THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE

EXERCISE
Store Windows
Assignment: As you photograph
store windows, look for two things:
merchandise on display and reflections
in the glass.
Be careful to keep yourself out of
the photograph as much as possible.
It is not acceptable for you to be
clcarlv visible.
Goal: Try to catch something
unusual, especially something humorous.
Don't just show a window
with things in it. Make sure your
photographs say something about
those things.
Tips: Look for patterns and interesting
juxtapositions (or combinations)
of objects. Notice how the
reflection interacts with what's inside
the window. Watch for signs (inside
the window or reflected in it). Keep
an eye out for interesting mannequins,
or displays being rearranged.
Consider getting two windows together
in one photograph.
Be conscious of your cropping. As
a general rule, only the window
should in the photograph, not the rest
of the building. But if the building
relates to what's in the window, then
include both. Pay particular attention
to converging lines caused by perspective.
Make sure they work with
the composition, not against it.
Several tricks will help keep you
out of the photograph. Stand at an
angle to the window so it isn't reflecting
things from your direction. Or get
down low, so the reflection passes
over you. Position yourself so that
you line up with the frame of the window.
Or stand so your reflection is
in a dark part of the window. This
can be achieved by standing so some-
178 The Photographic Eye
thing dark (a shadow, for example,
or a building) is behind you, or by
lining yourself up with some dark object
inside the window. Experiment
with these techniques and they'll soon
become automatic. (Note: It is
acceptable, and often unavoidable,
for part of you to be visible. Just try
not to produce a photograph that
looks like a self-portrait in a window.)
It is perfectly acceptable for
other people to be visible, either inside
the window or reflected in it.
Student photograph by John
Pretty man.