Made The Picture ":![Made The Picture "](img/made-the-picture-"-.jpg) the other fellow's pictures. When you look at photographic illustrations in magazines and books, remember that in every case a photographer looked at the picture from behind a camera. He composed it in his finder, and perhaps also cropped and enlarged to get the picture you see. Look at pictures with this in mind, and determine why they were made the picture " and presented as you see them.
Far from harming the picture, the small figure emphasizes the grandeur of Old Faithful geyser.
Whether you are looking at your own or someone else's picture, ask yourself these questions. Is it pleasing to look at; that is, are the objects so related in position as to create an agreeable effect? Can you tell at a glance what the picture portrays?
If you can say "yes" to these
questions, it is safe to assume that the picture has reasonably good composition. More important, it is enjoyable and satisfying.
A portfolio shouldn't contain more than thirty pictures. The prime fault made the picture " by many young people is that they cannot decide between picture A or picture B of the same subject, and so put them both in. Force yourself to choose. Show your ability to handle diversity. A woman I know asked me to look at her son's portfolio. I looked at the portfolio and told him the truth. He had perhaps three or four situations covered in forty pictures. The rest were repetitious; the pictures were what I call "thereness" pictures. The idea was absent.
This approach lends itself to forceful statements and to clear exposition. Unfortunately it also tends to overemphasize the caption. John R. Whiting, in his Pboh> raphy is a Language, made the picture " an illuminating experiment: he reprinted, in sequence and without the accompanyin?photographs, the captions of a typical Life picture essay. The result was a somewhat telegraphic, but completely coherent and readily grasped personality story to which die photographs were embellishments. Indeed, as Whiting states, "It is very often the caption you remember when you think you are telling someone about a picture in a magazine."
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Photography
