If you approach the scene you are photographing thinking in 2D, you may have difficulty transforming your image from just a snapshot to something visually interesting and intentional. Learning to think in 3D will help you approach scenes more dynamically and create more compelling images.
To some, it might be counterintuitive to think in 3D when photographs are in 2D, but Simon d'Entremont explains why professional photographers think that way in this video. Whether you are a nature, wildlife, street, portrait, or other genre of photographer, thinking in 3D will help improve your photography.
d'Entremont goes on to provide five tips to help you in your journey of approaching scenes with 3D in mind. These range from using focus to add depth and orientation in a photograph to using different types of light to distance to the subject. Each tip is helpful in beginning to visualize scenes in 3D, with illustrative examples of each tip. d'Entremont even provides a bonus tip at the end of the video.
I found the video helpful in putting the tips together under the bigger picture of thinking in 3D. I think shifting your thought and approach to photography in that manner helps even beyond the five tips referenced in the video. Do you look at scenes you photograph with a 3D approach?
This is one video to have and replay many many times, even though it is fast and mind bending the tips should stay up front in your mind. The one thing not mentioned is it is hard to plan the capture before going out for you have to be out and aware of light movement and colors with a peeled photo eye. Lastly due to being not planed the handiness of telephoto lens for zooming in or out (with a wide angle lens) will be best to have on your camera or cameras, like a 12-24mm and a 24-240mm (36-360mm in APS-C) will give the long and short of things. One thing I have found is not to worry about the F Stops of a lens for the new mirrorless cameras with higher dynamic ranges but better less noise output but again not to worry about noise so much for the many options in post and cropping can be done better today for the many options also to enlarge and image, just capture and play in post!!!!
New to me 🕶️
I thought it was a subtle shift in thinking that helps remember or reinforce the tips in the video.