Mike Davis speaks on photo editing at the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar.

Creating images that last beyond the day has been Mike’s mission in settings as diverse as National Geographic Magazine and The Albuquerque Tribune, The White House and pdxcross.com

Mike Davis started his presentation by giving us his background as he transitioned into his educational part of the program on how he does photo editing by walking into the audience.

He got right up in a person’s face and asked if this changed their presentation. You bet it did.

Mike took the time to demonstrate what he meant by the house to the group. A photographer’s Distance from the Subject, not lens choice, makes a big difference in the impact of a photo.

Distance to the Subject is one of the five things that make a difference in good photos.

Five things that impact the effectiveness of a photo:

1. Color
2. Light
3. Composition
4. Moment
5. Distance to the Subject

In an earlier blog, I talked about the Distance to the Subject and how to maximize putting your audience into your photographs using a wide-angle lens. Click here to read it.

(Nikon D3, 14mm, ISO 6400, f/3.2, 1/100) I love the wide angle that puts the viewer inside this little room (closet).

As Mike went through photos and took a photo shoot from all the images down to the 6 – 7 images he would pick for a photo story, the layout was more from how the photos created a mood. Then, he could lay them out chronologically or systematically as most people do; this is why so many seek his expertise.

“Mike Davis is a virtuoso. He can take a pile of photographic notes and chords and arrange them to make a breathtaking score. Back in early 2001, I was struggling to put together a cohesive portfolio from my work…”

– Scott Strazzante, Staff Photographer, Chicago TribuneChicago, Illinois

To lay out photos based on emotions, the photographer will have had to use those five elements to help create a photograph that communicates on a gut level. Mike Davis talks as he is editing photos and puts into words some of his gut reactions to the images.

This photo is a much better “moment” than before or after because the person’s hand almost touches the bucket. Once they felt it, the anticipation element was gone. The difference with Mike is as he eliminates the images from a gut reaction–he can articulate why his gut reacted a certain way.

I love getting up close and pulling the reader into the scene. I also like light, the colors, and the moment I caught here.

Mike enjoyed using PhotoMechanic for editing. It is my favorite as well. It doesn’t help with editing individual photos like PhotoShop or Lightroom, but this software lets you quickly sort your picks and put identification in pictures.

Mike also talked about how he knows photographers take a series of photos where the photographer will work the same angle and composition for the right “moment.” The moments rise and fall.

When you edit your photos, look for all five elements and how they make a difference in the ones that stand out from the rest.

Shoot enough photos that you have some comparisons to look at and see differences in people’s expressions and body language from one frame to the next.

If you don’t see it, get someone to look with you through your photos. They don’t have to be a pro to see which ones they like better. They may even tell you why or acknowledge it is a gut reaction.

Some folks choose a telephoto lens to see how close a subject can appear – a bear, for instance. But, unfortunately, these same people doubtlessly chose a wide-angle lens to get-it-all in the picture, usually a landscape picture.

If these people studied the work of professional photographers, they would probably be surprised to find that the pros do just the opposite. A professional photographer picks the lens (tool) to use based on what that tool will allow him to do. It is the same for a skilled carpenter; he likes a tool to carry out a specific task.

Get Closer 

Robert Capa, a famous war photographer, once said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Mr. Capa wasn’t advocating using longer lenses; he was telling us to get closer physically, to become more involved and intimate with our subjects.

A telephoto lens and a wide-angle lens help us tell the same story differently. The choice of lens is like a writer choosing which words to use. It depends on what needs to be said.

A telephoto lens brings subjects closer to the viewer and makes objects in the photograph appear closer together than in reality. A wide-angle lens does the opposite. As a result, things appear further apart than in fact.

Keeping the rendition of extraordinary reality in mind, consider perhaps the most creative or powerful use of a wide-angle lens; when you are incredibly close to someone with a wide-angle lens, you include many of the surroundings. The viewer sees not only the issue but their environment as well.

Move closer with your feet.

Using our feet and not just our zoom lenses to approach a subject, we can make “environmental” portraits. We can now show what they look like, where they are, and what they do. It is now easy for our viewers to relate to our subjects. The photo carries a great deal of information.

I love to show where someone works and what they do for a living. By getting close, the subject is predominate and not a little speck in the middle of a photo.

I can have the person pause whatever they are doing and casually look at the camera, and if I time it just right, I can show them at ease with a pleasant expression. The photo becomes personal to the viewer by being close because I became personal with the subject. You can’t communicate what you do not experience with the camera.

Why is a photo usually better when you are closer to the subject? The wider the lens, the more you get this feeling of being there.

Problems to avoid

There are a couple of problems to be aware of in working with wide angles this close to a subject.

1) It is difficult to use a wide-angle lens in tight without distortion of people and the surroundings: the wider the lens, the more pronounced this problem. A wide lens, like 28 mm, is much easier to use than an extremely wide angle, like 20 mm or wider. Of course, the wider lenses seem to help with creativity.

We’ve all seen shots where the walls look like they are falling forward or backward, or the clock on the wall and the place on the table are ovals instead of circles. This type of distortion, converging lines, can be used for good, but rarely; the general rule is to avoid these distortions. Practice helps.

Keep the subject out of the corners of the picture to avoid bending their head or body out of shape. Keep them out of the center as well since this creates a negative tension (but maybe that’s what you want). Using the super wide-angle lenses is an actual balancing act. In creative work, nothing is cut and dried, and that’s why two photographers can cover the same story, and their pictures will be nothing alike.

2) Another problem, if these weren’t enough, with up close and personal wide-angle shots has nothing to do with technical evils. Working this close to someone can make you uncomfortable. This feeling will transfer to the up close person causing another problem.

Remember some tricks to keep you comfortable during close to avoid this “in your face” quandary.

Tips on getting people to relax

First, tell them what you will do and get their permission before you move in for the shot. A funny thing happens when you do this—they usually get a little excited, are cooperative, and feel like they are a part of the photograph-making rather than just the subject.

Second, they understand that you (and your client) consider them valuable and think enough of them that you want their picture. Therefore, you want to include them in the project.

Third, most people (regardless of what they say) are flattered when you ask them to be in a photo. However, they need help to make it enjoyable.

Using a telephoto lens, you can make a great head and shoulders portrait with good perspective, but it can be too selective to narrow a view to telling a story about a person. But it is possible, and it depends on what you want to say and the circumstances of the shoot.

Working close to people with wide-angle lenses tells their stories intimately and personally.

Watch the distortion, the composition, the projecting of uncomfortable feeling to your subject as a result of working so close, use the background to help tell the story, keep your eye on the ball, your shoulder to the wheel, tote that barrel, lift that bail, load sixteen tons and if all these freaks you out—call me. I get freaked out when the pipes are clogged or the water heater leaks. That’s why I call a plumber.