There is something I have observed, particularly with newcomers to photography. That is, they will often try to capture everything in a scene rather than isolate a subject. That trait tends to diminish as we become more experienced, but there is another thing we often do, concentrate on the subject as a whole rather than isolating details.
We should be doing both, and so today I want to share with you why I think the devil is in the details.
Photography Is Storytelling
At first, we just want to take pretty, creative pictures. That’s a good thing. But as we develop, we begin to realise that photography is so much more than individual images. We can tell complete stories and control the narrative using our images alone. Of course, documentary photographers know this very well, but subconsciously,y anyone who takes photos also knows this.
Imagine you are taking pictures at your child’s birthday party. You photograph his or her friends arriving, you photograph the cake, the blowing out of the candles, the beaming smile on their face as they open their presents. Without even knowing it you have told a story. And within that story, you will have isolated some details. Close up of the candles, hands ripping open wrapping paper.
As photographers, we don’t have to apply storytelling to some long thought-out, socially aware documentary series, we can do it on a trip to the city or an afternoon at the beach. Telling a story can boost your creativity. Let me tell you why.
Spotting The Details
Next time you watch a documentary film on TV, take a closer look at the shots that go into that production. There will be wide establishing shots, talking head shots, but also close-up detail shots.
Now let’s apply that documentary style to taking a trip to the city. We can shoot a close-up of our home as we leave, reflected in the car mirror. We can take a close shot of traffic lights with an iconic building behind. In the city, we can shoot close-ups of people on transport, window dressing details, glimpses of a famous transport or city emblem. The list of detailed shots that we can get is virtually endless.
Now, all of the above items are not necessarily things that I have shot before, they are ideas that popped into my mind as I wrote this article. That’s the point, by looking for the details in our scenes, not only do we open up so many more photographic opportunities, but also we are increasing and improving our creativity.
But do I need anything special to photograph the details?
What Gear Will I Need?
This is the great thing about shooting details as part of a story. You don’t necessarily need any new equipment. A camera with a standard zoom is ideal. If the zoom doesn’t bring you close enough, move closer. At the wider aspect of your zoom, you can shoot the detail by getting close and perhaps leave some room for something out of focus in the background that hints at your location.
That said, a moderate telephoto or telephoto zoom will be helpful. You will be able to isolate details better and create a better separation with a shallow depth of field.
If you really want to ramp up creativity, a small portable LED light can be great for adding some extra illumination to your scene and punching out some texture details.
Of course, you can also find details in more macro situations. If you own a macro lens or close focusing lens, that’s fine; however, for the occasional macro, a set of close-up filters is a good budget alternative.
Details Need Light
As I alluded to in the last section with the LED light, details do need decent illumination. If, for example, you are shooting a gargoyle on a church, without good light, that gargoyle will just merge with the stone background. Add in a little directional light and the gargyle will cast a shadow on that stone, giving a feeling of depth.
The time of day is also going to affect how your detail shots look. Harsh light in the middle of the day will give well well-defined but jarring separation of your subject. Morning or evening golden hour is a much softer, warmer light, making your detail look more inviting.
More importantly, the light should be constant with your wider, establishing shots. If you were shooting a documentary film, a shift in light and colour between two shots in the same narrative can jolt you out of the story. The same can be true to a certain extent when using still photography to create a story.
The Narrative Is Important
Whilst it’s very easy to shoot detail shots, shooting and maintaining the narrative is harder yet more creatively rewarding. Your detailed shots must fit the story. For example, going back to our trip to the city, as well as the traffic light shot, we should also have a wide, establishing shot of the iconic building behind. However, that wide shot should contain the traffic lights. They act as a visual clue to the next line in the story. Your wide and mid shots should contain or at least hint at the content of your close, detail shots.
Shooting Details Can Boost Creativity
As I have said, details are everywhere, in every genre of photography. However, the real creativity comes when using those details to tell an ongoing story. Finding interesting ways to connect different images within a sequence is both challenging and highly rewarding.
If you want inspiration on shooting details within a narrative, some of the very best at it are good wedding photographers. Look at how they will shoot the usual shots, bride, groom, and family, but also hunt out the little details, close-ups on the rings, the knife cutting the cake, and the bride preparing her hair. All of these are prime examples of detail shots as part of a narrative.
So next time you are planning a shoot, think about turning it into a story. Think about how you can combine the shots you had originally planned with more close and detailed shots that combine well together. You will soon find yourself thinking outside of your own photographic box, and that can only be a good thing.
