Frame key on a photograph can be determined by correlation of black, white and grey fields in it. A man is able to distinguish up to 300 grades from white to black. In black-and-white photograph it’s possible to find 30 tones and less than 10 tone tints. Temperate quantity of tones sometimes makes the shot more expressive. The exclusion of tints helps get rid of secondary details, and the shots made in a certain key make stronger impression.

Light tones are usually associated with joy and calmness, the dark ones create the impression of expression, tension, vigilance. Portraits or landscapes are usually implemented in dominating key to achieve great expression of a photograph.

Low key. Low key style photographs can be characterized by the fact that the major part of the image is formed by dark and sometimes even black elements, but the majority of details are well discernible and light areas are bright and clear. Tone tints are slightly evinced by dark parts of tone scale. A necessary requirement is the presence of detached bright areas. All the components included in the frame, except the ones that make key effect, aren’t supposed to differ in brightness much. You can use front, front-side or side lights. This key is usual for the night and evening scenes with the inclusion in the frame of the illuminant.

High key. Photographs in high key style are characterized by the fact that the major part of the picture is formed by light grey and white tones. A necessary requirement is the presence of any, insignificant but absolutely black components, which add to an image the essential tonality emphasis. The correlation of the tones of survey is defined not only by the light but the object itself, that’s why the object should be generally light. It’s almost impossible to create the image of dark object on dark background in high key style. You can use high key to create snow landscapes, water surfaces, portraits. You also need to light up your object or model evenly. Using bad illumination certain dark areas can’t be reproduced with light grey tones. When in a studio try to create soft diffused light for your model so that the light doesn’t make dense shadows.

Part 1

Another type of “photographer’s ears” is people reaction to the survey, it means the looks of the models or just strangers pointed at the camera. If a portrait, made in unique form, is a traditional method and doesn’t direct at thinking of a photographer, in genre and street photography the case is somewhat different. Side narration about somebody’s life torn away with their looks in the camera tells not so much about people in the frame as about the fact that he was noticed and it makes viewer think.  That’s how a viewer feels his presence and becomes a photographer.  Very impressionable viewer may even have a presentiment that he will be punched and deprived of the camera because of the shot.

Unlimited demonstration possibilities of photographer’s ears are provided by landscape photography. There are photographers who take pictures of landscapes without any sign of people presence in order to show the beauty of that natural parts of landscapes where the foot of man has never stepped.

But as a result we get shots for wall calendars, shots full of emptiness and one-time using beauty. Such shots sometimes don’t have potential depth for thinking over and you’ll get bored with them next day, and are an eyesore to you till the rest of month.

Animated scenes are more interesting. The scene can be animated with people or gentle hints on them. But what do you have to do when the are no people and no anthropogenic objects? Would you paint them?

Well, the answer is obvious: you can animate your landscape by adding yourself. First, it’s the photographer’s shadow in the frame. Maybe you remember Ansell Adams’ shadow self-portrait (Self-Portrait, Monument Valley, Utah) taken in 1958.
Secondly, it can be footprints of the author on sand or snow, precisely in the place they aren’t supposed to be.  But try not to spoil the composition with them.

“Photographer’s ears” in landscape can be presented with somewhat objects which are in the frame for some unraveled reason. Maple leaf, taken by the author from home, to be put on a wet stone among fir grove for the perfect composition can widen our imagination. And this is “photographer’s ears” way, that make the shots better for thinking over. Isn’t it the very thing that attracts us?

It’s considerable that a good picture doesn’t tell us about the things on a frame, but the things which are out of frame.

Actually, it is not about the objects, it is more about the history of the frame, and its future. Such a photograph reminds of the second frame in three frame burst (the past, the present, the future). Every photo is thought over by both photographer and viewer. One of the genres of deliberation is “Photographer’s ears”.

The term “photographer’s ears” is very alike to hare’s ears. See, photographing any scene the photographer tries to avoid signs of his presence, covering his tracks by any the means. And it’s right: the place for a creator is always on a small table under his picture (in titles of the film, behind the scenes but not on the stage etc.)

Being a photographer means seeing the whole story of a photo. And “photographer’s ears” help viewers to unravel the story. We speak about the ears when the photographer himself is an object of the picture without being on the frame.

You’ll probably get it better when you look at this photo.

Since I’m not only a beginning photographer but a professional man I wasn’t surprised to see the girl want to fly like a witch. Looking at her waving hair I started thinking why her skirt was still fulfilling its function. I was indignant at that fact but when I came back to the photograph I noticed that the picture was upside down. Having turned it up I managed to see that the model had been tied (just like a dozen of things in the room) with thin ropes to the ceiling. The ceiling was painted like the floor and the floor was whitebleached like the ceiling! The photograph acquired another, more active and attractive quality.

The thing that excited me wasn’t the skirt or the model herself but this hardly noticed ropes and the whole story of this performance. I imagined how the assistants were preparing the studio for the survey, how they were screwing on the chair and the table to the ceiling, then they sticked the telephone and its wire and the photographer was watching over the show to be noticed only by the photoaddicted viewer.

So, this is how “photographer’s ears” help viewer read an interesting story. The picture below is another example, which performs good story, but you have to unravel it yourself.