ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

by

Peter Van Rhijn
www.naturephotos.com



SPEAKER'S NOTES
Judges at photographic competitions take only a few seconds to score an image. They go mostly on intuition. It takes them a lot longer to come up with their "judge's comments" in which they identify the good and bad qualities of the image which led to their conclusion.

When I'm shooting I go through two steps, which are very similar.

  1. I recognize something beautiful and appealing. I photograph the subject quickly and carefully, going completely on intuition. I record the image the way it feels right.

  2. I take a break, make sure I control my adrenalin rush (good sign but it leads to mistakes!) and then have a second look through the viewfinder. Now I force myself to come up with those "judge's comments." What is it about this scene that turns me on (assets)? Am I sure I didn't miss any negative qualities or distractions (liabilities)? Then, armed with this new information, I try to improve on what I've already taken. I try to strengthen the assets and minimize the liabilities. As part of this second step, I consciously try to wake up the other side of my brain ('lateral thinking') to see if a totally new and unusual approach is in the cards. I have found that this second step frequently leads to a better photograph, especially in close-up photography.

As I see it, both judges and photographers-in-the-field go through the same two basic steps: quick intuitive action, followed by analysis. The intuition step carries most of the artistic, creative weight. Our gut feelings are best trusted blindly. The analysis step is an after-the-fact attempt to figure out why the brain decided as it did. We should be very cautious not to reverse these two steps and put analysis first. This can lead to excessive formality with creativity as its victim.

As a photographer at work, having completed step one (the intuitive shoot), you really have nothing to lose. You can proceed to step two and figure out what turned you on. To do this, you need to know what makes or breaks images. You need knowledge about the 'assets' and 'liabilities' of images. Armed with that knowledge, you can very often fine-tune and improve the images you've already taken.

There is a good reason why I refer to the good and bad qualities of images as assets and liabilities. I believe that when the brain is set on "intuitive," it produces in seconds something comparable to the balance sheet that an accountant produces for a client (without numbers of course.) The assets go on one side, the liabilities on the other, and the bottom line shows the final balance in black or red ink. This process explains why a successful image can sometimes bend or break several traditional rules - it may have enough weight on the positive side of the balance sheet (assets) to produce a positive balance despite the negative side of the sheet (i.e. its stronger assets "rescue" the image from its liabilities.)

This process also puts into proper perspective the controversial statement by a well known photographer/lecturer that "Composition is bunk." You can only afford to let it be bunk if you endow your images with plenty of other strong assets, which may then save it from the garbage can. Good composition, or visual order, is very important but it is still only one of many potential assets. Success or failure of an image depends on the final tally of all assets and liabilities.


About the Eye

When I am referring to "the eye'" in this talk, what I mean is really our focus of attention. Perhaps an easier way to understand this concept is to think of the eye as a tiny explorer, a spoiled little fellow with a bit of an attitude who jumps right into the picture. He insists on being shown around, wants to see the whole picture space and hates to get lost. He also wants to be wined and dined.


Assets and Liabilities, The List

The assets and liabilities that I am using in this presentation are traditional and are probably familiar to you. You will notice that I include a lot more than composition. To be aware of such a list while shooting or judging photographs will take some of the mystery out of the reasons for success or failure of images.

A list of assets and liabilities cannot be definitive because some of the contents are highly subjective, and strongly influenced by a viewer's emotions (the result of his/her personality and past life experiences.) A person who hates winter may experience snow in a picture as a liability. Immigrants from Europe tend to get more excited about autumn colours than born-and-raised North Americans. When my daughter was 11 years old, she loved pictures of anything cute and furry - so cute and furry were powerful assets to her.

Where true mystery will continue to linger is in the fine-tuning of artistic intuition and in personal taste. Human emotion remains off limits to logic…

ASSET RELATED LIABILITY
» VISUAL ORDER (COMPOSITION)
  Simplicity

 		Busy picture/distractions
   "Proper" placement single subject

 		"Improper" placement single subject
   Balance of multiple subjects

 		Imbalance
  Tonal Balance

 Tonal imbalance
  Lines
  Shapes
  Pattern
  Symmetry
  Perspective

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Lack of direction for the eye.
Eye does not see entire picture space.
Eye gets lost. Visual confusion.
» THE UNUSUAL
» INTERESTING LIGHT
» VISUAL IMPACT
» EMOTIONAL IMPACT
» MOOD
» DRAMA

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Boring or commonplace subject
» COLOUR HARMONY Clashing colours

VIEW HOUR 1 NOTES • VIEW HOUR 2 NOTES