Outdoor Photography. Chiz Dakin

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      Wave, Isle of Harris (Chiz) What you leave out is just as important as what you keep in; simplicity is often the key

      Suppose you decide to take a quick photo of your friend before they realise you’ve spotted them. You pick up the camera, point and shoot. All too often the result is a photo of a crowd, one of whom happens to be your friend. This happens because you looked through the viewfinder but your brain was still ‘zoomed in’ on that one person and disregarded everyone else. What you saw – or thought you saw – was not what you got.

      Seeing your friend in that instant only gave you the potential for a picture. The picture you actually got was cluttered up by all the other people. If you’d only stopped for a fraction of a second to look at the viewfinder you would have seen them. If you’d seen them you could have zoomed in – with a real zoom lens this time – or else physically moved closer. Of course in moving closer you might have missed the picture. But if you couldn’t get it from where you were, you’re no worse off.

      Seeing what’s actually in the viewfinder (or on the LCD screen) is a big step on the road from snapper to photographer. It doesn’t demand any extra equipment, nor does it require you to learn loads of technical stuff. It just takes a bit of thought. The more you think about it, the more you practise, the easier it gets. Before too long it’s practically automatic. And it’s a great leveller. The ‘gear freak’ who spends thousands on the latest state of the art equipment but neglects this aspect will get fewer really good shots than someone with a simple camera and an engaged brain.

      Seeing what’s in the finder is fine, but an awful lot of time and trouble can be saved when you start to anticipate what you’ll see there. This is one aspect of what’s often called visualisation. This, too, you can develop easily and naturally – but only if you start by seeing.

      Visualisation means that you can see your friend across the room and your brain can zoom in on the potential picture – but without even picking up the camera you know that you won’t actually get the shot from where you are. And if you can visualise the shot and work out where you actually need to stand, still without picking up the camera, you’ll be a lot less conspicuous too. This does improve the chances of getting a spontaneous shot, rather than one of someone reacting to the presence of the camera. A crowded room may be the antithesis of the wide open spaces, but the principle is just the same whatever you are photographing.

      Indoors or out, the person who gets the best shots won’t necessarily be the one who spends most time looking through the viewfinder. Photographer A looks through the viewfinder, moves a few paces forward, looks again, takes a step or two to the left, looks again, crouches down a bit, looks again, moves a step back right, looks again, and so on. Photographer B looks at the scene, moves about a bit, looks through the viewfinder, makes a couple of fine adjustments to their position, and takes the shot. Photographer A may get a good shot in the end. With a relatively static subject, such as some landscapes, the extra time may not matter. On the other hand, if the sun’s just about to hit the horizon, time is of the essence, just as much as with action shots.

      Of course C, who is just a snapper, wonders what all the fuss is about. He sees a nice view, points, and shoots. And afterwards? ‘This was a lovely view. Pity about those two idiots with tripods in the foreground, though …’

      When to Shoot

      Most photographs are taken in a tiny fraction of a second. This ability to catch a moment in time is one of the most distinctive aspects of photography. It doesn’t quite define what photography is, since some photos may take a much longer time, but it is certainly a very important part of what makes photography special.

      Wipeout, Newgale, Pembrokeshire (Chiz) The ability to catch a moment in time is one of the most distinctive aspects of photography

      Tom Sparks, Pentland Hills, Scotland (Jon) This shot did not just happen. I spotted the potential in the arrangement of the trees and waited while nephew and dog walked on ahead

      So it’s no coincidence that the photographer considered by many to be the greatest of all, Henri Cartier-Bresson, is forever associated with the concept of ‘The Decisive Moment’. This is summed up in his own words as follows:

      Photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a single instant, of on the one hand the significance of a fact and, on the other, the rigorous organisation of the visually perceived forms which express and give meaning to that fact.

      One (and only one!) of the things that makes Cartier-Bresson’s images great is the super-precise timing that so many of them demonstrate. A moment sooner, a moment later, and the shot would have been utterly different. You can see the same sort of timing very clearly in the best sports photography.

      Ullswater (Jon) Even in landscape photography, things can happen fast. A beam of sunlight may strike through heavy cloud, picking out a peak or lake for just a moment

      Cartier-Bresson may not have planned every shot but he certainly didn’t just ‘get lucky’. No-one can be lucky that often. In another well-known phrase: ‘chance favours the prepared mind.’ In a photographic context, it’s important to be both physically and mentally prepared. Physical preparation means having the camera ready to hand, with the right lens fitted for the sort of shot you anticipate. Mental preparation means that you are actively looking for shots and thinking about the sort of opportunities that may arise. Even in landscape photography, things can happen surprisingly fast. A beam of sunlight may strike through heavy cloud, picking out a peak or lake for just a moment.

      Basic Concepts

      What you see is not necessarily what you get. Cameras seem to promise that it will be, but it’s never completely true, and the picture can often differ radically from what you saw.

      We’ve already hinted at some of the differences between what the eye sees and what the camera sees, like the two ‘missing’ dimensions of depth and time. These apply equally to drawing or painting, but there are some other more specifically photographic factors.

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