Making Pictures 2

For my next photograph, I tried to construct an image on a larger scale. I worked with the empty bottles and trash on my living room table, because the space was big and everything was pretty much completely set-up for the shoot.

The final image that I’m posting is only one of 43. What I really wanted to consider was the intricacies which define the final photograph. I really wanted to experiment with camera angles and perspective and how those factors contribute to a picture. I really wanted to have something to capture attention in the foreground, but be out of center focus in the larger image, and I wanted the background structures to mimic each other in form, which I think I kinda did. Once the image was constructed physically, I began to play around with the perspective of the shoot. Perspective is such a tricky factor in the make up of a photograph, because emphasis is totally dependent on how you’re seeing the image while you’re taking it.

It took me awhile before settling on the appropriate angle from which to shoot. However, once you accomplish that perfect perspective, you’re establishing that necessary relationship with the image – the photographer grants himself authority through his use of perspective. As some one who never really practiced photography before, these factors are very important, but subtle, facets of this art that aren’t really considered. As someone who mostly only views photos, I used to tend to place importance on the relationship between the image and the audience. Although, without considering perspective and the relationship intertwined within it, your resulting image doesn’t get the substance it needs.