Greetings reader,
As you may, or more likely may not, know that I like to spend quite a bit of my downtime at work on Reddit. I was first drawn to the website in late 2018, by the r/photocritique sub-Reddit, and it remained a favourite of mine for a few years. While I loved giving feedback from time to time on other photography sites, I found myself spending more time on Reddit, as I felt the users there were actively seeking critiques. On top of that I find a lot of the work suffers from some of the same problems mine did, not too long ago. One word that tends to pop up a lot in my feedback is “intent”. There are a lot of rules in photography, all of which can either be followed or broken to various degrees. However, to me the difference between an image that “works” and one that “doesn’t work”, is how clear the intent behind each decision is conveyed. For me, any location, any subject, and any style can work, so long as the image has been executed with a clear intent. Now, I know, I’ve said the word “intent” about 300 times without explaining what I mean, so i’ll break it down into two categories starting with:
1) Shooting with intent - For me, this is one of the most important differences between an experienced photographer and an inexperienced one. If you talk to experienced shooters, I’m almost certain a large number of them will tell you they rarely press the shutter without a general idea of what the end product is going to look like. When I’m shooting, I more or less have the same mentality. For example, if I’m shooting an image with a black and white conversion in mind, I’ll consider the contrast within the scene, and try to use it in the most effective way. Rather than shooting an image and just converting it later, I visualize the scene in black and white as I’m shooting it. However these don’t always work out as intended and I’m never married to my original vision til death do us part. Sometimes they turn out completely different, because of an adjustment I made in post that suddenly helps me see the scene in a different way. This most often happens with my city abstracts. However, the majority of the time, even my abstract images turn out the way I originally envisioned. So, why is shooting with intent so important? Well a few reasons, which means it’s time for a list within a list.
It helps you frame the image appropriately. One of the biggest mistakes I used to make was not considering the crop I was going to use. This meant that I would often shoot the image with no breathing room. Now, I always shoot a little bit wider than I need, which gives me more freedom to make any minor changes I might come across along the creative process. This also comes in handy, when adjusting the lines and leveling the image. Often, if you shoot too tight adjusting the angles/lines or leveling the image can result in a loss of some elements, or it can throw off the composition/framing. Shooting wider ensures you can make these adjustments and still end up with the image you envisioned.
It helps you use the elements with in your frame appropriately. One of the biggest mistakes I see from new photographers is an image that has elements that don’t seem to have any kind of cohesion within the frame. It’s not uncommon for me to pop onto Reddit and quickly stumble upon a single image that looks like 3 separate images jumbled together, as the elements within the frame have no connection to one another. Taking a moment to really visualize the scene as a finished image can help you break it down into its components and realize what is or is not adding to the image, as a whole.
It helps you clean up the frame. Another common mistake I see is not putting yourself in the right position to get a clean frame. Other than “intent”, the other most commonly used pieces of advice I give is “if you had taken one step to the left/right…” Scenes can be overwhelming, but it’s important to avoid needless distractions which could have been easily removed by taking a single step in any direction. The easiest way to avoid this is to take a picture, and check it in detail. This means checking the details within the image, such as the edges of the frame. On the other hand, if you intend to clone something out in Photoshop, you can shoot the image with that element already erased in your mind. Sometimes it’s impossible to get an angle that’s high enough to cut out some branches or poles popping into the frame, so understanding you can remove them in post, is an advantage of visualizing the scene as a finished product.
It helps you consider the light. Another big problem I see people struggling with is lighting. So often I see an interesting scene, but it lacks the necessary light to make it pop. Or the light is there, but the photographer didn’t consider the contrast, which results in blown highlights. Understanding what you want your image to look like will help you consider things like exposure blending and even focus stacking. Also, if you are going for a specific look, you may want to overexpose specific parts of he image, so knowing that intent before you shoot can prevent you from having to do extra work in post, which leads me to the final point.
It helps you with the editing process. I often hear people saying things like “save it in post”, but if you shoot with a clear intent, you don’t have to go around saving images in post, rather you can spend more time enhancing them in post. I think I can count on one hand the number of photos in my portfolio that were “saved in post”, same goes for pictures I’ve sold as art prints… wait, can you count to zero on one hand, or is that no hands?
2) Editing with intent - the second part of photography, which I already mentioned above, is post processing. Without a doubt the biggest issue I see with people learning to edit is a lack of intent behind their choices. There’s no bigger offender of this than what I consider to be my least liked editing choice, the teal sky. I don’t know who started this trend, but I don’t think we can be friends (I’m sure they’re losing sleep over that one). That’s not to say I hate all images with teal skies, but much like a “Dutch Angle”, there’s a time and place for everything. More times than I can count in a day, I see an image on Instagram or Reddit, where the person has taken a picture of a scene, and just moved the blue hue slider to the left, with no intent. To be clear, in my opinion, “I think it looks cool” isn’t what I would consider a good intent. I’m not going to be hyperbolic and say “this is the death of good editing”, but it does often ruin an image for me, regardless of the other elements. However, the dreaded teal sky isn’t the only offender (looking at you “Cyberpunk Tokyo”). While that one could be considered more of a trend-chasing edit, sometimes longstanding editing choices fall victim to this same issue. I often see images converted to black and white, for no other reason than it’s what other people do or to make it “look artistic”. When it comes to editing an image for black and white, it usually helps if the picture was originally shot with that kind of edit in mind. When I shoot in black and white, I pay extra attention to things like contrast, and in some cases I intentionally overexpose some areas of the image. So, what do I mean by editing with intent, and how can it help?
It helps you express or emphasize a feeling/atmosphere within your image. I just finished talking about how I dislike teal skies, but the full truth is that I dislike teal skies that are needlessly added to landscape or cityscape images. If they’re used to enhance an image, for example a dystopian theme or a surreal image, then I actually like them. However, slapping a teal sky on your image of some mountains and a lake, doesn’t make it surreal, it makes it some mountains and lake with a teal sky. I often use my editing software to enhance the color the scene provided to me, since RAW images tend to lose a bit of the natural color. This means, for example, I make editing choices to enhance the elements that come with a sunset, such as adding a touch of orange/yellow to help the viewer feel the warmth of the setting sun. That’s not to say all of your edits have to look realistic, go as wild as you like, but be sure that each choice leads towards the image you intend to make.
It can help you guide the viewer to where they need to be looking. I typically do this by using local adjustments to make points of interest brighter, or to add depth to an image. If you have an idea of where you want to the viewer to be looking, then you can use your tools to assist them. All too often, I see an image and my first thought is “what am I supposed to be looking at?” or “what’s the focus?” While a lot of this has to do with shooting with intent, a well shot image can be enhanced when accompanied by a good edit.
It enhances the image. I know this one is about as simple as they come, but when you edit an image with a clear intent, it’s the easiest way to bring a RAW image to its full potential. I’ll add a list of questions to ask yourself below, to help with this, but the basic question you want to ask is “why am I making this edit?”
Perhaps, at some point, I’ll write a post about how you know when your photo has “failed”, as I feel it goes hand in hand with bad editing and not shooting with a clear intent. To wrap everything up nicely, there’s no guarantee that every image you envision, shoot, and edit will turn out exactly as you imagined it, or even all that good, but if you do everything with a clear intent, the chances are much greater. To help achieve this I recommend asking yourself a few questions, when shooting and editing in no particular order:
When shooting:
What is the focus of this image?
Why am I shooting this image?
What settings work best for this scene?
How do the elements within my frame enhance the focus or scene?
Are there any distractions?
What crop am I going with for this shot?
Does this location benefit from vertical or horizontal shot?
When editing:
Why am I making these editing choices?
How do these edits enhance the image?
How can I guide the viewer’s eyes with local edits?
Of course, there a lot more questions you could ask, but start with these, and you’ll start to think more critically about how, and what, you shoot. Just remember that shooting with intent and editing intent go together to enhance each other, much like pineapple on a pepperoni pizza - and that is a hill I’m willing to die on.
Thanks for reading.