The photographic process can be divided into two parts: making the pictures and dealing with the pictures. Both are equally important for many reasons, something I would like to discuss later. I want to walk through the sorting and selecting process.
(I’m trying to be more consistent with this whole blog thing. The Inksie Journal is a major part of what I do for work. I haven’t done much writing, so this is good practice. Also, if I redesign the blog I need to be using it. You know all those people that start something but never see it through? And page views are dramatically up, which I find odd. Gotta keep ’em coming.)
I work for an apparel-embellishing company. The other day we received a large shipment of American Apparel boxes. Multiples can create a strong sense of unity in a photograph, which basically makes it more interesting to look at. This is what I was thinking when I picked up the camera.
The following images walk through my sorting process. I have included direct commentary that outlines my thoughts.
The first image is underexposed, as I didn’t care to meter. A quick look at the playback, and the problem is apparent. The fix:
This is witty, and plays with the edge of the frame. My coworker, Dave, is hauling the boxes into our warehouse. He doesn’t really want to make two trips with the box-roller, so he stacks the boxes one atop the next. (He also is keenly aware of me shooting away.) This makes for an exaggerated effect – a leaning tower of boxes – that I found photographically interesting.
I take some more images to check exposure and capture the environment.
These photos aren’t that great because they aren’t as interesting. People as a subject always make better photos. Also, a person standing next to the boxes gives a sense of scale.
There is one more box to add to the stack:
This is one of my favorite images from the set. Dave is caught in the perfect moment of action. This image speaks of the struggles of man versus box – of work. The only thing that doesn’t much work in this image is Dave’s foot at the edge of the frame. This creates tension and pulls the viewer’s gaze away from where it should be, the top box and Dave. I wish I had aimed the camera a bit lower.
The top box nearly falls, which makes for a decent image:
I can’t seem to hold the damn camera straight, which is the case in most of these images. Dave goes inside to open the warehouse door. I move in and try some more vertical photos of just the boxes, which don’t seem to work at all.
I step back to take some more, and am surprised to find something new wander into the frame:
Her expression of surprise makes the image. The photograph is simple: a person and a stack of boxes. Simple is good. The moment feels candid.
I photograph Dave opening the door. These images are more complex because the opened warehouse adds dimension to the image, but this dimension is visually confusing. Dave no longer stands out, which is bad.
Dave struggles with the tower and removes boxes from the top. I move closer to Dave and try and get into the action:
This doesn’t work so well. Dave isn’t isolated from the background, and the lights inside the warehouse are distracting. Also, the boxes have little context. The situation looks more impressive in other images because we see more.
I take a few steps back to capture Dave and all the boxes. I get this sequence:
Nothing stands out to me in this sequence. The lighting is downright bad. The tower of boxes looks more interesting in comparison.
I find that selecting a final image is a process of elimination. I like the image of Dave leaving the frame, Dave jumping, and the woman looking at the boxes. Dave leaving the frame is fun, but feels accidental and half-way. In the jumping picture the action is right but the foot on the edge is distracting. The woman in red isn’t horizontally level, but the expression is good. I feel like this one makes the cut.
In my process this photo goes on to the next stage of editing while the rest sit on a hard drive. I like to sort through photos some time after taking them; I find myself more objective after a week or so. And that’s that.
Have an opinion? An idea? A pulse? Leave me a comment! I want to know who you mysterious readers are. If you have any thoughts, don’t be shy.
Photographer Martin Schoeller’s spread in National Geographic (December 2009) features portraits of an African nomadic group.
