Hessell Rules

Provided by: David Hessell

LOOK AT THE LIGHT

GET CLOSER

SHOOT LOTS OF FILM

I teach photography at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, North Carolina. One class, three rules. I start each class with a guarantee. I tell every student that shows up for a Tuesday/Thursday 7pm class that I can make them a better photographer. Guaranteed. Period.

Simple. In fact, I go on to say that after the first night, if they follow my three simple rules, they will already have all it takes to be a better photographer. No shutter speeds, no apertures. No exposure. No technical jargon. No numbers.

Well, except three. Three rules. Three rules, that I feel anyway, get to the heart of photography. The rest will fall into place. I then go on to mention that just about everyone in America over the age of ten is already a photographer. I have never had a student that has not taken a picture in their life. They are photographers before they ever sign up for the class. The odds are in my favor. True, I have had students that didn't own a camera, but that did not stop them from signing up.

Truth be told, the camera is the least of my worries. Today's cameras are great. The quality of even the cheapest point-n-shoot is unreal. Taking a picture is simple. Making a photograph, on the other hand, takes three rules, and a little more effort.

Effort. I have that covered as well. As mentioned, anyone willing to pay money to show up twice a week for two and a half hours each night already has put forth the effort. Again, the odds are in my favor. My job just gets easier.

LOOK AT THE LIGHT

Photography is light. Period. Cameras are tools that record reflected light. Film or digital, photography deals with light. That is why I start with it. Look at the light. Sounds simple, and it is. Sort of. We have to learn to think about the light. Study the light. Analyze the light. Control the light. That is the key. Taking what light you have, or don't have, and using it to your advantage, that is photography. Look at the light.

What type of light? Soft diffused light, or harsh bright light? What direction? What angle? Is there enough light? Do you have to add more light? Can you manipulate the light? Use reflectors? Move the subject? Move the light? These are questions that a photographer asks. A picture taker just accepts what is there and snaps away. Look at the light and ask questions. Even if you just accept what is there and just snap away, at least you thought out the situation and tried to make the best of it. We can't always answer the questions, or come up with the ideal solutions, but just by asking, one becomes a better photographer. Simple.

I remember walking down the streets of Moscow and actually thinking about which side of the street I wanted to be on depending on the light. It is all a game of asking and answering questions. Trying to be in the right place at the right time with the right light. It takes work. It takes effort.

What can you do about the light? Simple. Make the light work for you. Get up early or stay out late in order to capture that "golden", low angle light that, if everything works out for you, makes for great photographs. True, it doesn't always present itself as we wish, but being in bed or eating breakfast does not boost your odds. Get out there. When working with the sun, you never know. Being out there, making the effort, is the key to better images.

What about when the sun is not available or not working for you? Add or manipulate the light. Use a reflector to add light. Use a diffuser to change the light. How? Try a white trash bag. Carry several, they are light, compact, and even water proof. The fact is that you can take "bad" light and make it better. Look at the light.

How about flash photography? I teach flash photography with two simple concepts. Diffuse it and move it. That is it. I go over several ways to get away from direct, harsh flash images. You know, the washed out faces, that red-eye look that just does not work for anyone, and the dark shadows. Direct flash has got to be the worst solution ever devised. Simple, yes. Either pop-up, or turn on your small built in-flash and fire away. But the results are far from perfect. The answer? Diffuse it and move it.

First off, diffuse it. Scotch-Tape. You know, the frosted kind. Stick a few layers over your flash head. It softens the flash and takes away those harsh shadows. Well, it helps anyway. Use it. Next, Cool-Whip. Round frosted plastic lids. Cut out a section and use velcro to attach it to your flash. Works great. Yes, you can spend the big bucks and buy an Omni-Bounce like the pros use (even I have one), but I like Cool-Whip, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

Second, move it. Buy the cord that takes your flash off-camera and use it. For Nikon, it is the SB-17 cord. Costs over $50 but is priceless when making images. I like to think of it as studio results without the studio. Hold it off center to the subject and you have just improved your flash photography. I tell my students, if it comes down to it, buy the smaller, cheaper flash, take the money you saved, and buy the cord. You can move it, bounce it, and direct it any way you want. Not as simple as direct flash, but well worth the effort. There is that word again, effort.

GET CLOSER

My favorite. Actually, if I could only have one rule, this would be it. Get closer. I always point out that film is small (all of my students, as well as myself, shoot 35mm film), make the most of it. Fill the frame with only what you want to have in the viewfinder. Either move in closer or zoom in, but do everything you can to get in there and fill the frame. Painters add, photographers subtract. The problem is our selective vision. We "see" only what we want to see, the camera, on the other hand, does not have that luxury. Again, it takes effort, and it takes practice, but begin to really look at what is in the viewfinder and eliminate everything that does not add to what you what your image to say to the viewer. No matter what, the camera fills the frame, that is what cameras do. It is up to you to make sure it is filled with only what you want it filled with.

Keep it simple. The goal of any good photographer, or any artist, for that matter, is to simplify. Say what you want to say as simply as possible. It is your statement, make it as clear to the viewer as possible. One image, one statement. Now here is when it gets tricky. Simple does not mean only one object or subject in each image. No, many of the great images are complex and thought provoking, but that is the power of photography, the power of art. You can have as many subjects, objects, what ever you want to call them, in any one image as long as they are the only things you want in your image. I like to call it "complex simplicity". The message can be complex, just work on keeping the image simple. It is not that simple. Get closer. Eliminate. Work at it.

I will say right here that getting closer also helps in the technical aspect of getting the "right" exposure. By working at making the image as simple as possible, you are also making it easier for your camera's meter to come up with the simplest exposure. Not always the case, but worth mentioning, worth thinking about. Keep it simple.

SHOOT LOTS OF FILM

This is where the learning comes in. Shoot lots of film. Shoot lots of film and ask lots of questions. Shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. Get out there and run film through your camera, or whatever it is that digital cameras do. Push the button, that is the key to becoming a better photographer. No, this does not mean just holding down the button, this goes well beyond that. Shoot everything and anything. If using film, try slide film. In fact, try 100 speed slide film. It is a great learning tool. When you get the results back,, you can see your results, not the results of the machine that prints your pictures. Shoot slide film and look, really look, at the results. Shoot all types of film in all types of conditions. Flash photography, night photography, nature photography, action photography, people photography, studio photography, you name it, shoot it. And shoot it again.

That is one aspect. The other aspect is to shoot it from every angle you can think of and then make up a few more. Yes, and hold that button down. Shoot, shoot, and shoot. Look through your lens, shoot. Move, and shoot again. Go one step further. Change lenses and start all over again. Learn what lens does what at what angle. Shoot and learn. Shoot sports with as long a lens as you have and then turn around and shoot it with as wide a lens as you have. Know your equipment, know your limitations. Which lens do you want on your camera to get what results? How close do you have to be with each lens to get the results you want? Can you change results by changing lenses, your position, your choice of film? Shoot and learn. Ask, and answer questions.

That is photography. That is becoming a better photographer. That is art. That is becoming a better artist. Three simple rules. Three huge concepts.

That is how I begin each class. Every semester, every year. I have taught photography in one form or another for twenty years and this is the end result. To be honest, the one thing that has made me a better photography instructor is the fact that for the past ten years, my real job is that of a Special Education Teacher. I take broad concepts and make one-liners out of them. My middle school students like me to keep it simple and break down the facts so they can better understand the information. Wow, what a concept.

Or maybe that is just how I, as a photographer, teach learning disabled students. Keep it simple. Point is, I have seen my photography lessons change over the past few years and like the results. Twenty years, three rules. Teaching is learning. Keep it simple.

Without even getting into how a camera works, I believe, one can become a better photographer in one easy lesson. Simple, I just go over my three rules. No, actually I do mention two other important aspects of becoming a better photographer. Buy a tripod (the one piece of equipment that actually makes you better), and do not center the subject, at least for the first half of the semester (no one has ever been able to accomplish that feat!).

The camera comes later. First the concepts, then the understanding. Photography is much more than the camera. So much more in fact, that it can be summed up in three rules. OK, three rules and two suggestions. That is what I feel to be the most important aspects of photography. That and the fact I tell my students to be sure to show up for the next class. Over and over again.

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