Ansel Adams was one of those people that becomes more and more fascinating the more you learn about him. Each bit of information you gained made you want to learn even more about either the man himself or photography in general.
In a video recently uploaded to Advancing Your Photography’s YouTube channel, host Mark Silber interviews his son, Michael Adams, and looks at how Ansel discovered what became his biggest epiphany in photography.
Previsualisation of your shot is something that gets drummed into us fairly quickly these days, but in order to fully be able to do it, one needs to understand the underlying principles and science of it all. Understanding the science is what allowed Ansel to put that theory into practise to produce the amazing results that he did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpcxfRB1hWk
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with just snapping away and hoping you get something. That option satisfies millions of camera owners every year, whether they’re using a cellphone, a DSLR or something in between.
If you want to push yourself, however, and really make the most out of these photographic marvels in your hands that we call a digital camera, understanding how they work, understanding light, colour and contrast in a scene is going to help get you there.
Light Science and Magic is one of the most recommended books out there when it comes to understanding light and colour for photography.
As with most things, after reading up, the key to actually understanding it is going out there and trying it. When you get some new information about light or photography, then go try it and see the results for yourself first hand.
But don’t just stop there. Experiment, too. Try things just to see what they do. Whether the results are better or worse, try to figure out why. You can still learn from happy accidents and screw-ups, too!
The more you know, the more you can previsualise what you’re going to shoot next, and the more easily you’ll be able to make what you see in your mind appear on your sensor.
You can see Mark’s fill playlist of videos about Ansel Adams on YouTube, and see more of Ansel’s work on the Ansel Adams website.
What are your biggest thoughts or concerns when making a photograph? What do you think you still need to improve upon? Let us know in the comments.
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