I'm about to do a workshop on getting outside the box using the "45
minutes shooting whatever in a very small space" exercise.
It's a great example of Mary Oliver's "standing still learning to be
astonished".
The goal is to get the brain to focus. The human brain isn't
designed to jump immediately into seeing what's in front of us. It's
designed to constantly be monitoring everything around us, looking
for trouble. So we have to give ourselves time to stop looking for
trouble and start seeing details.
As for getting the items we see into pleasing arrangments, that's
where you turn to your personal taste and hope somewhere, someone
else in the world shares it. You can study what others have decided
is pleasing, and it's very useful to do so. You might discover that
you share their taste.
And if you discover that you don't you might be able to figure out
what you actively find unsatisfactory. From there you can maybe move
on to what you find satisfactory and you're in luck for a while,
until some other tiresome influence comes and messes up what you
thought you had down, or until you get bored.
And yes, there are plenty of people who like to make rules. Check
with your local portrait/wedding/camera club shooters for them.
--
Emily L. Ferguson
mailto:elf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
508-563-6822
New England landscapes, wooden boats and races
http://www.landsedgephoto.com
http://e-and-s.instaproofs.com/
