Working the Subject

Funny thing about that Sam Abell video from the other day. At an hour and 50 minutes, it's likely something that only a small percentage of daily TOP readers will watch. Like, maybe, between 3 and 7%, something like that. (I admit it took me several sessions to finish it. I have a fairly low tolerance for videos as information sources.)

But here's the thing. Since I've been writing TOP—I started in 2005—I've had to conceive of what the audience for any particular post might be. Making educated guesses by the seat o' the pants. I don't have the luxury of hard stats or surveys or other forms of good information. I just get anecdotal evidence from the comments, and a "soft read" on popularity based on the number of comments. But right from the first, I've imagined that some posts are going to interest most of the audience—which is good, of course—but that other posts are going to interest only small minorities. To me, though, that's okay too. I really don't mind writing a post for 5% of all the readers that day...if it's something those few people really like and get a lot out of.

So if you don't like a post, maybe it just wasn't for you. I learned that in my 12-step program...if someone is sharing something and I'm not getting anything out of it, well, maybe it's not for me. It's for someone else.

There's no right or wrong way
Want to know what one of the big takeaways from Sam's video is for me? It's that when something "catches your eye," that's really only the beginning of the process. It's not necessarily the end. Well, sometimes it might be the end. But in the demos he shows us, notice how he continues to "work the subject," and the picture evolves. What he ends up with is much better than the first shot, the one he took right after he realized there was some promise in the subject.

You can "work" a subject either right after you encounter it, like the one of the sloth, or over subsequent days, like the one of the jigsaw puzzle. But it's half the fun. You get on the trail of a good picture and you stalk it. And although you will get a great shot on the first try sometimes, you'll also sometimes get the good shots only when you work the subject.

This is an example of a one-shot success. The tree guys were finishing up loading the logs in the truck and I asked them if they would just look at me so I could take a quick portrait of the three of them. I might have taken more than one frame—two or three probably—but in quick succession. It was just one setup, undirected, and basically one shot. They were in the middle of work and paused for a few moments—well under a minute—and then split apart and went back to what they were doing.

This is an example of the opposite—one that I worked for weeks. Xander (he was "Zander" then) would get under the comforter on the couch to watch "The Simpsons" and "Malcolm in the Middle" and Lulu would ask to be let in so she could get warm. I knew what I wanted, I just kept not getting it. I even set up a monolight next to the couch, pointed at the ceiling, and just left it there for several weeks, connecting the camera to it and turning it on when I took a shot. I probably tried the shot fifteen times maybe, on many different days. That's "working the subject."

There's no best way to do it, I don't think. Either way you can get a hit, meaning, get what you want. But the point is getting the picture, not how you get it.

Fails
I have to mention one more thing—it's that I'm often aware that I've seen something, and I need to work the subject, but I don't, because I'm too lazy. That, ahh, happens. I don't do the subject justice. I could have; I just didn't. Often, back at the computer, I'll be looking through the files and think, "hey, that's good...why didn't I work that one harder?" I'll realize there was promise in it—and a possible success that I left in the field. Too late by then. You know what they say: oh well. Gotta have commitment to the picture!

Mike

'Golden Oldie' Books o' the Week

I was going to link to The Life of a Photograph by National Geographic ace Sam Abell, the book version of Sam's video talk we've been discussing, but guess what? Sold out since we mentioned it the other day. You can still score one of the few remaining copies of the 4-volume Sam Abell Library from 2013, but buy it directly from the publisher—they still have it at the $75 publication price (I called them in Santa Fe to check), and Amazon is already charging four times more. We need a reprint of Sam's classic Stay This Moment!

This book link is a portal to Amazon. You're very kind use our links, as they help support the site.

B&H Photo

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Dave: "I'm glad you mentioned that the video wasn't too long when you compare it to watching a football game, for example. It made me take the plunge and view it. (Plus, the Guardians had a night off.) I normally don't watch videos longer than 30 minutes. That talk by Sam Abell was very well paced, I think. Not too many ideas coming at once and he gives enough time to consider the photo being shown. I had a notepad ready, but I didn't write a single thing. I didn't feel as if I were falling behind, so I was able to thoroughly enjoy the video and better able to remember all the ideas Mr. Abell communicated. Showing the process of 'working the shot' was very effective. I hope I'm not in such a low percentage of readers who decide to view the video. It's one of the few videos for which time seems to stand still."

Grant: "I made it through with only two breaks. Time well spent."

Stelios: "I’ve watched that Sam Abell video a few times already within the past couple of years. His delivery is not for everyone but his point is made clearly. An impressive insight in his process. I also have Stay This Moment, bought secondhand for less than £10 probably four years ago. Wonderful book."

Mark Bau: "Working the subject is something I definitely agree with. I first picked up a camera to record trains. I've since branched out into many other subjects, but I've been photographing trains for about 40 years and I have some great train photos. Other subject matter I'm not so good with. If someone decided to dedicate themselves to photographing worms, or flowers or potatoes, I'm sure they would end up with some great images. Working a subject makes you learn what works and what doesn't; you photograph, you fail, and you learn. I have a saying for it: Celebrate mistakes. They teach you what doesn't work and get you closer to what does."

Comments

[John Krumm]

Another post up my alley, and I scored one of the Sam Abel Libraries. Free shipping in the U.S. too.

[Rob de Loe]

I watched that Sam Abell video from to beginning to end. It's just superb. I stopped it regularly to think, to write down some thoughts, and especially to look at my own work from the perspective he offers.

[Albert Smith]

Digital has really facilitated working a subject because of near limitless frames available to make sure that you got THE subject. For me, there's a definite bell curve of best captures where they get better after the initial shots and then the point where I should have quit shooting. In the film days, the limitation of film's frames meant that I rarely went to the far right of that bell curve.

[Joseph L Kashi]

One book that I find worth rereading is Ansel Adams last book, "Examples - The Making of 40 Photographs". The hard cover is currently $27.95 at Amazon. I've found this particular book to contain a wealth of aesthetic discussion, general philosophy and approach, as well as technical discussion about the challenges of specific well-known photos and how he overcame them. The aesthetic discussions tend to be emphasized and are often quite different than would one would expect if one only thinks of grand vistas.

[Chap Achen]

I have both "The Life of a Photograph" and "Stay This Moment"
and pulled them both off the shelf while watching the video. It was really well worth my time to hear him speak of his approach to photographing his subjects and to see the printed images he discusses in those two books. Thanks for the link I really recommend it for anyone who enjoys photography and wants to learn from a master photographer like Sam Abell.

[JTK]

Me too!

[jp41]

What about working a subject over a period of years? I still think you should continue working this 26-Apr-2021 "Day of Spring" location: https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2021/04/random-snap-days-of-spring.html

[That's right across the lake from me. I look at it often, but there aren't very many places from which I can get a clear view of it. And right now I don't have a lens for that. But thanks for the prompt; I'll continue thinking about it. --Mike]

[JOHN B GILLOOLY]

Loved the Sam Abell video and then loved even more the video that auto-played right after on Platon: https://youtu.be/BDpqt-haLLM

[Globules]

I made a few notes while watching the Sam Abell video:

• compose back to front
• low angle
• good grey light
• setting first, subject second
  • order of importance: setting, expression, gesture
• internal framing (e.g. a frame within the frame)
• link a still-life to a landscape
• compose and wait; patience
• head and shoulders above the horizon line
• sometimes a few feet (or inches) in height allows you to separate layers
  • stand on a ladder, a table, ...
  • stand on your tip-toes
• often there's (only?) one element that needs to fall into place
• micro-compose (minute attention to detail)
  • maintain separation: "nothing touches"
• greatness is not the goal, "good" is (i.e. don't let perfection be the enemy of good)
  • quote: "the path to greatness goes through goodness"
  • regardless of the photograph – such as a snapshot – strive to make it as good as you can

If I had to choose a central theme from the talk, I suppose it would be: compose and wait. Set up the basics of your composition, then stop thinking about it while waiting for that one missing element to fall into place.

What also stood out was: compose from back to front. Just from a purely physical point-of-view this seems to make sense. The further away something is the less affected it will be by minor movements and adjustments you make to get the closer things into position.

[Dave_lumb]

I watched the Sam Abell video again, or half of it, after I realised that I wasn't getting the same thing from it as I did on first viewing.

I now find that kind of 'classic' photography as outdated as I do the stuff that informed my taste in the 1970s - HCB etc.

Although his advice about the details of making a good picture are sound I find his compositions look contrived and self-conscious to me now. Too much about themselves (and how clever the photographer is) and not enough about the subject. If they were really good you wouldn't notice how cleverly they'd been composed.

At least Abell shoots in colour....

[I always felt similarly about Garry Winogrand. He talked a lot about "getting out of the way" but his composition seemed contrived to me. You could always tell a Winogrand, even when it wasn't one! To me, his friend Lee Friedlander was the one who put me in a place and let me see it. I more readily felt the "thereness" in Friedlanders from the street. At least Winogrand shot in B&W! :-)

So what informs your taste these days? --Mike]

[Kenneth Tanaka]

That’s a very nice occupational portrait of those woodcutters, Mike. Quite timeless, actually.

[Don Spady]

A good place to find books like Sam Abell's is Bookfinder (Bookfinder.com). I looked for both of the books by Sam Abell that you recommended and found both new and used versions available. Condition of the product varies, but, from my general experience, the descriptions are reasonably accurate, and service is good.
A worthwhile place to look for books you want.

[JOHN B GILLOOLY]

A couple reflections on the Abell video:

It's always interesting to watch and listen to the thought process and visual workflow/process of a photographer - especially one that has enjoyed success.

In the end, I think there are many ways to get at the end goal, which is a good photograph. His method, to me, is VERY rigid.

Lots of rules, but of course the rules are broken when the situation calls for it, which seems to negate the rationale for such rigid rules? Low angle, low angle, low angle, but then "every scene looks better from the perch of a 3 foot chair." Seems like the job of a good photographer is being able to look around at the environment that they are in and adapt.

I always find the insistence on tripod for this type of work to be odd. For larger format and the film days where high iso's were punitive, I understand. But in Sam's images I see not only no camera movement, but also no subject movement, which tells me he's shooting fairly fast shutter speeds. Why confine oneself to a tripod if shooting at 1/250th of a second, for example.

As he states at the beginning, he was sort of destined and built for teaching. His deep dive into defining and explaining things tends to get very academic and ivory-towerish!

My favorite shot in the video was the cow-branding image with the cowboys. I liked seeing the process. He put himself in the right spot. The action elements came together. The red bucket on the right made it great. In today's shooting, the reality is that you will probably have frames of that scene with and without the red bucket. You will decide what works best while editing. I think it's a bit too much to claim he decided to include it. The reality is that he did not know as that guy was walking through the scene that the red bucket would be placed in that perfect spot with just enough of that guy included. Seems a bit too much revisionist planning to me. But I love the shot!

That said, I love many of the images. I really like what he produces. I went online and bought that book series that Mike linked to and look forward to a nice night with those.

[Christopher Morrow]

Thanks very much for the Sam Abell video link. I watched the whole video with a quick meal break. I've also bought the 4-volume Radius Book you mentioned. I've always been a fan of Sam, and wish I had seen this video when I was a working photographer. I'll use his suggestions when shooting only for myself these days.
Chris Morrow