….

•Almost any shot will look better if we take two or three steps closer to our subject.
•Filling the frame entirely with the subject will make a terrific difference to our photos.
•Alternatively, instead of moving closer, use the zoom lens of our camera to get a close up shot.
•When taking shots of family and friends, most people place the subject's full body in the frame, or place head and arms in the shot. Instead, fill the frame with our subject's FACE only - particularly if they are smiling or are in a moment of reflection.
•Why does this work? With less clutter in the image, there's less to draw the eye away from the main subject of the photo.
•Also, human faces (particularly children's faces) are something we all feel pleasure looking at.
•If we can't get close enough when we're taking the shot, we can crop in later using photo editing software - crop out everything except the subject's face and see what a difference it makes.
•Most digital cameras now come with an inbuilt LCD screen. We can eliminate the parallax error by using the LCD - which shows you what the lens sees - rather than the viewfinder.

Creative focusing.......Sipilok , Sandakan, 1988

Some people probably consider that having to focus a camera is a rather tiresome procedure from which auto focus cameras have freed them. In fact the ability of a camera to select and control the areas of an image that are recorded sharply and those that are blurred is a valuable creative tool.
•When we use small apertures, the depth of field, or band of sharp focus, is relatively broad, particularly with short-focal-length lenses.
•With lenses of longer focal length and with wide apertures, however the depth of field become narrow and it is possible to create bold distinctions between the parts of the image that are sharp and those which are not.
•This technique can be used to make certain parts of a subject stand out clearly from the rest of the image.
•Out of focus foregrounds can be used just as imaginatively as blurred backgrounds, as when shooting through a soft screen of foliage to a distant landscape or building.
•When both distant objects and close foreground details are included in the frame, instead of allowing parts of the image to be un-sharp it can be effective to reverse the technique.
•Select a very small aperture when a wide-angle lens is used. Pictures taken in this way bitingly sharp details throughout the image can be powerful impact.

Seeing an image in terms of how it can be focused most effectively is simply a question of being aware of the various possibilities and recognising the best ways in which it can be enhance a picture.