Exercise - Learning to "See"

I checked out a new book from the library this week, Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography by Bryan Peterson.  In it, he suggests doing this exercise several times on several different subjects.  I think it's a great idea!  It really opens your mind to imagine the posibilities when you look at an object.

Here's how it works:

* Select a subject - anything will do

* Set the focal length to a setting, like 35mm, and don't move it for the remainder of the exercise.

* Begin shooting from a distance.  Have the subject in the shot and lots of area around it with "stuff" - background, whatever.  Take a shot.

*  Take 5 steps forward and shoot again.

*  Take another 5 steps forward and take a shot.... continue taking a shot every 5 feet until you are so close that the entire subject will not fit into the frame.  (Take that shot too!)

*  Then, when you are close, take a knee and shoot.

*  Lay on the ground a shoot.

*  Lay on your back and shoot up!  Climb on the object, or up a ladder and shoot down.

*  Shoot high, shoot low, shoot fast, shoot slow.  You get the idea - but don't change the focal length.

This exercise is all about finding the interesting angles to shoot of everyday objects.  This could also be very interesting with people (which is what I plan to do next time!)

For this time, I chose a slide at the park.  Here are the pictures in order (SOOC):

Then I laid down on the slide and looked up.

Set the camera on the slide and shot....

The girls decided to help.  :)

Standing on the slide.

Again, all images are SOOC and were shot at a 35mm focal length.  Go out an experiment - see what happens!  :)  Have fun! 



Much love,

Tiffany