It’s Not About the F-Stop

“Where” You Shoot From

When I teach in Santa Fe, they give me a place to stay for the week. The places vary, but the one in this picture is very familiar to me. I’ve stayed there a dozen times or so.

Any place I stay—hotel, motel, friends’ houses, etc.—I always take pictures from the windows. Sometimes I do images of the room itself. Sometimes I photograph from the bed. Most of the time I’m looking out at the view. If the light coming in is good, I might shoot what the light is falling on.

This time, though, I decided I was going change my point of view and shoot low from the foot of the bed. This opened up a viewpoint I’ve never shot from before.

It reminds me that the factor of “where” you shoot from is one of the most critical choices you ...