Letting go of the Big Picture

I often find, when I work with teenagers, that generally, they are very focused on the big picture; at capturing the "whole" of something, but by the time they have figured out how to capture what they think of as the whole of something, they have often produced a dull, and ordinary image.

Part of the beauty of photography, for me, is to be able to capture the small, meaningful and beautiful details that make up the "whole". As the saying goes, we are a sum of our parts!  I find that looking for the interesting details help me to compose photos that are concerned no only with representation but also with the application and exploration of the elements and principles of art and composition.

I think that an excellent activity to do with students early in a photography class is to send them out with their cameras to capture photos which exemplify one or more of the elements or compositional strategies without representing anything in it's entirety.

Before students go out, review and show examples of the elements: Line, Value, Shape, Form, Space, Colour, Texture (Glatstein, Jeremy. (n.d.) http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/how-to/from-theory-to-practice/formal-visual-analysis.aspx) as well as compositional principals / strategies such as the types of balance: (symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial),depth of field ( ie. how much of the photo, and which part of the photo is in focus ), juxtaposition of elements, repetition, pattern, movement, etc... I suggest letting students choose a set number ( say 5 or 6 ) from a list you could create in class during your review of what they know / remember about design and composition, so that students will focus on creating quality photos which exemplify their selected elements rather than rushing to complete 12+ photos.

There are many artists who work with isolated elements of their subjects in order to create effective compositions and beautiful photographs which would be excellent resources for this type of assignment. Here are a few examples I enjoy:

Suren Manvelya, Kramer's Parrot,
http://www.surenmanvelyan.com/eyes/animal-eyes-2/ 

Armenian Artist ( and physicist! ) Suren Manvelya has worked extensively with macro shots of human and animal eyes that are lovely examples of the use of radial balance, texture, concentric shapes, and, at times, colour and contrast. (Manvelya, Suren, Eyes, http://www.surenmanvelyan.com/eyes/)

David Gray, (n.d.) Retrieved from:
http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2007/08/13/less-is-more/

John Voos, at Photographer's Blog, shares a nice article about the power of well composed images which are made from close-ups or isolated areas or elements of a bigger picture. One example he points to is David Gray's image of the hands of a chinese worker that speaks volumes about working conditions and offers up not only a good example of compositional techniques, but techniques for developing interesting narratives or developing social commentary through photography.

Even our own Scott McMaster's photography demonstrates how close-ups inanimate objects / architecture can be rich and beautiful!

Scott McMaster, (2012) P1070150.
http://untitledartist.com/2012-2/