Fine Art Photography

Viewing Masks

A photograph with strength and impact should be much more than a random snapshot. It should represent a calculated effort to express your feelings and share your photographic vision.

A viewing mask is a simple device to help you achieve this. It costs pennies, can easily be made in minutes, stores in your camera case, and is an invaluable aid in helping you to “see” through your viewfinder.

A viewing mask is nothing more than a “window” cut out of a piece of cardboard in the proportions of your negative size. Sound simple? It is. And you'll be amazed at its benefits.

For 35mm users, cut a 2x3 inch rectangle out of a piece of thick cardboard. Overall, a section of board about 6x8 will suffice. By viewing your potential subject through your “window”, you'll see that extraneous, non-important items will be eliminated and that you'll find you can zero right in and isolate your subject.

That pattern of cracks in the sidewalk or the exciting arrangement of tree brances will now “pop out” at you, whereas in looking at the whole, they may not be noticeable. Familiar things around your home will now appear in a new light and you'll find yourself seeing things you never saw before.

Remember, simplicity in your pictures leads to greater impact. Pre-visualization is enhanced and you will find it much easier to select a lens with the proper focal length.

To the left of the “window”, place a scale listing distances from your eye in inches and corresponding focal length lenses in millimeters. For 35mm users, the scale would be as follows:

Distance From Eye Focal Length of Lens

1 1/2 inches           24mm
3 1/2 inches           50mm
9 inches                135mm
13 inches              200mm

When you have desired composition using your viewing mask, a quick glance at the scale will indicate the lens required to produce the visual impage on film. For example, if your desired composition is attained with the mask 9 inches from your eye, use a 135mm lens.

At first, it may seem a little difficult to judge distances from your eye to the viewing mask, but with practice you'll be amazed at your accuracy.

So don't hide yourself and your photography behind a mask…unless, of course, it's a viewing mask!