As much as we would like to, getting everything right the first time is a rarity. Nothing could be truer in our discipline as photographers. We can prepare our landscape photography ideas, we can pre-visualise a scene to our heart’s content but often we are still left with a bit of work to do. It’s easy to arrive at a scene and become frustrated because we can’t just set up, fire off one frame and walk away with all the glory. When we think about the images being produced by the photographers we look up to, it can often leave us feeling deflated.
Creative Inspiration
We all look up to our chosen photographers for our own creative inspiration but when we see their work, we must keep in mind that we are seeing just a small subset of what they produce. Do those whom we look up to and admire just produce image after image of visual gold, the first time with one click of the shutter? Some of them, maybe. But most of them, I suspect not. When you break it down and think about it like that, you begin to realise that they, like us, have to put the work in to get that single frame or photograph that encapsulates their vision so perfectly and wows us mere mortals.
Sketching Images
So how do they get to that final photograph? It’s a process that I call sketching images. Simply put, it’s the way we work through a scene with a series of photographs to come to our final (although not always) chosen image. It’s most likely a process that most people undertake but not everyone really thinks about too much. I feel that it’s a very important step that we should be more aware of when we get behind the camera.
Think about it this way. An artist doesn’t just put pencil or paint down on their canvas and something amazing happens right before them. It takes them a little bit of time to sketch out the foundations; they may have a sudden change of heart or a new idea that really shapes their artwork in a direction that may not have been intended initially. Well, this is much the same for us photographers, only we sketch with a series of frames, not by pencil or brush. Sketching really is at odds with pre-visualisation and we need to think about that for a moment.
For us as photographers, it can be difficult to imagine how an image may look. Not to mention being able to go to the location and execute the image exactly as we visualized it. This may be due to the light being different to what we expected or even the weather causing us problems but also because with a photograph, we are trying to accomplish a number of things at once. We want to be able to not only show the viewer what the scene looked like but also what it felt like. I believe that specifically trying to communicate a feeling, is something that you cannot pre-determine in your own mind. You have to experience it. You have to be open to what is there at present, not what you want to be there.
I look at sketching images as making rough drafts (pencil sketches if you will). In these drafts, I take the opportunity to try out different compositions or viewpoints, with the overall goal of finding the shot that will express the location and the feeling. This can even mean leaving and returning to a location at a later date. Experimenting at another time of day when the light is different, possibly changing the dynamics of a scene. This process often involves working through a number of images before I photograph what I think is my keeper. The above set of images from Nudgee Beach (Queensland, Australia) helps to illustrate my changes in focal length, aperture and composition. It took me approximately a week, making two separate visits, to get to my final chosen photograph, as seen above.
It’s important, however, not to stop there. Keep your rough drafts rather than just deleting them when you get home. Try not to view them as failures but as an important part of learning for yourself how you made it to the final image, a lesson in what works and what doesn’t work. They are like your artist’s notebook, full of landscape photography ideas and inspiration for how to approach your next photographic work. You have to be as open to including your sketch images in your learning process as well as being open to changes, variations and new possibilities as you photograph. We learn from our own experiences far better than anything else.
Final Landscape Photography Ideas for Sketching
Finally, I’ll leave you with a few landscape photography ideas for the sketching process. These are the things to stop and be aware of as you get behind the camera.
- Always ask yourself “What if I do this?” – You can change the dynamic of a photograph by changing your composition or your aperture. Keep pushing forward and asking “What if…..?”
- Make changes intentionally, understand why it is that you chose to go in closer or take a few steps back? Is there an object creeping into your frame or do you want to isolate your subject?
- Take a few images then study them on your camera LCD. Take a quick look at what is working visually for you and what isn’t. By doing this you will have a better idea of where you’re heading next.
- Don’t be afraid to make a few more frames after you think you have your best shot. Sometimes this leads you nowhere but in the digital age, it doesn’t cost you anything to take a chance.
Blog post by James Partridge
