Why make abstract photos? Why make the subject harder to see?
I think one of the things people don’t like about making abstract photos is that you can go too far with it and the photograph doesn’t show anything interesting. But what if we think about it differently? What if by making the subject harder to understand we make our images more interesting? What if we make abstract photos that have more content than normal images?
I think we have two options when it comes to making abstract photos. We can choose to either use glass and reflections to show multiple fields of view, or we can choose to show abstract details.
Through using reflections to change the field of view we’re showing more than one thing going on at once. It’s combining two different viewpoints into the same image. When I use this technique I think to myself how does this extra content fit into the story? Is adding an extra layer of complexity helping the composition?
When getting close to subjects I always try to make sure the image is interesting to look at. I think about making something that’s pleasing to the eye. This means focusing on light and composition
Part of the joy of learning about the world is realizing that there’s so much that we don’t understand. Making abstract photos is kind of like playing a game to see how weird we can make something look. Sometimes making sharp photos gets boring.
I think all photographers should practice abstraction because it’s a challenge to try to say something meaningful and coherent while making the image hard to understand. I think making abstract photos is just a tool to make people look closely and think about the content of the image. If we don’t have interesting content then our images will be nothing but soulless detail.
That’s all I have for today. Have a good one.
-Jeremy