How do you add your vision to uncreative assignments?

[matthew_smith1]

Hello!

 

I am hoping to elicit a discussion on how your photography reflects

you personally even when the subjects are limited, perhaps un-

photogenic, and taken in less than ideal circumstances.

 

I am currently working on (or at least hoping I am working on) (a)

photographic book(s) on weeds, how to identify trees in winter by

their twigs, and/ or grasses. (Obviously an unparalled opportunity

for a college undergraduate, which I give photo.net a large amount of

credit and my gratitude...).

 

However, my botanist advisor deeply desires what I have read are some

of the most uncreative things- black backgrounds via flash (adds in

subject isolation), similarly centered compositions, etc... Not to

mention that twigs and weeds, while wonderful, may be hard to capture

both descriptively and emotionally...

 

What are your thoughts? How does your art let your vision prevail

despite obstacles?

 

Matthew Smith

[photomark]

Matthew,

 

This question opens a whole can of worms about working as a

professional creative person. There is a big difference between doing

what is rewarding for you, and fulfilling a clients needs. Your job

first and foremost, if you want more work, is to meet the needs of the

client. What you are able to do within those confines is what will set

you apart--sometimes a client will have a set of criterion that you

need to work within and you can bring your creativity to show how they

can meet there needs more effectively, but in the end it is about

their needs. This can be incredibly difficult in the beginning because

you have prejudices regarding what a good photograph is. These

prejudices are usually based on what you expect photos to accomplish

rather than what a client is expects.

 

An example can be seen in your question. "...may be hard to capture

both descriptively and emotionally..." If you are doing a book on how

to identify trees in winter, what role does emotion play? Why are you

trying to express the emotion? Emotion is a very powerful tool, but

may not be a priority here in the same way it would be if you were

selling fine art or doing an advertising campaign.

 

Maybe a good approach would be to start with what you need to

accomplish and work form there. For this book, I would think the

priorities are clarity, detail, and simplicity...not emotion. People

reading this book are not seeking that, they want to know how to

identify a black oak tree in January. If you were working for a

conservation organization maybe appealing to the emotions of the

viewer would be more appropriate.

 

This is a very difficult issue in all professional creative

areas..whether it be music or design or photography because creative

people have strong ideas regarding aesthetics and are not always

prepared to compromise them for practical purposes. My advice is to

step back and think very soberly about the specific needs your project

has and to clear your mind of what you think makes a good photo. Think

instead of how photography can meet the needs of this project.

[steve_thompson]

Matthew; This is a hard one but maybe the way to proceed in such circumstances is to not try to �tell the whole story" in one shot. Maybe take the approach of an essay or series of shots. As to your current project that maybe even harder. Identification guides and the like have to be done in such a way that show great detail. Hence even, flat lighting. I have seem many poorly done ID books that are not of much use for the intended purpose. I too learn to identify wood plants by twig and bud. We also on some species had to look at lenticels. I was lucky enough to have a great teacher that took us outdoors to collect samples, look at shape, growth habit, and other clues to arrive at the correct identity. Some how the tests were always in the class room with an apical twigs.

 

Maybe if you have access to a greenhouse you could work in a corner with other green plants out of focus for a blurred background. As far as composition use diagonal lines when possible might help add a little life to your work. My school had a microscope that could be hooked up to a TV monitor, you might try to use something like that to play around with different compositions without burning up film. BTW my favorite tree is Tilia cordata Greenspire what is yours? Should you wish to continue this discussion further feel free to e-mail me sathomps@hdc.net

 

Best of luck

[don_martel]

I do the best job i could from a visual design standpoint. Enjoy the people you are working with.. and move on to the next creative assignment.

[christian deichert]

I second Mark's response. Try to be creative within the limits of your project. It's frustrating, but in the end, the guy who signs the checks is always right.

[ling_nan_zou]

(Un)fortunately for scientific and technical photography, accurate description, not creativity, is the main concern. Sometimes a tech photographer gets a little too "creative" and ends up takes good looking pictures that are useless for the intended purpose. So if you are doing work that have specific technical demands, you should be careful about where the creativity takes you.

 

But grasses and weeds need not be boring. Check out some of the old 17th-19th Century botany monographs with their engravings of flowers and plants. They were meant to be accurate and descriptive, but many of these old engravings and prints are also very beautiful, almost a perfect synthesis of science and art.

[dan_smith]

You have to show the plant for ID purposes, so be perfect in the lighting. Look at some of the very old photos used for this purpose and one thing that often stands out is the lighting of the subject. You have to satisfy the need your 'client' has, and detail brought out by carefully lighting the subject will help your images to shine.