by Zack Schnepf
I’m going to start a new series on what I consider to be the most important part of my photography. It’s also one the most challenging concepts for many of my students during workshops.
What do I mean when I say pre-visualization? This is concept I learned from my artist parents, from studying fine art in college and from Alain Briot. Pre-visualization is forming an idea for an image and using it as a roadmap to capture and process an image. Before I even pick up my camera I want to have an idea of what I’m trying to communicate, or achieve with this image. I want to evaluate a location, assess it’s potential in different light, atmosphere and conditions; and I want to come up with different composition ideas that express what I’m trying to say about each specific location. Once I have a pre-visualized idea; I then start problem solving. I figure out how to best capture the information I need so I have everything I need when I get home to process the image. Once I’m home on my processing workstation, I use that same pre-visualized idea to guide my processing to create the final master file
Part 1: Starting the process
Anytime I’m going to visit a new location I research it extensively. I find guides for a specific location, look at images that have already been shot of an area, and try to figure out when would be the best time to visit. This gives me a good starting point.
Once I arrive to a new location the first thing I do is explore. I normally don’t even get my camera out unless I want to take a reference shot to look at later for ideas. I usually just hike around and get a sense of the place. It’s almost a meditation for me. I try to let my mind relax and grab on to things intuitively. For instance, if I notice a cool formation in the foreground I make a mental note of it. I start picking out the elements that attract me to this location and make a mental list.
Once I’ve thoroughly explored the area, the real process of pre-visualization begins. I start trying to figure out how to arrange all these compositional elements to create an image that captures the essence of that place. I also try to communicate part my own experience. For example, if the morning is serene and peaceful I try to compose the image to communicate that, I would also process the image to try to keep with that theme. This process is always challenging, I thought the more I practiced the easier it would get, but it’s always a struggle and a lot of mental effort. However, I do work a lot faster the more I practice.
Here is a good example. The only reason I was able to capture this image was because I had scouted this area the day before. Even though I was exhausted from backpacking all day and hadn’t set up camp yet, I dropped my pack and started scouting before we lost the light. I found this spot and knew it’s where I wanted to be in the morning. I could see the sun would rise behind the lake and would backlight the scene and really bring out the essence of this incredible location.
Blazing Enchantments
In the next parts of this series I’ll talk about how I continue to pre-visualize throughout my entire workflow.
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