Completeness, Essence and Detail

FROM ANOTHER BLOG THAT I AM A CONTRIBUTOR IN, an assignment came up in which we were to photograph a scene in three different ways.

The first of these was in it’s completeness.  In that, the viewer of the photo doesn’t need to think about going outside of the image in order to have a complete understanding of what it is that they are seeing.   The second shot was an essence of the scene.   A shot containing essence will have enough information within the frame to give the viewer an idea of what the story is about.   In this image, there is enough left out of the image so that the viewer has to use their own imagination to fill in the blanks.    The third shots of the scene are of detail.   This image while having the ability to stand alone, does not contain enough information about the scene for the viewer to make any type of interpretation to what it is they are seeing beyond what is in the image.   The image gives no indication that is part of the greater whole.

I wanted to share a couple of different things I did for this assignment.

The Sandpoint Marina - Complete

The Sandpoint Marina - In Essence

The Sandpoint Marina - A Single Detail

The second idea for this assignment was one of my favorite subjects – water.   Since I was working on a time crunch, I chose a tributary to Sand Creek as my subject for this assignment.

Sand Creek Tributary - Complete

Sand Creek Tributary - In Essence

Sand Creek Tributary - A Single Detail

As you can see from these images, each different type of image generally conveys a different meaning, a different message, a different feeling about the same subject.    I urge you to try this exercise on your next shoot.  No matter what it is, break down your photography into completeness, essence and detail.  I’m certain that you will be amazed at what shows up on you SD Card.

Thanks go out to Tom Dinning for a great assignment.

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