Photographer Spotlight: @Debs1970 and how photography communicates to the viewer
I want to congratulate @Debs1970 on having won Photo Of The Week. This is a great image that stands out on its own and is a good addition to the past tradition of winning photos.
I could spend a lot of time talking about the technical aspects of this photo that make it a good photo such as a strong subject, composition, focus, lighting, and creativity but I will be brief on most of them.
The composition is a great example of the rule of thirds in that the glass is placed in the right third of the frame and the background has the horizon in the lower third of the frame. This is all very pleasing to the eye and makes for a great image. The focus, color, and lighting narrow the viewer’s eye down to the subject by drawing it into the interesting clarity and colors of the light shining through the red glass of wine.
I showed this photo to two important people in my life. The first person is my girlfriend who is a very busy single mother with a high power career and all the stress that comes with that lifestyle. The other is her teenage daughter. The first loved the photo and the second thought it was good but it didn’t make a big impression on her. I can’t discount the teenagers opinion as she is a very articulate person with a great sense of design and creativity. I think she recognized the excellent technical aspects of the image and this gave her the neutral opinion. What makes the difference?
Photography is about capturing a subject in a way that communicates to the person looking at photograph what you intend for them to see or feel. We all bring a lifetime of experiences into each new moment of our lives. You will want to tap into your viewers emotions through their own life experiences to connect them with your photography. When you compare the lives of these two people, each one brings a different amount of life experiences with them as they view the image. The teenager has seen a glass of wine and has, probably, been curious to see how the light shines through a glass of wine. This just says she has very limited view of wine. My girlfriend, whom I met at a wine tasting event, brings more life experience into the viewing of this photo and it reaches her in a lot deeper way than it will her teenage daughter.
This photo reminds me of times past with a glass of wine which brings me to a place of peace. After a long, hard and stressful day, it is very relaxing and comforting to sit back in a tranquil setting with a glass of wine and let all the stresses of the day fade into the background as the tastes and sensations become all that is left in the day to concern myself with.
More than the great technical aspects of a photo is the ability to meet the viewer where his life experiences are ready to see the image with an emotional connection that you want to convey with your photography. One way to think of this is, that @Debs1970 thought of me, my girlfriend and a lot of other people with memories like us when she created this wonderful photo. Another way to think of it is, that @Debs1970 is a lot like us and she communicated her experience of that moment very well to her audience. It is a remarkable photo either way you look at it.
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