When we get a new camera, especially digital ones, we often change various parameters to make the cameras “ours”. A couple of examples: setting back-button focusing; turning off the focus confirmation beep; picking RAW output rather than JPEG.
The default image orientation of the Olympus FT is in portrait, so the majority of images end up being taken that way.
But what about all the things we don't change? Or can't? As much as different cameras appear to be designed very differently, there are some common traits that make a lot of photos very similar. A lot if this applies to film cameras, too.
Image orientation
I find it very interesting that when I use my 35mm Pen FT, most of my shots are shot vertical. The images are exposed this way in order to fit 72 images on a usually 36 image roll of film. Same for my iPhone. Notice how people take vertical orientation videos on their phones? It looks awful when viewed on a computer or TV, but the phone is intuitively held that way, and they look acceptable when viewed on the device they were taken on (and most pictures will never leave the phone anyway).
We can switch things up by consciously turning our camera 90 degrees, or switching our image capturing devices for certain situations. I often use a Hasselblad 6x6 film camera for portraits because the square frame doesn’t demand an image orientation decision.
Aspect ratio
A 35mm frame is in the ratio of 3:2, and is the final resting place for most photos. It is interesting that we feel compelled to fix the aspect ratio even when we crop. Medium format digital sensors currently provide a closer-to-square 6:4.5 ratio. You can see what these aspect ratios look like in the blog post I wrote comparing sensor sizes.
Shooting film opens up some alternate restrictions. Some medium format cameras like the Hasselblad 500 shoot in a square format. Some dedicated panoramic 35mm cameras exist, such as the Widelux. Changing the aspect ratio can be refreshing, and can completely alter the feel of a composition.
Ironically, the beauty of digital photography is that we can manipulate images in an infinite number of ways very easily. From square format to super-wide stitched panoramas. It is just hard to pre-visualize these things when the viewfinder is always selling you 3:2.
Of course, aspect ratio and cropping go hand in hand. The image orientation should serve the image. The final use of the image is important here - where will it be displayed? Imaging a great 16:9 composition filled with the subject, but then it needs to be cropped square for Instagram!
One reason most people avoid custom aspect ratios that work for their specific image is that they might be difficult to frame. This is easily solved by custom cutting a mat to fit within a standard frame size, such as cutting an 8x8 hole to mound in a 16x20 frame. I describe this simple process further in this custom mat cutting blog post.
A long 16:9 or a 3:1 (shown here) aspect ratio is really useful to convey a cinematic sense of space. This crop works great for web-page headers or a custom framed print in a long hallway.
Colour
With film, choosing between colour and black and white is a conscious decision. With digital, most cameras shoot colour out of the box and so most images stay that way.
With digital, it is claimed that “best practice” is to shoot in colour even if you want a black and white final product. Reason being that you can control the tones of each colour individually when making the conversion.
The problem with using a color photo for a final black and white image is that monotone requires a decision at the moment the shutter is pressed, not days later on a whim. Reason being that a satisfactory colour photo may be pleasing, but if each hue is at the same brightness then it will lead to a very flat black and white conversion. Then we spend hours trying to make it look good, or worse, expect a photoshop plug-in to do the work for us. A good black and white photo needs tonal contrast from the get-go. If you are interested in black and white photography, I suggest you immerse yourself in it for a period - you’ll be looking for different things than you would have with a colour mindset. Film might be the best way to do this as you will have to commit to black and white as soon as the camera is loaded.
If you have ideas on default ways of thinking that hold us all back, please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!