As photographers… and as human beings… learning to see more is an important skill that helps to transform how we experience the world around us. From a photographic standpoint, it has always fascinated me how differently people can capture the world around them, even when standing right next to another photographer.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge

The visual patterns that our eyes follow can become habitual. When that happens we may miss opportunities to see things that are right in front of us. In essence, we become visual prisoners. There are various approaches we can use to challenge ourselves to break away from our preconditioned ways of seeing the world around us. This article shares a few techniques that may be helpful.

Using ‘soft eyes’.
This is an approach that I frequently use on a conscious basis. ‘Soft eyes’ is when we try not to lock our eyes… or focus our attention… on anything in front of us. It is a purposeful attempt to take in everything from our right and left peripherals… and everything in between. It is like a wide angle, blurred vision experience. For example, when I used ‘soft eyes’ when doing flower photography, I saw a cascading white flow in the image above. Not individual blossoms.

Using ‘soft eyes’ can help us see composition opportunities. This technique enables the geometric shapes around me to come into clear view with landscape photography. Like the green rectangle across the top of the photograph above, and the strong grey triangle formed by the surface of the still water. There is also a green/brown triangle on the left hand side of the composition.

While walking down to the beach at Mangawhai Heads in New Zealand an incredible red triangle jumped out at me. I explained what I saw to my wife. She then composed the image above which captured the essence of what I saw.

I first experienced the photograph above as three green triangles intersecting in the distance.

The photograph above is one of my favourites from a visit to Kaka Point in New Zealand. Using ‘soft eyes’ caused me to see this image as four, intersecting geometric shapes. A blue rectangle running across the top of the composition. A dark green rectangle created by the cluster of beach front trees. And, two opposing triangles on the bottom of the composition.
Rather than allowing your eyes to focus on the high contrast trees in the scene, try not to focus on anything. Take in the image in its entirety by concentrating on your peripheral vision. When you do, you may see the same four geometric shapes that I experienced when I composed the image.

Using ‘soft eyes’ enables me to see shapes and patterns in larger scenes so I can hone in on them. This cutaway at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum yielded a number of compositions.



Using ‘laser eyes’.
This technique is the opposite to ‘soft eyes’. When using this approach we do our best to eliminate the bigger scene in front of us, focusing instead on small details. This can be very effective when doing close up and macro photography.





Starting with the background.
Often I find myself examining backgrounds first, then deciding what I can match up against them. Finding nice, smooth backgrounds can be extremely important for many types of subject matter as they help create subject separation. Macro photography, such as the blossom image above, as well as flower, insect, and bird photography can benefit from starting with the background.




Looking for light and contrast.
As seen in the image above, looking for light and contrast can help us create interesting compositions. I often use this technique in combination with ‘soft eyes’. Using a flash for macro photography can help create high contrast images.







Working with patterns.
Interesting patterns can be found all around us. Both in nature and with human creations. Patterns can help communicate concepts.
Nikon 1 J5 + 1 Nikon 10-100mm f/4-5.6 @ 12.1mm, efov 32.7mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO-160
Interconnectedness.

Confusion.

Protection.

Craftsmanship.

Teamwork and precision.

Concentration.

Feeling emotional connections.
Often when we look at subjects they can evoke an emotional response. We can work with these emotional connections when creating images.









Self-examination questions.
We can use simple questions to force ourselves to look for specific situations when we are out with our cameras.
- Is there anything that looks out of place?
- Is there symmetry anywhere around me?
- Where do I see contrast?
- Is anything provoking an emotional response in me?
- What colours are attracting my eye?
- Does my eye move towards anything that provides it rest?
- If I imagined pouring water on the scene in front of me, where would it flow?
- What details intrigue me?
- Is there any movement that attracts my attention?

Every photographer will have their own interests and priorities, so the questions that are relevant for you may be different than for me. Learning to see more can breath new life into our photography. This can be especially important during these times of lock downs and other physical restrictions.
Technical Note
Photographs were captured hand-held using camera gear and technology as noted in the EXIF data. Images were produced from RAW files using my standard process.

How you can help keep this site advertising free
My intent is to keep this photography blog advertising free. If you enjoyed this article and/or my website and would like to support my work, you can purchase an eBook, or make a modest $10 donation through PayPal. Both are most appreciated. You can use the Donate button below. Larger donations can be made to… tom at tomstirr dot com… through PayPal.
Word of mouth is the best form of endorsement. If you like our website please let your friends and associates know about our work. Linking to this site or to specific articles is allowed with proper acknowledgement. Reproducing articles, or any of the images contained in them, on another website or in any social media posting is a Copyright infringement.
Article is Copyright 2021 Thomas Stirr. Images are Copyright 2012-2020 Thomas Stirr. All rights reserved. No use, duplication or adaptation of any kind is allowed without written consent. If you see this article reproduced anywhere else it is an unauthorized and illegal use. Posting comments on offending websites and calling out individuals who steal intellectual property is always appreciated!