“Plum & Lilies” Sean P. Durham 2020 (50 mm F16, ISO 100 — natural window light)

The Three Pointed Shape of Photographic Thinking

F-Stop is a phrase that you hear many photographers using in conversations, then they often go on to include shutter speed and ISO settings. At this point many beginner photographers and non-photographers start to nod-off and lose the thread of conversation.

Sean P. Durham
6 min readOct 24, 2020

But these three points represent the balance of thought that every photographer must consider when looking at an object to photograph.

When we look at any object we think of how much light is hitting it, from which angle the light is coming, how that light also creates shadows that surround or block the main features of the object, and lots more.

Green Vase with Lilies, Copyright: Sean P. Durham, Berlin, 2020
Green Vase with Lilies, Sean P. Durham (ISO 400, 85 mm, F4.5, 1/60 Shutter)

Taking a photograph is about using light to capture the details of a subject. If we want we can use our artistic bent to play with shadows and light to leave enough space for the viewer to make up their own mind about the subject.

We allow shadows to envelop parts of the object so that the person looking at the image can interpret the impression in their…

Sean P. Durham
Sean P. Durham

Written by Sean P. Durham

Berlin Notes — Creative Writing about art, Life & cats. https://seandurham.eu

Responses (1)

What are your thoughts?

With the digital age, we can really take advantage of the 3 points. With film, you could push the ISO a bit, but you were pretty limited. Sure, you could select different film for different shots, but for street shots or spur-of-the-moment finds…...