In David Hurn and Bill Jay’s “On Being a Photographer,” many aspects of photography are discussed. Throughout the book, David Hurn and Bill Jay discuss several ideas related to photography through a conversation. Two of which I analyzed include “Selecting a Subject” and “Shooting the Single Picture.” 

First, the authors discuss techniques involved in choosing what to photograph. According to these men, there are many important things to consider when making this decision. Primarily, it is necessary to have a fascination for the subject. To simplify, Hurn breaks down this decision of subject into four key instruction points. The subject must be visual, practical, something which the photographer knows enough about, and interesting to others. Hurn defines practical as something which can be conveniently accessible. Also, it is important for the subject to be of interest to others because they will be the photographer’s intended viewers. The photographer must determine a way to communicate an idea through the photograph. In order to accomplish this, the concept of the self must be minimized. This will avert attention away from the photographer himself, emphasizing the specific qualities of the subject. Hurn provides an example of the minimization of self. He discusses the scenario where a mother watches her child playing in the sand on a beach. When the mother suddenly notices a visual expression on the child’s face which moves her emotionally, she captures the moment with a camera. This examples is extremely interesting and visible; it causes the viewer to notice the same expression which the mother experienced. The photograph was able to speak to others in this way, because the idea of self was almost completely eliminated. To summarize, the photographers must possess much knowledge of the subject in order to move their audience in specific ways.

Additionally, David Hurn and Bill Jay instruct their audience on how best to capture a single picture. In order to convey a specific meaning to their viewers, a photographer must be willing to be critical of his work. He must possess the ability to admit his faults and furthermore, be willing to continue attempting to capture the exemplar photograph. As Hurn states, “photography is a matter of tiny details.” Thus, it takes time to develop a photograph that truly speaks to the viewers in the specific way that the photographer desires. Also, it is difficult to determine when the foremost time to capture the subject arises. Hurn informs the readers that a photographer must be willing to take a certain amount of risks when determining when to capture the moment. He goes on to say that “there is a lot of luck in capturing a significant picture.” This idea again relates to the idea of photography as being a time consuming activity. Ultimately, a photograph rarely achieves perfection. To conclude, there is a strong importance of both persistence and experience in photography.

While reading these sections of “On Being a Photographer,” I found it very interesting how David Hurn and Bill Jay used specific examples to convey their message. These allowed me to understand the importance of the instruction which Hurn and Jay provided. The book helped me realize the many different aspects of photography. As mentioned by the authors, photography is not spontaneous. Being a photographer is a full time job. One must be constantly considering these many ideas which together produce a meaningful photograph.

Below is a link to a pdf file of the text to which I am referring.

Our first reading for RCARTS 285, On Being a Photographer - A Practical Guide (link at end) , explored the authors’ personal definitions of photographers. What most stuck out to me was the planning that must go into a shoot. You need to decide several things:

1. What is your topic?

2. Who is your subject?

3. How well do you know your subject?

4. What will be the best angle to shoot from?

5. How will you predict the climatic moment?

6. How is the lighting going to change as you progress through the shoot?

This creates a good checklist to review as I move forward with this photography course. I wouldn’t consider this checklist binding, but I will use it as a guide. Like writing a paper, you need some sort of direction. But in my opinion, occasionally you need to free write.