by Trey Ratcliff – note: this article appeared in Smashing Magazine in February of 2009.
Introduction
A camera does not work like an eye; memory does not work like film.
There is a fine line between a photo that is quite nice and one that is quite breathtaking. At some undefined point, a photo can cross the Rubicon and be forever a piece of beautiful art. That hinterland between a regular photo and evocative art is a moving target from person to person and taste to taste. However, that zone of wonderment can be narrowed a bit once you start to consider about the way the brain stores memories and emotions.
And, yes, it gets a bit touchy-feely here to determine if you have been able to cross that line. With rigorous practice and peer feedback, you can start to appreciate where that zone is and consequently improve your hit ratio.
The good news is that it does not require rune rites of scapulimancy to divine your way to a more beautiful photo. There are some basic things and mantras to keep in mind as you practice and fail then practice and succeed then practice and fail and then rinse and repeat. I’ll detail a few of these below.
1) Think about the brain
I’ve always thought about photography differently. I grew up only seeing out of one eye, thanks to several botched surgeries in the 1970’s, when the state of the art was refurbished archaeological tools of Australopithecus medicine men.
When you see out of one eye your whole life and then start using a camera in your mid 30’s for the first time, something happens to you! You come to realize that a camera works nothing like the eye. Forget 3D; I’m talking about the way the brain stores images and scenes.
After birth, you have legs, but it takes a few years for your legs to get along with your brain enough to actually walk you around the savanna a bit. The eyes are the same way. They get wired faster than the legs, but the neural pathways from the optic nerve into the parts of the brain that matter take a while to find their chemical trails. You start to sense light levels, then shapes, then edges, then relative positions, and the like. And then, around age two or three, you finally come up with a tagging system to know generally what a “barn” looks like. Your brain has been working nonstop over that time to give you the visual and memory infrastructure to enable that watershed event.
Now let’s fast forward to today. You are older, your brain is more or less fully formed (!) and you happen upon a barn in a field. But it’s not just any barn – it’s the barn you’ve been wanting to see your entire life. And in the distance, there is a storm brewing as a gentle sun is setting. It’s beautiful –- you LOCK it into memory. The way you lock it into memory is nothing like the way a camera records the image on film (or CCD). This is what I quickly came to realize as I sat there, looking at a photo I took with a fabulously expensive Nikon as I was showing a friend, “Well, you really had to be there.” I’m sure you’ve all said that!
Now, this step 1 is a big step – it’s a philosophical re-assessment of how the camera works versus how the memory maps a scene, layering the visual reality with the emotions and previous memories that are linked to the scene. You see, you are not just remembering that barn, but you are remembering every barn; you are not just remembering that storm, but you are remembering every storm. A beautiful photo must tell the epic tale of the memory linked with other emotive memories that fold into whole.
2) Engage in the Neo-Global Salon
In the 1860’s, all art roads led to the Salon in Paris, which was the most important judged competition of art in the western world. In a period of just over 10 years, the Impressionist masters like Renoir, Monet, Pisarro, and Caillebotte battled it out in a competitive and cooperative tour de force that created a panoply of creations that we cannot imagine the world without.
The reason Paris became the center of the art world to enable an explosion of new art was a combination of new technology in travel and communications combined with Napoleon III’s focus on the infrastructure around the Salon.
Today the same thing is happening – only no one really seems to realize it in a grand historical sense. It’s called Flickr. Flickr has become a techno-Salon, allowing the world to use the Internet to easily enter the competition and force them to evolve and improve their art. The automated “Explore Algorithm” does a pretty good job of automatically choosing the best photos that are uploaded every day. Go ahead and look at the current some of the best in the last 7 days. Click RELOAD a few times and I promise you will see something that impresses. It is quite unbelievable the level of art and beauty that is created every single day. Now, all of this amazing art on Flickr can either inspire or intimidate you depending on your mindset for competition. I hope it inspires you to upload one photo a day and see if you can make it in the top 500 or the top 10 for the say — and don’t give up. Competition makes everyone better; this is an undeniable truth and you are not realizing your full potential if you keep yourself removed from the process.
Now, I can think of a number of tangible things Flickr can do to improve this new global competition. Their AI algorithm to find the most interesting new artists still makes many mistakes – maybe I will save that for another article! In many ways, Flickr is squandering an amazing opportunity to set the art world on fire.
3) Get rid of your toy camera
Oh, look at that camera you have! It’s so tiny and slim and techno-looking. Look! It fits right in your pocket! Oh my, you can take it to parties and to sporting events and it’s so convenient. Oh – it does 10 megapixels too! Oh my. Well that is a good camera then!
No it’s not. It’s a toy – give it to your kids or the nearest Japanese gradeschooler (for whom it was designed) and get serious. I know that 19-year-old blue-shirted-Best-Buy-boy told you that your compact camera was really neat and just what you needed. But are you gonna listen to him, or me?
Get yourself a good camera. I have a list of SLR camera suggestions that aren’t very expensive for people just starting out or ready for an upgrade. For those of you that don’t know, a DSLR is one of those cameras you have seen pros carrying, but it doesn’t have to be one of those giant ones you see in NFL endzones.
Sorry to be rude about the toy thing, but you want to take more beautiful pictures, yes? Well a decent DSLR has such a good sensor chip, combined with more flexible lenses, that your batting average will dramatically improve.
Also, (people with DSLRs already know this) it is important you have a good wide-angle lens for landscapes. Beautiful photography does not have to be a landscape, but they commonly are, and this is what people envision when they want to make their own “beautiful” photos. Thus, we should talk about wide angle lenses here for a moment. If you are used to a toy camera, the you have never really seen the world through a good 10-24mm lens. It’s almost the difference between regular TV and HDTV. The vistas are wide and bold, the clouds and the sun and the mountains all FIT, the river and the bridge are easy to compose, and the like. Once you go wide-angle, the landscape will never be the same!
4) Carry a tripod for those beautiful sunsets and sunrises
Oh, what’s that? You don’t want to carry a tripod? Are you a 9-year-old girl?
No, come on now – you are a grown up and you want to take some seriously beautiful photos. Do you think pros carry around tripods because they just like carrying extra weight? No, of course not – they know what the heck they are doing.
If you bit off on getting a DSLR above, then you are going to need a tripod, especially for sunset and night shots. Unless you have the steady hand of a T-2000, then you are going to get some camera shake.
A tripod allows you to do the following things for landscape photography (in no particular order): set up and take your time to compose a photo with serious intent; enables low noise as the shutter stays open longer; look cool while you carry it around; allows you to keep the shutter open for 5+ seconds for the fleeting sunrise and sunset shots; and it can be used as a weapon in a tight spot while traveling (not kidding).
So, you are still worried about carrying it around? The problem is mostly with your attitude, you understand. Let me give you a new perspective. Nothing in life is worth doing unless you are going to be serious about it. You are going to shoot that sunset, and you are going to take your nice DSLR and your tripod out there and make it happen and no one is going to stop you. You’re carrying that tripod because your serious about this. Otherwise, you can just go sit on a pretty beach at sunset and drink beer with your friends and not be serious about it… go ahead… but you won’t be getting any beautiful photography.
5) Admire impressionism
I spoke earlier about the Salon of Paris and what happened in the Impressionist movement. While the process and history of what happens when artists begin cooperating and competing is interesting from a social-group evolution perspective, this section is more about the art itself.
Early critics of the artform found it crude, sloppy, and unconventional to the point where it didn’t even deserve to be placed alongside classical masters. But the public was awestruck by the new art form. It doesn’t take a critic to know good art, but it does take a careful and discerning eye.
Consider the colors and the styles of Degas, Cézanne, Monet, and Renoir. There is not a single thing about any well-known Impressionist painting that is the slightest bit realistic. But yet, the rough shapes and colors still make sense. What do we mean by that? There is something there that just feels right. What is it?
To me, what feels right about Impressionism is what was discussed in part one above. These Impressionist images get deep into the viewers brain and evoke memories of shared scenes and events. The memory is in fact an Impressionist playground of fleeting colors, shapes, and edges. A face here, a blur there, a hint of something almost there but not quite.
Look at the Monets. Think about how the yellows of a sun in the distance is the same yellow as in a nearby flower, but something about the nearby colors makes the sun feel brighter than the flower. How does he do that? Can you get closer to achieving this with your photography?
As you look at Impressionist paintings, juxtapose them to your own photography. If you want to evoke the same sorts of feelings, then consider the realism that is not there.
6) Practice with HDR
What is HDR? It’s short for High Dynamic Range photography and it’s all the rage. I have an HDR Tutorial right here on my blog. I will explain with HDR is in the following paragraphs in a circuitous but meaningful way.
About 80% of my photos use HDR, but I do something a little different. As you start looking into HDR (many of you already have), you will begin to notice how absolutely horrible most HDR looks. When many people begin experimenting with it (myself included!), it was overdone and looked too psychedelic. Over time, mine have improved via rigorous self-examination and evolving methodology.
Remember that bit me growing up and seeing the world with one eye? Now we come to part two in this daring mini-biography as we are cross the stepping stones to my point. My background in college was Computer Science and Math, so I’ve always thought about things in terms of algorithms and software. After the very first time I used a DSLR camera when I was 35 or so, I very quickly came to the realization that there was something missing.
The missing something was the “software” layer between the eye and the memory. Consider what you do on the scene with the barn, and juxtapose the following sequence of events with how the camera works. You survey the scene. Your eye jumps around from interesting object to interesting object, sometimes moving slowly, sometimes moving quickly. Your eye lets in more light in some areas, less light in others as your pupil dilates. You squint into the setting sun and see warm colors splashed across the clouds, the grass, and the barn. You remember other barns, other storms, other sunsets. You are with someone or your are alone, but you certainly remember. You lock it all up in your mind’s eye forever.
Since we are all visual creatures, a photo or a painting can evoke great memories, just like a song or a smell. But the only way to trigger some of those intense memories on a deep level is to adjust the light levels in the photograph, so that the effective light levels and color match those that are buried in your head. The HDR process can help achieve these goals.
7) Take your camera everywhere
Don’t just take your camera out on those rare occasions when you actually decide to set aside a portion of your day for photography. Face it: we’re all busy people with real lives and setting aside 3-4 hours for anything extracurricular is rough. But it only takes a few seconds to get inspired for a photo, and it’s no good if your camera is back at home.
Keep it in the trunk of your car in a fun little photo backpack with a small selection of lenses. You never know when you will see something wonderful.
Use this opportunity to take at least one photo a day. It doesn’t have to be a grand landscape – just something small and nice that you really should have noticed before.
8 ) Understand the fantasy/reality membrane
Do you have kids? Are you a kid at heart? Think about being a kid and what happened when you turned into a jaded old grown up. Maybe by the end of this section you can ask yourself some new questions about reality.
Kids have this remarkable “membrane” between fantasy and reality. They can jump back and forth between the two in an effortless way. In fact, the membrane is wonderfully “thick”, in that there is a vast dreamstate wilderness where the world is both fantasy and reality. When pressed, the kids will tell you what is real and what is pretend, but that is often a painful process that extracts them from the escapism that was so visceral just a few moments before.
When we are all grown up and serious, that membrane is razor-thin, and there is little tolerance of what is “pretend” and “fantasy”. Why is this? Is it because we are surrounded by other serious people and we want to conform? Is it because fantastical events and escapades are what “kids” do, and thus is not pertinent to the practical?
Obviously we all still can get into that fantasy zone and we all love it. That’s why movies are still such a potent force; they give us social permission to be like a kid for 2 hours, once a week. It also explains the waxing relevance of online games.
But when we start talking about photography – well now, that is a different subject! Photography is a serious art form, practiced by classically trained masters whose reality is quite serious indeed! There mustn’t be anything fantastical introduced via the art form. The process is the camera straight to the film, you see!
Poppycock.
9) Learn to draw
Hey this is a weird one, eh? Who on Earth has time to learn to draw? Well, you would have time if you stopped wasting time on nonsensical activities. You’ve got one life here so you might as well start applying yourself.
I didn’t have any time! Heck I have a load of kids, a full time job, a bunch of cool games to play, books to read, I have to go exercise, I do a bit of photography, and blah blah blah… So, as a personal experiment, I was going to see if anyone can learn to draw. This is similar to another experiment I did on myself to see if I could take something I hated and turn it into something I enjoy. Only that experiment was coffee, and I was afraid learning to draw would be harder, particularly because of the jitteryness introduced from the first experiment.
I’ve always admired people that can just grab a pencil and paper and make something amazing. Man, I always wanted to do that! I went into the experiment with the hypothesis that there are great natural artists that can draw anything with zero instruction whatsoever. These are true masters and I was unlikely to achieve that goal. However, I thought I could get passable at drawing and get to a point of satisfaction. A great side effect, I envisioned, is that it would give me new insight into photography – into line, shape, light, and composition.
All of this turned out to be true. So, if you have hit a rough spot or the doldrums with your photography, take up drawing. There are a few instructional books out there that are practical hands-on guides that can get you the basic pointers you need. I think you will be quite impressed on how it starts to bleed into your photography art!
10) Make mistakes
Last, make a lot of mistakes. Throw yourself and your art out there and see what works and what doesn’t work. Get your stuff looked at by real friends that give you frank feedback.
Don’t be like those sorry saps on American Idol who make fools of themselves in big auditions because they’ve spent their whole life with their tone-deaf mom telling them they are incredible at singing “Over the Rainbow”, because Aunt Mabel enjoyed it so much during that 2nd grade play. Get yourself online and begin making friends by finding other photographers that you respect. Beg and plead for them to come look at one or two of your photos and get their frank feedback. They will cut you apart, but just take your medicine, lick your wounds, and go out there and improve.
—
Fin
And there we have ten things to shake up your world a little bit. I’m no Baudelaire when it comes to writing these sorts of polemics. However, just as he drove Manet to be Manet, perhaps I can do my own little part to stoke the fires and drive a new art revolution forward; evolve and evoke, or whither into nothingness.
Extra Credit
Vitaly, the kind guru at Smashing Magazine, asked me to include a some other photos because readers love the sweet eye candy. So here is a random selection of some of my favorites, which is somewhat of a canard because I get caught up in an endless loop of recursive objective self-objectivity.
December 31st, 2008 01:25 | p.m.w
just wonderful Trey!
December 31st, 2008 09:37 | Matthew
This is a great section that I will visit regularly. “Evolve and evoke” has been my motto for years, I just never had that terminology for it. Awesome.
M
January 1st, 2009 10:34 | Bob Voors
Trey,
You continue to be a great inspiration to me. Your thought provoking insights both here and in Flickr are a perfect match to your evocative HDR photography.
Thank you and wishing you and yours the Happiest of New Years.
Bob Voors
January 2nd, 2009 16:55 | Michael Slezak
I can’t believe I have the honor of being near the top of this comment list! This is very inspirational. You made me realize I am like a 9-year old girl!. I resisted forever getting a good tripod, but now I’m ready to go out and get one. As well as a better ultra-wide angle lens. I loved learning about that fuzzy zone between reality and fantasy and how that applies to photography. I now understand better why that smithsonian photo is so popular as well as why some of my most popular photos are hits, I didn’t understand until now! Now I’m determined to put this newly learned stuff to use and go out and win some contests, starting with this HDR max one here. Thanks for the inspiration.
January 2nd, 2009 17:41 | Tin
“A beautiful photo must tell the epic tale of the memory linked with other emotive memories that fold into whole.”
Great saying, totally agree.
January 2nd, 2009 22:25 | Stuck In Customs
Thank you very much – I recently opened up all these pages to comments, and I’m glad I did!
January 4th, 2009 20:43 | Todd Burleson
Trey,
You are a very generous artist. I agree that we only have this life, apply yourself! Thank you for the motivation. I look forward to growing and your work inspires me to evolve.
Most sincerely,
TB
January 4th, 2009 21:52 | SiPat
Hi. Just discovered your website… what beautiful photographs.
I just love the photo of the Taj Mahal, which I visited 25-odd years ago and came away with nearly a hundred photos on 35mm slides — I’m going to convert them to digital some day soon.
Just wanted to say that the bit of the Taj Mahal which sits on the plinth is actually symmetrical, all four (actually eight if you’re pedantic) sides being identical and of equal length and so doesn’t really have a “backside” which in most parts of the English-speaking world I have visited (haven’t been to the USA yet) means your posterior or bum!
January 4th, 2009 21:58 | SiPat
Clarification: the eight sides are not equal — the four “corners” are not the same length as the four main faces. The four main faces are of equal length, and the four corners are of equal length.
There! I feel better now.
January 7th, 2009 01:04 | christos
Hi..your site is a new discovery for me also. I,m heading out right now to take my one photos for the day. Thanks for the inspiration.
Happy New Year
Christos
January 8th, 2009 22:16 | Twinkie420
I ran into one of your photo’s on Flickr.com about a year ago. I enjoy seeing your new photo every morning. After reading your site and and helpful pages, I have started researching and reviewing programs, books and even upgrading my camera. Thank for all you have done and keep up the hard work!
Mc.
January 9th, 2009 21:45 | Jacques
Wow! I really enjoyed reading this and getting a better understanding for how you approach your work. I have really been inspired and plan to do my best to incorporate as many of the principles as will work for me into my creative workflow. Thanks for writing this for us!
January 9th, 2009 22:06 | Stuck In Customs
Thank you all!
January 10th, 2009 21:35 | Sean McNamara
Thanks a lot for your insights. You continue to be one of my go-to contacts on Flickr when I’m looking to push my work a bit. Your thoughts here are spot-on as far as I’m concerned. Occasionally I’ll get a little lazy and wonder why I don’t have any good photos streaming out. Simple answer – I’m not exerting the appropriate amount of effort. When I suck it up and get out, get creative and do some work, it comes together!
Now – back over to your HDR tutorial for another pass.
-Sean Mc.
January 10th, 2009 22:34 | Stuck In Customs
Thanks Sean – I appreciate it. I hope you find the updated tutorial to be to your liking!
January 11th, 2009 07:45 | marcel
Hi creative geniuses, this site is amazing!
I can´t belive what is possible with the right adjustments
Thanks for you guide to make the best fotos, especially 4) Carry a tripod for those beautiful sunsets and sunrises…
Dear Trey, your Tipps and the way you did fotos are indescribable, you really draw light into a pic!
Can you please tell me how do you create the dream / glow effect in your fotos?
January 14th, 2009 10:20 | Shane
Your pix and advise are really good, I do this a bit myself but am sometimes dissapointed with the mid tones and light that surrounds objects and buildings. When I look at Images in a galery and notice these effects I’m instantly put off, it’s geeky I know but i wouldn’t put my images in a galery if any 21 yr old pup photog could walk past with a “pffft amature” attitude. I know this, cause i am that 21 yr old pup! You seem to have honed it down though, your the Mercedes to my Datsun. Happysnappin!
January 15th, 2009 17:53 | Rich
That was a great read and your photos are amazing. It gave me a lot to think about. And in point 10 you said, “Beg and plead for them to come look at one or two of your photos and get their frank feedback.”
So I’m begging and pleading. Here’s a Flickr set of my favorite photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/richtpt/sets/72157612614512758/ Please give me some honest feedback. I’m not looking to become a professional photographer (I have another job I love), but I would like to take great pictures. I still have a lot to learn and thanks to websites like yours, I’m learning.
I’m also a musician, so I’m used to honest, hard hitting feedback. What I would love is not, “That sucks,” but “That sucks because… Here’s what you could have done to make it better.”
Thanks!
January 16th, 2009 10:45 | Rich
WOW! Thank you so much for taking the time to look at and comment on some of my photos! That really means a lot to me! I checked my email this morning and saw I had comments then my jaw dropped when I saw they were from you. Very helpful! One thing I haven’t done a lot is crop them mainly because I haven’t had time to do that. But now I’m going to make some time to do that. Thanks again!!!!
January 20th, 2009 07:31 | Amanda Webb
WOW these are amazing and such a good tutorials you have as well. Seeing all your photographs makes me want to grab my camera get in my car and of course my tripod and go to find my own remote locations of this little rock and create art. I think that Okinawa Japan really does have some great beautiful landscapes and also several HDR possiblities. If you are even down this way trying to get stuck in customs please look me up. If we are still stationed here that is.
January 20th, 2009 20:55 | Stuck In Customs
Hehe – thanks all… I’d love to check out Okinawa – I was thinking of coming to Japan late next year in fact
January 27th, 2009 05:31 | Tommo
For the amateur hoping to step up in the world, advice like this is first rate. You have inspired me to try HDR when I get some more time to edit.
January 28th, 2009 16:36 | Blake
Hey Trey! I’m mustering up the courage to beg you to check out a small set of my photos.
Well…It seems I already have, even if it’s more or less indirect! I saw your photos about 2 years ago and loved the processing, and it finally put into place the restrictions I’d been feeling in the way of art. It seemed as though I tried my best, found compositions I felt were strong, but it just wasn’t the same. Things started to evolve to “Well, what I’m imagining I want from this scene won’t be what I get. Maybe it’ll turn out nice as something different.”
Once I found your tutorial and began applying the principles and methods, it all made sense. (I was upset that I hadn’t put it all together before!). Now I’ve been working on expanding towards landscapes (I think my transgression has been backwards), and it seems like it all falls into place, like the progression was prepared for me and find affirmations that I’m moving the right way.
Aside from the semi-unnecessary novel, could I ask you to check out a few from my set on flickr? (I know you’re extremely busy)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suchxgreatxheights/sets/72157612476410904/
Thanks for everything, I really appreciate it!
February 1st, 2009 00:55 | Stuck In Customs
Thanks — and yes I checked out your work and left a few comments…. can’t promise I can do it for everyone.. I have mail overload sorry yall!
February 5th, 2009 14:38 | Javier Barrera
Thanks for your help. I’ts so good when people don’t try to impose a point of view, and instead, like you do, just tell the personal story along the way.
Thanks a lot, and pelase excuse my english.
From Colombia,
Javier.
February 6th, 2009 16:01 | betsy barron
This article rocks – thanks
February 8th, 2009 18:28 | Nikographer [Jon]
Great post. Thanks for writing it. I love your images, your take on the world and photography, and that you get to see so many great places and share the photos with us all.
February 8th, 2009 22:43 | Stuck In Customs
Cool thanks all! Nikographer – that is nice of you – I appreciate it…
February 11th, 2009 17:59 | Andy Curry
Very nice article…very inspiring!
February 18th, 2009 01:14 | 10 Principles of Beautiful Photography and the Verdant Bough
[...] I had an article posted today in Smashing Magazine. It was originally titled 10 Principles of Beautiful Photography. That links here to my website, or you can visit the Smashing Magazine as well, although it’s [...]
February 18th, 2009 01:31 | Char
I have to say the drawing thing I have always been afraid to do as well. I’ve always wanted to attempt to learn how and still to this very day run from it. I have hit a little bit of a bump in my joy for photography so maybe it’s time to pick up a drawing book and put down the coffee (a habit I’ve been trying to break). Great article Trey. Every time I come to your site I’m always re-inspired.
February 18th, 2009 03:03 | Robert Babiak
Thank You.
This is great article, I will have to read it again when I have more time to sit and ponder each point.
Your “Make mistakes” section reminded me of something from way back in junior high school. I was learning how to throw pots on a potters wheel. And my teacher told us that to take your first 100 pots and throw them against a wall. They will be bad anyway so no big loss.
The point was of course to make mistakes and learn from them. but as a kid it was interesting for a teacher to tell us that he expected us to have nothing to show for the year of classes.
I cheated and kept a few, still have them to this day.
February 18th, 2009 11:01 | casusan
Great Trey!! Interesting and informative!
February 18th, 2009 11:28 | john edward
Great article and great photos. Now I’m going to visit the hdr tutorial to get some much needed tips.
February 18th, 2009 11:58 | Kyle Gallant
Excellent post!
February 18th, 2009 12:48 | CJ Kern
Thanks for a great post… you really have given me much to think about.
February 18th, 2009 19:33 | Sue
What an interesting read, Trey. You express yourself quite nicely! I already knew that but felt the need to comment on it again. I love the ideas you put forth about perception of light and beauty and now I know a bit about why you have a heightened sense for it.
I feel I am experiencing those “doldroms” with my photography. I think I have location “burn out”. I do one day want a DSLR. Might I interpret your idea of taking a “shot every day” as an assignment? Motivation has been lacking and I think it might be a “kick start” for me.
*wonders if he recognizes…*
Nice job on the article as well as the art. :~)
You’ve stimulated my mind’s eye, in more ways than one.
February 18th, 2009 21:05 | Tom Horton
Great contribution to the literature, Trey! I’m going to have my high school digital photo students do some work with this article. Meanwhile, a couple of comments:
You touch several times on the camera-eye-brain discontinuity and that is so correct! I, also, am a missionary for this idea. So many times I encounter people who are post-processing minimalists because they are slaves to “reality” and view processing as some kind of non-level playing field for photographers who are cheating at the reality game. Actually, the opposite is true! Even the best camera handicaps image capture incredibly, compared to the eye/brain, and seldom faithfully reproduces reality. Severely limited processing is a dysfunctional idea.
I respectfully disagree with your requirement for a good wide-angle lens to do good landscape photography. I do some pretty good landscapes without ever touching a wide angle (http://www.flickr.com/photos/further_to_fly/2701127801, http://www.flickr.com/photos/further_to_fly/2690116027)as I am a big fan of stitched panoramic photos shot with a normal lens. This technique, which I know you are familiar with, provides much finer control of distortion and the opportunity for very high resolution of detail. Several times I have advised people to forgo buying a high-end wide angle solely for landscapes, and instead learn stitched panoramas and save a few bucks in the bargain.
Thanks very much for a great article!
Tom Horton
Shanghai
February 18th, 2009 22:37 | Stuck In Customs
Thank you everyone — and that is good to hear Sue
February 19th, 2009 06:56 | Dilip Muralidaran
Trey,
Nice pictures but i disagree with the DSLR is must opinion. I know of loads of photographers who shoot better pictures than most experts out there with small point and shoots like a Sony T7 or a Canon A540 kind of a toy camera.
High speed photography and wide angle photography requires DSLR’s. So does critical focus on macro’s and high resolution prints or professional portraits. No doubts about that, i completely agree with you on that one.
General shooting of casual portraits and landscapes and events can very well be accomplished with a good prosumer camera with a good zoom and that opens upto F/3.5 on long end and F/2.8 on wide end.
DSLR’s are a must only when extreme wide angle, huge prints, long exposures kind of specialized requirements are the case.
I fail to see why i need a DSLR to do HDR images. Many point and shoots now do exposure bracketing and some even shoot RAW. All i would need is a tripod to get the right framing and then a good work flow knowledge of processing HDR images from multiple exposures.
What most people don’t understand that professional experts like yourself are good at is support and composition. Most people don’t use a tripod. It slows you down and help things go better as slower shutter speeds and higher F numbers are possible when u have a tripod. Secondly, the most important part. Composition.
Mostly, all it takes is practice. More the practice, better the images. Its quite evident from seeing your work that you have put in truck loads of time and effort into what you do, which speaks volumes of yourself in the form of these excellent images.
Nice write up on the whole about discussing photography. A must read for the ones serious about photography.
February 19th, 2009 07:14 | The Blog Gods have spoken…yeah I’ve been slack
[...] that. I know what to do, I’ll look though my 223 favorites to see if there is anything that catches my eye. Any new site I find that I like I book mark it. Its a good way to get out of a slump in [...]
February 19th, 2009 10:04 | Stuck In Customs
Dilip – thanks for the note.
Well look – you are right… I figure that people that have been taking photos for a while get to know the best of the best prosumer cameras like the one you mentioned. In fact, I have a LX3 compact as a backup. Some of these have very nice lenses, great aperture settings, etc. I grouped many of them together as “toy” because 96% of those consumer handheld cameras are limited in their high-end flexibility.
February 19th, 2009 10:33 | c
what a bunch of overprocessed crap hdr shit
makes me want to puke
February 19th, 2009 14:19 | João Almeida
Use always too much HDR isn’t beautiful photography…
February 19th, 2009 21:01 | Indibang
11th principle of photoghraphy is “Person behind the camera is more important than the camera itself”
February 19th, 2009 21:34 | links for 2009-02-19 at Bionic Teaching
[...] 10 Principles of Beautiful Photography (tags: photography hdr images beauty goodphotos) [...]
February 20th, 2009 02:18 | Photographs. « Shah’s Blog
[...] Whttp://www.stuckincustoms.com/10-principles-of-beautiful-photography/atch the beautiful photographs on this [...]
February 21st, 2009 06:58 | Pam
I dabbled in photography 30 years ago when I begged my parents to buy me a SLR. Lordy, I was pretty damn good at it, that camera went to school with me and everywhere else. I picked up on the concept of shutter speed and exposure easily. Now, I look tat those camera’s that operate on the same concept, but are extremely initimidating to me because of all the digital doo dads. Point is, I want to go back to doing what I love, stop seeing the new camera’s as a stumbling block and find a camera that is amazing but affordable, since my car was reposssed and I’m gettin evicted due to the layoffs in MA. I intend to check out your list of camera’s, but I REALLY want to do macro photograph, and have a feeling that those lenses are more expensive than 10 camera’s. Again, the point is that reading your material reinforces that If I want to create beautiful photographs I need to find a way to make it work, find beauty in everything, and start small. Your photographs and travel are amazing and inspiring. Instead of wishing I was you, I intend to start my journey, even if it’s down the street, today. Thanks.
February 21st, 2009 23:15 | niagaragirl
Great guidance here. You truly think outside the normal realm of the brain.
February 22nd, 2009 22:35 | paul (dex)
hi trey,
this is my response to all the negative comments on your Smashing Magazine article and some comments made here (#43)
————————————————————————————
213. paul (dex) (February 22nd, 2009, 6:06 pm)
first of all: trey – thank you for sharing your views and knowledge so unselfishly; you’ve been an inspiration to many, including me, for a long time. all your efforts ARE appreciated !!!
secondly: I don’t pretend to be a “pro”, I just like beautiful images regardless of how the end result is accomplished and if “rules” have been followed or broken, but I spent quite some time reading all comments and it’s hard to believe (unfortunately not as shocking as it should be) how aggressive and rude some people can be, getting even down to personal attacks on someone trying to be positive and to encourage us “mere mortals” to have better results when taking pictures
for those who truly don’t like over saturated images there is an easy solution – MOVE ON! but instead you choose to take precious time out of your life to publicly put a negative spin on honest advice and come up with “constructive criticism” such as:
“the author is such a toss pot! … Get a life.” (8), “… that’s a piece of crap” (10), “I don’t think I’ve ever heard worse advice” (27), “masses have spoken” (29), “These HDR make me sick. HDR should be banned from the Internet!” (64), “.. .which in the end should be the main purpose” (65), “Bad. Please don’t do this again” (112), and on and on…
do I detect censorship (64)? do I detect an internet census by an authoritative (God-like) figure (29)? are we being told what the end result “should be” (65)?
who are you people? where did you come from?!? where is YOUR “art”? why don’t you let the “masses” of mere mortals give you the taste of your medicine and judge you, and your advices and tutorials? where is your “better” work that gives you the nerve to make these comments? (I’m not addressing the ones who bothered to explained their opinion, and with some good points too)
could it be that a simple technique which doesn’t require a university degree makes the “pros” feel threatened and you feel you have to make this effort and criticize HDR to this extreme and try as hard as you can to crush it? could it be envy that something so simple has such a huge potential and you feel threatened? or you feel it’s unfair that normal people can achieve amazing results without all the effort it used to take (to come up with just a pompous result?). btw: Ross (192) and Philosaur (186) – you both have a great analysis !
again trey – thank you for all your efforts!
paul (dex)
.
————————————————————————————
February 23rd, 2009 22:05 | Photography philosophy - must read | g2
[...] !0 Principles of Beautiful Photography by Trey Ratcliff [...]
February 25th, 2009 00:08 | p.m.w
Thanks for posting the article in Smashing Magazine. I enjoyed the debate on HDR Photography and it was a good laugh too.
February 25th, 2009 18:07 | Comatosed
Wow, great article. I really enjoyed what you had to say and your photos. Thanks for the info.
February 26th, 2009 22:42 | Jersey Dude
Wonderful photos as always. Thanks for this article … I feel a renewed sense of “photographic energy” thanks to you after a long, cold winter.
March 2nd, 2009 01:09 | The Joker… my latest drawing
[...] As you guys know, I think drawing is a nice way to help out with photography a bit… I think it certainly helps you to notice things. I mention a bit about that in an article here on the site (in case you missed it) called “10 Principles of Beautiful Photography“. [...]
March 2nd, 2009 08:11 | Mark Emery
I like your list Trey. I think you should amp it up to 11 ;o)
11: Travel – Doesn’t have to be far but you won’t get these sorts of images yourself sat on your behind reading stuckincustoms or browsing others Flickr streams. Get out there and have fun..
March 2nd, 2009 16:46 | Michael (Verticordia)
Outstanding Trey. The article is quite good. I have some ideas about improving it but some excellent fundamentals are present. I suppose, those areas which I see improvement is really what you wished to trigger in the mind of the reader. The article being intended to inspire and draw out the artist in the reader. Nice Job! I am not a pro-photographer and certainly beautiful landscapes, HDR, a good wide-angle, exotic subject matter (See Romanticism), and impressionism will always be a big draw in the beauty department. There certainly are other markets and aesthetic sensibilities. Also, all the major identified art movements are there because they identify specific qualities of the mind and visual arts. Impressionism does engage the mind of the audience, who piece it together within their own minds. It is worth examining the Gestalt Principles or laws. Of course there is no formula to great Photography. Your inclusion of the “fantasy/reality membrane is a key , that and getting up off your butt and DOING IT hahaha (See “Art Brut” or as it’s known “Outsider Art”. ) I somewhat agree that Flickr has a great potential exactly as said. I don’t pay that much attention to the interestingness or explore function . Not that I don’t like it, I certainly love when mine or friend’s hard work is rewarded tangibly with ranking in explore. It’s quite encouraging. Also back about 3 years ago, was intending to use it as a tool very much in the vain that yuo speak of it. A Solon of sorts. (And it was a business, that got thwarted – long story) However, it does seem like it could use some improvement. (until a state of perfection is achieved, what doesn’t need improvement.) I don’t think the magic donkey it is fully automated. Do you know for a that it is a fully automated algorithm, and ? I keep getting the impression it’ dependent on a source of human intelligence, and not just in a page rank sort of way. I would love to know what you know about it, Flickr isn’t exactly sharing their secrets with me hehehe – Ok thanks, this post was very inspiring. I know I don’t post comments that much but you have inspired me sa lot with your photos and posts. Nice work!
March 2nd, 2009 23:08 | Stuck In Customs
Thank you very much everyone… Glad you like it. And thanks Michael for the nice note!
Mark – I will amp it up to 11 !
March 8th, 2009 09:27 | International Educational Directory > links for 2009-02-19
[...] 10 Principles of Beautiful Photography (tags: photography hdr images beauty goodphotos) [...]
March 24th, 2009 15:31 | William Schneider
You are a wizard–I love your work and your attitude,Bill
March 24th, 2009 20:58 | The Joker… my latest drawing | Add The World
[...] As you guys know, I think drawing is a nice way to help out with photography a bit… I think it certainly helps you to notice things. I mention a bit about that in an article here on the site (in case you missed it) called “10 Principles of Beautiful Photography“. [...]
March 24th, 2009 20:58 | The Joker… my latest drawing | Add The World
[...] As you guys know, I think drawing is a nice way to help out with photography a bit… I think it certainly helps you to notice things. I mention a bit about that in an article here on the site (in case you missed it) called “10 Principles of Beautiful Photography“. [...]
March 25th, 2009 03:38 | Neka
I have to say I am new to DSLR cameras I just bought a Nikon D90 and honestly I was a little intimidated by it. Growing up with a Canon Film I was not so certain what to do. Finally I got off my rump and figured it out, but once again I have found myself intimidated by the competition. After reading this article and many others I have realized the only way I will ever “Make It Happen” is to get off my rump and suck it up and involve myself in the friendly competition of photography, it is amazing how sometimes after “growing up” you seem to become more of well a wuss. Looking back realizing how competitive I was in school and not afraid of “making it happen” I know that I can do it. I have to say thank you Trey for all the inspiring blogs and articles you have written and not only that but the most important thing is your art in photography. I will now get back to drawing like I use to and not just that but get back on the saddle and “make it happen!”
Most Utter Respect
Neka Rae
March 25th, 2009 16:45 | Steve Burningham
i’ve never been able to draw. i will. i’ve recently given up FPS gaming, because i fealt i was missing something.
Then i found the pics i took with my Digital Rebel, that i treated like a point and shoot, and uploaded them to flickr. That got me into blogging (when i had spent my time in forums).
My comment on this article? It is simply ‘Thanks’.
April 7th, 2009 17:45 | starfighter
WOW every photo is a masterpiece.
April 7th, 2009 18:19 | chaise lounge
so great post
April 9th, 2009 13:10 | Stuck In Customs
Thanks y’all !
April 10th, 2009 00:03 | Feed Me Wallpaper » Blog Archive » The Verdant Bough
[...] I had an article posted today in Smashing Magazine. It was originally titled 10 Principles of Beautiful Photography. That links here to my website, or you can visit the Smashing Magazine as well, although it’s [...]
April 14th, 2009 01:34 | Mike Thornton
Thought-provoking, educational; and inspirational.
April 14th, 2009 22:53 | wskrayen
Great Article and very inspiring.
Now I’ll be to the first to admit, I’m not a good photographer, but I’d have to agree about the compact digital. When I’m using an(D)SLR, my shots are poor to ok photographs. When I use my compact digital, they aren’t even good snapshots. I noticed I don’t put the same effort into the shots with the compact, that I do with my SLRs, digital and film.
April 17th, 2009 05:41 | Nivedita Chala Sharma
I have never seen such beautiful photographs in my life. Is it okay if I downloaded them and use them for my desktop?
April 17th, 2009 08:49 | Stuck In Customs
Thanks – and sure you can use my photos as backgrounds… it’s all Creative Commons – no commercial use without permission…. so…go right ahead!
April 18th, 2009 13:05 | Nico Ibieta
Hey Trey, thanks for the time you dedicate for us less instructed in sharing your knowledge, wether it’s from studying, experience or, and specially from, mistakes.
This should be called “10 commandments of beautiful photography”.
April 19th, 2009 21:11 | Matt Smith
Hey Trey, I just wanted to say that your knowledge and kindness that you show in your website and on flickr is greatly appreciated. I’m a believer in the “treating others the way you want to be treated”, and I think you’ll continue to have great success with the way you act on here. You have great photos and great information. I have only had a camera for 5 months but you inspire me to learn EVERYDAY possible to try and better myself. Thank you for your time. Best of luck.
May 22nd, 2009 00:38 | Photographer sydney
hi.. this so wonderful great photos., i love those.its very useful principles.
June 5th, 2009 00:26 | Sasha
Wow….I’m a bit speechless right now! your photography is AMAZING, you made me want to take a world tour to all these place. I came across your page completely by accident BUT I am so glad i did because these photos are just simply amazing. I was actually wondering if you have more, or is there a gallery that you have?
I love this, looking at these kind of photos makes my imagination go wild and I love it, these places themselves are beautiful I think I might visit them now =]
Thank you for your beautiful photography it really does brighten up a persons day, like mine.
Hope you can respond and let me know if you have more photos or a gallery.
June 6th, 2009 00:49 | Rut Klempan
Thank you Trey for all your amazing photographs and tutorials etc..
I do not do any HDR, I prefer my shadows and mystique, but perhaps I should give it a try, I personally think they can be overdone.
You must have some magic wings for traveling all over the globe…
Thanks again
Rut Klempan (born and raised in Iceland)
July 4th, 2009 21:40 | 10 Principles of Beautiful Photography | Squico
[...] In: Design inspiration 5 Jul 2009 Go to Source [...]
July 9th, 2009 21:40 | Madeline
#1-10 make sure you use way too much Photoshop, so that it looks completely different than the original photo. And don’t forget the texture layers!
July 9th, 2009 21:57 | Sam
Just like how there is a fine line between a good photograph and a great one there is a fine line between a PHOTOGRAPH and an ILLUSTRATION.
July 12th, 2009 09:46 | LS
Thanks for giving my indecisive mind a push. That tough, no options route was what I needed.
July 16th, 2009 14:50 | Katie V
You know that song by Allison Krauss? It goes “now that I found you I can’t let you go…”
I just found out about this HDR deal cause I accidentally ran into one of your pics on flickr. Guess I have been under a rock – THANKS!!
July 28th, 2009 10:43 | LILI
hermosas fotos, muy creativas y tomadas algunas desde ángulos insospechados…
felicidades por tanta creatividad y vision..!!!
August 11th, 2009 08:29 | Deyson
I would like some recommendations on drawing books that you have enjoyed.
Thank you for all that you have shared with us.
August 11th, 2009 09:40 | Stuck In Customs
Thanks everyone – very kind of you.
Deyson – try “Drawing for the Right Side of the Brain”
August 22nd, 2009 14:38 | Nothing in life is worth doing unless you are going to be serious about it « ????
[...] ??????????????????????????????????Trey???????HDR???????????????????? (Trey???Photoshop???HDR??????????PS??????)??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Trey??????”10 Principles of Beautiful Photography“????????: [...]
August 23rd, 2009 03:46 | Nothing in life is worth doing unless you are going to be serious about it « ????
[...] ??????????????????????????????????Trey???????HDR???????????????????? (Trey???Photoshop???HDR??????????PS??????)??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Trey??????”10 Principles of Beautiful Photography“????????: [...]
September 9th, 2009 11:20 | David (@kettlepot)
great post! very interesting (and funny) with some good tips. thanks!
September 11th, 2009 07:33 | SDuffyPhotography.blog » Blog Archive » Friday Link Love – 09/11/09
[...] Trey Ratcliff, perhaps the most well known travel and HDR photographer, has written a post detailing his 10 Principles of Beautiful Photography. [...]
September 12th, 2009 07:24 | www.kluens.co.uk
Amazing read, thank you for taking the time.
I found points 1 & 8 very insightful and they will definitely stick in my mind whenever I use my camera.
October 8th, 2009 05:23 | Elf Evans
Vern nicely put and inspirational.
October 8th, 2009 05:25 | Elf Evans
Very nicely put and inspirational.
October 14th, 2009 02:00 | Kelvin
Thank you
A reminder of the creative energy that dwells within each of us. A world of infinite possibilities, memories just itching to be shared. Thank you for sharing
October 28th, 2009 12:39 | Brandy Warunee Saenwangsee
All pictures look amazing and inspirational!
October 28th, 2009 15:00 | Chuck
Very True !
October 28th, 2009 16:35 | Tom
Very inspiring and informative, and I thank you for taking the time to provide these tips. And if you really want to learn to draw, get Betty Edwards’ book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. That’s how I learned, and it is almost as amazing as your photos!
November 11th, 2009 05:32 | Jonas
Appreciate the article. A couple thoughts:
(1) While it is true in one sense that HDR photos show us more “what the eye sees,” because the pupil of the eye does change diameter to pick up more color information while surveying a scene, there is an obvious alter-effect going on here. Many of the photos above, while providing more information for the scene, also bring to mind 3-D gaming graphics, and computer-generated graphics on movies. This is not precisely in line with “what the eye sees.” It might be more like, “what the eye sees when looking at a 3d model of ‘The Bridge of Unholy Death’ as prepared for the [insert title] movie in November 2009.”
(2) There are a plethora of photography markets and purposes. There is no particular reason to emphasize landscape photography. Some of us are so busy with portrait photography that “landscape” and “wide-angle” aren’t even in our daily vocabulary. Also, photography isn’t always required to be artistic either. And if it is, “what the camera sees in a single exposure” is sometimes the appropriate artistic communication intended by the artist rather than “what the eye sees while perusing a scene.” The latter is not, ipso-facto, the definition of better artwork.]
Thanks!
Jonas
November 12th, 2009 21:39 | wetanklets
Good article. Although i find the pictures too digitally tampered with. The colors look harsh and unnatural a lot of times. Imperfection in photographs is a good thing, the noise and natural inconsistencies add to the personality of the photo. By eliminating that, pictures just bleed away into artificiality.
November 23rd, 2009 00:14 | article/site review « UNO Advanced Photography Blog
[...] http://www.stuckincustoms.com/10-principles-of-beautiful-photography/ [...]
November 30th, 2009 18:49 | linda
A lot of these photos look fake, sorry.
November 30th, 2009 21:46 | jan
Hi,
Very thought provoking – however I like my evocation to be based on aesthetacs rather than shock. There’s a lot of evocation here, a lot of aesthetics, but I still find buildings lying down when they don’t have to a bit of a shock. Internals, are a delight, but when it comes to the external angles I like using humanoid perspective correction, or making it into a pano. Leave that kind of perspective to the bugs, I say.
Best of luck and all good wishes for your artistic/philosophical development.
Jan.
Jan.
December 2nd, 2009 10:33 | Quentin
I fine that HDR is an over-rated technique that induces nausea, much as does artificial foodstuffs. HDR is nothing more than eye candy – you soon get sick of it.
Incidentally, if you really want a proper camera, rather than buying a digital box of tricks may I suggest you treat yourself to a medium format camera and learn how to use it by joining a decent film photography club.
December 11th, 2009 11:37 | Paul
Thanks Trey!
Another great read.
“…recursive objective self-objectivity…”. Is that like being a “creative perfectionist”?
January 1st, 2010 20:28 | Tory
So I am curious… Why heavily photoshop such great photos? Your photos are very nice but they are so heavily photoshopped that they look unreal.
Just an opinion from a friendly photographer.
January 3rd, 2010 14:33 | Alejandra
Trey me gustaria adquir el paquete de texturas, el básico, pero me gustaria saber que texturas trae este paquete, sería posible saberlo? Sus fotos son espectaculares. Gracias por sus consejos.
January 4th, 2010 14:46 | Andrew
How do you have time for this?
What do you do for a living.
January 21st, 2010 22:09 | Gregg
Trey, you have shown me the true beauty of hdr images. Before I visited your website, I viewed hdr photos as over-produced fake photography. But now that I have visited your website I have found that hdr photos add depth to photos like nothing else. Thank you very much and please keep up the photo tutorials.