Cape May Warbler
Captured with D5 on NIKKOR 800mm with TC-1.25e
Just how large does the subject have to be in the frame for the perfect photograph? There are two really big problems with this question. First is the assumption that a perfect photograph exists. The second is that size matters. While we strive to do the best we can when we are behind the camera, if we could, would we really want to reach perfection? I for one wouldn’t because then the question would have to answered, what’s next that perfection has been reached. Besides, perfection is boring. Then there is this size thing, which comes into photography in so many ways. The one I run into the most often that downright screws up photographers is subject size. There seems to be this general feeling that bigger is better, that bigger makes it great just because of size. Content takes second fiddle, which often leads to a less than perfect photograph. Where in this dilemma is an answer that works? This size thing comes up the most in wildlife photography. Since I’ve never been an “eyeball” photographer, a physically small subject size in the frame is something I’ve embraced.
Bison
Captured with D5 with NIKKOR 300PF and TC-14E III
Even though I use big glass (NIKKOR 800mm with TC-1.25e is my favorite lens!), it’s not to make a big subject. The long glass is to control the background and in doing so, make the subject pop in the frame even though it is a small percentage of the frame. And this approach makes taking the perfect photograph a bitch! Because when you have to use other elements in the frame to complete the story, you have to work harder, thinker deeper and feel more about the story in the viewfinder. Light is an essential tool to move the eye around in the frame. An example of this pain can be found in the images of those who crop in post. When asked why they cropped the photo, the universal answer is, “To make the subject fill the frame” even though the photograph is left lacking. The next example is how now DX or “cropped” cameras are all the rage because they give, “extra reach.” But you can’t help but come back to the question, is bigger, better? And I regret, I don’t have the answer here for you because, it is your photography. I am going to suggest that perhaps it doesn’t when you use the craft of photography to fill the photograph with a story and not just a subject. When you don’t take the easy route but the hard route to reach inside and push yourself, your photography will grow and perhaps that might be the right answer. A bigger visual story rather than subject might be the better story … photograph.