What We Have Learned from Interior Design: Photography as Art, Part 1

[ This month's post by Fife Photography was written by guest writer Dustin, the other half of the tag team duo. We hope you enjoy!]

You’d think that a couple of professional photographers/competent graphic designers would also have interior design sense…

Forgive the pathetic “before” picture. You’d think we’d be able to do at least that!

Blah. This was the status of our living room only 6 weeks ago. What you see is what I might call “unintentional eclecticism.” Notice the “un” in unintentional, meaning our style of “elclecticism” lacked purpose: we would often find ourselves at Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart, Pottery Barn, or whatever and say, “Wow…that décor item looks soooooo cool. Let’s buy it,” only to find that it fit into our home about as well as I fit my jeans from high school. The result: many loose, unconnected, and pointless décor items lacking purpose.

Fast forward now to a few weeks ago. Armed with several sketches of our new living room, hours of HGTV episodes in memory, and a vivid image of what our living room would will like in just a few days, I go to Home Depot to find tropical looking plants and bamboo blinds. Then I go to Hancock Fabrics to find a highly saturated red fabric. But I also notice that they have two bonsai paintings that would go perfectly with our Zen Themed room…sweet! Then we go to Kirkland’s in search of Rectangular Chinese lanterns and a water garden….no luck. But we do find a tall, bamboo looking lamp that would fill space in our tall living room perfectly.

The result….

The first time around we coerced the décor into fitting the room. The second time around we sought décor to match the vision.

So what’s the lesson learned? Photography as an art starts with a vision and ends with integrating the resources that make the vision. Vision-less photography is not artistic eclecticism, but often leads to eye-offensive mish-mash. Take the following image:

***insert sarcastic wow***

I’m ashamed that this picture was once put into my portfolio. Here’s my thought process as I was setting up this picture: “Wow, sunsets are cool. So are cactuses. And so are fences because it’s a pattern. And I should probably put the bouquet in there cause that’s what other photographers do. And wedding pictures are happy, so they should smile, too. And I should probably photoshop the heck out of it.” In the end my image has no purpose, lots of disjointed elements, and no consistent vision.

A couple months ago, a similar opportunity came: while photographing a beautiful couple for their one-year anniversary, the sun begins to set. This time, before I even release the shutter, I vividly see how the final shot will come out and I understand why it will look the way it looks; it will be a vertical panoramic to emphasize the vastness of the sky. They will kiss and she will have a large arch in her back to make it look like a fairy tale kiss. I will place the moon in the upper-left corner to balance the couple in the lower-right corner. I will shoot with grass in front to add a candid feel to it. I will direct my diffused light to her because she’s the focal point. Finally, in post-production I will add a little blue to the sky so it looks more dream-like. The result? An integrated, visionary image that speaks to the soul of the client and the photographer:

I love this photo enough to place it in my own home as art, and imagine how she feels about it! (As a side note, she wrote a very prolific e-mail of appreciation for the photo shoot and said it was a “dream come true.”)

In short: begin with vision and intentionality. Ask youself, “How can I create elements in this photo that contribute to the overall vision? Does this pose convey the message I’m trying to send? Does this prop send the same message that the background and pose do? How does my composition tell a story?” Whether your vision begins months before your shoot, or simply moments before the shutter traps
the light, adding intentionality and vision will create images that speak to the soul.

Because that’s what art is all about.