The art of Seeing!

[danalec99]

Do you really need the viewfinder to 'see'?

OR

can you 'see' the final print without the viewfinder?

 

[Artemis]

Umm...Im really confused by what you mean...but if I do get what you mean...thats how I do all my shots...

 

[danalec99]

Sorry Arti... what I meant to ask is, do you compose a particular frame through the viewfinder OR you see it with your bare eyes?
For me, I spot a potential frame initially; but I need the viewfinder for the final composition. I have heard about people saying they see the final picture when they initially spot the frame.

Am I being clear? :scratch:

 

[KevinR]

Clear to me.

I see the initial image first. I have a good idea how I am going to compose the image before looking through the viewfinder. I will then tweak the image. Decide if horz or vert or tighten in etc.

 

[terri]

More often than not, I "see" the image I am after and then go about composing it. Are you referring to "visualization"?

I can't say it happens all the time - there are times I think I "see" something and then can't quite get what I'm after in camera - so when it does work for me, it's a thrill.

 

[Alison]

I would say that most of the time I see the final image before I look through the viewfinder. I tend to mentally compose whether I have the camera with me or not :mrgreen:

 

[danalec99]

Visualization could be the term. Thanks Terri!

I am comfortable with composing and recomposing thru the vf. It does not mean that I do not visualize the frame beforehand. I do, but I need the vf for the fine tuning.

 

[ksmattfish]

I use some cameras that either don't have a viewfinder or the viewfinder isn't very accurate. I'm a big fan of viewfinders in general, but I'm not afraid to go without.

I once heard a story about a student of Garry Winogrand asking him about shooting from the hip, and Winogrand lectured him that the viewfinder was vital.

I think it's possible to learn what a certain lens is going to see; maybe not 100% accurate, but good enough for many subjects.

 

[photong]

I use my eyes to compose (if I can move whatever it is) it then the viewfinder to frame with and put final touches on it. If I cant move it I'm pretty much using the view finder to find out where and what's best. But I do use my eyes and viewfinder to see if there's anything I can use to my advantage (like trees to frame a subject).

"I think it's possible to learn what a certain lens is going to see; maybe not 100% accurate, but good enough for many subjects."

There's also something...i cant remember exactly...gr, i can only remember half and it might not even be right. With an SLR what you see if what you get (or dont???) but with a ??? what you see isn't what you get (or do??). Does that make sence? yabe the other is digital, or a rangefinder or some toher type of camera or format...maybe it's TLR in general....who knows.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Depends upon what I am doing. Taking photographs is quite a complex activity and looking through the viewfinder is just one part of what goes on in your head.
Sometimes I actually sit down and draw the idea, using a sketchpad to work out a lot of problems before constructing the image through the camera. But then I trained in Advertising photography, which is far more controlled.
As with so many other things in Photography - you do what works best for you.

 

[doxx]

I photograph a lot without using the viewfinder,
visualizing what gets in the frame... either from
the hip or at waistlevel, being as unconspicious
as possible... people just don't realize that I
photograph 'em - especially on the subway
(thinking of photography ban and all...)

 

[Canon Fan]

I am usually a very mentally visual person. 9 times out of 10 I know EXACTLY what I want ahead of time. Sometimes even before I arrive at the destination but this only seems to work with inatomate objects for me, with people or living things I need the viewfinder :scratch:

I am finding out quickly though no matter how well I have it planned in my head before hand the viewfinder on my TLR screws with that vision pretty badly being backwards and all

 

[mentos_007]

hmm I see with my eyes first... than I use a camera, and what follows, I use a viewfinder to see what I'm capturing