Pre-Visualization.....Once, Twice, Thrice

It occurs to me that as photographer/artists we pre-visualize our work more than once and often as many as three times or more.

Pre-visualization #1. When we are making images out in the field we need to have a reason for stopping to make a photograph.....to take time to think about what attracted us to the subject and to pre-visualize how we want it to look in the final print.

Pre-visualization #2. Assuming that we are shooting digitally, the image is then imported into Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop etc and, in my case, this is usually done in RAW format. When I import images into Lightroom I don't apply any develop presets on import and, thus, am greeted by images that have a generally bland appearance. Therefore, when deciding which images to work on, I not only have to judge composition, but also think about what I can make the image 'into' to 'bring out' the qualities that led me to make the photograph in the first place.

Pre-visualization #3. Finally, in todays digital age, we can frequently combine images to extend dynamic range, increase depth of field, or make panoramas. This, for me, is the most difficult pre-visualization, probably because I have just recently started using these modalities.

Obviously, in the 'pre-digital' days there were also mutiple pre-visualizations to be made when it came to making prints. However, as a 'slide shooter' who didn't often make prints back then, I really only pre-visualized once, and this occured when making the initial photograph. After that you got what you got and that was that.

I am not quite sure why it is that I find it interesting that as photographers we need to imagine and formulate our end result in our mind's eye so many times, but I do find it intriguing.