Depth
The Second Response: Take Off — Jessica
I didn’t want this topic to end without getting in one more post.
What moves a photo beyond a snapshot? It’s the depth of thought that went into making it. I know, Cheryl, that we have talked before about how we work out the photograph in our minds and I don’t mean to say that unless you have the photo planned out before you pick up the camera that it isn’t anything more than a snapshot. Luck certainly plays a part in all of this too: capturing the right gesture, the right expression with the best composition, etc. But it’s the thought that has us dancing around the subject (literally or in our mind) and thinking through the impact that each choice we make (aperture, placement, focal length) has on the final product and meaning it will have for our viewers.
It takes a great deal of depth of knowledge to do that each time we pick up a camera. Technical, artistic and cultural knowledge all combine in an almost intuitive way as we click away and move closer to what we are trying to say or share.