Feb 2013 CNCC Meeting: Lessons Learned (Dan Ballard)

Second Amendment Stove, Cisco, Utah, 2013

The pro travel and landscape photographer Dan Ballard was our guest presenter at the Colorado Nature Club Camera Club (CNCC) last night and it was a super learning experience. With his presentation, “Unlocking Your Photographic Potential”, Dan did his best to wipe away that persistent and depressing idea that you need to be genetically gifted to be a great photographer.

The key? It’s NOT the genes, says Dan, it’s more often this formula that makes the successful photographer:

LOTS of practice + EXCELLENT instructor(s) + Goals + Time = Great  Images and Great Photographer

(I suppose I might presume to sprinkle in a bit of my own theory here…that is, with a little talent, your learning curve might possibly be somewhat steeper and shorter, but the basic formula Dan spelled out is still the same for all of us.)

Here, then, are Dan Ballard’s Five Key Points, as outlined in his talk last night–things we should all be working on as we perform the “practice” part of his formula:

1) Lighting is #1! Always strive for superb lighting–even “boring” subjects can become interesting with good lighting. Obviously, mornings and evenings during the so-called “Golden Hour” are prime, but stormy weather can also yield wonderful, if fleeting, lighting situations. All this will require constant work–it’s work to get up early, it’s work to hike through lousy weather conditions, it’s demoralizing work to suffer day after day of lousy shooting conditions and no images…but your hard work and tenacity will eventually pay off with great light and great opportunities.

2) Simplify the image. Get rid of distracting and unnecessary elements…and compose with your personal eye/touch/style. But keep it simple!

3) Look for leading lines. These will suck the viewer into the image and guide the eye to the center(s) of interest. Leading lines could be shorelines, cracks in the ice, logs, or anything at all that pulls you into the picture. Sometimes they aren’t so obvious and it may take some practice to learn to see them and incorporate them into your images.

4) Add the human element when appropriate. This can help imply a story or help in giving scale to the image subject. It will also help the viewer understand why the image was captured and what it is about.

5) “Shoot like a painter!” That is, think very, very, very carefully about what you will put into your image, just as a painter would before she sets brush to canvas. You are, as Dan says, “painting with the world”, so be smart and selective about it. You need to put some artistic thought into your work before you press the shutter.

All great advice from a great photographer…now, I’m off to practice, practice, practice!