It has really struck me lately that I receive a lot of pictures of people shot from behind. And while the occasional shot like this can be quite charming or dramatic (Cartier-Bresson’s man-with-umbrella-in-the-rainy-Paris-park comes immediately to mind), I want to encourage everybody to strive for shots where faces are visible. It is to the point where I don’t want to publish the from-behind pictures anymore.
I know it is hard to take pictures of people. We live in a paranoid age, much different from eighty years ago. I am still learning how to pretend to be talking on the phone and taking someone’s picture from close by at the same time. I am awful at it still! But people’s backs are of little interest to me. So I am pushing myself and I encourage you, if you want to do street photography, to push yourselves.
On another note, I have received a couple of pictures lately with very heavy, black vignetting. I love vignetting, but it is very easy to overdo it. Vignetting is about mood, so you have to think about whether or not that is what you are trying to convey. Very heavy vignetting can totally overpower a delicate image.
Lastly, Frames. Using frames was great when all we were doing was posting on Flickr. The express purpose of Pixels—The Art of the iPhone is to take this wonderful art form which you all are pioneering out from the virtual and into the real world as fine art prints. So frames are not needed anymore, because we will frame the prints with ::::drumroll:::: picture frames! So if you have the option to turn off the frame, please do so. I know some apps don’t allow this. Consider cropping them out. That includes film sprocket frames!
And of course, there are instances where the frame really works, like Kristin Sutherd’s “Bloons” picture – the polaroid frame was perfect. So let your instincts guide, but remember that the goal is art on walls!
Alright, enough from me for today.Thank you, as always, for all the amazing work you send in. —Knox
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