Defining The Scene

July 10, 2022

You arrive at your planned photography destination, and you’re all eager to unpack your camera and start snapping away. But… wait! Where will you start? How will you frame your images? What compositions do you want to make? There are so many questions to ask, that it can be hard to know where to begin if you want to put some thought into the images you plan to create. So, let’s take a step back.

Here I want to pull out one question in particular: what defines the scene that you’re planning to photograph? This of course can break down into many other questions: What are the key objects visible in the 360 degrees around you, as well as above and below? Do you exclude portions of your scene, consciously or unconsciously? Do you only look at the wider view, or do you zoom in on details?

Even if your initial instinct is to hone in on a specific aspect or portion of your scene, it can be really fun to revisit that artificial, self-imposed constraint and look beyond it. In the example below, I was visiting Upper Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona (see also this blog post). My first instinct was to focus on the slot canyon scene as a whole, and include whatever my wide-angle lens would allow me to fit in.

Path to Light — Upper Antelope Canyon, Arizona

But as I spent a bit more time there, I became fascinated with the textural details in the curving sandstone walls, showing layers and a complexity that is easily lost if you take a wider view. In post-processing, I even decided to make those layers and textures the subject - leaving out the red color palette that is so striking in that canyon.

Layers — Upper Antelope Canyon, Arizona

It resulted in an image with a wildly different style and mood than the first image above, and it was surprisingly satisfying to be able to create both in the same location.

The next time you are at a photo session, take a step back before touching your camera, and ask yourself: What are you consciously or unconsciously including or excluding in your scene? Is it worth challenging that initial assumption?