Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision

Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision

by David duChemin
Released May 2009
Publisher(s): New Riders
ISBN: 9780321637802

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Within the Frame is a book about finding and expressing your photographic vision, specifically where people, places, and cultures are concerned. A personal book full of real-world wisdom and incredible images, author David duChemin (of pixelatedimage.com) shows you both the how and the why of finding, chasing, and expressing your vision with a camera to your eye. Vision leads to passion, and passion is a cornerstone of great photography. With it, photographs draw the eye in and create an emotional experience. Without it, a photograph is often not worth—and can’t capture—a viewer’s attention.

Both instructional and inspirational, Within the Frame helps you on your photographic journey to make better images of the places and people you love, whether they are around the world or in your own backyard. duChemin covers how to tell stories, and the technology and tools we have at our disposal in order to tell those narratives. Most importantly, he stresses the crucial theme of vision when it comes to photographing people, places, and cultures—and he helps you cultivate and find your own vision, and then fit it within the frame.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About the Author
  4. Foreword by Joe McNally
  5. Introduction
  6. It’s About Vision
    1. Chasing Vision
  7. Within the Frame
    1. Shoot What Moves You
    2. Make Me Care
    3. Putting It in the Frame
    4. Excluding It from the Frame
    5. Indecisive Moments
    6. It’s All Subjective
    7. The Illusion of the Exotic
    8. Putting Time Within the Frame
      1. Length of Time
      2. Choice of Moment
  8. The Artist and the Geek
    1. Gear Is Good, Vision Is Better
    2. Decent Exposures
      1. The Best Digital Negative
    3. Seeing the Light
    4. Choose Your Lens Based on Behavior
      1. Telephoto Lenses
      2. Pushing the Wide
    5. The Rule of Thirds
    6. There Is No Un-Suck Filter
    7. Inspiration and Perspiration
      1. Without the Frame
      2. Without the Frame
  9. Storytelling
    1. Universal Themes
    2. Conflict Within the Frame
    3. The Photo Essay
    4. Relationships
    5. Attention Management
    6. Leaving Clues and Provoking Questions
  10. Photographing People
    1. Approaching People
    2. The Language Barrier
    3. The Eyes Have It
    4. Capturing Emotion
      1. Without the Frame
    5. On Giving and Taking
    6. Indecent Exposures
    7. Photographing Children
    8. Photographing the Elderly
      1. Without the Frame
    9. Candids vs. Portraits
      1. Why Photograph Candid Street Scenes?
        1. Without the Frame
    10. Abstracting People
    11. Lighting Challenges on Location
    12. Four More
  11. Photographing Places
    1. Research
    2. Scouting
    3. Not-So-Great Expectations
    4. Be Prepared
      1. Without the Frame
    5. Beyond the Postcard: The Value of Wandering
    6. Slow Down
    7. The Feel of Place: Sensual Exploration
    8. Be Present: Physical and Emotional Receptivity
      1. Be in the Right Place...
      2. ...At the Right Time...
      3. ...In the Right Frame of Mind
    9. Shooting Iconic Places
    10. Iconic Images in Mundane Places
    11. Making the Shot
      1. Wait for It
      2. Seek It
      3. Mine It
    12. Adding the Human Element
    13. Adding Scale
    14. Landscapes
    15. Creating Depth with Layers
    16. Shoot the Big Stuff
    17. Shoot the Details
  12. Photographing Culture
    1. Cultural Sensitivity
      1. Research and Ask Questions
      2. Values and Taboos
      3. Respect: Different Isn’t Wrong
      4. We Are All Different, We Are All the Same
    2. Shooting History and Heroes
    3. Shooting Food
    4. Shooting Festivals and Celebrations
    5. Shooting Art
    6. Shooting Language
    7. Shooting Faith
      1. Remember the deeper subject and find a way to express it
      2. Be respectful
  13. Final Thoughts
  14. Afterword by Vincent Versace

Product information

  • Title: Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision
  • Author(s): David duChemin
  • Release date: May 2009
  • Publisher(s): New Riders
  • ISBN: 9780321637802