The value of a detail shot
What is a a detail shot? Why even talk about it. I was listening the other day to a podcast from TWIP and a commentator on the show went off on detail shots. It made me pause and think about when and why a I do detail shots. A detail shot in brief is a shot that is does not seek to tell an entire story however it hopes to reflect the mood of the story and therefore bring the story into tighter focus.
When a photographer takes a detail shot it is their hope that somehow by letting you look a little closer at thsi "detail" somehow you now have a insight into the greater story that you couldn't have arrived at without it. Perhaps the greatest employers of detail shots are Wedding photographers. With their wedding dresses hanging int he room. Or the rings casually laying on the table or the brides shoes....... Its true that sometimes those shots are the ones that make us ooh and ahh the most.
The key is where int he placement of the story tells us that we have to first have a grand shot or a complete story telling shot then we can move down smaller and smaller into the details. Others build up from the details.. Whatever the case the action needs to be deliberate and handled with a keen awareness of who the audience is and where is the tipping point of too much detail and not enough substance.
The reason I bring this up is I think many of us photographers could spend the whole time doing detail shots because often times they are a lot more fun and they give us the chance to show off.(Present company included) However a word of caution. Detail shots are the frosting on the cake and not the cake. When time goes by and we are looking at eh pictures not for the 2- 10 th time but 10 years later will there be enough substance of real storytelling shots that we can be proud of our work. Will our clients remember the event or just alot fo details which have lost a lot of their "moment"
This shot was from an anniversary I attended. the focus as always with me was on mood. the large number of empty glasses and the long table show that this is a large group and they are going to be spending the time with each other. the faces in shadow reflect that its not important to know who the people are in this picture are but that there is a fairly nice sized group. the low POV puts you right a the table and ready to participate.
The second and third shot is from a house warming party and again the primary function of this shot is to let you know the time this occurred and the style of the place while letting you know a little about the type of entertaining going on.
When a photographer takes a detail shot it is their hope that somehow by letting you look a little closer at thsi "detail" somehow you now have a insight into the greater story that you couldn't have arrived at without it. Perhaps the greatest employers of detail shots are Wedding photographers. With their wedding dresses hanging int he room. Or the rings casually laying on the table or the brides shoes....... Its true that sometimes those shots are the ones that make us ooh and ahh the most.The key is where int he placement of the story tells us that we have to first have a grand shot or a complete story telling shot then we can move down smaller and smaller into the details. Others build up from the details.. Whatever the case the action needs to be deliberate and handled with a keen awareness of who the audience is and where is the tipping point of too much detail and not enough substance.
The reason I bring this up is I think many of us photographers could spend the whole time doing detail shots because often times they are a lot more fun and they give us the chance to show off.(Present company included) However a word of caution. Detail shots are the frosting on the cake and not the cake. When time goes by and we are looking at eh pictures not for the 2- 10 th time but 10 years later will there be enough substance of real storytelling shots that we can be proud of our work. Will our clients remember the event or just alot fo details which have lost a lot of their "moment"This shot was from an anniversary I attended. the focus as always with me was on mood. the large number of empty glasses and the long table show that this is a large group and they are going to be spending the time with each other. the faces in shadow reflect that its not important to know who the people are in this picture are but that there is a fairly nice sized group. the low POV puts you right a the table and ready to participate.
The second and third shot is from a house warming party and again the primary function of this shot is to let you know the time this occurred and the style of the place while letting you know a little about the type of entertaining going on.
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