The Texture Challenge - and Episode 66 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

In order to create a bigger story in the mind of the viewer than can actually be seen, a photograph needs to evoke memories, sensations and imaginative projections in the viewer.

A photograph is just dots on a piece of paper, or pixels on a screen – what gives it meaning is the person who is looking at it, and the way they interpret what they see.

The job of the photographer, then, is to use the camera settings, composition, light, and a certain amount of creative empathy to communicate their message in a way that will hopefully be received in the way it was intended.

The way we experience texture is through touch. And from then on, our expectations on what something is going to feel like are based on our sense memories.

So to try and make a viewer begin to imagine what the object in the photograph would feel like requires different things.

Primarily it's about familiarity. If you show us something we have never seen before, and the texture looks unfamiliar, we are unlikely to know what it feels like. We will try and overlay it with existing sense memories, but it might not be accurate.

I remember the first time I held a snake, and was completely surprised that it wasn't slippery like a fish, but instead felt quite leathery.

One of the things the brain is judging is the reflective quality of the light falling on the surface. This will tell us whether it is wet or dry, glossy, matt or silky.

And then the depth of shadow will give us an indication of how rough or smooth it is.

What this means is depending on the settings on our cameras, how close or far we are from the texture, and particularly how it is lit, we can enhance or reduce these qualities, and so manipulate the way it is going to be perceived.

So this week's challenge for the live video podcast, is to create a photo where the viewer can't help but think about the sensation of touching the texture of the subject in the photo.

It can be pleasant or unpleasant, but do keep it family-friendly, as my daughter watches these podcasts.

See how you get on – I'm really looking forward to seeing what people are going to produce! But if you find you're struggling, then you can still submit a photo you're having difficulty with - just explain the problem and I can include suggestions and ideas in the podcast too.

Place your photo (just the one please) either into this event page in the Discussion section:
https://www.facebook.com/events/139129541639176/

or into the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

or if you don't have a Facebook account and are an avid watcher via this blog or YouTube, then email me the image.

Try and get it in before the end of the weekend, or by Monday (12th July) at the latest. Anything that arrives on Tuesday runs the risk of not being included in the podcast.

You can use a phone, tablet, point-and-shoot or DSLR (or mirrorless).

And then, make sure you tune in on Tuesday 13th July at 7.30pm (UK time) where I'll go through the photos, and give comments and feedback, and hopefully we will all become inspired by some of the submissions to go and try out new things with our photography.

Meanwhile, enjoy episode 66 below, where I talk more in-depth about texture in photography and give lots of visual examples...

---

0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
05:05 - Understanding Texture in photography
52:27 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:33:28 - Coming up next week - the TEXTURE Photo Challenge
1:40:05 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to be notified of new podcasts and behind-the-scenes videos.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/