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‹ Photo Notes · 14 září, 2014
I already hear it: „what nonsense, a photo must stand on its own, some title won’t save it„. I completely agree that a photo is either good or not, whether it has a name or not. Still, I can’t resist a small reflection on the subject.
What music do you listen to? Do you know that Beethoven symphony, the one where they all play „ta-ta-ta-taaa“ at once – yes, that’s it, and what about the one by Queen where they sing „mamma mia, mamma mia„? What about the fine arts? Everybody knows those two paintings by Da Vinci, one with the woman who smiles strangely and the other where Jesus sits at a table having supper with the apostles. Or Michelangelo’s famous statue of that Old Testament boy with a sling over his shoulder. And have you read Hrabal’s enticing little book or seen Menzel’s film about the brewery in Nymburk and the noisy uncle Pepin?
See? Your photo is a work, and without a name it isn’t complete. We have the gift of using words and making names out of them. By creating a photograph we convey some visual message; by adding a title the work is completed and can be steered somewhere. A title can be purely descriptive (Charles Bridge in winter) or can hide something mysterious, mystical, perhaps just your momentary mood, atmosphere and whatever occurs to you when looking at the photograph. In that case it needn’t necessarily give an answer or explanation; on the contrary it can add a question to the photograph and perhaps force the viewer to think on another level.
The photograph Bohemian Central Uplands (a pun: Czech for „Central Uplands“ also reads as „Czech middle-hole“) got its title through the joke and easy memorability.
Take the trouble to think about the content, mood or message of your photo and name it. Sometimes it will be torture, other times fun, and your reward will be the feeling that you’ve lifted your work to another level. Whatever the title is, it will certainly be better than DSC_7658 or nude165.
Visit the next nude photography workshop