John Free And The "Three Things" In A Photograph
Reflecting on the wisdom of a great artist
John Free amassed an incredible body of work as a documentary and street photographer. He made a career with his camera that spanned well over 50 years and in the later years of his life, would make a habit of sharing his wisdom online. His lessons were direct but thoughtful. Watching his material, you’d immediately feel that he knew what he was talking about but didn’t carry himself like he was better than anyone else. His humility would disarm you.
John passed away last week and to be honest, it’s something that I still have a hard time believing. This week, I’d like to share a bit of wisdom I learned from one of his tutorials. Something that opened my eyes and changed how I would study my photography.
Finding Three Elements
Nearly five years ago, I came across this video from John Free where he was sitting on the sidewalk with a box of photos, going through them one by one. No fancy studio, no cinematic lighting, and no drawn out introduction. Free starts the video with the key takeaway. Blink and you’ll miss it.
“I wanna see three things. When I see the centre of interest, I start looking around for other things I can include to give strength to the centre of interest.”
John drops this gem in first few seconds and then proceeds to spend the next 25 minutes expositing on this concept with photographs from his archive. One by one, his pulls out a photograph to talk about the details that elevate the centre of interest. This video lives rent-free in my head.
There are times when I’m thinking about the three elements in the moment, right when I’m about to create an image. There are many more times where the three elements are discovered in post, during the editing process. Wherever it may happen, John’s insight on finding supporting elements for a central subject has stuck with me for years.
I’d leverage this insight to help review my work. While it’s impossible to quantify your art, this information gave me a way to measure my work relative to itself. I felt like I had a way to study my archive and start thinking about my imagery in a deeper way. More importantly, I would now know why my favourite images were my favourites. John’s insights would help develop my confidence as a photographer.
Is this a rule I never break? Of course not. But it’s a great template to studying my work. And something that I’ve shared with many other photographers. Most people don’t spend nearly enough time just studying their work. And I believe that’s largely because most people don’t know how. This concept from John—finding the three elements that support your centre of interest—demystifies the process and in turn, makes a better photographer out of you.
March Contest Winner
Congratulations to the winner of last month’s contest for a Long Weekend Beacon Tote Bag and Everyday Zip Pouch.
Aisha K.
I’ve emailed you the details. Enjoy the goodies!
New April Contest!
Each month, I run a contest for the Church & Street community and try to feature something that I think people will appreciate.
For April, I’ll be giving away a one-year subscription to the all-in-one bundle of Capture One Pro. Yes, an entire year of Capture One Pro on me! This is the image editor that I’ve relied on for years and the one I recommend for active photographers.
How am I picking the winner? All you have to do is be a member of this community and leave a comment on this post. As with every contest, I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and then contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.
Once again, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!
What’s Next?
John Free lives on through his family, his work, and the many people he’s influenced. His fingerprints are all over the world, in photographs that are still being made to this day. While I regret not taking the the initiative to meet him while he was here, I’m thankful for all that he did for the photography community. And though today’s post reflects on a technical lesson from his journey, perhaps a more important teaching I’ve taken from John was one on humility.
For those interested, you can learn more about John’s work here. If you wanna do yourself a real favour, watch the video I referenced in this post without any distractions. Anyway, that’s enough for this week. See ya next time.
GB
Thank you for your kind memorial. John free wanted us all to be thoughtful framers. This skill or craft as he would call it , lends itself most importantly for how the viewed photograph raises up the viewer . He wants you to get closer. Share, make prints , give them away. What we do can change the world he would often say. I’m here to tell you it’s true. John Free photographed my first breath. I make this message from his darkroom , he spent 50 years in here!
Scott Free .
This is super interesting thanks for sharing, RIP John he sounds like a legend.