Case Study - The Maternal Bond
Lesson 16 from: Mastering Photographic Composition and Visual StorytellingChris Weston
Case Study - The Maternal Bond
Lesson 16 from: Mastering Photographic Composition and Visual StorytellingChris Weston
Lessons
Your 10,001st Photograph
03:24 2Camera Gear
03:03 3Piece of Gear We Always Forget
03:47 4Be a Storyteller
03:09 5Finding Ideas For Photography - Know Your Subject
06:59 6Cae Study - Why Are Zebras Black and White Striped
01:30 7Photograph What You Love
02:00 8See the Extraordinary in Ordinary Things
01:31Have an Opinion
01:46 10See With a Child’s Eyes
02:34 11Tell Your Story
08:46 12Find a Needle in the Haystack
01:38 13Lions Hunting Under Star Trails
04:21 14Ansel Adams and Visualisation in Practice
03:20 15Keeping an Open Mind and Thinking on Your Feet
02:47 16Case Study - The Maternal Bond
02:42 17Don’t Tell the Same Old Story
02:38 18Relevance
01:06 19#1 Reason Photographs Fail
02:57 20Getting Rid of Clutter
03:59 21Post Capture Cropping
02:04 22The Elements of Design
02:31 23Elements of Design
01:38 24Elements of Design - Shape
02:21 25Case Study - Shape
02:11 26Elements of Design - Color
01:55 27Case Study - Color
01:50 28Color in Camera
01:42 29Pattern
01:54 30Texture
02:24 31Seeing The Elements of Design
08:52 32Gestalt Theory
05:10 33Case Study - Cove
01:36 34Case Study - Hat
02:09 35Light and Contrast
01:54 36Light and Form
01:26 37Light and Depth
03:48 38Perspective
02:28 39Lenses and Perspective
02:47 40Rule of Thirds
02:48 41Centre of Frame
01:36 42Case Study - Positioning the Subject
01:48 43Positioning the Subject - Dynamic Symmetry
03:20 44The Horizon Line
02:52 45Should the Horizon Line Always be Straight and Level
02:13 46Other Lines
04:57 47Rhythm, Balance, and Visual Weight
02:59 48Negative Space
02:29 49The Two Most Important Controls on Your Camera
03:41 50Training the Mind
04:26Lesson Info
Case Study - The Maternal Bond
A while ago, I was in Borneo photographing orangutan for a book I was writing about endangered species and conservation. Now, because I'd never photographed around town before, I decided to spend a few days at a sanctuary to study the animal's behavior and visualize some ideas for images. On my first evening in the camp restaurant, I met a woman who invited me to dinner, and she turned out to be one of the most fascinating women I've ever met. Dr. Francine Iago was in her eighties and had spent her entire adult life caring for and conserving orang utan. During the conversation, she asked me about my work and specifically what I was doing at the sanctuary, and that Porter's under the subject of conservation. One of the surprising things he told me was that while the many sanctuaries in Malaysia and Indonesia have a part to play in saving individual orangutans, they don't really help in conserving this species as a whole. Now, explaining this, she told me the maternal bond between a moth...
er and baby orangutan is the strongest bond in nature, even greater than that of humans on. But for a baby orangutan to thrive it needs love Justus, much as it needs nourishment. The problem is, she said, that when an orphan orangutan arrives at a sanctuary while feeding, it helps it to survive to thrive. It needs the love of a mother, which, because of the circumstances, is always provided by a human surrogate. But as soon as you habituated orang utan to humans, it can never be released back into the wild. After dinner, as I walked back to my room, I thought about this conversation on what kept coming back to me over and over with Doctor Niarchos, statement about mother and baby, that the maternal bond between a mother and baby orangutan is the strongest bond in nature. I thought, What a beautiful sentiment that WAAS would it be, Geiling and engaging story. And so the next day I went into the sanctuary with the sole intent of photographing that story. I didn't pre plan specific shots. I didn't draw compositions on paper. I didn't Presuppose camera settings. Instead, I put my faith in my knowledge and experience of camera technique, which allow me to be mindful to my task, and I let curiosity fight me, and every time I framed an image. I asked myself the question. Does this composition tell the story when the answer came back? Yes. That's when I pressed the shutter. Captured meaningful image, No.
Ratings and Reviews
Edmund Cheung
Perhaps the style of presentation and simple, short, and direct messaging does not "jive" with some; but others may really love this. Yes the production of each episode is stylized and perhaps a bit formal (like a TV Show?), but there is something to be said about it. Perhaps this is not meant for professional photographers? I think of myself as decent amateur / high level photographer. I found lots of great nuggets of wisdom and inspiration from this. Especially when I an in a rut for creativity. Yes I have heard all these concepts and ideas before. BUT it is always great to hear and see a different way of presentation and voice. Please do NOT take the naysayer reviews as the end all. You should judge for yourself and watch a few episodes. If the style and content click for you, I would highly recommend this course.
Abdullah Alahmari
Thanks a lot to mr. Chris Weston This course is great and It is a 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 course for me. Beside the other course ( mastering the art of photography ) both courses are Complementing to each other and highly recommended.
Kai Atherton
While I am perhaps more advanced in my photography then this course. It is always great to be able to go back to fundamentals and remind ourselves of the basic principles, and even camera function. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and Chris's other. It is a great motivational jumpstart when lacking fresh creative idea's.
Student Work
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