Читать книгу Outdoor Photography онлайн

12 страница из 86

Seeing what’s actually in the viewfinder (or on the LCD screen) is a big step on the road from snapper to photographer. It doesn’t demand any extra equipment, nor does it require you to learn loads of technical stuff. It just takes a bit of thought. The more you think about it, the more you practise, the easier it gets. Before too long it’s practically automatic. And it’s a great leveller. The ‘gear freak’ who spends thousands on the latest state of the art equipment but neglects this aspect will get fewer really good shots than someone with a simple camera and an engaged brain.

Seeing what’s in the finder is fine, but an awful lot of time and trouble can be saved when you start to anticipate what you’ll see there. This is one aspect of what’s often called visualisation. This, too, you can develop easily and naturally – but only if you start by seeing.

Visualisation means that you can see your friend across the room and your brain can zoom in on the potential picture – but without even picking up the camera you know that you won’t actually get the shot from where you are. And if you can visualise the shot and work out where you actually need to stand, still without picking up the camera, you’ll be a lot less conspicuous too. This does improve the chances of getting a spontaneous shot, rather than one of someone reacting to the presence of the camera. A crowded room may be the antithesis of the wide open spaces, but the principle is just the same whatever you are photographing.