Seeing Like an Artist

Anyone can learn photography. You know how to use your camera manually. You know how to get proper exposure. Simply put, you are aware of how to use your camera to take images. But just like owning a canvas and knowing how to put paint on a paint brush doesn’t automatically make you an artist, owning a camera and knowing how to take a photo doesn’t make you an artist either. Anyone can take a photo. It’s knowing how to SEE like an artist in a unique way and tell stories that makes the difference! So how do we do this? We must train our eyes and mind to shoot with INTENTION!

What Would Holly Do?

I’m going to share some before and after images and tell you why I chose to edit certain things to strengthen my image. Here are things I regularly correct in post processing:

• Correct crooked lines and compositions with cropping.
• Remove clutter or distractions from the frame.
• Change colors of elements in the frame to better complement the scene.
• Enhance the light to create drama or emotion.
• Enhance the shadows/contrast to evoke emotion.
• Enhance an otherwise boring sky.
• Composite multiple images together to tell the whole story in one frame.

Image 1: Swing Composite

This is an image I’ve always wanted to capture since the first time I’ve visited this beach. Most of the time when we go, the beach is terribly crowded. This time, we got lucky when we visited right after a storm and very few people were on the beach. The kids always play on this swing set, so when they went over and started to swing, I went back as far as I could and shot them on the swing with my 28-75 at 28mm. However, there was a wall behind me and a busy road right behind the wall, so I was unable to get far back enough to get the entire swing set in the frame.

This wasn’t my vision. But because I had a certain image in my mind, I was able to take multiple images with the intention of stitching them together in post processing. Here are the images I used to created this image and the steps I took in this edit:

• The image on the left is my base image. I made my Lightroom exposure and color adjustments, as well as used the Transform panel to fix the lines and perspective. Then I copied those adjustments over to the right image to make sure they matched for when I composited them together.
• I opened both images in Photoshop. Then I cloned out the people on the beach on the right side of the swing set in the base image.
• I used the crop tool to expand the canvas to allow for room for the right side of the swing set and to make the sky larger.
• I copied the right side of the swing set from the right image above, and pasted it onto the base image canvas. I then used a layer mask to blend it with the base image.
• I used Content Aware Fill to fill in the sky.
• Finally, I added some birds using an overlay.

Image 2: Carousel

In this image, as my daughter was waiting for her turn on the carousel, I knew I wanted to frame her with the horse in the foreground, and also capture the movement of the carousel. I did shoot this with a slow shutter speed with the intention of capturing the movement in camera. However, even with a shutter speed of 1/40s, the carousel wasn’t moving fast enough to make the movement very noticeable. I didn’t let that stop me from achieving my vision. Here is the image straight out of camera and the steps I took in this edit:

• I made my Lightroom exposure and color adjustments, and used a Select Subject mask to make my subject pop and brighten her up.
• I straightened the image slightly and cropped the image.
• I used a Motion Blur Filter in Photoshop to add the motion blur to the carousel. I then used a layer mask and inverted it and painted it onto the areas of the canvas I wanted blurred, being careful to avoid my subject and other details that should remain in focus.

Image 3: Hammock

Not every image you see or envision ends up being a complicated edit or execution. This image I took for one of the Hello Storyteller monthly projects for the Sweet Treat theme. This is a much less dramatic edit, but I still took the time to remove distractions from the image to bring the focus to my daughter and her treat. Here is the straight out of camera and some steps I took in this image:

• I made my Lightroom exposure and color adjustments, including adjusting the white balance for her skin tone.
• I straightened the image slightly and cropped it in so my daughter’s face is on the rule of thirds.
• I used a combination of Content Aware Fill, the Spot Healing Brush and Cloning to remove the hammock stand from the image.

Training Your Eye

Of course, seeing like an artist isn’t all about editing. It’s also about training your eye. It’s about paying attention and seeing things that are unfolding all around you. Every artist has a unique perspective, and none of us see things or experience things in the exact same way. So many times we walk through life distracted, not noticing beauty and moments that are right in front of us. We often miss the way people and things interact in their environment and how we can best tell their story. I can teach you how to see these things and train your eye to create with INTENTION! It takes time and practice, but eventually it becomes a part of your voice. It will be as second nature as riding a bike, or signing your name. That is truly how you learn to see like an artist.

I share many of these techniques I described above, as well as many exercises to help you train your eye and mind to see images all around you in my brand new course The Intentional Eye: Learn to See Images All Around You.

For more inspiration, follow Holly on Instagram!