How do you make really great photographs?

[Gary]

Gary,

Your work reminds me of Rich Clarkson or Brian Lanker.  Top news and sports photographers for a long time.

Thank you Tom.

[Frank Fremerey]

Gary:

Perspective is the position of the camera and the direction you point it to. Period.

Changes in focal length changes the crop.

All the best

[golunvolo]

That is not what I perceive. Maybe I´m misunderstanding.  Change in focal length has an effect in perspective. A huge one at that. Making the relationship between objects in the space change dramatically.

[Jakov Minić]

I agree with Paco
This image was taken with a 24mm lens. I don't see how it could be taken with a let's say 300mm lens?

[John Geerts]

Great shot, Jakov.

Yes, your equipment (Lens) is leading.  It makes a huge difference when photographing streetviews for instance with a 16mm or a 180mm.

[Frank Fremerey]

Of course you cannot shoot a 300 from that distance even if it was a
300 1:1 macro. That is because you cannot focus and you would only
Capture a hair and a tiny piece of skin.

For certain perspectives you need shorter or longer
Focal lengths. In your case you also aim at a huge
Field of view. You want to see the grass behind the cow
Not only one hair and a piece of skin.

If you want to shoot a house with correct geometrical
Proportions it is a good idea to step back and use a ladder
Then use a well corrected medium tele if possible.

Same goes for steep perspective in a Portrait. You should
Use the same perspecive i.e. subject distance with
A 24 a 50 or an 85mm lens or you get caricature
Noses or bended flat faces at the edge if the frame.

That distortion is due to subject distance
Nothing else. You cannot correct perspective in post

Perspective is Position of camera and pointing direction. Period.

[Jakov Minić]

Perspective is Position of camera and pointing direction. Period.

Frank, I don't argue that perspective isn't the position of a camera and the direction it is pointing at. Period.
But I do claim that perspective changes from that same point and direction with a different focal length used. Comma,

The sense of depth and spatial relationships in a photo do change with focal length, at least I humbly think so. KarmaComa,

[Bjørn Rørslett]

In this question, Frank holds the correct answer. Perspective has nothing to do with the lens as such. It is determined by the camera position relative to the subject.

A short focal length allows a shorter distance between subject and camera and thus produces a steeper perspective. However, to arrive at the same scale of magnification, you can use almost any lens, but then the distance will change thus altering the perspective.

[BW]

My recipe is usually very simple. Stand in front of something really interesting and pay close attention to the elements within the frame.

[Erik Lund]

Please let go of these rules Frank, it really doesn't belong on NikonGear to state such fixed thoughts.

Just go to the Organ thread, distortion all over the place and horizontal and vertical lines going right and left.

It's allowed to shoot a portrait or architecture with what ever lens you like,,,

Sure for some a paying client has the final saying - but IMHO that has nothing to do with the question of this thread,,,

[Frank Fremerey]

My recipe is usually very simple. Stand in front of something really interesting and pay close attention to the elements within the frame.

this is a good recipe, but there is more to it than standing. To find the right perspective I feel it is often
Necessary to walk around the subject to climb up some stairs or a ladder or come back at another time
of day or year. In a studio one can control all elements or in the case of a model or animal interact to
achieve the desired effect. Not so outside. Not so in spontaneous interaction.

So coming back to the original question it depends very much on what you want to achieve.

Do you want to reproduce the 10.000th shot of a naked women in a studio with textbook lighting?

Do you want to capture something unique that will never be the same again?

Do you want a long term documentation of slow changes in a city?

Do you aim to find your own artistic expression?

There are as many motivations and ideas about a great photo as there are photographers.

[Jacques Pochoy]

That's the way I see things, i'll now will call it the Gary's way... :-)

Sure, faraway subjects are great when you have the "knack" to see pictures that aren't seen by the locals, nor by the "tourists" !
The best training in my very own viewpoint is to shoot and shoot again some very local areas of your own city or dwellings, thus learning to see more then what's there in the first place.
Even after all that time it's not easy to get that "perfect" frame you had in mind, then it's another whole can of worms to share it with others (prints, galleries, web, books, etc.)!

[Frank Fremerey]

Please let go of these rules Frank, it really doesn't belong on NikonGear to state such fixed thoughts.

Just go to the Organ thread, distortion all over the place and horizontal and vertical lines going right and left.

It's allowed to shoot a portrait or architecture with what ever lens you like,,,

Sure for some a paying client has the final saying - but IMHO that has nothing to do with the question of this thread,,,

It is not about rules, Erik.

It is about words and concepts.

The word "perspective" is very often used for what it not is
creating confusion. I pled to use the word to label the concept:

A stool is a stool
A table is a table.

I feel that this thread offers a lot to learn and a lot of different
perspectives.

Is there a recipe to create "great photos"?

I think no. The term great photos has not eben been defined.

What we learn in Gary's Rule is to become a better photographer.

Is it like sports? The more you exercise the better you get?

That does not mean everybody makes it to the Olympic games.
There is talent there is communication and interaction and there
is luck.

If I would define a great photo it is one that has made it to the
museum and is canonized after 50 years.

Cindy Sherman made it in early years and is still there.

Gursky made it, the Bechers made it, Kertez and HCB and Sander.

That is where we learn. These are some of the giants on whose
shoulders we stand. Now we take it to the next level or be forgotten

That is OK. Many run. Many swim. Few recieve a gold medal and
make history. That should be motivation for every one of us
not disvouragrment

[Jan Anne]

Is there a recipe to create "great photos"?

I think no. The term great photos has not eben been defined.

Yes there is, great photographers produce great photos

The better the photographer the more consistently great his / her images will be.

Learn the rules and break them, bend them, invent your own rules, break them, reinvent them, this cycle never stops.

The mediocre are always at their best, don't be mediocre, don't follow the rules everybody else is following, thats for sheep jumping fences.

So, understand the rules and than properly f*ck the rules!!!!!!!!

Dropping the mic, slowly nodding his head a few times, points his finger to the crowd and slowly walks away 

[Almass]

The main rule is that there is no rule.

Rules do not make great photographs. It is simply a pitiful excuse for snapshot photographers.



Edward Steichen (1879-1973)
In Memoriam, 1901
coated platinum print.

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Rudolf Koppitz (1884-1936)
Bewegungsstudie (Movement study), 1925
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Diane Arbus (1923-1971)
Burlesque comedienne in her dressing room, Atlantic City, NJ., 1963
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And the Magnum founder whose photographic prowess leave a lot to be desired:
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004)
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gelatin silver print

Price Realized: $3,000