Photo of the Month

This month, we're glad to note that NYI Contributing Editor Richard Martin has graciously provided us with his analysis of a provocative student photograph. Students who have had the good fortune to work with Richard know that he has a keen eye and knows how to get to the bottom of what works in a photograph, and how subtle changes can affect the image's meaning.

At NYI we teach our students a simple Three-Step Method for setting up every photograph they shoot:

• Step 1. Know your subject.
• Step 2. Focus attention on your subject.
• Step 3. Simplify.

This simple Three-Step Method is the secret of every successful photograph ever taken. We teach our students to consider these three steps every time they look into the viewfinder. To consider them before they press the shutter button.

When our students mail in their photographs for analysis by their instructor, the instructor starts by commenting on what we call the three Guidelines. Of course, the instructor analyzes other elements of the picture too – focus, exposure, filters, etc. But the key to every good photo – and the essential element of every great photo – is adherence to these three Guidelines.

How do they work? How can you apply them? It's beyond the scope of this Web site to teach you every nuance, but you will get an inkling from the Photo of the Month Analysis that follows.

Picture of the Month: Steer Wrestling for Fun and Profit.

Photo by NYI Student Frank Neunemann

Students who come from a purely urban background may not know what steer wrestling is all about but in my early newspaper days I had occasion to photograph this and other rodeo events. Also known as bulldogging, this event consists of a mounted cowboy, a steer (for the uninitiated, that's a male bovine that's been castrated. Ouch.), and another cowboy who rides alongside to ensure that the steer stays in a straight line. At the onset, the steer is released from a chute and runs down the arena with the cowboys in hot pursuit. When the wrestler or bulldogger catches up to the steer, he leans over the side of his horse and grabs the steer's horns and attempts to throw the steer to the ground. The event is timed and the cowboy who posts the shortest time wins the prize money.

The steers used in bulldogging might weigh as much as 700 pounds so the guys who compete tend to be big and husky. It's not a sport for the weak and timid, and in fact, can be a little dangerous. Additionally, it's usually over in less than ten seconds. As for the steer, afterwards they invariably just get up and trot off.

Ok, let's take a look at this photo. There's little doubt what the subject is. You may not be familiar with rodeo or know what this event is called (well, you do now) but the cowboy and the steer are obviously what this image is about. Notice how those two horses frame the subject and draw the viewer's attention. Framing is an important compositional element in the photographer's bag of tricks and students learn it early in our Complete Course in Professional Photography. We want the viewer to focus on the subject and not be distracted by extraneous elements.

Another technique to draw attention involves using a telephoto lens to zoom in on the action. That's the only practical way in this instance to achieve such a tight framing. You can almost hear the pounding hooves and feel an impulse to jump back out of the way!

Speaking of distraction, is there anything in the photo that doesn't belong? Anything we could remove in order to simplify the composition? No, nothing at all. Everything we see here is needed – the cowboy's now riderless horse in the foreground, the other horse with its rider's leg clearly visible, and of course, the bulldogger and steer. Notice the cowboy's hands. He is gripping the steer's left horn with his left hand while beginning to grab the other horn with his right. Both of his feet are up in the air and at this point he's essentially riding the steer. The action is captured at its peak and that's what action photography is all about.

What about the blur in the photo? Well, we can't show motion directly in a still photograph as we could with video. We have to illustrate it symbolically with blur and the result, if done well, is a photographic convention everyone understands. Personally, I might have applied a little Unsharp Mask in Photoshop. This would perhaps give the image a bit more snap but without really losing the blurred motion.

But the best thing about this photo, I think, is the expression on the cowboy's face. It's at once tense but determined. Can you say "extreme effort"? Do you think the image would have as much impact if he were smiling? No, he's NOT smiling; he's grimacing.

I think the photographer, NYI Student Frank Neunemann, has done a terrific job capturing a rather difficult subject. All successful sports photography involves not only superb skills but a bit of luck. Suppose the cowboy's horse were further forward, blocking our view of the cowboy. No picture. But in this instance it wasn't. Here we have a great example of both skill and luck, working in tandem. Good work, Frank!