Blog | Carol Chapman

Choosing the Photograph is Also an Art

The process of going through the photographs you have taken and choosing which ones to use is as much of a creative process as is the finding, framing and taking of the photographs.

Second, choose the best one(s). Sometimes, choosing the best one is the hardest part because you loved the “idea” of the photograph while you were taking it.

Carol Chapman —

If you can let go of the “idea” of what the photograph should look like, you may find a few images that are actually better than what you consciously tried to take photographs of. However, for this to happen, you need to be open to the possibility that your conscious mind, which set up the photography shoot,

Two Important Photography Processes

Again, I’m talking about the process I go through to take my photographs, such as the photographs used in the Edgar Cayce Calendar and in last year’s Divine in Nature Calendar.

There are actually two processes:

Taking the photograph
Choosing the best one(s) out of the photographs you’ve taken

Carol Chapman —

First, find, frame and take the photograph.

Second, choose the best one(s). Sometimes, choosing the best one is the hardest part because you loved the “idea” of the photograph while you were taking it. But, when you see the way it turned out, you don’t want to give up on the “idea” even though the actual photograph just does not work. It may be out of focus or confusing or bland–even though it seemed to be perfect when you took it.

Two Processes: Taking and Choosing Photographs

There’s a temptation to eliminate the photographs that don’t look exactly the way you expect the subject to look.

Even if you’re taking a portrait, don’t expect the photograph to look exactly like the person sitting before you. After you take all your pictures, choose the one(s) that look the best—not necessarily the ones that look exactly like the real image.

That’s how to you get great pictures . . . choosing from what you have.

Especially in sunrise photography, sometimes your best images will be the ones that look more exotic or more out of focus or more dramatic than the actual real thing.

There are actually two processes:

Taking the photograph
Choosing the best one(s) out of the photographs you’ve taken

Carol Chapman —

Photography: Some Examples of Depth

Take a look at the images in the Edgar Cayce Calendar. This is the Divine in Nature: with Inspirational Quotes from Edgar Cayce 2009 calendar. Notice how in so many of the images, there is a sense of depth because the images include something in the foreground and the background.

Don’t you love the photograph of that little lightning bug peering over the edge of that huge magnolia petal? That’s the photograph for the month of May 2009.

Even in this photograph, that contains only one large flower, some of the petals are in the foreground and other are in the background giving this photograph depth.

Carol Chapman —

Sunrise Photography: Your Photograph Is NOT Going to Look Exactly Like the Actual Sunrise and That’s OK

You’ll wear yourself out if you try to get your photographs of the sunrise to look exactly like the sunrise you’re viewing with your naked eye. For example, last week, I was taking sunrise photographs of the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean at the beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. There were these beautiful dramatic clouds. And the sun peek over the horizon through the clouds. The sun was cherry-red colored.

Now, you don’t often get a cherry-red colored sun. And, I wanted to show that beautiful sun in my photograph. However, every photograph I took showed a white sun on the play-back screen of my digital camera.

Why was that? I believe it is because the sun is so very bright, even when it’s red-colored coming through all that atmosphere at the horizon, that it photographs white–it’s so bright.

So, should I have deleted all the photographs I took that morning? No way. There were many gorgeous photographs. Instead, I dealt with the actual photographs when choosing which ones I might use.

Even if you’re taking a portrait, don’t expect the photograph to look exactly like the person sitting before you. After you take all your pictures, choose the one(s) that look the best—not necessarily the ones that look exactly like the real image.

That’s how to you get great pictures . . . choosing from what you have.

Carol Chapman —

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Photography: Analyze Your Photographs

Look at your photographs of mountains. Do you have trees, branches, flowers, a totem pole, a flying bird, a couple arm-in-arm surveying the scene . . . something in the foreground . . . to create depth and make the photograph interesting?

Take a look at the photograph of Mount Rainier which I used for the month of February in the 2008 Edgar Cayce Calendar. The many people who “oo” and “ah” when they see this Mount Rainier photograph, likely do not analyze that one of the reasons the photograph is so special is because of the silhouetted dark trees in the foreground.

Does your image look flat? Next time find a place to take the photograph where you can get something interesting and complementary in the foreground. It could even be a lake or road curving around on one side of the image or even a couple of boulders at one edge of the image. Play with this. It’s fun.

Carol Chapman —

How I Learned to Create Depth in my Photography

I learned the technique of including something in the foreground to create depth from a young photographer I met while on travel. I think it occurred during one of my visits to the Northwest. I’d spent the day taking photographs of Mount Rainier, one of which was used for the month of February in the Edgar Cayce Calendar for 2008.

We were staying in a rustic hotel which meant that our rooms did not have individual television sets. In fact, there was only one television set in the building. It sat in the entranceway of the hotel where the hotel clerk could watch it during the dull times of the day when he sat alone at his desk.

I assume the young photographer wanted to see how the photographs that he had taken that day looked so he connected his camera to the television set in the lobby. As a result, anyone going to or from their room could see the young man’s pictures.

His photographs were gorgeous. I stopped to admire them. The young photographer volunteered that his photographs did not get really good until he learned to create depth in his images by including something in the foreground. Instinctively I had been taking many photographs that showed depth because of something in the foreground. I probably learned it in photography school as well. But, it wasn’t until my encounter with this young man that the advice sunk in.

I don’t know his name, but I thank him. His example helped me out.

Carol Chapman —

More on Making Your Sunrise Photographs More Interesting with Depth

Here are a couple more suggestions for creating depth with something in the foreground. If you’ve seen my Edgar Cayce Calendar, you’ll notice that there are three sunrise photographs included . . . for the months of January, March and November in the 2009 calendar.

Here”s the link:

http://www.EdgarCayceCalendar.com

In the January photograph, you can see that I used shore grasses in the foreground to create an amazing sense of depth. The dynamic sunrise with its reflection in the water adds to feeling of depth.

In the March photograph, a sailboat and pilings create depth. Without them, the photograph would look flat.

The November photograph is enhanced by the upturned boats and trees in the foreground. I also used flash to illuminate the leaves on the ground in the foreground to create more depth.

Carol Chapman —

Sunrise Photography – A Sense of Depth

Yes, if you’re there at the right time in the right place, you can encounter a wonderful sunrise to photograph.

You can also enhance the photograph by including something in the foreground, for example, a sunrise in the sky and craggy rocks with mountains in the background, a fisherman with the ocean in the background or some tree branches with a waterfall in the background.

The sense of depth you get from having something or someone in the foreground brings the photograph alive.

Carol Chapman —

Sunrise Photography Safety

I don’t have to say to be careful when taking photographs of the sun, do I? After some deliberation, I believe it needs to be said:

DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN.

I know this is difficult, especially when the sun is the main character in your photograph. And, I must admit, that I sometimes don’t follow my own advice. Afterwards, I worry about sun damage to my eyes.

You can get severe damage to your eyes if you stare at the sun, even when it is low on the horizon.

That’s another reason a cloudy sky makes a good sunrise photograph: you are protected from damage to your eyes.

Carol Chapman —

Look at your photographs of mountains. Do you have trees, branches, flowers, a totem pole, a flying bird, a couple arm-in-arm surveying the scene . . . something in the foreground . . . to create depth and make the photograph interesting?

I assume the young photographer wanted to see how the photographs that he had taken that day looked so he connected his camera to the television set in the lobby. As a result, anyone going to or from their room could see the young man’s pictures.

I don’t know his name, but I thank him. His example helped me out.