Great Photos: 1

Kill Your Darlings

I had some interesting conversations over the new year about what makes a great photo.

Apart from the subjects themselves, I'm particularly interested in composition which I've resolved to learn more about. Implementing some of the classic rules of composition does produce some fantastic results. I'll post more about these as I explore further. In general terms, though, it always pays to have an inbuilt set of criteria by which to be objective in assessing the quality of work - especially if you are doing it for a customer. Straight opinions often aren't good enough in a business relationship.

David Bailey, in a talk I heard him give, said that he didn't like to get emotionally involved. He turned down photographing Picasso because he felt he would be emotionally overpowered by the experience (though he said he regretted it)

As a TV Producer, approving work has always been a challenging business. It's stressful when you are faced with a creative bod who has just put their heart and soul into designing a piece of work and you have to tell them it can't be accepted. What do you say?  Why?  Emotionally great, objectively rubbish! So, in the next short while I'm going to develop some ideas on what makes a good piece of creative work.

For starters please have a look at the attached word doc. kill_your_darlings.doc  This provides a check list by which to tick-box photos and a test for your gut reaction.

I've made the assumption that it's a bad thing to have favorite techniques (darlings) and that these inhibit our ability to be objective. I don't necessarily think suppressing emotion and passion is a good thing but it's an interesting conversation to have.

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PS Links to add to the mix

Joseph Rowlands on Obejctivity in Art

Michael R Nelson

Photography Composition Articles

Comments

[jonny]

have updted my link to you...

i like the idea - i'll look forard to seeing how your ideas unfold.

[embodybruce]

This is really thought provoking.

When I was a BA Graphics lecturer I found the challenge of getting the students to express coherently thoughts and feelings about creative work really tough. There is a link there to how well we know ourselves and can keep an inner ear open to listening to and vocalising our reactions.

One other reaction (edited from the many this post has provoked) comes from a challenge from NT Wright in The New Testament and the People Of God to the concept of objectivity. This might just wet your appetite. It comes from page 44 which I only read this morning:

'The hard-and-fast distinction between objective and subjective must be abandoned as useless. If anyone, reading that sentence, at once thinks 'so there is no such thing as objective knowledge', that merely shows how deeply ingrained the positivist tradition has become in our culture.'

I like having my 'rules' challenged . . . I think he is saying that there is no such thing as objectivity, only story, even in science.

'Story telling humans have an initial observation (already within a story). It is challenged by critical reflection on ourselves as story tellers (i.e. recognising that our claims about reality may be mistaken) but can, through further narrative, find alternative ways of speaking truly about the world, with the use of new or modified stories'

When two normative stories meet there can be sparks but also creativity.

I've some way to go to fully understand what he is suggesting and in the mean time continue to develop the notion that what is perceived as having great creative merit is a combination of measurable ingredients but also channels something more transcended and therefore unmeasurable. I look forward to your further thoughts on this on what is one of the most fascinating blogs I've found so far.

[colindarling]

Hi

Thanks for this

I'm doing some media training with some young people in Birmingham as part of an anti slavery, anti-trafficking initiative aimed at rducing some performance art March 26- 28 in Birmingham. Our blog is an attempt to have a diary that anyone in the team can contribute to - tho we are still earning how to do that.

May I use your material to give to the young people, please?

Obv. credits given

[colin darling]

oh by the way I am obv not too keen on the whole kill of darlings terminology
;-)

[Mark]

Many thanks for the comments, I will follow up certainly. Colin, of course please use the material freely (perhaps remove the title).

Mark

[Jude]

Hi Mark,

I've arrived at your blog via Jonny Baker, and instantly subscribed! Looking forward to following the photography stuff, after buying myself a dSLR last summer, and going through a massive process of learning and understanding, and being surprised with the results I'm achieving.

I also finish Uni in the summer, and looking to work in production, and perhaps broadcasting stuff... When reading about St Mary's Christmas service, made me very interested indeed to read about it from an insiders point of view.

I look forward to following the conversation!!

[Mark]

Thanks, Jude. I feel a real pressure to put some thought into this now - which is a good thing for me.