Chapter 4

The Mindful Photographer

Looking for light : p83

“Recently, we went away for a bit of winter sun. My headspace was such that one afternoon, all I wanted to do was hide in the hotel room.
But I noticed an interesting shadow outside our window. It was around 4pm and the sun was getting lower and lower, ready to wave goodbye to the day.
The light was hitting a tree which in turn, projected a dark stretching shadow of branches across the wall.
Jasmine was feeding the birds that swooped and fluttered around, their own shadows dancing alongside…” 

Creative iPhone exposures : p175

MAKE A CREATIVE EXPOSURE WITH YOUR IPHONE

1) Find a place in your home where there is a patch of light coming through bright and strong. Make sure you choose a scene where there is also some shadow next to the bright highlights. You could look for some light cast by blinds on the floor or find a plant where the sun is hitting only some leaves, leaving others in shade. 

2) Now hold your phone up to photograph it. You’ll likely notice that the camera will struggle at first, assuming that you want want to reveal the detail of the shadows. The bright parts will look overexposed and the whole thing will look pretty bad. 

3) Keeping your camera where it is, tap the screen to lock your focus and exposure. 

4) Now drag your fingers downwards. This lowers your exposure. Watch as the shadows get darker, the detail in them falling away. Those bright parts are now properly exposed. 

5) Go ahead and snap that photo, then keep practising with other light pockets around your home. Go on a light hunt. 

“The Backlight Dance” : p177

1) During golden hour, shoot with the sun behind your subject and look for something that can block some of the light. e.g. a tree, a house, a mountain or your subject themselves. 

2) Using your DSLR in manual mode, meter for the elements in your frame that you would like to expose for and then make very small corrections with your body so that that the sun is peaking through at varying degrees. Find the sweet spot by dancing the backlight dance, shooting a few frames here and there as you go. Bend your knees, bob this way and that until there is just enough, and not too much light in your frame. Play. Experiment. Dance. 

“Triangles everywhere” : p180

Incorporating triangles is a great way to fill your frame, create balance and add movement in your images. Look at some of your favourite photos and notice how your eye moves around the frame. Pay attention to where your eye naturally lands first, then notice where it goes next. 
More on triangles can be found in this great Eric Kim article.