In Chapter 6 of The Photographers Eye, Freeman focuses on the process of finding a good photo amidst the chaos of reality. One of the sections that helped me have a better visualization of different photo compositions was his shorter section on repertoire, which had both abstract visualizations of a concept like “figure and background” or “figure in a landscape” alongside real-world photo examples of those things.
This short section played into his bigger explanation of the “Search for Order” which explains exactly what steps you need to take to find and create a great photo. The term he uses to describe the ordering of chaos is a “snapshot aesthetic” and he discusses how it is similar to an informal composition made by an amateur photographer, but the difference is that everything in the photo and about the photo is framed with purpose and intention as opposed to “happy accidents” that inexperienced photographers make.
To describe this, I wanted to pick a photo that I took casually with my phone which I thought displayed some similar qualities to the “snapshot aesthetic” and explain what I would have down and how I would have used Freeman’s steps to make it better.
This is a photo I took in July of my sister (left) and dad (middle) meeting an online family friend for the first time. I was sitting on the floor and quickly took this photo to explain what I was up to when my boyfriend texted me. If, at the time, I would have wanted a more artistic photo that still captured the candidness of the scene, I would have started by sitting up just a little and holding the camera and a more level angle. Since everyone is looking at my sister, Jessica, I would crop it a little closer so that Jessica is the main focal point and our family friend, Kat, would be framing the photo on the right side. I would also make the whole photo a bit darker, since the kitchen light is overpowering a lot of the scene.