 You ever stand with somebody while they were taking photographs and on seeing the results you were amazed about what they saw and you didn't. The more you look the more you find and we're going to explore how you will be able to unlock your potential to see the infinite possibilities for photographs that are all around you. How to be relaxed when looking at the world and when you're relaxed you take better photographs. Rather than seeing the world in one fixed way you'll get break free of the constraints that have been holding your photography back. It's time to develop new ways of looking at what you see before you with increased perception so the possibilities for you to photograph will explode. How's it how's it? By the end of this video you'll have unlocked the seven steps to all those secret scenes you keep missing. We're all capable of creating a reasonably well exposed competently average photograph but you know who wants to be average? There are hundreds of thousands of words that have been spoken and written about seeing photographs. Very few of them however have been devoted to possibly the most important actually vital aspect of the whole process of creating photographs and that's the act of searching. Having the latest camera the fanciest lens reading the best books none of it matters one iota if you're not actually there to take the photograph. Look at this image it's a remarkable photograph not just because of the simplicity or its mood or its composition but also for what the photograph doesn't show. It doesn't show the photographer Pete Turner was there at the scene which was why he was able to create this photograph. Now without you searching for photographs in the first place no images can ever be created you've no doubt been told at some point to seek out different and unusual subjects so your photography can be unique but what exactly is different and unusual you know it can be many things it doesn't have to be a racing car bursting past in a blur or some other exotic subject. Anything can be different and unusual so long as it's photographed in a way that excites the viewer's eyes. The biggest trap you're going to fall into is going somewhere and looking only for specific things you might end up at the beach and just search for driftwood. Jay Maisel said that the most dangerous thing a photographer can do is to go out with a picture already in their head and what happens is why do you're thinking about what you want to photograph you're missing out on what's going on around you next time you out simply take time to be in the moment and to search and seek out the wide possibilities presented to you. There is a fundamental difference between what we see and experience when taking photograph and the photograph itself the scene before us has sound smells the warmth of the sun or the coolness of the mist we've all created a photograph at some point which doesn't really match with the memory of our scene what seems so real and vivid to us at the time has just ended up as a dull and lifeless representation that's because we've relied too much on our senses to carry the moment. Next time you're about to create a photograph of a wilderness of grand mountains or a tumbling waterfall take time to block out all your other senses as you look through a viewfinder filter that scene until all you're left with is the visual elements you can decide what to emphasize what you can choose to include or exclude distill and isolate the parts within that viewfinder they're going to part your photograph with the same feeling that you're experiencing at that exact moment this is my favorite part of looking the fragments of things around us at the start of learning photography as a beginner most of us are told to photograph a whole thing the whole dog the whole building when you go through your own photography you'll see that occasionally you photograph parts of things now they're easy to photograph but they can also be tricky little things to see because of this well-intentioned advice that we were given from an early age we need to break free from the shackle and force ourselves to ignore the whole things and a good way to start this is to confine the way that you look things through your viewfinder only play the lens over the thing to be photographed and see what fragments worth photographing you can tease out of it once you become aware of these parts it's easy to see them you'll find them absolutely everywhere a scene that just recently offered you only a few options now has a multitude of variety within it when photographs are just a fragment of something they aren't just a literal representation of the scene they invite many interpretations and then give your photography more depth of course the opposite of the fragment is the whole you know the whole is most closely resembling the way that we normally interpret the world it's how we tend to make sense of the world and when we place the subjects as a whole it both simplifies but also complicates the picture because you've now asked the sporting cast to stand in the wings while you focus on the main player you don't have to worry about giving that cast any directions you have but one subject to photograph and is that simple but it's also that simplicity that is the complication because there is nothing else to help carry that scene that one subject must do all of the heavy lifting it alone is the reason for the photograph so it needs to be treated with more care and attention you need to fall in love with that single piece of subject and make it stand out and sing and shine by itself everything is somewhere often you can reveal more about your subject to the viewer of your photographs by showing where that object is now it's usually obvious you know a sailboat in a harbor for example or a horse in a field these contexts are expected so they don't really excite us or force us to question the relationships within the scene you know the boat is expected to be in the water just as the horse is expected to be in the field when the contexts are mixed up and changed then we can start to delight and surprise the viewer by throwing out some curveballs from time to time we can keep the view on their toes because they don't know what to expect that these there's almost disjointed surroundings can reinforce a feeling or create an unusual atmosphere the biggest hurdle for you to overcome when trying to create contexts is you now are a number of elements in this photograph you need to keep juggling the key to success is to have a clear idea about composition and to choose your viewpoint wisely if you want to learn more about developing your visual skills as a photographer i put together a playlist of some short tips which you can watch which i know will help you i'll link to it at the end of the video for you if you want to create images that encourage the viewer to spend time on them trying to find their meaning then seek out these unusual relationships between objects adjust your framing change your viewpoint use the visual abilities your camera has that you do not dwayne michael's bill brand they both did this to masterful effect the camera can compress and it can exaggerate distance look for the combinations and you'll see the possibilities are endless almost anything can be paired with something color shape size and texture even working straight lines against curves i've said the word viewpoint a few times now and you're aware that you can photograph a subject from in front above below from the side and a multitude of other angles but are you able to use the viewpoint to your advantage viewpoint performs two tasks that can show the subject from a perspective that we rarely see it from looking down on a landscape for example or you can use it to organize the relationships of the subject within the scene take the time to explore and examine all of the angles the easiest and most obvious way of course of doing this is to get off your own eye line think about it every day you look at the world from the same vantage point lie down on the floor photograph something from below stand on the ladder and shoot downwards don't be lazy and just settle for the obvious of just standing looking straight ahead that is the surest way to make your photographs common and completely conventional often when you're out and about you chance upon something to photograph you just pick up the camera and then you photograph it before moving on you trust upon that subject with the eyes of an everyday person now take the time to look at it with the eyes of a photographer learn to balance viewpoints if the subject itself is remarkable don't feel the need first to photograph it in an unusual way that way you run the risk of drawing attention to your technique rather than the subject of course when you become skilled at this balance you can create exceptional photographs of remarkable subjects from unusual viewpoints to see photographically and to create the very best photographs you're capable of you need to retrain your eyes now luckily it doesn't take years of study and I've created a series of short videos for you which I put up into a playlist it's up on the screen for you right there just click on it and you'll be taken to the next video thank you ever so much for being here