Motiv – Fototechnik – Ästhetik – Aussage
Definition Motiv
Motiv kommt aus dem Lateinischen: motus = Bewegung, Antrieb. Laut Wikipedia ist es das wichtigste und meist zentrale Objekt eines Fotos. Viel besser und praktischer ist die Definition, die in der englischen Übersetzung von Fotomotiv steckt: photo scene.
Fotoszene ist eine viel umfassendere und neutralere Beschreibung dessen, was gewöhnlich pauschal und mit Psychologie vermischt als Motiv bezeichnet wird. Ich verstehe unter Motiv eine in der dreidimensionalen Realität liegende Szene mit einem oder mehreren unterscheidbaren Objekten. Alles, was wir sehen können, kann auch Motiv sein.
Wenn man einmal in Fotoportale wie Flickr, 500px oder Fotocommunity schaut, bekommt man eine Vorstellung von der Welt der Motive und ihrer Beliebtheit. Ganz vorne stehen grandiose Landschaften. Was einst die Maler der Romantik dargestellt haben, wird nun durch die Fotografie weitergeführt. Direkt danach kommen Vogelbilder, ein seltsames und für mich eher unerwartetes Phänomen. Vom Greifvogel bis zu den unschlagbaren Buntspechten. Die dritte große Gruppe sind Architekturfotos. Großartige Gebäude, Brücken, Skylines gerne auch bei Nacht. Danach kommen erst die anderen beliebten Themen, wie Natur, Tiere, Food, Auto, Sport oder Mensch. Und immer steht die Schönheit im Vordergrund. Fotos müssen schön sein, die Ästhetik makellos, Inhalt oder Aussage ist weniger wichtig. Wer als Hobbyfotograf als Erstes in solche Fotoportale hineinschaut und dann dort auch mitmacht, gerät in eine stereotype schöne Welt, die mit der Realität nur wenig zu tun hat. Und wird dazu verleitet oder man könnte auch sagen manipuliert, das Gesehene nachzuahmen.
Aber das Schöne und Exotische ist natürlich in der normalen Lebensumgebung schwer zu finden. Daraus entsteht ein Problem des Motivmangels. Man findet keine Motive. Und hofft dann auf Urlaubsmotive und reist zu allerhand sogenannten Sehenswürdigkeiten. Oder man fotografiert die Katze und geht in den Zoo. Ich habe übrigens nichts gegen Katzen. Man kann davon auch interessante Fotos machen. Aber 95 Prozent der Katzenfotos z. B. auf Flickr sind vollkommen langweilig. Katzen sitzend, stehend, liegend ohne jede Aktion. Dabei haben Katzen viele Eigenarten und Verhaltensweisen, die man studieren und in gute Fotos umsetzen könnte.
Das Alltägliche, Gewöhnliche oder gar Hässliche, also die reale Welt, wird von vielen Hobbyfotografen erst gar nicht in Betracht gezogen. Man ist in seltsamen und einseitigen Vorstellungen gefangen. Verstärkt und geradezu zementiert wird das dann durch den sozialen Charakter der Fotoportale. Faves, Likes und lobende Kommentare spielen dabei eine wesentliche Rolle. In der Psychologie nennt man das positive Verstärkung. Tatsächlich loben die meisten Nutzer Fotos nur, um selbst Lob zu erhalten. Man befindet sich in einer Internetblase, die den Blick auf Alternativen und kreative Möglichkeiten verstellt. Nicht zuletzt bekommt man auch ein falsches Selbstbild von den eigenen Fähigkeiten. Aber man kann aus den verschiedenen Fotoportalen einen großen Nutzen ziehen, wenn man sich von den üblichen stereotypen und einseitigen fotografischen Klischees befreit.
Für die folgenden Ausführungen spielt die Art der Motive keine Rolle. Man kann alles gut oder schlecht fotografieren. Und es wird hier keine Ideologie betrieben, was man fotografieren soll und was nicht.
Motive finden
Eigentlich ganz einfach. Man fotografiert, was man für schön, interessant, aktuell oder sonst bemerkenswert hält. Also was man sieht, um es für sich oder andere festzuhalten. Um sich selbst zu erinnern, um es ins Internet zu stellen oder Freunden zu schicken. Groß ist dann die Enttäuschung, wenn das fertige Foto in ungünstiger Weise vom Gesehenen abweicht. Allerdings hat die moderne Technik des Live-View hier viel verbessert. Den ungefähren Eindruck des geplanten Fotos haben wir damit schon vor der Aufnahme im Sucher. Das endgültige Foto können wir sofort nach dem Auslösen in allen Details betrachten und prüfen, ob es unserer ursprünglichen Vorstellung oder Wahrnehmung entspricht.
Schon der Begriff Sucher (Viewfinder) suggeriert, dass man zum Finden eines Motivs durch den Sucher schauen müsste. Und wir erleben eine Menge Fotografen, die sozusagen mit der Kamera am Auge die Gegend absuchen. Manche haben auch einen kleinen Papprahmen dabei, durch den sie hindurch schauen. Der Papprahmen ist einer dieser sinnlosen Profitipps, wie man fotografieren lernt. So etwas nennt man tatsächlich Motivsucher. Auch eine Motivsucher-App für Smartphones gibt es bereits. In Wirklichkeit hilft der Motivsucher beim Finden eines Motivs rein gar nichts. Man kann damit höchstens bei einem gefundenen Motiv den günstigsten Motivausschnitt bestimmen. Das gehört aber bereits in den Bereich der Gestaltung und kommt später.
TIPP: Suchen Sie nicht nach dem Schönen, sondern nach dem Interessanten!
Die Mehrzahl der Fotografen ist unablässig auf der Suche nach dem offensichtlich Schönen. Man reist in der Welt herum, um großartige Landschaften und Sehenswürdigkeiten einzufangen. Selbstverständlich ist das Schöne durchaus interessant. Das Schöne hebt sich vom Üblichen und Gewöhnlichen ab und erregt Aufmerksamkeit. Man wird es in der Regel nicht übersehen können und selbstverständlich auch fotografieren. Die meisten interessanten Motive sind aber nicht direkt schön. Oftmals sogar hässlich. Oder unauffällig. Man übersieht sie schon mal. Das können Dinge sein, die vom Üblichen abweichen, die man eigentlich an einer bestimmten Stelle nicht erwarten würde. Die man so noch nie gesehen hat.
Zum Beispiel diese Tankstelle. Gerade als ich unterwegs für dieses Kapitel darüber nachdachte, was eigentlich interessant ist, sah ich die ungewöhnliche automatische Minitankstelle für LKW. Ein Motiv war gefunden. Die Tankstelle sah auf den ersten Blick wenig imposant aus. Kein einfaches Motiv. Im Vordergrund standen unschöne Verteilerkästen. Und für die Trennung der Tankstelle vom Hintergrund einer Gebäudewand kam nur noch eine schräge Aufnahmerichtung infrage. Problematisch. Aber etwas Glück gehört auch zum Fotografieren. Die Person mit der blauen Jacke kam gerade rechtzeitig und bildete einen ausgleichenden Kontrapunkt zu der sonst viel zu übergewichtig in der rechten Bildhälfte stehenden Tankstelle.
Beispiel eines ungewöhnlichen Objektes:
Interessant könnte sein: besonders Unsinniges, Überflüssiges, von ungewöhnlicher Farbe, Surreales, Disfunktionales, Zerstörtes, Weggeworfenes, Zerfall. Oder Nützliches, Kreatives, Funktionales, außergewöhnliche Technik oder Architektur. Altmodisches, Modernes. Improvisiertes. Schädliches. Kritisierbares. Politisches, extremer Luxus, Armut, Reichtum. Menschliches. Komisches. Lustiges. Irritierendes, Unverständliches, Unbekanntes. Es lohnt sich darüber nachzudenken. Speziell und subjektiv, was für Sie ganz persönlich in Ihrer Umwelt und Erfahrungswelt interessant ist.
Tipp: versuchen Sie einmal eine Art Brainstorming zu Motiven
Die Motivsuche wird so zu einer intensiven Art der Weltsicht, mit einem Nutzen, der weit über die Fotografie hinausreicht. Ob nun schön oder weniger schön, in jedem Fall empfiehlt sich eine Kurzanalyse der im Fotobereich befindlichen Objekte. Eine Analyse der Foto-Szene. Was haben die Objekte für eine Bedeutung oder Aussage. Wie passen sie zusammen. Ist die Kombination in einem Bild witzig, widersprüchlich, realistisch oder surreal? Was ergibt sich dann als mögliche Aussage des Fotos. Welche Informationen übermittelt das Foto? Was muss ins Bild, was kann man weglassen. Und stimmt das mit den möglichen eigenen Absichten und Ansichten überein?
Vergessen Sie dabei erst einmal das Schöne, suchen Sie nicht primär nach ästhetischen Mustern, Farben und Formen! Genau diese Suche nach abstrakter Ästhetik wird von vielen Fotobüchern empfohlen und in den Mittelpunkt gestellt. Das behindert aber eine unbefangene und neugierige Sicht auf die Realität. Suchen Sie, was für sie persönlich interessant ist. Und versuchen Sie danach, wenn Sie etwas gefunden haben, dieses möglichst eindrucksvoll mit Fotografie und Bildgestaltung zu erfassen. Also zuerst das Motiv und danach die Bildgestaltung. Als Werkzeug, um einen intensiven Eindruck vom Motiv herzustellen. Ein intensiver Eindruck ist Ästhetik in Reinform. Der Sinn von Ästhetik. Und sie finden dabei auch noch verborgene Schönheiten, an denen viele achtlos vorübergehen.
Etwas relativieren muss ich das allerdings. Auch ästhetische Formen und Muster können für sich genommen interessant sein. Das Gebiet der abstrakten Fotografie. Die sogenannte Stracts. Und natürlich sind Bücher und Web-Informationen über Bildgestaltung durchaus nützlich, wenn man die dort vermittelten Kenntnisse, Theorien und Tipps an der richtigen Stelle des fotografischen Prozesses einordnet.
TIPP: Beobachten Sie aufmerksam die Umgebung Ihres Motivs
Ein Motiv steht immer in einer Fotoszene. Auch bewegte Objekte wie Menschen, Vögel, Autos, Flugzeuge können jederzeit in den geplanten Szeneausschnitt hinein kommen. Man sollte sich also nicht nur auf das interessante und vielleicht schöne Motiv konzentrieren, sondern immer auch die Umgebung im Blick behalten. An dem folgenden Beispiel kann ich das leicht zeigen. Eigentlich wollte ich nur die leeren Sektflaschen fotografieren. Plötzlich sah ich von links einen Oldtimer heranbrausen. Gerade noch Zeit, im richtigen Moment abzudrücken.
Ein unerwarteter Oldtimer
TIPP: Kombinieren Sie das Hauptmotiv mit weiteren Motiven
Ein Motiv kommt selten allein. Immer steht das Motiv in einer Szene mit Vordergrund, Hintergrund und seitlichen Objekten. Wenn man seine Umgebung mit den Augen systematisch abtastet, findet man zusätzliche Objekte, die mit dem Hauptmotiv harmonieren, kontrastieren oder Widersprüche bilden. Dann kann man versuchen, eine Blickrichtung, Standhöhe und Entfernung zu finden, bei der diese Objekte zusammenrücken und in ein einziges Bild passen. Beim folgenden Beispiel kombinierte ich die weit entfernt stehende Frankfurter Paulskirche mit der frei stehenden Wand eines Abrissgebäudes. Teleobjektiv und passende Komposition war notwendig.
Ungewöhnlicher Anblick und Durchblick
Hauptmotiv und Anlass für das folgende Foto war die beschädigte Ampel. Weil allein zu langweilig, habe ich dazu passende andere Objekte gesucht. Und die Objekte mit Teleobjektiv zusammengebracht. So gibt es zwar keinen Schönheitspreis, aber etwas zu sehen.
Und oft lohnt es sich, zu warten, bis ein dynamisches Objekt wie Mensch, Auto, Tier oder sonstiges die Szene belebt. Bei dem folgenden Foto fand ich zunächst nur das verbogene Geländer interessant. Aber es war sofort klar, dass ich damit ein schnell fahrendes Auto kombinieren musste.
Ein Raser als zusätzliches dynamisches Element
Das Plakat auf dem Fußboden war schon seltsam genug. Aber mit Fußgängern, die achtlos darüber laufen, wurde das noch viel skurriler.
Über die Werbung stolpern …
Weiteres Kombinationsbeispiel.
TIPP: Informieren Sie sich über Ihre Motive
Je mehr Sie über ihre Motive wissen, desto besser. Besonders wichtig im Bereich der dokumentarischen Fotografie. Nur dann können Sie die typischen Merkmale und die Funktionalität Ihres Motivs erkennen und ästhetisch optimal umsetzen. Notfalls informieren Sie sich über das Internet nachträglich. Dann können Sie einschätzen, ob das Foto so etwas wie Aussagekraft hat oder am Wesentlichen vorbeigeht.
TIPP: Lassen Sie alles Unwichtige weg und suchen Sie einen konzentrierten Ausschnitt
Bei diesem Foto an einem Fitness-Studio habe ich mich auf das Wesentliche konzentriert und sogar ausnahmsweise einen Kopf abgeschnitten. Der Kopf hat keine Muskeln und ist daher in diesem Zusammenhang unwichtig.
Stark aber kopflos
TIPP: Vermeiden Sie angeschnittene oder direkt am Bildrand klebende Objekte
Angeschnittene, abgeschnittene oder direkt am oberen bzw. unteren Bildrand klebende Objekte werden meist als Bildfehler empfunden. Beispiel abgeschnittene Füße. Wenn schon abschneiden, dann richtig. Also besser gleich nur den Oberkörper oder Kopf eines Menschen zeigen. Es sollte nach gestalterischer Absicht aussehen!
TIPP: Überlegen Sie sich, ob das Motiv wirklich interessant ist
Weniger ist oft mehr. Knipsen Sie nicht einfach drauf los. Nach dem Motto – irgendwas wird schon dabei sein. Fragen Sie sich ruhig, ob sich die Aufnahme überhaupt lohnt. Ob es keine besseren Alternativen gibt. Im letzten Kapitel zu Analyse des Bildinhaltes finden Sie dazu passenden Anregungen. Man kann ein Motiv, welches auf den ersten Blick attraktiv erscheint, auch einmal verwerfen. Und spart dadurch Zeit.
Motive arrangieren
Professionelle Fotografen schlagen sich ungern mit den Zufälligkeiten von Motiven herum, sondern versuchen diese zu beeinflussen oder zu arrangieren. Bei Personen führen sie Regie. Sachen oder Objekte werden wie eine Dekoration behandelt und aufgebaut. Werbefotografen erhalten in der Regel genaue Vorgaben von der Werbeagentur. Nimmt man das Grundschema Motiv – Fototechnik – Bildgestaltung – Aussage, beginnen diese Fotografen mit der Aussage als Vorgabe und stellen sich dann eine passende Motiv-Szene zusammen. Meistens im Fotostudio, manchmal auch in einer Outdoor Location.
Das heißt aber nicht, dass wir als Hobbyfotografen an der Fotoszene nichts ändern könnten. Es ist nützlich, die Sache ebenfalls vom Ende her zu betrachten und einmal zu schauen, was aus dem Motiv für eine Aussage herauskommen kann. Damit beschäftigt sich das letzte Kapitel der fotografischen Aussage.
Zunächst einmal haben wir, wenn wir etwas findig sind, durchaus die Wahl zwischen verschiedenen Motiven mit ähnlicher Aussage. Wir müssen nicht unbedingt fotografieren. Ist die Entscheidung für ein Motiv gefallen, können wir durch Variation von Richtung und Entfernung Objekte unserer Motiv-Szene weglassen oder hinzufügen. Dann haben wir noch eine Reihe von Gestaltungsmitteln, die einzelne Objekte hervorheben oder sogar verschwinden lassen. Und wir können durch den Bildaufbau Beziehungen zwischen den Objekten herstellen. Bei sich verändernden Szenen warten wir, bis Unerwünschtes verschwindet oder Interessantes in die Szene hineinkommt. Sind uns bekannte Personen Teil des Motivs, führen wir eventuell Regie. Bei Stillleben bietet es sich an, unpassende Objekte aus der Fotoszene zu schieben und andere Objekte hineinzubringen. Und gefällt uns das Licht oder die Witterung nicht, merken wir uns das Motiv und kommen zu einem günstigeren Zeitpunkt wieder.
Zusammenfassung zum Thema Motiv:
Diese Ideen zur Motivsuche sind naturgemäß nicht vollständig und sollten vor allem dazu anregen, sich über Motive mehr Gedanken zu machen, als nur darüber, ob man ein schönes Bild erhält. In den folgenden Kapiteln wird einiges davon konkretisiert. Und es kommen noch weitere Anregungen bei der Bildgestaltung und bei der Analyse der Bildaussage. Das ergibt sich aus dem engen Zusammenhang zwischen Motiv, Fototechnik, Bildgestaltung und Analyse der Bildaussage. Man kann auch mal sozusagen vom Ende her fragen, was man eigentlich aussagen will, und danach ein passendes Motiv suchen.
Motif – photo technique – aesthetics – statement
Definition motif
Motif comes from the Latin: motus = movement, drive. According to Wikipedia, it is the most important and usually central object of a photo. Much better and more practical is the definition that is in the English translation of photo motif: photo scene.
Photoscene is a much more comprehensive and neutral description of what is usually sweepingly called motif, mixed with psychology. I take motif to mean a scene located in three-dimensional reality with one or more distinguishable objects. Everything we can see can also be a motif.
If you take a look at photo portals like Flickr, 500px or Fotocommunity, you get an idea of the world of motifs and their popularity. At the top of the list are grandiose landscapes. What was once depicted by Romantic painters is now being continued by photography. Immediately after come bird pictures, a strange and, for me, rather unexpected phenomenon. From birds of prey to the unbeatable spotted woodpeckers. The third large group are architectural photos. Great buildings, bridges, skylines gladly also at night. Then come the other popular themes, such as nature, animals, food, cars, sports or people. And beauty is always in the foreground. Photos must be beautiful, the aesthetics flawless, content or statement is less important. If you’re a hobby photographer and the first thing you do is look into such photo portals and then join in, you get caught up in a stereotypical beautiful world that has little to do with reality. And is tempted, or one could also say manipulated, to imitate what is seen.
But the beautiful and exotic is, of course, hard to find in the normal environment of life. From this arises a problem of lack of motives. One does not find motifs. And then hopes for vacation motifs and travels to all sorts of so-called sights. Or you photograph the cat and go to the zoo. By the way, I have nothing against cats. You can take interesting photos of them. But 95 percent of cat photos on Flickr, for example, are completely boring. Cats sitting, standing, lying without any action. But cats have many peculiarities and behaviors that you could study and turn into good photos.
The mundane, ordinary or even ugly, that is the real world, is not even considered by many amateur photographers. One is caught in strange and one-sided ideas. This is then reinforced and downright cemented by the social character of the photo portals. Faves, likes and praising comments play an essential role. In psychology, this is called positive reinforcement. In fact, most users praise photos only to receive praise themselves. You find yourself in an Internet bubble that obscures your view of alternatives and creative possibilities. Last but not least, you get a false self-image of your own abilities. But one can get a lot of benefit from the various photo portals if one frees oneself from the usual stereotypical and one-sided photographic clichés.
For the following explanations, the type of motifs does not matter. You can photograph anything well or badly. And no ideology is pursued here, what to photograph and what not.
Finding motifs
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Actually quite simple. You photograph what you think is beautiful, interesting, current or otherwise noteworthy. So what you see to capture it for yourself or others. To remember yourself, to put it on the Internet or to send it to friends. The disappointment is then great when the finished photo deviates in an unfavorable way from what was seen. However, the modern technology of live view has improved a lot here. We have an approximate impression of the planned photo in the viewfinder before we take it. We can view the final photo in all its details immediately after the shutter is released and check whether it corresponds to our original idea or perception.
Even the term viewfinder suggests that you have to look through the viewfinder to find a subject. And we see a lot of photographers scanning the area with the camera at their eye, so to speak. Some also have a small cardboard frame with them, through which they look. The cardboard frame is one of those pointless professional tips on how to learn to take photographs. This kind of thing is actually called a motif finder. There is also already a Motivsucher app for smartphones. In reality, the subject finder doesn’t help at all in finding a subject. At most, it can be used to determine the most favorable section of a found subject. But that already belongs to the area of design and comes later.
TIP: Do not look for the beautiful, but for the interesting!
The majority of photographers are ceaselessly in search of the obviously beautiful. People travel around the world to capture great landscapes and sights. Of course, the beautiful is quite interesting. The beautiful stands out from the usual and ordinary and attracts attention. You usually won’t be able to miss it and, of course, photograph it. However, most interesting motifs are not directly beautiful. Often even ugly. Or inconspicuous. One overlooks them sometimes. They can be things that deviate from the usual, that you would not expect in a certain place. That you have never seen before.
For example, this gas station. Just as I was thinking about what is actually interesting on the way for this chapter, I saw the unusual automatic mini gas station for trucks. A motive was found. At first glance, the gas station did not look very impressive. Not an easy motif. In the foreground were unsightly distribution boxes. And for the separation of the gas station from the background of a building wall only an oblique shooting direction came into question. Problematic. But a bit of luck is also part of photography. The person with the blue jacket came just in time and formed a balancing counterpoint to the otherwise much too overweight gas station standing in the right half of the picture.
Example of an unusual object:
Interesting could be: especially nonsensical, superfluous, of unusual color, surreal, disfunctional, destroyed, discarded, decay. Or useful, creative, functional, unusual technology or architecture. Old-fashioned, modern. Improvised. Harmful. Criticizable. Political, extreme luxury, poverty, wealth. Human. Funny. Funny. Irritating, incomprehensible, unknown. It is worth to think about it. Specifically and subjectively, what is interesting for you personally in your environment and world of experience.
Tip: try a kind of brainstorming on motifs.
The search for motifs thus becomes an intensive way of looking at the world, with benefits that extend far beyond photography. Whether beautiful or less beautiful, in any case, a brief analysis of the objects located in the photo area is recommended. An analysis of the photo scene. What is the meaning or statement of the objects. How do they fit together. Is the combination in a picture funny, contradictory, realistic or surreal? What then emerges as a possible statement of the photo. What information does the photo convey? What has to be in the picture, what can be left out. And is this consistent with your own possible intentions and views?
Forget about beauty for the time being, do not primarily look for aesthetic patterns, colors and shapes! Exactly this search for abstract aesthetics is recommended and focused on by many photo books. But this hinders an unbiased and curious view of reality. Look for what is interesting for them personally. And afterwards, when you have found something, try to capture it as impressively as possible with photography and image composition. So first the subject and then the image composition. As a tool to create an intense impression of the subject. An intense impression is aesthetics in its purest form. The sense of aesthetics. And in the process they also find hidden beauties that many carelessly pass by.
However, I have to put this into perspective a bit. Aesthetic forms and patterns can also be interesting in their own right. The field of abstract photography. The so-called stracts. And of course, books and web information on image composition are quite useful, if you put the knowledge, theories and tips conveyed there in the right place in the photographic process.
TIP: Observe carefully the surroundings of your subject.
A subject is always in a photo scene. Moving objects such as people, birds, cars, airplanes can also come into the planned scene at any time. So you should not only concentrate on the interesting and maybe beautiful subject, but always keep an eye on the surroundings. I can easily show this with the following example. Actually, I only wanted to photograph the empty champagne bottles. Suddenly I saw a vintage car roaring up from the left. Just time to pull the trigger at the right moment.
An unexpected classic car
TIP: Combine the main motif with other motifs.
A motif rarely comes alone. Always the motive stands in a scene with foreground, background and lateral objects. If you systematically scan your surroundings with your eyes, you will find additional objects that harmonize, contrast, or contradict with the main motif. Then you can try to find a line of sight, stand height and distance where these objects move together and fit into a single image. In the following example, I combined Frankfurt’s distant Paulskirche church with the free-standing wall of a demolition building. Telephoto lens and appropriate composition was necessary.
Unusual sight and view
The main motive and reason for the following photo was the damaged traffic light. Because alone it was too boring, I searched for suitable other objects. And the objects with telephoto lens brought together. So there is no beauty prize, but something to see.
And often it’s worth waiting until a dynamic object like a person, car, animal, or something else enlivens the scene. In the following photo, I initially found only the bent railing interesting. But it was immediately clear that I had to combine a fast-moving car with it.
A racer as an additional dynamic element
The poster on the floor was strange enough. But with pedestrians carelessly walking across it, it became even more bizarre.
Stumbling over the advertisement …
TIP: Educate yourself about your motives.
The more you know about their motives, the better. Especially important in the field of documentary photography. Only then can you recognize the typical features and functionality of your motif and implement them aesthetically optimal. If necessary, inform yourself via the Internet afterwards. Then you can assess whether the photo has something like expressiveness or misses the point.
TIP: Leave out everything unimportant and look for a concentrated section.
In this photo at a gym, I focused on the essentials and even cropped a head for once. The head has no muscles and is therefore unimportant in this context.
Strong but headless
TIP: Avoid cropped objects or objects stuck directly to the edge of the image.
Objects that are cropped, cut off, or stuck directly to the top or bottom of the image are usually perceived as image defects. Example: cut off feet. If you have to cut them off, then do it right. So it is better to show only the upper body or head of a person. It should look like creative intention!
TIP: Consider whether the motif is really interesting.
Less is often more. Do not just snap away. According to the motto – something will already be there. Ask yourself calmly, whether the admission is worthwhile at all. Whether there are no better alternatives. In the last chapter on analyzing the image content, you will find suitable suggestions. You can also discard a motif that seems attractive at first glance. And saves thereby time.
Arranging motifs
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Professional photographers do not like to mess around with the randomness of motifs, but try to influence or arrange them. With people, they direct. Things or objects are treated and set up like a decoration. Advertising photographers usually receive precise instructions from the advertising agency. If you take the basic scheme motif – photo technique – image composition – statement, these photographers start with the statement as a default and then put together a suitable motif scene. Mostly in a photo studio, sometimes also in an outdoor location.
But that doesn’t mean that we as amateur photographers can’t do anything about the photo scene. It is useful to look at the matter also from the end and once to see what can come out of the motive for a statement. This is what the last chapter of the photographic statement deals with.
First of all, if we are somewhat resourceful, we certainly have the choice between different motifs with a similar statement. We do not necessarily have to take a photograph. Once the decision has been made for a motif, we can omit or add objects to our motif scene by varying the direction and distance. Then we have a number of design tools that can emphasize individual objects or even make them disappear. And we can create relationships between objects through image composition. In changing scenes, we wait until the unwanted disappears or the interesting enters the scene. If people we know are part of the motif, we may direct them. With still lifes, we can move inappropriate objects out of the photo scene and bring in other objects. And we do not like the light or the weather, we note the motive and come back at a more favorable time.
Summary on motif:
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By their nature, these ideas for finding motifs are not exhaustive and should primarily encourage you to think about motifs more than whether you get a nice picture. Some of this will be fleshed out in the following chapters. And there will be more suggestions in the composition of the picture and in the analysis of the picture’s message. This results from the close connection between motif, photographic technique, image composition and analysis of the image statement. You can also ask from the end, so to speak, what you actually want to say, and then look for a suitable motif.
Motif – photo technique – aesthetics – statement
Definition motif
Motif comes from the Latin: motus = movement, drive. According to Wikipedia, it is the most important and usually central object of a photo. Much better and more practical is the definition that is in the English translation of photo motif: photo scene.
Photoscene is a much more comprehensive and neutral description of what is usually sweepingly called motif, mixed with psychology. I take motif to mean a scene located in three-dimensional reality with one or more distinguishable objects. Everything we can see can also be a motif.
If you take a look at photo portals like Flickr, 500px or Fotocommunity, you get an idea of the world of motifs and their popularity. At the top of the list are grandiose landscapes. What was once depicted by Romantic painters is now being continued by photography. Immediately after come bird pictures, a strange and, for me, rather unexpected phenomenon. From birds of prey to the unbeatable spotted woodpeckers. The third large group are architectural photos. Great buildings, bridges, skylines gladly also at night. Then come the other popular themes, such as nature, animals, food, cars, sports or people. And beauty is always in the foreground. Photos must be beautiful, the aesthetics flawless, content or statement is less important. If you’re a hobby photographer and the first thing you do is look into such photo portals and then join in, you get caught up in a stereotypical beautiful world that has little to do with reality. And is tempted, or one could also say manipulated, to imitate what is seen.
But the beautiful and exotic is, of course, hard to find in the normal environment of life. From this arises a problem of lack of motives. One does not find motifs. And then hopes for vacation motifs and travels to all sorts of so-called sights. Or you photograph the cat and go to the zoo. By the way, I have nothing against cats. You can take interesting photos of them. But 95 percent of cat photos on Flickr, for example, are completely boring. Cats sitting, standing, lying without any action. But cats have many peculiarities and behaviors that you could study and turn into good photos.
The mundane, ordinary or even ugly, that is the real world, is not even considered by many amateur photographers. One is caught in strange and one-sided ideas. This is then reinforced and downright cemented by the social character of the photo portals. Faves, likes and praising comments play an essential role. In psychology, this is called positive reinforcement. In fact, most users praise photos only to receive praise themselves. You find yourself in an Internet bubble that obscures your view of alternatives and creative possibilities. Last but not least, you get a false self-image of your own abilities. But one can get a lot of benefit from the various photo portals if one frees oneself from the usual stereotypical and one-sided photographic clichés.
For the following explanations, the type of motifs does not matter. You can photograph anything well or badly. And no ideology is pursued here, what to photograph and what not.
Finding motifs
.
Actually quite simple. You photograph what you think is beautiful, interesting, current or otherwise noteworthy. So what you see to capture it for yourself or others. To remember yourself, to put it on the Internet or to send it to friends. The disappointment is then great when the finished photo deviates in an unfavorable way from what was seen. However, the modern technology of live view has improved a lot here. We have an approximate impression of the planned photo in the viewfinder before we take it. We can view the final photo in all its details immediately after the shutter is released and check whether it corresponds to our original idea or perception.
Even the term viewfinder suggests that you have to look through the viewfinder to find a subject. And we see a lot of photographers scanning the area with the camera at their eye, so to speak. Some also have a small cardboard frame with them, through which they look. The cardboard frame is one of those pointless professional tips on how to learn to take photographs. This kind of thing is actually called a motif finder. There is also already a Motivsucher app for smartphones. In reality, the subject finder doesn’t help at all in finding a subject. At most, it can be used to determine the most favorable section of a found subject. But that already belongs to the area of design and comes later.
TIP: Do not look for the beautiful, but for the interesting!
The majority of photographers are ceaselessly in search of the obviously beautiful. People travel around the world to capture great landscapes and sights. Of course, the beautiful is quite interesting. The beautiful stands out from the usual and ordinary and attracts attention. You usually won’t be able to miss it and, of course, photograph it. However, most interesting motifs are not directly beautiful. Often even ugly. Or inconspicuous. One overlooks them sometimes. They can be things that deviate from the usual, that you would not expect in a certain place. That you have never seen before.
For example, this gas station. Just as I was thinking about what is actually interesting on the way for this chapter, I saw the unusual automatic mini gas station for trucks. A motive was found. At first glance, the gas station did not look very impressive. Not an easy motif. In the foreground were unsightly distribution boxes. And for the separation of the gas station from the background of a building wall only an oblique shooting direction came into question. Problematic. But a bit of luck is also part of photography. The person with the blue jacket came just in time and formed a balancing counterpoint to the otherwise much too overweight gas station standing in the right half of the picture.
Example of an unusual object:
Interesting could be: especially nonsensical, superfluous, of unusual color, surreal, disfunctional, destroyed, discarded, decay. Or useful, creative, functional, unusual technology or architecture. Old-fashioned, modern. Improvised. Harmful. Criticizable. Political, extreme luxury, poverty, wealth. Human. Funny. Funny. Irritating, incomprehensible, unknown. It is worth to think about it. Specifically and subjectively, what is interesting for you personally in your environment and world of experience.
Tip: try a kind of brainstorming on motifs.
The search for motifs thus becomes an intensive way of looking at the world, with benefits that extend far beyond photography. Whether beautiful or less beautiful, in any case, a brief analysis of the objects located in the photo area is recommended. An analysis of the photo scene. What is the meaning or statement of the objects. How do they fit together. Is the combination in a picture funny, contradictory, realistic or surreal? What then emerges as a possible statement of the photo. What information does the photo convey? What has to be in the picture, what can be left out. And is this consistent with your own possible intentions and views?
Forget about beauty for the time being, do not primarily look for aesthetic patterns, colors and shapes! Exactly this search for abstract aesthetics is recommended and focused on by many photo books. But this hinders an unbiased and curious view of reality. Look for what is interesting for them personally. And afterwards, when you have found something, try to capture it as impressively as possible with photography and image composition. So first the subject and then the image composition. As a tool to create an intense impression of the subject. An intense impression is aesthetics in its purest form. The sense of aesthetics. And in the process they also find hidden beauties that many carelessly pass by.
However, I have to put this into perspective a bit. Aesthetic forms and patterns can also be interesting in their own right. The field of abstract photography. The so-called stracts. And of course, books and web information on image composition are quite useful, if you put the knowledge, theories and tips conveyed there in the right place in the photographic process.
TIP: Observe carefully the surroundings of your subject.
A subject is always in a photo scene. Moving objects such as people, birds, cars, airplanes can also come into the planned scene at any time. So you should not only concentrate on the interesting and maybe beautiful subject, but always keep an eye on the surroundings. I can easily show this with the following example. Actually, I only wanted to photograph the empty champagne bottles. Suddenly I saw a vintage car roaring up from the left. Just time to pull the trigger at the right moment.
An unexpected classic car
TIP: Combine the main motif with other motifs.
A motif rarely comes alone. Always the motive stands in a scene with foreground, background and lateral objects. If you systematically scan your surroundings with your eyes, you will find additional objects that harmonize, contrast, or contradict with the main motif. Then you can try to find a line of sight, stand height and distance where these objects move together and fit into a single image. In the following example, I combined Frankfurt’s distant Paulskirche church with the free-standing wall of a demolition building. Telephoto lens and appropriate composition was necessary.
Unusual sight and view
The main motive and reason for the following photo was the damaged traffic light. Because alone it was too boring, I searched for suitable other objects. And the objects with telephoto lens brought together. So there is no beauty prize, but something to see.
And often it’s worth waiting until a dynamic object like a person, car, animal, or something else enlivens the scene. In the following photo, I initially found only the bent railing interesting. But it was immediately clear that I had to combine a fast-moving car with it.
A racer as an additional dynamic element
The poster on the floor was strange enough. But with pedestrians carelessly walking across it, it became even more bizarre.
Stumbling over the advertisement …
TIP: Educate yourself about your motives.
The more you know about their motives, the better. Especially important in the field of documentary photography. Only then can you recognize the typical features and functionality of your motif and implement them aesthetically optimal. If necessary, inform yourself via the Internet afterwards. Then you can assess whether the photo has something like expressiveness or misses the point.
TIP: Leave out everything unimportant and look for a concentrated section.
In this photo at a gym, I focused on the essentials and even cropped a head for once. The head has no muscles and is therefore unimportant in this context.
Strong but headless
TIP: Avoid cropped objects or objects stuck directly to the edge of the image.
Objects that are cropped, cut off, or stuck directly to the top or bottom of the image are usually perceived as image defects. Example: cut off feet. If you have to cut them off, then do it right. So it is better to show only the upper body or head of a person. It should look like creative intention!
TIP: Consider whether the motif is really interesting.
Less is often more. Do not just snap away. According to the motto – something will already be there. Ask yourself calmly, whether the admission is worthwhile at all. Whether there are no better alternatives. In the last chapter on analyzing the image content, you will find suitable suggestions. You can also discard a motif that seems attractive at first glance. And saves thereby time.
Arranging motifs
.
Professional photographers do not like to mess around with the randomness of motifs, but try to influence or arrange them. With people, they direct. Things or objects are treated and set up like a decoration. Advertising photographers usually receive precise instructions from the advertising agency. If you take the basic scheme motif – photo technique – image composition – statement, these photographers start with the statement as a default and then put together a suitable motif scene. Mostly in a photo studio, sometimes also in an outdoor location.
But that doesn’t mean that we as amateur photographers can’t do anything about the photo scene. It is useful to look at the matter also from the end and once to see what can come out of the motive for a statement. This is what the last chapter of the photographic statement deals with.
First of all, if we are somewhat resourceful, we certainly have the choice between different motifs with a similar statement. We do not necessarily have to take a photograph. Once the decision has been made for a motif, we can omit or add objects to our motif scene by varying the direction and distance. Then we have a number of design tools that can emphasize individual objects or even make them disappear. And we can create relationships between objects through image composition. In changing scenes, we wait until the unwanted disappears or the interesting enters the scene. If people we know are part of the motif, we may direct them. With still lifes, we can move inappropriate objects out of the photo scene and bring in other objects. And we do not like the light or the weather, we note the motive and come back at a more favorable time.
Summary on motif:
.
By their nature, these ideas for finding motifs are not exhaustive and should primarily encourage you to think about motifs more than whether you get a nice picture. Some of this will be fleshed out in the following chapters. And there will be more suggestions in the composition of the picture and in the analysis of the picture’s message. This results from the close connection between motif, photographic technique, image composition and analysis of the image statement. You can also ask from the end, so to speak, what you actually want to say, and then look for a suitable motif.
Motif – photo technique – aesthetics – statement
Definition motif
Motif comes from the Latin: motus = movement, drive. According to Wikipedia, it is the most important and usually central object of a photo. Much better and more practical is the definition that is in the English translation of photo motif: photo scene.
Photoscene is a much more comprehensive and neutral description of what is usually sweepingly called motif, mixed with psychology. I take motif to mean a scene located in three-dimensional reality with one or more distinguishable objects. Everything we can see can also be a motif.
If you take a look at photo portals like Flickr, 500px or Fotocommunity, you get an idea of the world of motifs and their popularity. At the top of the list are grandiose landscapes. What was once depicted by Romantic painters is now being continued by photography. Immediately after come bird pictures, a strange and, for me, rather unexpected phenomenon. From birds of prey to the unbeatable spotted woodpeckers. The third large group are architectural photos. Great buildings, bridges, skylines gladly also at night. Then come the other popular themes, such as nature, animals, food, cars, sports or people. And beauty is always in the foreground. Photos must be beautiful, the aesthetics flawless, content or statement is less important. If you’re a hobby photographer and the first thing you do is look into such photo portals and then join in, you get caught up in a stereotypical beautiful world that has little to do with reality. And is tempted, or one could also say manipulated, to imitate what is seen.
But the beautiful and exotic is, of course, hard to find in the normal environment of life. From this arises a problem of lack of motives. One does not find motifs. And then hopes for vacation motifs and travels to all sorts of so-called sights. Or you photograph the cat and go to the zoo. By the way, I have nothing against cats. You can take interesting photos of them. But 95 percent of cat photos on Flickr, for example, are completely boring. Cats sitting, standing, lying without any action. But cats have many peculiarities and behaviors that you could study and turn into good photos.
The mundane, ordinary or even ugly, that is the real world, is not even considered by many amateur photographers. One is caught in strange and one-sided ideas. This is then reinforced and downright cemented by the social character of the photo portals. Faves, likes and praising comments play an essential role. In psychology, this is called positive reinforcement. In fact, most users praise photos only to receive praise themselves. You find yourself in an Internet bubble that obscures your view of alternatives and creative possibilities. Last but not least, you get a false self-image of your own abilities. But one can get a lot of benefit from the various photo portals if one frees oneself from the usual stereotypical and one-sided photographic clichés.
For the following explanations, the type of motifs does not matter. You can photograph anything well or badly. And no ideology is pursued here, what to photograph and what not.
Finding motifs
.
Actually quite simple. You photograph what you think is beautiful, interesting, current or otherwise noteworthy. So what you see to capture it for yourself or others. To remember yourself, to put it on the Internet or to send it to friends. The disappointment is then great when the finished photo deviates in an unfavorable way from what was seen. However, the modern technology of live view has improved a lot here. We have an approximate impression of the planned photo in the viewfinder before we take it. We can view the final photo in all its details immediately after the shutter is released and check whether it corresponds to our original idea or perception.
Even the term viewfinder suggests that you have to look through the viewfinder to find a subject. And we see a lot of photographers scanning the area with the camera at their eye, so to speak. Some also have a small cardboard frame with them, through which they look. The cardboard frame is one of those pointless professional tips on how to learn to take photographs. This kind of thing is actually called a motif finder. There is also already a subject finder app for smartphones. In reality, the subject finder doesn’t help at all in finding a subject. At most, it can be used to determine the most favorable section of a found subject. But that already belongs to the area of design and comes later.
TIP: Do not look for the beautiful, but for the interesting!
The majority of photographers are ceaselessly in search of the obviously beautiful. People travel around the world to capture great landscapes and sights. Of course, the beautiful is quite interesting. The beautiful stands out from the usual and ordinary and attracts attention. You usually won’t be able to miss it and, of course, photograph it. However, most interesting motifs are not directly beautiful. Often even ugly. Or inconspicuous. One overlooks them sometimes. They can be things that deviate from the usual, that you would not expect in a certain place. That you have never seen before.
For example, this gas station. Just as I was thinking about what is actually interesting on the way for this chapter, I saw the unusual automatic mini gas station for trucks. A motive was found. At first glance, the gas station did not look very impressive. Not an easy motif. In the foreground were unsightly distribution boxes. And for the separation of the gas station from the background of a building wall only an oblique shooting direction came into question. Problematic. But a bit of luck is also part of photography. The person with the blue jacket came just in time and formed a balancing counterpoint to the otherwise much too overweight gas station standing in the right half of the picture.
Example of an unusual object:
Interesting could be: especially nonsensical, superfluous, of unusual color, surreal, disfunctional, destroyed, discarded, decay. Or useful, creative, functional, unusual technology or architecture. Old-fashioned, modern. Improvised. Harmful. Criticizable. Political, extreme luxury, poverty, wealth. Human. Funny. Funny. Irritating, incomprehensible, unknown. It is worth to think about it. Specifically and subjectively, what is interesting for you personally in your environment and world of experience.
Tip: try a kind of brainstorming on motifs.
The search for motifs thus becomes an intensive way of looking at the world, with benefits that extend far beyond photography. Whether beautiful or less beautiful, in any case, a brief analysis of the objects located in the photo area is recommended. An analysis of the photo scene. What is the meaning or statement of the objects. How do they fit together. Is the combination in a picture funny, contradictory, realistic or surreal? What then emerges as a possible statement of the photo. What information does the photo convey? What has to be in the picture, what can be left out. And is this consistent with your own possible intentions and views?
Forget about beauty for the time being, do not primarily look for aesthetic patterns, colors and shapes! Exactly this search for abstract aesthetics is recommended and focused on by many photo books. But this hinders an unbiased and curious view of reality. Look for what is interesting for them personally. And afterwards, when you have found something, try to capture it as impressively as possible with photography and image composition. So first the subject and then the image composition. As a tool to create an intense impression of the subject. An intense impression is aesthetics in its purest form. The sense of aesthetics. And in the process they also find hidden beauties that many carelessly pass by.
However, I have to put this into perspective a bit. Aesthetic forms and patterns can also be interesting in their own right. The field of abstract photography. The so-called stracts. And of course, books and web information on image composition are quite useful, if you put the knowledge, theories and tips conveyed there in the right place in the photographic process.
TIP: Observe carefully the surroundings of your subject.
A subject is always in a photo scene. Moving objects such as people, birds, cars, airplanes can also come into the planned scene at any time. So you should not only concentrate on the interesting and maybe beautiful subject, but always keep an eye on the surroundings. I can easily show this with the following example. Actually, I only wanted to photograph the empty champagne bottles. Suddenly I saw a vintage car roaring up from the left. Just time to pull the trigger at the right moment.
An unexpected classic car
TIP: Combine the main motif with other motifs.
A motif rarely comes alone. Always the motive stands in a scene with foreground, background and lateral objects. If you systematically scan your surroundings with your eyes, you will find additional objects that harmonize, contrast, or contradict with the main motif. Then you can try to find a line of sight, stand height and distance where these objects move together and fit into a single image. In the following example, I combined Frankfurt’s distant Paulskirche church with the free-standing wall of a demolition building. Telephoto lens and appropriate composition was necessary.
Unusual sight and view
The main motive and reason for the following photo was the damaged traffic light. Because alone it was too boring, I searched for suitable other objects. And the objects with telephoto lens brought together. So there is no beauty prize, but something to see.
And often it’s worth waiting until a dynamic object like a person, car, animal, or something else enlivens the scene. In the following photo, I initially found only the bent railing interesting. But it was immediately clear that I had to combine a fast-moving car with it.
A racer as an additional dynamic element
The poster on the floor was strange enough. But with pedestrians carelessly walking across it, it became even more bizarre.
Stumbling over the advertisement …
TIP: Educate yourself about your motives.
The more you know about their motives, the better. Especially important in the field of documentary photography. Only then can you recognize the typical features and functionality of your motif and implement them aesthetically optimal. If necessary, inform yourself via the Internet afterwards. Then you can assess whether the photo has something like expressiveness or misses the point.
TIP: Leave out everything unimportant and look for a concentrated section.
In this photo at a gym, I focused on the essentials and even cropped a head for once. The head has no muscles and is therefore unimportant in this context.
Strong but headless
TIP: Avoid cropped objects or objects stuck directly to the edge of the image.
Objects that are cropped, cut off, or stuck directly to the top or bottom of the image are usually perceived as image defects. Example: cut off feet. If you have to cut them off, then do it right. So it is better to show only the upper body or head of a person. It should look like creative intention!
TIP: Consider whether the motif is really interesting.
Less is often more. Do not just snap away. According to the motto – something will already be there. Ask yourself calmly, whether the admission is worthwhile at all. Whether there are no better alternatives. In the last chapter on analyzing the image content, you will find suitable suggestions. You can also discard a motif that seems attractive at first glance. And thereby saves time.
Arranging motifs
.
Professional photographers do not like to mess around with the randomness of motifs, but try to influence or arrange them. With people, they direct. Things or objects are treated and set up like a decoration. Advertising photographers usually receive precise instructions from the advertising agency. If you take the basic scheme motif – photo technique – image composition – statement, these photographers start with the statement as a default and then put together a suitable motif scene. Mostly in a photo studio, sometimes also in an outdoor location.
But that doesn’t mean that we as amateur photographers can’t do anything about the photo scene. It is useful to look at the matter also from the end and once to see what can come out of the motive for a statement. This is what the last chapter of the photographic statement deals with.
First of all, if we are somewhat resourceful, we certainly have the choice between different motifs with a similar statement. We do not necessarily have to take a photograph. Once the decision has been made for a motif, we can omit or add objects to our motif scene by varying the direction and distance. Then we have a number of design tools that can emphasize individual objects or even make them disappear. And we can create relationships between objects through image composition. In changing scenes, we wait until the unwanted disappears or the interesting enters the scene. If people we know are part of the motif, we may direct them. With still lifes, we can move inappropriate objects out of the photo scene and bring in other objects. And we do not like the light or the weather, we note the motive and come back at a more favorable time.
Summary on motif:
.
By their nature, these ideas for finding motifs are not exhaustive and should primarily encourage you to think about motifs more than whether you get a nice picture. Some of this will be fleshed out in the following chapters. And there will be more suggestions in the composition of the picture and in the analysis of the picture’s message. This results from the close connection between motif, photographic technique, image composition and analysis of the image statement. You can also ask from the end, so to speak, what you actually want to say, and then look for a suitable motif.
