JPG Magazine: Stories: How To: Perspective

Perspective

By b. hinton

26 January 2008

I believe a great photographer is someone who sees the world differently than most people. Everyone has seen the sunset, the baby, the Bluebird; a great photographer sees the way the rock is transformed by the morning's first rays or, the contrast of the baby's tiny fingers compared with his father's.

When a person sees themself in a portrait and makes the comment, "You made me look pretty" what they are really saying is, "You made me see the beauty in me". The ability to unlock that is a gift. Beauty is everywhere. Not everyone sees it.

How you get 'perspective' is to just get out of the car, stand in the rain, lie down in the street, go into the alley, or whatever else takes you outside the norm. Take pictures of something you don't find all that interesting and make it interesting. Change the light, the angle, the time of day (or night), wet, dry, upside down, inside out, texture, motion, the possibilities are endless.

At the beach, one day, I saw a timber washed up on the sand. I thought it was beautiful just lying there. I took the shot, reviewed it on my camera screen and thought, "There's nothing special about that!" Then I got down on my belly and took another shot with the sand in the forground. What a difference! Now it took on the appearance of a lone artifact in an unknown desert. Who knew three feet could make this piece of wood interesting.

I guess everyone looks at things different. Some see the beauty in an object that others don't. The object is always beatiful to the photographer. What sets the great ones apart is the ability to unwrap that beauty for all the world to see.

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