Robert Keeley explains how to take your photography further by working on a photographic theme.
Many people, once they’ve reached a certain level of competence with their images, reach a plateau in their development. Essentially, they can take a reasonable photograph across a range of genres, and they may have a good grip on the basic techniques involved when they get their camera off ‘Auto’. But they still find they aren’t really making progress. One way to overcome this is to develop a body of work along a favourite theme.
Of course many enthusiasts tend to do this anyway; one key reason most of us get involved in photography is because we want to record what’s happening in an area of interest to us – whether it be children, family events, or perhaps a particular past time or sport. But with photography as a catalyst you can focus a lot more on this interest, and really explore it with your camera.
A quick examination of the works of many great shooters will reveal how almost every expert has at some time (and often many times) in their careers pursued a particular interest or field – the great US shooter Ansel Adams spent a large part of his photographic career shooting amazing black and white landscape images around the great national parks of California, and another famous US photographer, Edward Weston, at one point in his career focused on photographing fruit and capsicums, and for many years returned to a theme of nudes. By focusing on particular themes, these photographers produced some of their most outstanding images. They’re not the only ones to do so.
01 PICK YOUR THEME
Picking a theme may seem obvious, and to start with it should be. Most photographers know certain subjects really attract them. That’s the place to start, because working on a theme involves developing a body of work, and that will necessarily involve spending time on the subject. But you may find that after focusing on one subject for some time, it can lead your thinking in other creative directions. It doesn't hurt at some point to look at other themes as well, as Weston did. After many years of shooting nude images, he was advised by an artist he respected that his work in this genre was becoming stale, so he found other themes to pursue (like fruit) and when he returned to his favoured nudes his work was immeasurably refreshed and changed by his earlier detour.
02 WORK EVERY ANGLE – CREATIVE AND TECHNICAL
Part of developing a theme involves exploring every aspect of your subject. Ansel Adams spent many years exploring Yosemite national park in California. Its dramatic granite peaks and carved sheer cliffs inspired him creatively, and he returned many times to the same main valley in the park to explore every nook and cranny of it. It provided great creative inspiration. But he also developed his work technically whilst pursuing this theme. Shooting in black and white, he worked his film images extensively in the darkroom, and created more powerful images, as well as developing his Zone system for correct exposures of film, and promoting what he termed “previzualisation” or seeing the image in the photographer’s “mind’s eye.”
Adams’ work eventually became important in the environmental movement in saving many US national parks from development. Working hard to explore every possible angle of a theme can lead in many directions – technical and creative.
03 PUT YOUR WORK AWAY
One aspect of working on a theme can be underestimated – that of putting your work away for a while. While themes can offer tremendous creative initiative, there can come a time when you appear to have “mined them out”. If you feel your work has reached a creative impasse, stop pursuing that particular theme for a while. Put your mind into other subjects. Then come back to your original subject later. It’s amazing what this can do in re-energizing your creative thinking. It worked wonders for Edward Weston with his nude images!
04 KNOW WHEN TO STOP
Sometimes the hardest part of pursuing a theme is knowing when to stop for good. Obviously, if you’re enthusiasm for a subject drops dramatically it’s a pretty strong sign you should look for something else! But sometimes you may still have enthusiasm for the subject, even though you can’t find any more creative angles.
Many years ago I decided to pursue a photographic essay on Melbourne’s Westgate Bridge. Over many months I explored angles around the bridge, shooting both wide-angle and telephoto images. I shot the bridge from surrounding parks, and then industrial sites. I walked under the bridge and shot directly upwards. I shot images from the Yarra River edge, which the bridge crosses. I then started turning up around sunset and later in the evening when its lighting was strong so I could shoot semi-abstract scenes. Eventually, after around six months, I felt I had explored every option I could using the transparency film I was shooting, so I moved on.
Around two years later I became stuck in a traffic jam as I crossed the bridge. It was some time before the bridge handrails were blocked off, and the views were stunning. The jam-up was a result of an accident, and I was stuck on top of the bridge for over an hour. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera! Maybe it’s time I went back to re-explore my theme with fresh eyes.