PhotoPlay: Chop it off!

She is six feet tall. Her jet black hair falls in straight bangs onto white cheeks and she gets angry – very angry – often. She loves her cat, and her thick Scottish accent sets her apart in conversations. (Only a Scottslady can say “town” and make it sound like “toon.”)

She also loves mystery. Miss Susan Tracey lives for the mystery in surprises, so if you want to make her day, surprise her. She will transform into a jumping jack of delight right before your eyes.

Good photography is similar to Miss Tracey in that it loves mystery. When done well, it keeps your viewer engaged, it starts a story that ends differently for each viewer, and it leaves questions that cannot be answered immediately.

How can you achieve mystery in your photography? These three simple steps go a long way:

1. Chop off important body parts in portrait images. Feet, fingers, even half a body or face can go:

2. Focus on an emotion. For example, fill the frame with a smile or make a tear the focal point:

3. Don't shoot straight into someone’s face. Capture the visual from the side or from behind:

February PhotoPlay

For this month’s PhotoPlay challenge, take a mysterious photo by applying one of the three principles above. Submit your image(s) to the High Calling Focus Flickr Group by Wednesday, February 23. Remember to mark your images with your blog or website address and the tag, “photoplay 12”, so that we can track the entries. The gallery will be displayed on Friday, February 25, here at The High Calling.

Photo by Kian Preston-Suni, used with permission via Flickr. PhotoPlay prompt by Claire Burge.

For more photo fun, visit Claire and Kelly at High Calling Focus. There you can get a regular dose of their expertise and encouragement.
 

• Tags:  
• culture
• mystery
• photography
• photoplay

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