Do you have a good sturdy hard wall that you can go bang your head against?
:-)
I find composing in the viewfinder and cropping to improve a composition to
be two sides of the same coin. I view post-capture cropping as simply a
refinement of the original composition, and since it's my composition I feel
no qualms of conscience regarding it. I still try to make the best
compopsition in the viewfinder. Try composing in the viewfinder and imagine
the cropping you would do, post-capture, at the same time.
In this respect, digital liberated me from the mindset that a captured
composition that was slightly off (composition-wise) = a bad shot. I should
have known it all along. Like you I shot mainly transparencies. I was sort
of locked into the "1st generation image is the only image" way of thinking.
I'd just relax and crop away to your hearts content, realizing that the
capture phase is just one part of a composition and the process of making a
pleasing photograph or image.
Tom C.
From: Tim Øsleby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Composing on screen vs. in viewfinder. Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006
23:53:10 +0200
Those of you reading the list lately may have noticed that I have a project
going on, that forces me to explore some new land (read learn new
techniques).
How a beeeep should you avoid noticing that? With my endless ranting
questions ;-)
I have been talking about using longer lenses, building hides and so on.
This has been great fun, and I am learning a lot about photography and
birds. My longest glass that is usable is 500mm (with converter it tends to
be too soft), so I have to crop the pictures to make them interesting.
This has made me realise that I am a lot better at composing in viewfinder
then I am with composing on computer screen. I have been thinking about
this. I have some ideas about why.
First:
It is that in the field I compose more on instinct. I am there, and I have
emotions about the motifs. My heart is involved, and I believe that it is
my
heart that makes the composing decisions. Back at home, the motifs are more
distant to me, so there I compose by brain (and as you know, that's not
much
of a brain).
The second reason has to do with the decisive moment:
When I shot slides my mind was in "capture mode" (sorry Shel, I know you
don't like that word). When pushing the button I knew that what is in
frame,
stays in frame, and what is out of frame, stays out. (Everybody who has
tried masking slides in glassless frames, knows that you do everything you
can to avoid that activity later).
Now, when shooting digitally, being forced to crop later something happens
with my mindset. There is no decisive moment in post processing on
computer.
There is always possible to go back.
What I'm saying is that I think I need the decisive moment to make a good
composition. I also need to be emotionally connected with the motif in some
way.
But what do I do about this? Practise is one obvious answer. And I will
practise. But, I also have a strong belief in the power and wisdom of this
list. I would really surprise me if it doesn't burp up some good ideas and
advise.
Tim
Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian)
Never underestimate the power of stupidity in large crowds
(Very freely after Arthur C. Clarke, or some other clever guy)
