Photographically Speaking: A Deeper Look at Creating Stronger Images (Paperback)

When looking at a photograph, too often a conversation starts–and, unfortunately, ends–with a statement such as, “I like it.” The logical next question, “Why?”, often goes unasked and unanswered. As photographers, we frequently have difficulty speaking about images because, frankly, we don’t know how to think about them. And if we don’t know how to think about a photograph and its “visual language”– how an image is constructed, how it works, and why it works–then, when we’re behind the camera, are we really making images that best communicate our vision, our original intent? Vision–crucial as it is–is not the ultimate goal of photography; expression is the goal. And to best express ourselves, it is necessary to learn and use the grammar and vocabulary of the visual language.

Photographically Speaking is about learning photography’s visual language to better speak to why and how a photograph succeeds, and in turn to consciously use that visual language in the creation of our own photographs, making us stronger photographers who are able to fully express and communicate our vision. By breaking up the visual language into two main components–“elements” make up its vocabulary, and “decisions” are its grammar–David duChemin transforms what has traditionally been esoteric and difficult subject matter into an accessible and practical discussion that photographers can immediately use to improve their craft. Elements are the “words” of the image, what we place within the frame–lines, curves, light, color, contrast. Decisions are the choices we make in assembling those elements to best express and communicate our vision–the use of framing, perspective, point of view, balance, focus, exposure.

All content within the frame has meaning, and duChemin establishes that photographers must consciously and deliberately choose the elements that go within their frame and make the decisions about how that frame is constructed and presented. In the second half of the book, duChemin applies this methodology to his own craft, as he explores the visual language in 20 of his own images, discussing how the intentional choices of elements and decisions that went into their creation contribute to their success.

當看著一張照片時，往往會有這樣的對話開始，但不幸的是，也往往以「我喜歡它」這樣的陳述結束。接下來的合理問題「為什麼？」往往被忽略且無人回答。作為攝影師，我們常常難以談論圖像，因為坦率地說，我們不知道如何思考它們。如果我們不知道如何思考一張照片及其「視覺語言」- 圖像是如何構建、如何運作以及為什麼運作- 那麼當我們站在相機後面時，我們真的在創造最能傳達我們的視覺、最初意圖的圖像嗎？視覺- 雖然至關重要- 並不是攝影的最終目標；表達才是目標。為了更好地表達自己，有必要學習並使用視覺語言的語法和詞彙。

《攝影語言學》旨在學習攝影的視覺語言，以更好地解釋為什麼和如何一張照片成功，並進而有意識地在創作自己的照片時使用這種視覺語言，使我們成為更強大的攝影師，能夠充分表達和傳達我們的視覺。大衛·杜切明將視覺語言分為兩個主要組成部分-「元素」構成其詞彙，而「決策」則是其語法- 他將傳統上晦澀難懂的主題轉化為一個可接觸且實用的討論，攝影師們可以立即使用它來提升他們的技藝。元素是圖像的「詞彙」，是我們放在畫框內的東西- 線條、曲線、光線、顏色、對比。決策是我們在組合這些元素時做出的選擇，以最好地表達和傳達我們的視覺- 使用構圖、透視、視角、平衡、焦點、曝光。

畫框內的所有內容都有意義，杜切明確立攝影師必須有意識且刻意地選擇放入畫框內的元素，並做出關於如何構建和呈現畫框的決策。在本書的後半部分，杜切明將這種方法應用於自己的創作中，他探索了他自己的20張圖像中的視覺語言，討論了放入創作中的元素和決策的有意選擇如何促成它們的成功。