by Zack Schnepf
Previsualization is one of, if not the most important thing I do in photography and in art in general. It’s also one of the hardest things to teach. I use previsualization in the field and in post processing to envision what I want the final image to look like. This is extremely important and something that you learn over time. Previsualization is an abstract concept, it can be hard to grasp, and takes time to develop. So what is previsualization and how do you use it to improve your photography?
When I’m in the field looking at the scene, light, atmospheric conditions, and trying to come up with a visually striking composition; I’m previsualizing and building an idea of an image in my head. This process can be painstaking, or it can be unconscious. Most of the time it takes a lot of mental energy. If I’m doing it well, it’s kind of a Zen consciousness, I’m thinking like a painter imagining what I want the final image to look like. This allows me to adjust my composition and helps me figure out if I need to use multiple exposures or an advanced capture technique to create a certain look.
For example, when I was capturing Second Beach Sunset I was with David Cobb. Both of us were previsualizing, trying to figure out where the sun would go down and how best to use it with the other compositional elements to compliment the conditions. We found this pool and I constructed a mental image of what I wanted the final image to look like. This is an ever evolving process and as the sun was setting I moved a bit to help capture my previsualized mental image. I also knew it was a very dynamic scene so I adjusted how many individual exposures I would need to get all the raw data I needed in Photoshop. This is an important part of the process I try to teach students in the field. When I’m in the field, I’m thinking many steps ahead, I’m already imagining what I will need in Photoshop to create the vision I have in my head. That can be how many exposures I need, as well as how each exposure should look to make my job easier when I get into Lightroom and Photoshop. Sometimes it means removing distracting objects in the frame, or increasing my shutter speed for a particular exposure to freeze motion of a foreground element. All of this is part of the previsualization process for me.
Second Beach Sunset
I also use previsualization when I’m processing. When I’m in Lightroom evaluating the raw data I have. I’m previsualizing what I want the final image to look like. This gives me a direction to move toward. From there, I figure out which techniques I’ll use in Lightroom and Photoshop to create my final image. Previsualization is what drives my creative process. It holds the entire workflow together for me and provides direction from capture, through processing, to print.
I go into detail on how I use this mental technique in my Tonality Control Video, it’s available here: www.zschnepf.com
To see a list of field workshops I’m offering this year click here: 2013 Workshops
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