Page 30 - Australian Photography Dec 2020

ABOVE: Farmer and Oxen on Rice Terraces. Up in the mountains of northern Vietnam, a farmer was working in the rice terraces. With the help of my local guide, I asked the kids to walk in the background for more layers of activity in this impressive terrace scene to add more depth and layers to the photo. Nikon D800, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens
@ 24mm. 1/640s @ f7.1, ISO 500.
BELOW: Life in the Dzong. After the viewer focuses on the monks adjusting their robes in the centre of this Dzong fortress courtyard in Bhutan, there are more people to then discover throughout the scene. Nikon D800, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 31mm. 1/320s @ f8, ISO 1250.
LAYERING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT A SCENE
Photographing people in a wide scene can be taken to an even more advanced level, which is to layer multiple people throughout a scene, occupying potentially foreground, middle ground and background. Just two of these layers is usually challenging enough to figure out, and it requires visualising the overall image in your mind first, which is a very creative approach to photography.
Occasionally, you may be lucky to capture a photo where people are occupying spaces at different depths, clearly to be seen, satisfying the figure to ground con- cept, doing something interesting and in a good posi- tion compositionally. But it’s not very often this will occur, which is why there is usually an element of directing and organising such a photo. The results can be very satisfying, creating unique images consisting of much layer and depth. For most people, focusing on one person consumes all attention, so to be considering multiple people on different planes of the photo, requires foresight, patience and dedication. In such a photo there’s usually one main focal point, and then more people to be discovered around the frame in compositionally pleasing areas, filling the space. This is another idea to have in your mind when out and about photographing people in their environment, for the creating of impactful and emotive cultural landscape photos which tell a story. ❂
PHOTO TIPS: PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE
| 30 | DECEMBER 2020 | AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM