Simplicity

Lately in my photographic work I have been paying attention to keeping the image as simple as it needs to be. In general this usually yields a much more interesting, and often powerful, photograph. When an image is cluttered with too much "stuff", even though at first you might think it adds to the overall scene that was originally there, the main focus of the image becomes diluted and the photo loses its appeal.

This goal can be accomplished in various ways. Framing the original shot is one way (and the most preferred). This can involve many things such as controlling zoom, focus, and camera position. Also when shooting the photographer can manually move clutter out of the way of the image, such as removing trash or temporarily pushing aside live branches or plants.

Also some of this can be accomplished during processing, when either the photographer did not notice the original distracting clutter, or he was not able to remove at shoot time. This can involve further cropping and possibly outright removal using a computer. This last technique is often frowned upon by photographic purists, but when one looks at photography as a form of art the main goal is to create something wonderful, not necessarily represent exactly what appeared at the scene. And when you think about it all of the other tools that photographers use regularly, such as depth-of-field (DOF), filters, computer sharpening and contrast control, all alter the original "scene" to his or her liking.

So remember the old adage KISS: keep it simple stupid.