Photography Class

With the world the way it is, second waves and hotspots erupting all over, I’ve been thinking back to my time in self isolation earlier in the year.

After travelling to Amsterdam I wasn’t able to leave my house upon returning to Australia for two weeks. My travel radius became my overgrown and previously unloved backyard, though this quickly turned into my place of solitude and inspiration.

A place which helped me during those heavy and emotionally strung out days.

Each day I would pick up my camera and explore my backyard. I started doing this to document what I was seeing at this unbelievable moment in time, like a photo diary.

I enjoyed what I captured in these nature walks so much that I have added 3 New Prints into my Shop. The mood of the images really sets the atmosphere of those days.

I have decided to share some of my backyard photography tips with you in this ‘Photography Class’ and walk you through my approach, in case this may help you too. You don’t have to be a photographer and all you need is your iphone.

The class’s aim is to motivate you to explore what’s in front of you and to help train your eye to see things which may have gone unnoticed before.

This class is for pure enjoyment, escapism and fun – remember what that felt like?

Ok, off we go…

ps: If you are reading this and live in Victoria, just know that we are all thinking of you and understand this second lockdown is not like the previous one and is very emotionally difficult. This class is especially for you guys to do at home or in your local park!

1. Take in Your Surroundings

First things first, go for a walk outside and take in your surroundings. Look at the sky. Is it sunny? Is there rain coming? Any moody clouds? What does the texture of the bark on that trees feel like? If it’s windy, just sit and watch how the wind moves through nature.

Something even as simple as rain can add a sense of drama and action within nature. Noticing how the water droplets fall on foliage or how a cloudy grey sky makes the colours of the leaves and surrounds more intense.

Being at one within your surroundings is really important to allow your eye to notice the smallest of things.

2. Timing the Light

3. Subject Matter

Sometimes photographing little set ups can be more achievable than photographing the whole wide story. So I like to walk around collecting interesting things which my eye is attracted to.

I tend to enjoy collecting bits and pieces of found nature and bringing them together to photograph in a ‘still life’ scenario. Like fallen gum leaves, bark, blossoms or what I have a lot of in my backyard – weeds, make for an interesting subject matter.

Look up and down and turn things over. Don’t be scared. Observe textures and patterns. Be curious. There are no rules.

4. Surface

For your ‘still life set up’ you will need a surface to photograph your collected bits of nature on. Something simple and uncluttered.

In my studio I actually have an entire collection of  ‘surfaces’ I shoot on for jobs, such as marble, stone, tiles, even specially painted surfaces. Though I didn’t have access to any of these fancy surfaces while in isolation, instead an old barbecue plate did the trick for me.

You could also use a piece of cardboard from a box, your concrete driveway or lay down a piece of fabric or even a frock. Just something which will give you a plain backdrop to photograph on.

5. Arrangement and Balance

Balance, is a tricky little thing to get right, though with practice you can achieve it.

Lay out your collected bits however you like upon your surface. You are going to shoot them from above – this is called a ‘flat lay’. To help you achieve balance, look out for sharp lines within your pieces of collected nature which can lead your eye in a different direction and out of the frame – you don’t want this.

You might notice that all my gum leaves are positioned in a way where they ‘tails’ are not pointing out of the frame. This is deliberate and by doing so achieves balance within the frame.

I use this trick every single day when shooting, as I don’t want leading lines to be leading the eye out of frame. Anything can be a leading line, cutlery in food shoots, chairs in interiors shoots, anything which distracts and leads the eye out of frame. It’s about seeing these distractions and harnessing them and changing them, or avoiding them.

6. Gear