{"id":74216,"date":"2017-12-20T07:09:36","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T15:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=74216"},"modified":"2017-12-20T07:09:36","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T15:09:36","slug":"10-timeless-lessons-edward-weston-can-teach-you-about-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/20\/10-timeless-lessons-edward-weston-can-teach-you-about-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Timeless Lessons Edward Weston Can Teach You About Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inspiration from one of the old-school masters, Edward Weston:<\/p>\n

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LEARN FROM THE MASTERS OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY<\/a><\/h2>\n
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LEARN FROM THE MASTERS by HAPTIC<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Find infinite inspiration in street photography from the masters:<\/p>\n

Learn more about MASTERS ><\/a><\/p>\n

Buy MASTERS on Amazon ><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

HENRI NECK STRAP<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"ERIC<\/a><\/p>\n

Never miss the decisive moment, ever again.<\/p>\n

Learn more about HENRI NECK STRAP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Buy HENRI NECK STRAP ON AMAZON ><\/a><\/p>\n

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1. Photography is for prolific artists<\/h2>\n

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\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Photography suits the temper of this age \u00e2\u20ac\u201c of active bodies and minds. It is a perfect medium for one whose mind is teeming with ideas, imagery, for a prolific worker who would be slowed down by painting or sculpting, for one who sees quickly and acts decisively, accurately.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Photography is great if you want to make art, instantly. To be decisive, without the delays of painting:<\/p>\n

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2. Never repress your artistic expression<\/h2>\n

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\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I would say to any artist: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be repressed in your work, dare to experiment, consider any urge, if in a new direction all the better.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Photography and life is all about experimentation, trying new things, and finding new paths and directions.<\/p>\n

Lesson: Follow your artistic urges.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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3. Shoot more than your eyes see<\/h2>\n

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The fun thing about photography\u00e2\u20ac\u201d augmenting our vision and reality.<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The camera sees more than the eye, so why not make use of it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Lesson: don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make \u00e2\u20ac\u0153factual\u00e2\u20ac\u009d photos as we see reality. Rather, create your own reality.<\/p>\n

4. Photograph ordinary things, and make it look extraordinary<\/h2>\n
\"Edward
Edward Weston on his toilet photo: For long I have considered photographing this useful and elegant accessory to modern hygienic life, but not until I actually contemplated its image on my ground glass did I realize the possibilities before me. . . . Here was every sensuous curve of the “human form divine” but minus imperfections.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston<\/p>\n

\"Toilet
Toilet by Edward Weston. For two weeks Weston studied and photographed the ordinary plumbing fixture from different angles. For this version he dispensed with the tripod, rested his 8 x 10-inch Seneca view camera on the floor, and directed the lens upward, lending unexpected volume and monumentality to his subject. He wrote that the “swelling, sweeping, forward movement of finely progressing contours” reminded him of the Victory of Samothrace. Learn more on THE MET<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just photograph the exotic. Rather, photograph the familiar, and make it look extraordinary.<\/p>\n

\n “I have been photographing our toilet, that glossy enameled receptacle of extraordinary beauty. Here was every sensuous curve of the human figure divine but minus the imperfections. Never did the Greeks reach a more significant consummation to their culture, and it somehow reminded me, in the glory of its chaste convulsions and in its swelling, sweeping, forward movement of finely progressing contours, of the Victory of Samothrace<\/a>.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Learn more about the Victory of Samothrace<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Victory of Samothrace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Victory of Samothrace on pedestal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lesson: don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just study photography for inspiration. Also study sculpture. Alberto Giacometti<\/a> is a good source of inspiration, who was friends with Henri Cartier-Bresson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. Composition is presenting your subject in the best possible manner<\/h2>\n
\"Nautilus
Nautilus by Edward Weston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To compose a subject well means no more than to see and present it in the strongest manner possible.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\n “Good composition is merely the strongest way of seeing.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

COMPOSITION 101 ><\/a><\/p>\n

6. Discover composition while you shoot, not from composition theory<\/h2>\n

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\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now to consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk. Such rules and laws are deduced from the accomplished fact; they are the products of reflection.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Discover your compositions while you shoot, and afterwards when judging your contact sheets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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7. Don’t be a slave to composition theory<\/h2>\n
\"Cabbage
Cabbage composition by Edward Weston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To have a fresh vision, approach each photo like a beginner<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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8. Don’t ‘think’ while shooting<\/h2>\n
\"Urban
Urban landscape silo by Edward Weston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153One does not think during creative work, any more than one thinks when driving a car. But one has a background of years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c learning, unlearning, success, failure, dreaming, thinking, experience, all this \u00e2\u20ac\u201c then the moment of creation, the focusing of all into the moment. So I can make \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwithout thought,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fifteen carefully considered negatives, one every fifteen minutes, given material with as many possibilities. But there is all the eyes have seen in this life to influence me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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9. Start with no preconceived ideas<\/h2>\n
\"Close
Close up of onion by Edward Weston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I start with no preconceived idea \u00e2\u20ac\u201c discovery excites me to focus \u00e2\u20ac\u201c then rediscovery through the lens \u00e2\u20ac\u201c final form of presentation seen on ground glass, the finished print previsioned completely in every detail of texture, movement, proportion, before exposure \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the shutter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s release automatically and finally fixes my conception, allowing no after manipulation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the ultimate end, the print, is but a duplication of all that I saw and felt through my camera.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Have an empty mind before you shoot, like a zen<\/a> photographer.<\/p>\n

Discover new things, and use that enthusiasm to make great photos.<\/p>\n

Then process and export your photos that is a recreation of what you felt while you were shooting.<\/p>\n

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10. Master the art of photography; don’t get distracted by the tools<\/h2>\n
\"Egg
Egg by Edward Weston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stick with the same camera equipment for a long time, master it, and squeeze the fullest potential maximum from it:<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The fact is that relatively few photographers ever master their medium. Instead they allow the medium to master them and go on an endless squirrel cage chase from new lens to new paper to new developer to new gadget, never staying with one piece of equipment long enough to learn its full capacities, becoming lost in a maze of technical information that is of little or no use since they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what to do with it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Conclusion: Don’t become a slave to facts\/rules<\/h2>\n
\"Close
Close up of mushroom by Edward Weston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a rational photographer, rather, be irrational. Never keep experimenting, exploring, or trying new things.<\/p>\n

\n “The great scientist dares to differ from accepted ‘facts’ – think irrationally – let the artist do likewise.” -Edward Weston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget, photography is about emotions, and the human soul.<\/p>\n

\n “My work is never intellectual. I never make a negative unless emotionally moved by my subject.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Learn from all the masters of photography ><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

LEARN FROM THE MASTERS OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY<\/a><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
LEARN FROM THE MASTERS by HAPTIC<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Find infinite inspiration in street photography from the masters:<\/p>\n

Learn more about MASTERS ><\/a><\/p>\n

Buy MASTERS on Amazon ><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Henri Wrist Strap: PHANTOM BLACK.<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"Henri<\/a><\/p>\n

JUST SHOOT IT.<\/p>\n

Buy on Amazon ><\/a><\/p>\n

Learn more ><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Eric<\/a><\/p>\n

For more inspirational free resources, join ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a> and be the first to get exclusive content, access to books, presets, and new upcoming workshops.<\/p>\n

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Conquer your fears and meet new peers in photography ><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Start<\/a><\/p>\n