One Subject, Many Photographs: Simple Photography Tips by Michael Blyth
- Michael Blyth
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
the photograph is not just the thing, it is the relationship between the thing, the light, and where you choose to stand.
Three Simple Tips for Photographing A Single Subject: One Subject, Many Photographs
If you want to practise this yourself, try this:
1. Choose one ordinary subject
It could be a stone, a leaf, a cup, a gate, a shell, a flower, a chair, or a person sitting by a window.
Do not worry whether it is “good enough”. That is part of the exercise.
2. Take at least ten different photographs
Change your distance. Change your angle. Change the background. Change the height of the camera. Wait for the light to shift. Look at what happens around the subject.
The aim is not to take ten masterpieces. The aim is to see ten possibilities.
3. Ask what changed
When you look back at the pictures, ask:
Which one feels strongest? Which one has the best light? Which one has the simplest background? Which one makes the subject matter most? Which one appeals the most? Which one surprised me?
That last question matters. Photography becomes much more interesting when we let ourselves be surprised.
Back at Studland yet again, such a source of images.
The tide was receding, and the morning light coincided with my arriving at a point on the wet sand where a piece of rock, probably ironstone, lay on the beach in the sunlight.
One Subject, Many Photographs
These photographs are all of the same rock on the shoreline. Not an extraordinary subject. Nothing special. Just a rock, shallow water, sunlight, wet sand and a few small waves.
As I watched, a wave came in, covered the rock, the light shone in such a different way. The rock was still there, but hidden by water and bright reflection, movement and other stuff.
The point is quite simple, many people see something, but take one image and move on. Photography and your expression of what you see benefits hugely from standing, waiting, noticing, and maybe, just maybe, taking a photograph, or several.
Let's look through the photographs and I'll make some comments, you'll probably notice other stuff - that's great.
Image One, is the first image I took having noticed the rich colour, with the rock in it's own 'space'. The shadow gives it depth and characteraginst the slightly rippled sand around it. .
Image Two, a hugely different image. I've moved, and changed choice of lens. The effect is that the rock is shown within a much broader environment rather than being a rock on a beach somewhere. The ferry to Poole has caused a small surge of waves, and changed the rock into an island - albeit a mini one.
The reflections on the water are almost too bright for the eyes, and certainly for the sensor on the camera. A thought to share is that if we were to be looking at just the rock and the water, the texture on the water where it's interacting with the rock makes a completely different image.
Truly there is so much variation in this scene, both by angle chosen, position relative to the light and the focus encompassing the whole picture including the boats and Old Harry Rocks.
Image Three - moving position again and getting in close allows the picture to be more about just the rock and the immediate waves approaching it, running over the water receding from the last wash. The more spread light is less active against the visual cortex. It shows how changing the framing and removing some of the sparkle creates a quieter, more spacious photograph.
Image Four, again shot into the sunlight removes most of the colour from the image. If I were to turn it to monochrome, not much would change.
The rock and its pool lie with the foreground to bring a sense of peace, while the incoming water threatens with action and sparkle.
This is an example of waiting for the moment. There is a complete balance of energy here, which would be missed if you just snap and move on.
Image five - the journey returns, sort of, to the place it started. The wash from the passing ship has gone, the tide continues to fall, and the rock is left with its pool.
Photographed from the side, its shadow is less dominant, and the colours possibly richer.
Photography is not about keeping on searching for something interesting, it's about being interested enough to notice the changes. You can't capture it all, but you can watch it all, and choose your moment.
In summary, stay with your subject, move around it. Get lower, get slower, get closer. Wait for the light to change. Observe the water, anticipate what it will do, and photograph in the light of that.
If you would like to become more confident with your photography, without drowning in jargon or buying more equipment, subscribe to Simple Photography Tips by Michael Blyth.
The Wednesday posts are practical, simple and intended to help you make better photographs with whatever camera you already have, including the phone in your pocket.
And if you are ready for a little more involvement, I am beginning a small, more active space for people who want to move beyond simply reading tips and start putting them into practice.
It will be encouraging and practical: regular prompts, simple suggestions, the chance to share what you are making, and a way of learning to see more clearly alongside a small group of like-minded others.
You do not need to be advanced. You do not need impressive equipment. You only need the desire to get better, and the willingness to look a little more carefully.
If that sounds like something you would enjoy being part of, please get in touch.
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