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Those of us who have had eyesight problems since childhood may have found, as I did, that the practice of photography has helped our perception of the world and those problems may have aided in the creative process as well. Spot on, Alex. Well done.

@Kitsaplorax

Жыл бұрын

I had terrible eyesight before LASIK. I've always composed by tonal masses and curves. My photography got harder after eye surgery because I could then see details that I wanted to include. Alex is right.

@somebodyUgonnaknow

Жыл бұрын

Same thought

@TheDavveponken

Жыл бұрын

beat me to it

@martin701

Жыл бұрын

All I need to do is take my spectacles off. Can’t see a damned thing so maybe that’s the secret!

@janineubert7262

Жыл бұрын

@@martin701 haha same here 😂

As a professional shooting film many many years ago I was taught the squint method as a way of assessing contrast in a scene. As we look around with eyes open we are unaware of the aperture in our iris constantly changing and the squint method limits it to one fixed aperture. I used to find this very useful for backlit scenes. Even with digital cameras I find myself still squinting at a scene before I take a picture.

So, defocus the camera and then look around the scene until you find a nice composition? GENIUS!!!

I like the way you show people how to Frame subject matter, Compose the image, Find Inspire creativity.

Thanks Alex 👍🏻 Artists also do the squint method. Another thing we do to make it easier to find problems in our composition would be to look at the painting in the mirror or upside down as our eyes see the painting differently this way.

Thank Alex. This works so well. While watching the video I squinted towards the dining room. Before squinting I saw windows, and a table with chairs. When I squinted I saw beams of light coming through the window illuminating half of the seat cushion on one chair, leaving the other half in shadow. Also I saw patches of light and shadow on the rugs. I shot off a few frames and I didn't even leave the house yet! Watching from Iowa, USA, but from England!

Interesting! Very helpful. As a hair cutter, some of us use a similar method to refine haircuts. If you’re focusing on individual hairs to fine tune you’ll often see right past many imperfections, but I often sort of de-focus my eyes to see what I’m looking past. This is part of the reason we use a mirror during haircuts, too- removing depth perception by looking in a mirror you see gradation between long and short hairs more accurately, dark spots are dark spots in the mirror but they’re often unnoticeable if you’re looking directly at the head and you perceive a divot or bump in that area.

Something sort-of similar that I have used for years is to defocus the lens while adjusting viewpoint or composition, a hark back to time using a 4”x5” view camera. It works especially well in BW and/or subjects with strong verticals, diagonals or horizontal planes; like forests, urban landscapes/buildings/architectural interiors etc.

@llewdis

Жыл бұрын

Now that is a great idea. I was trying to squint and couldn't get a hold of the idea. I put my camera in manual and used the lens to do the squinting for me! Thanks!

@kronkite1530

Жыл бұрын

@@llewdis Glad to have been of some help!

@dilullr

Жыл бұрын

Great idea! As I was watching the video I thought the same as you. Why not just use manual focus to blur the scene. It's certainly easier on the eyes. Thanks for confirming this technique.

Sunny London here...... I can’t squint.... never been able to do it, I mean effectively as in de focussing, however a little turn of the focussing ring on the lens does magic. Not only for composition but also for exposure control by spot metering on the highlights. I can’t honestly remember when I learned/started using this technique, nor if it was driven by exposure or composition. Love this channel because is about creating images rather than the multitude of channels procrastinating about gear.

I discovered squinting when I was trying to learn to see what will render nicely in b&w and what won’t. Thanks for the ideas for using this method more generally, I will definitely try to use this more.

great idea Alex and nice to see some of your work included in the video for a change

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍 Glad you enjoyed it (both the video and the images of mine)

If you found this video helpful or interesting - give the video a thumbs up and let me know in the comments where you're watching from!

@theblackmanarmedwithacamera

Жыл бұрын

Like this video, I find ALL your videos very insightful...packed with great information! You have a simple...and very passionate way, that you express your teachings!! I honestly feel, that you should be doing masterclass! I'm from CT in the USA. I usually take photos of the grit in the world! I love learning, trying and then using what I learn thru your videos, to practice, with my works!! Keep doing the great job that you do, when bringing these videos!! They're like the Bible of Photography! - THE BLACKMAN ARMED WITH A CAMERA

@aliciafredes22

Жыл бұрын

Your videos made me feel I had a new camera, and made me loosen and quicker to take photos. Thank you from Buenos Aires.

Thank you Alex - your videos have a wonderful zen-like quality. I'm a beginner, and have been struggling with certain concepts + learning the technicalities of photography. I'm recently experiencing health issues which prevent me from leaving the house and garden as often as I would like. However; your wisdom and gentle encouragement are a gift to me right now. Once again, thank you. Ian x

Oh, and another trick I use now with digital cameras - used it yesterday in my garden with strong sunlight and patches of dark/shadow - is to deliberately underexpose so that only the brightest elements/contrasts/juxtapositions stand out on the screen (I used the rear screen and EVF of my CL this week and did similar with an XT2 last year for moonscapes in that fleeting silvery cobalt high contrast might sky we sometimes get.)

A simple concept I’ve heard before but never taught so well. Kudos!

It's useful when digital compositing too: it helps with skin matching as I can see the base tones and adjust accordingly before further tweaks.

Have been using the squint method for awhile. Love it! Learned about it from an artist that does paintings with a traditional education in Europe.

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Wonderful!

This video is SO worth watching- even if only to view many SUPERB photographs that are truly works of Art!- Thank you for sharing….

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching

Great video and I'll use this for the rare shots I take where most things aren't moving. I can see how this would work for the 'fishing' kind of street photography where you're setting a scene and waiting for someone to walk into it, but for the on the move, dynamic type I prefer, if you squint at something to see if it works, it's gone by the time you unsquint, so you have to learn to see very quickly and trust your judgment. Liverpool, England, btw

I squint my eyes when I see scenes with bright light and dark shadows. I lean more towards scene with high contrast. So i squint to check out the scene with the bright areas because squinting darkens the overall scene and I get to know the bright areas. So in camera or post I can achieve the effect that i love. I really don't know if I discovered this method or heard it from another youtuber, but i am really happy to hear about this from you. Thank you

A brilliant talk about a totally underrated and little known technique. I have been using it for quite some time and I highly recommend it.

Learned this method way back in the mid 1960s at The Coliege Of Art And Design, Birmingham. Originally used it for colour matching but when I first started photography in 1969 seemed logical to apply the method to it as well. Little known even now but works a treat.

Such a spot on trick that really works. I stumbled on this by accident about a year ago, as my eye sight got bad by age. I actually add the “one-eye” method in addition to it, to see the environment in 2D. It works beautifully.

Another great video from you Alex. We ordinary run of the mill photographers are so lucky to be able to learn from your experience.

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

Interesting concept, whereby to gain focus, we often have to loose focus. I've seen others teach using the blur tool to get rid of details in parts of an image that offer nothing of interest, while boosting colours and contrast in other parts, and you end up sharpening an image without using the sharpen tool at all. This is always a good thing because the sharpen tools always look digital and horrible.

Fascinating Alex. Thank you for telling us about this. I shall be using it all the time. 😍😍

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Glad you like it!

Simple and brilliant. Ive always used the one eye trick. But never thought to simplify my vision in this way.

I absolutely LOVE your videos! They are so down to earth, yet very deep and inspiring! And I really like how you keep introducing photographers in your videos. I wonder if you have a list of all your all-time inspirational favorites, would love to take a peek and maybe get some inspiration myself.

@xxxjmgxxx

Жыл бұрын

BTW - cheers from Israel !! (just read your pinned comment below)

Hi Alex, massive fan of your videos, could you talk about story telling and balancing that with composition, you may have already done a video similar - but something that more in depth, i find it hard to judge my surrounding , know where i am and then recognise elements of story and what is meaningful. and then on top of that worrying about placing the elements in the scene - and hoping i dont miss the 'shot'

I have been shooting for 27 years and have never heard of the squint method. Tomorrow it's suppose to rain which will make for interesting street photography. I will be out trying this, THANK YOU.

Brilliant tip. Thanks for sharing. As an artist I used to do this but same me never thought to doing while I m having camera in my hands.

Great post Alex, Squinting can also give a better "Focus" on contrasts which is what you are highlighting here. I've found out that my camera can't squint which astonished me.

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Good point! - yes, light and shade etc are like contrasts

the turn the lights on and then off method will make you legend!

Thanks for the great lecture video.

Good video, Alex. This was a tip that an old art teacher once told me but which I'd forgotten about. Thank you Alex.

@kirkdarling4120

Жыл бұрын

Same for me. 'Way back in middle school art class in the 60s.

It's very similar when manually focusing. Find composition first - after that do the final focusing adjustment. The issue with squinting is that the brain could still try to cheat and still would focus eyes good enough to start attaching to details you don't need to worry about till the composition is right. While with out of focus lens there is no way to cheat :) But still very cool method, especially to find the right contrast.

One of my foibles is things in the corner or edges that others find distracting - I hadn't even noticed them! Be interesting to try this and see what it does for those forgotten edges.

Superlike!! Exactly what i needed!!

I have problem with squinting and blurring images :) but lucky my camera can from manual (when i manually turn my focus ring) to auto. I will try this out walking around with out of focus view on the camera to find the composition and focus after to see if that helps me :). Thanks as usual!

This isa great way of learnng to see light, shadow and colour. Thanks for the tip!

Wonderful thought provoking episode, Alex. Thank you!

Did this just this week....tagged you on my IG post. Very cool chat...love your work!

This is an awesome technique

I met Your channel, and I immediately started to love it. Greetings from Poland 👋🏼.

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Greetings, thank you for watching

I'm planning to go take pictures tomorrow so I'm excited to try this. Since I'm so blind without my glasses, I don't need to squint. I just have to take my glasses off.

Loved this, I naturally have double vision and have had since birth.w🤯🤯🤯 When I was young, I didn’t know that I saw the world differently to others. I only took up photography a few years ago and it is only through the eyepiece that I see single for the first time. Of course as most others as I age, my eyes age as well. Does double vision hinder my photos. - Not at all. Your words are truly inspiring, the camera sees more than we all do, often unveiling hints we don’t or do not appreciate. Shapes excite our brain to know more and lead as on a journey. I watch a lot of KZread to learn and I have not once come across any other person who talks of seeing the world in like you have suggested. Fantastic Clip 👏👏👏👏👏

Many times I put the camera in manual focus and defocus it. I learned this technique many many years ago when I used a view camera.

Thanks for sharing your insights. Enjoying these videos from Vancouver, Canada.

it's very powerful tip. Thank you

Thanks Alex for introducing us to another valuable concept. Another interesting KZread video that validates your Squint Method is "Bridging the Gap: Classical Art Designed for Photographers" by Adam Marelli. He gave this talk at B&H several years ago. It's nearly 90 minutes long so find a comfy chair and your favorite beverage before you start it. 🙂

Thank you!

You are great, thanks for your generousity, let's squint!

As someone who is near-sighted, I wonder if going out and trying to take photos without my glasses would have the same effect as squinting.

Brilliant tip!

I will try it.

i squint to show me aperture! my dad taught me that! also show more than you know! I never knew about this ! I am Asperger's and am a street photographer thanks again

When I was taking drawing classes the instructor was emphasizing us to squint our eye to see the light. Indeed we’re walking around half our eyes closed bumping in to one another. In the end, we all benefited. Now finding compositions for photography seems more abstract. The presenter does not elaborate how we can utilize the method other than telling us to squint as if composition will automatically present itself upon squish g our eyes. I’d like to learn more about the process of finding compositions while using this method.

Thanks for an interesting video. Based on the video and the comments below, I understand that it can be a useful technique. I am told Monet used to do this a lot for his paintings. BUT, I don't quite understand it wrt photography. Here is my question. I squint. I see a lot of fuzzy areas with some bright spots. Then what do I do? Do I take a shot of the brighter areas? I am missing that beginner detail in your narrative. Perhaps I am not squinting right...a couple of practical step by step examples would have been useful for novices like me.

Your channel is gold ! Thank you so much 🙏📸

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoy it!

Interesting video as usually, I will try this. But the colors in your video is a bit pale. Tried to squint but it did not help.

Thank you Alex 🙏

Thanks for providing us with another tool to pack into our bag 😀

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Any time!

Hj, Does applying this method work, blurring the camera lens or making a contraption with glass smeared with Vaseline that makes everything look blurry?

Most interesting!

Love it as usual!

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! What did you think of the intro?

@jfpare1

Жыл бұрын

@@ThePhotographicEye A bit over the top, secret images? Sounds a bit to promo like some other photographers announcing magic powder! You usually how more restraint. Still, very good trick and teaching. Also great when culling. Bu then, don't listen to me, I am overly sensitive to promo and magical promises. Keep up this wonderful channel!

Very interesting some of the portraits really make me think of Jan Vermeer as far as light and shadows are concerned.

Great video, something to think about. BTW: 12:19 "Creating Imapct"

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

That's my obilgatory mistake :D Thanks for watching

insted of squinting (which can hurt ur eye and relative spatial awareness), you can use your evf and throw the lens of out focus. then slowly pull it back in focus. pretty much the same concept.

Thanks!

I started doing this a few years ago and not sure why but i found it very useful when looking for composition when cropping and also when adjusting contrast, then i forgot to do it for the last little while .. lazy? Maybe.. anyway, thanks for the reminder and expanding the uses of the technique also :)

This was a main lesson in an Adam Marelli class on Udemy and I thought it was "simply" great advice. 👍

Excellent video. I can't wait to try it.

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Hope you enjoy it!

@queenvashtiful

Жыл бұрын

@@ThePhotographicEye I did. I actually crash coursed several videos last night. By the way, Idaho is where I call home.

ps shadows and light ! monochrome captures it better. thanks for the inspiration! My dad was my teacher.

This is a very strong video.

Sounds like an instrument for what a photo “should” be.

Thank you. All the best. 👍📷😎

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Thank you too!

Here's to all 4 eyes! 👍♥️

Aloha from Maui! I too discovered this in a black & white darkroom. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 🌴 📸

I've done this instinctually for years, this helps understanding why ;-)

I need glasses and I been lifting weights for fitness. I notice that without my glasses I can see the muscle definition, but with my glasses, everything looks washed out and I can't see the shadows as easily. So it does allows another dimensional view.

Thanks Alex, from the Great Pacific Northwest

My eyesight now feels like feature not a bug amazing!

Also with this method a photographer could try de focusing a standard lens to get blur.... and see the world in colour blocks...bit like a painter perceives the world......

The problem with some (me) is the tendency to have our over active brain fill in the blur, obscuring seeing the elements that would make the photo strong. I’m working on overriding my busy brain.

I love the idea of photographing shapes, not things. I've always preferred just using the concept of visual weight over almost all the other compositional techniques.

@saifaldin_

Жыл бұрын

This concept is very prominent with painters. “Paint shapes, not things” is a popular adage. Same goes with squinting to read the major values easier.

3:23 HE SAID IT, HE SAID THE TITLE!

Interesting 🤔 and subjective for sure … I have to confess I looked at the post date of the video to see if it was April 1st 😂. I guess if we squint enough it’ll make a bad view look better on the basis you can’t actually see it, but a compositional aid? Hmmm, forgive me, but I’m not a fan of a concept that encourages not seeing! That said, the idea of defocusing a lens is a better option… but then ICM has that base covered. Thought provoking idea for sure, but very subjective! The joys of the photography art form eh? Or is it an art? 😜

The eye is drawn to the highest point of contrast. This happens subconsciously, squinting shows you what the unconscious is seeing.

Is there an ideal lens for street photography?

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Joel Meyerowitz Said that the best lens for Street photography is the one that matches your personality

Me: been squinting for years for the opposite reason when I’ve misplaced my glasses.

Thank you! I'm good at telling stories and capturing the moment but I'm awful at abstract compositions. Or, I feel like I am.

That should be pretty easy with my bad eyesight. I need to leave my glasses in the pocket and try this method

Funny, decades ago I was friends with a guy who was legally blind and once someone told him that it will be interesting what he will capture if he took pictures. Pretty much most legally blind individuals see the world as if they are squinting permanently. Thanks Alex Kilbee for all you share in your great channel!

@ThePhotographicEye

Жыл бұрын

Thank you

I've unconsciously have been doing this shooting with manual only prime lenses

Ahhx I think I got it. I just need to take my glasses off.

this can work only with nearby objects, far things which need telephoto lens will disappear

First of all, I really like your videos! You take your time - and let us see images for long enough... That being said, this method is useless to me, as when I squint, everything gets sharper... aah well - there are other ways.. Happy New year.

@ThePhotographicEye

6 ай бұрын

Happy New Year

Right great technique but why not just put the lens in out of focus ? and then focus ?? It's easier and you can do it with the lower angle shots :D

What I sometimes do is defocus my camera and look around