In a way, this image is three distinct things: Something old, something new, and something borrowed. (All it’s missing from the classic wedding adage is something blue, but maybe that’s for another time.) It was a bit of an experiment for me and an inadvertent treading on new ground, while also calling back to the type of image I have been creating for years and quite enjoy revisiting on a pretty regular basis. Let’s go through each one, shall we?
Something old: The basic composition here is one that I have been doing for years, even including last week’s shot. This elements here are all simple, basic, and in my opinion, highly effective. You just can’t go wrong with a single clearly-distinguishable subject in the foreground and slightly to the side, along with a blurry background to add additional context. You can take this kind of shot with almost any camera, even a cell phone if you have enough physical distance between the subject and the background. (Or if you’re into AI-based image trickery and manipulation like the latest phones can do, but I can promise you all you’re seeing in the image above is simple light and physics. No AI-anything.) The trick is to figure out how to position yourself with respect to the subject, not to mention basics like lighting, aperture, and other elements of exposure. But despite the simplicity, this is the kind of picture I always enjoy revisiting over time–especially after a summer of more experimental photography.
Something new: I usually try to get even exposures in my images, with a good balance of light and shadows. You know, the kind with a histogram that’s just a simple hill without any extremes along the spectrum. This image is, in that respect, radically different from what I normally shoot. The subject is properly exposed, but the background is significantly brighter. Not overexposed–well, not exactly, though some could argue otherwise–but just way brighter than the subject. It’s a concept called high key photography and one that I generally shy away from, probably because it’s a little trickier to pull off well. But in this case I think it works great, and I’m really happy with what I was able to get.
Something borrowed: A few months ago I took this shot in my neighbor’s yard after a decent rain, and the compositional elements have kind of stuck with me ever since. Notably, the idea that there is one clear subject in the foreground positioned at an angle, and a complementary subject in the background facing the opposite angle. So when I found myself in the formal gardens at OSU looking at this Melinis minutiflora plant, I thought I would use the opportunity to build on the shot I took earlier in the year. I moved myself around until I found a good vantage point where I could create kind of an echo of the earlier picture, and I must say, I really like the result.
So there you have it, a fun photo to take where I built on some existing skills and tried something new too. Kind of the essence of why I enjoy photography so much :)
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