Is everything that is in your photograph contributing to its impact?

Is there anything in the frame that if removed would make it a more powerful image to look at? What I work to do with my photography is to remove anything from the frame that isn’t contributing to its story. Including color. If there is something in the frame that isn’t adding to it then I chop it out. Off with it’s head so to speak.

Hopefully I’m seeing it before I click. In-camera. Awareness of seeing that early comes with practice and after taking many thousands of photographs. You can’t short-cut that stuff. You can of course get yourself out of trouble here and there with photoshop but working to see this stuff in-camera is one of the best practices you could adopt especially if you are just starting out.

When The Mess is Part of the Story

And this isn’t about tidying up the frame and removing the mess, i.e. a pair of shoes that are in the corner of the frame. That’s not what I’m talking about here. It may be the messiest frame in the world and the mess is part of the story you are telling with the photograph.

If your subject is two lovers kissing in a crowded Oxford Street then surely the mass of people in and around them is contributing to the story. If however your two lovers are kissing on the top of Primrose Hill and a lady is walking with a dog in the far distance then she may be a distraction.

What is the Story of this Shot?

It’s up to each of us to determine the impact the image will have when we begin to question removing things from the frame. When I’m shooting bridal prep at weddings the girls will always start tidying up when I enter the room as they think that is what’s required. A messy room is fine with me in bridal prep, unless … it isn’t.

What is the story of this shot? Photography is all about subtracting until we are left with the most powerful image possible. Oh by the way this is not about getting our images back into photoshop and going crazy with the clone stamp tool amputating the heart and soul of our work. It’s about awareness and feeling out the story of the image. Every photograph has a story. Whether we like it or not.

I want my Image to Resonate in an Instant

And so what about colour and black and white? For me it’s the same. If colour is contributing it stays. The long and short of it is I want my image to resonate in an instant if possible. There are some images that warrant taking more time to figure out, I understand that, possibly they’re working in a more abstract way, but mostly I don’t want anything to distract from the main subject/s of the photograph.

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