First of all, wear warm socks.

Seriously. Two winters ago, on the spur of the moment, I found myself on the Brooklyn Bridge with my camera, freezing my asphericals off, worrying more about frostbite than composition, exposure and depth of field. My results were less than spectacular.

Let me back up a bit. When the kind folks at takegreatpictures.com asked me to write an article about How to Photograph a Bridge, they must have felt I knew something on the topic. After all, I had been doing my best to promote some bridge photographs I had hanging in a Manhattan office building lobby, a small selection from a multi-year project (called “Bridgework”). I’m working on to photograph all the bridges surrounding the island of Manhattan. They also know I’ve exhibited twice at a New York City gallery and made some pretty good portraits.

Thankfully, I learned from my Brooklyn Bridge fiasco; I am really happy with my results on the 125th Street Overpass, Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges.  A little thought and preparation made the difference: I feel I captured some of the forms, tones, relationships and even some “decisive moments”. So here’s the checklist that works for me, not just for photographing bridges, but also for nature, portraits or anything else:

1.    Research your subject. Learn how to get there, the entrances and exits, any rules limiting photography and something about the history. Also, check out other photographers work, both contemporary and historical.

© Brett Whysel

2.    Set some general goals. Where do you want to be in the range from pure abstract to purely representational and recognizable? Are you more interested in the fine details or the big picture, the bridge itself or its relationship to the city, sky, cars and water? Most importantly: what story do you want to tell?

© Brett Whysel

3.    Bring the right equipment. Yes, you’ll need lenses (bridges call for wide-angles!), filters, tripods, and camera bodies, but don't forget your body! Dress appropriately and bring water.

© Brett Whysel

4.    Choose your weather. Beyond personal comfort, the light, sky and weather conditions will naturally appear in your work. Do you want a dramatic sky or do you want to focus attention on the bridge? Think about time of day (or night).

© Brett Whysel

5.    Edit brutally. Without the historical context and your personal time investment, will the viewer appreciate each of your photographs? Are the images both selected and sequenced so they tell a coherent story?

© Brett Whysel

6.    Create and execute a strategy for showing your work. What good is all your effort if it remains on your hard drive? Put it on your website, submit it to magazines, contests, art fairs and even galleries. Create a self-published book. Give them as gifts. Or frame some for your home and office!

© Brett Whysel

7.    Set a deadline. Here, I admit to have failed miserably. My “Bridgework” began two years ago, and I still have four more bridges to go…

© Brett Whysel

Do you find this approach too left-brained and limiting for a creative, original and uniformly perfectionist class of artists such as us photographers? That’s OK. Just take away this one piece of advice: wear socks.

- Brett Whysel

http://www.brettwhysel.com