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Everyone has digital photographs stored on their computer. Let's use them to create something incredible! The ranking of Advanced, Medium, and Easy are based on the amount of preparation time, tutorial reading, and basic understanding before making the final image product. (Music by Bob Székely of Shrouded Oracle)
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Tutorials are neat for making new types if images. But why are images so important to us? The simple answer is that pictures (imagery) spans all languages and cultures. You certainly don't need to know someone's language to show them your photographs. Remember above all, that a picture may be worth a thousand words BUT those words are subjective to who is doing the viewing. That changes everything! Below are different ways you can view pictures and different uses for pictures. In my view there are multiple ways of looking at the same image. You can become multiple people when looking at an .
In what ways do we as photographers and viewers vary? 1) The story teller is first. One way to look at an image is to think about the story and subject in the image. What story does it tell or what does it mean to you? I mean, who cares if it's blurry, over-compressed, too small or whatever...it's got a story. This is the category of most family pictures or when the person taking the picture gets wrapped up in the fun of taking it. 2) The pragmatic-viewer or analyst. These are image nuts who will break the image down by the sharpness quality and talk about how the image was cropped and what they thought about the lighting. They are asking what was the person doing or thinking when they took or made a product with this photograph? In this case they are more interested in the make-up or execution of the image than the story itself. They may notice that your watch is missing by the lines on your hand in the photograph. They are driven nuts by the fact that you took a picture of a building and the building is slanted in the shot but not on purpose. They have moved past the basic story and are trying to understand it better by content and details in the scene. 3) The imagery scientists audience. These are the folks who focus on the hardware and digital information along with what you made it with. Do you have chromatic aberations in the image? They care about this purple fringe surrounding your relatives head is from the sunlight and caused by your lens. Tell them what lens or conditions the image was taken under and they will analyze your hardware to explain your pictures. They are asking what camera or lens the photographer was using when they took this image? The hardware had a great deal to do with how the image turned out. These people sometimes overlap with the pragmatic viewers. They have told the story well and are looking to improve on how to get to the next level. A great photographer or artist probably has all three of these people in them and can switch between them while remaining professional to other artists and photographers not yet at their level. Hopefully you are this person. These last two types of people help the first get the best story possible. Oh we didn't mention Whiners. You know these people? Don't matter what you photograph they are never happy. Their job in the world is to slam dunk an image and drone on for hours about how film is so coming back, baby! Okay, we didn't mention these guys because you don't want to become one. Get out there and create some positive visual energy! . What information can images relay once they are taken? Tell a story: Images of many places I have been tell a story in and of themselves. They tell of my favorite locations. They tell of where I frequent to get things done or escape for a quiet refuge. Comparison Facts (Change detection) : Pictures taken of city locations both yesterday and today tell of the change that has taken place. As land is sold off in Colorado these images of the plains areas will be images of the past. Also pictures of my old house have occasionally reminded me what appearance it had when I moved in. They remind me how the wallpaper used to look before a room was remodeled. This may not even have been the reason why the pictures were taken. Pictures of my nephews showed me just how tall they were compared to a few years ago. I may know this by things I know like the hights of a doorway. Since the doorways hight is the same, I know how tall they were that year. The mind can forget many things but images reinforce memories with facts.
Set a mood: The bright cyan colors of my site may evoke an island shore. The deep reds of my site may conjure more dark and dangerous feelings. The warmth of a skin tone may widen eyes with the admiration of the persons appearance. Evoke an idea: The soaring bird pictures I’ve photographed or drawn may symbolize freedom or ideas without boundaries. Illustrate relationships: A family tree shows relationships of family members. In a glance it tells of family ties and asks deeper questions about family members. Explain a process: Flow diagram images can communicate how steps in a tutorial are carried out. Pinpoint Locations: Overview pictures of my house or maps can indicate locations and relationships to other places in the community. Identify: Images can help curious folks figure out what their favorite author looks like. They can help pick out what family members who have past look like in historical images. Inspire! Images and how to create images may make you passionate about something visual. Go forward and create cool pictures!
What else can images be used for? Written by Tracy Rose and Updated May 2008 |
