Cora Banek - Learning to Photograph, Volume 2

Learning to Photograph

Volume 2

Cora Banek, Georg Banek

Cora and Georg Banek (www.artepictura.de)

Editor: Gerhard Rossbach

Copyeditor: Jeanne Hansen/Maggie Yates

Translator: David Schlesinger

Layout: Cora Banek

Cover Design: Helmut Kraus, www.exclam.de

Printer: Everbest Printing Co. Ltd through Four Colour Print Group, Louisville, Kentucky

Printed in China

ISBN 978-1-937538-21-7

1st Edition 2013

2013 by Cora and Georg Banek

Rocky Nook Inc.

802 East Cota St., 3rd Floor

Santa Barbara, CA 93103

www.rockynook.com

Copyright 2011 by dpunkt.verlag GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.

Title of the German original: Fotografieren lernen, Band 2: Bildgestaltung und Bildsprache

ISBN 978-3-89864-699-4

Translation Copyright 2013 by Rocky Nook. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Banek, Cora, 1981

[Fotografieren lernen. English]

Learning to photograph / by Cora Banek, Georg Banek. -- 1st edition. volumes cm

Translation of: Fotografieren lernen.

ISBN 978-1-937538-21-7 (softcover : acid-free paper : volume 2)

1. Photography. I. Banek, Georg, 1969- II. Title.

TR146.B2713 2013

770--dc23

2012051146

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Sebastopol, CA 95472

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This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Dear Reader,

If you listen in on conversations between photographers, it would be easy to get the impression that the following statement is true: eighty percent of photography is technical.The rest is visual design. Most discourse centers on the technology of photography instead of the designbut it should be exactly the other way around.

There is no shortage of examples showing that photography has less to do with technology than we generally believe. Generations of professional and amateur photographers alike have created superb images with the simplest of toolsimages that draw our attention, that capture, move, and inform. Images that, in the best case, stay with us forever. These images are the product of intense perception at the moment of exposure. Visual design is the result of applying learned rules that are recalled in critical fractions of a second. Image design can also, however, last for minutes, hours, or days. In either case, design occurs when a photographer actively brings him- or herself into the process of creating an image. At this critical moment, the photographer becomes part of the photograph.

Its understandable that we talk a lot about technology, especially since the advent of digital photography; it is fascinating and we should know how to use our tools. However, I think its important to detach ourselves from technology and refocus our attention on whats really crucial and important: the subject and image composition. Cora and Georg Banek deserve thanks and recognition for this book and their efforts to reposition image design in our consciousness as an essential element of successful photographs.

Martin Breutmann

Publisher and editor-in-chief, fotoforum magazine

Were delighted that you are interested in one of the most exciting, versatile, and creative subjects of photography: visual design. Writing a book about this important but often-overlooked subject is of particular concern to us. It is a matter near our heartsimage design is a main focus of our own photography. There are countless resources that address the technology of photography, but often the photo tips or general rules for image design are unsatisfactory. Based on what weve seen, the resources that attempt to impart both an understanding of photographic design elements and practical advice are, at best, insufficient. Because personal taste plays such a large role in this area of photography, most approaches to the topic are general and broad. The lack of resources may also stem from the fact that it is difficult to characterize the relationship between conscious image design and its effect on the viewer.

We can certainly confirm the difficulty of structuring this information: it took us several attempts to organize the basic concepts we wanted to present in this book. When we tried to use the traditional concepts of image design, we found that cause was always being confused with effect, and different themes popped up in several places. Movement, for example, is just as much a stylistic tool as it is an effect of an image. As a design tool its just one aspect of image sharpness. Similarly, while most people understand that contrast refers to differences in brightness, it also plays a role in colors, shapes, surfaces, and lines. For reasons like this, we didnt limit our discussion of contrast to one chapterwe address it throughout the book, when appropriate.

We start this book with an overview of the basics. What are the variables that influence image design? How do they work together? What impact does human perception have on the process? How does this affect you as a photographer? Next, we focus on six influential aspects of image design: composition; shapes and lines; point of view; light; color and black-and-white; and sharpness and blur. Each of these subject areas has its own chapter where we introduce relevant elements of design, describe their applications, and analyze their effect on the image and the viewer. Consider, for instance, how the application of different formats (portrait, landscape, panorama, or square) can influence the design of an image. Then consider how the resulting photographs might affect the viewer in different ways.

In these six chapters, we discuss the effects of working with each design element individually. When discussing one design method, we keep all others unchanged. This approach is very theoretical, but its useful to examine what influence particular elements of image design have on the end result. In separate chapters, we examine the overall effect of an image as well as how to analyze and evaluate photographs. This knowledge is a critical foundation for creating quality images, and for assessing your own work and the work of others.

For each of these subjects we show you the relationship between cause and effect, rather than labeling practices as correct or incorrect. We wont tell you, If you do it this way, your images will turn out well. We are not familiar with your personal taste or your photographic goals, and since we know nothing about the ideas behind your images and the visual language you hope to convey, such judgments arent possible. With each new exposure, you need to decide for yourself which visual design tools you should employ, and how to use those tools to create results that align with your intention. It may sound complicated and difficult, but with practice it will become second nature, and youll be rewarded with pleasing images that engage and enthrall viewers.