When I started getting serious about photography, I stopped concentrating on gear and started concentrating on developing a photographic eye. Unfortunately I was not born with the gift of visual acuity. I am glad to report that it is something you can learn.
One of my early teachers used self-assignments to help move me along my path. And three of those assignments rolled into one. I first did these decades ago. Every once in a while to brush up on my visualization, I will do them even now. And even thought these are some of the oldest lessons I attempted, they now still help me to inform my photographic vision.
If you’d like to “see” better, set out to do all three of these photographic assignments in the next month. Think of it as exercise. You work out, and you feel better. Now we’re going to train your eye by giving it something specific to look for. You might be surprised to find out how many things you can come up with that meet this assignment’s criteria.
In no particular order…
Photo Copyright Scott Bourne
Circles
Go on a walk around your neighborhood, your local park, your city center or anyplace else and simply concentrate on finding circles. Look for them in big and small places, in obvious and less obvious places. Photograph for at least two hours shooting every circle you see. Don’t worry about anything other than finding the circle. Don’t try to make fine art. Just look for the circles. Of course, you want to try for the right exposure, good composition, etc., but the key to this task is learning to see.
Photo Copyright Scott Bourne
Color
Yep – color as a subject. Look for juxtaposition in color, look for bright colors, dull colors, interesting colors, odd colors. Looking for color seems easy on its face but it can be hard, especially if you’ve never considered color as a subject all by itself. Color for color’s sake is this task.
Photo Copyright Scott Bourne
Leading Lines
Leading lines are strong compositional elements that photographers can use like a language. They can guide the viewer of the photograph to a specific point where the image-maker wants the viewer’s eye to rest. Nature as well as man-made objects are often full of interesting, leading lines. Compile a series of photographs that show leading lines and your eye will eventually do this as second nature.
This self-assignment will only be valuable to you if you actually go and do it. Get off the couch and go shoot. Doesn’t matter where, just shoot. And don’t simply look for these images in your existing portfolio. As photographers in the digital age, many of us spend too much time behind a computer with our finger on the mouse rather than the shutter button. Get out there and shoot and upload all your pictures to your favorite hosting service. Then come back here and post just your name and a link and everyone can see how you handled the assignment.
Have fun and know that I am rooting for you.
This Post Sponsored by:
Perfectly Clear for Photoshop or Lightroom is all about saving you time so you can focus on doing what you love best. Get a free trial of the award winning plug-in here.
Lighting Survey. Take the chance to win an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus. Respond to a 5 minute survey regarding lighting equipment for photographers — http://bit.ly/lightingsurvey
Polarr photo editor: All the pro tools, in one place. Polarr brings the most advanced toolset right to your mobile. With curves, dehaze, denoise, custom filters, and more, Polarr makes it easy to edit online or offline. Get it free at https://www.polarr.co/
The HDR Learning Center. Check out new ways to use High Dynamic Range photography to make compelling images. Free tutorials and posts to get results. Produced in partnership with HDRsoft
Arizona Highways Photo Workshops. For more than 30 years, Arizona Highway Photo Workshops has been committed to helping photographers find inspiring destinations, quality education and spectacular images. Get more information (and enter our contest) at http://www.ahpw.org/FindIt/
Platypod Pro™– the world’s most compact camera support. Use it with your ballhead in place of a tripod. Click here for more info — http://bit.ly/platypodpro
lynda.com Learn photography anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace—from bite-sized tutorials to comprehensive courses. Try lynda.com free for 10 days by visiting lynda.com/Photofocus
Filed under: Photography, Shooting Tagged: Scott Bourne, Three Ways To Improve Your Photographic Eye 
