Freo Graphic

FREO GRAPHIC May 2021 7 I was just thinking today, that if someone asked me - what is required to make a great photograph? Then I’d have to come up with a top ten list of ‘things’ that I think contribute to making a good photo. 1. Being there. You must have heard the term ‘f8 and be there’? Well, it’s the essence of a good photo. Being in the right place at the right time, or in the case of landscape photography, recognising a good composition, and being submerged in beautiful light 2. Recognising the moment. Knowing that right here, right now, the light and the subject matter are combining to provide something you feel inspired to capture. 3. Being open to ‘anything can happen’. Often I’ve found photographers so intent on making an image, and rooted to the spot, that they can’t see the wood for the trees. If they only let themselves ‘go’ and disengage from the process of making a picture, perhaps they will FREO INFO What is required to make a great Photograph? From one of Pat’s favourite photographers - Bruce Percy (2008) (https://www.brucepercy.co.uk/blog/?category=Your+camera+does+not+matter) see aspects they didn’t notice, or will research / roam the location they are in. I remember on one workshop taking a picture of some horses below the Cuernos in Torres del Paine. The composition was so obvious to me, yet a participant of my trip said to me afterwards ‘I didn’t see it’. And I’m sure it’s because they were so wrapped up in capturing what they were trying to ‘make work’ that they missed what was being offered to them. 4. Being able to recognise a good composition. Some people instinctively know when a composition works and just go to it like a duck to water. Others have to experiment over time to discover what lenses work and what sort of compositions work too. Nothing is cast in stone and each person has their own ‘vision’. Some are more focused / tuned than others.