Photography for the healthcare environment.

A photograph of a vaguely familiar natural place, one that is non-threatening, and "softly fascinating" to the viewer, is what we're after. But that's not as easy as it sounds.

About the scene.

This is an example of a photograph that we think is appropriate for the healthcare environment (hospital, Doctor or Dentist's office, etc.). This image was made on the same day as the brief video on the previous post. An overcast sky provided soft, even light to the hemlock forest. There were very few bright spots or dark shadows, so detail could be seen almost everywhere. Moss grew two inches thick on the boulder field and fallen tree trunks. Although there was an almost overwhelming sense of GREEN, the ferns had a bluish hue that created an interesting color contrast with the yellow-green moss.

A digital camera was used, and adjustments to the digital file were made in post processing, as usual. Our goal was to find an interesting subject that held the viewer's attention as her eyes move around the final photograph. The "soft fascination" we referred to comes when looking at something natural and vaguely familiar, something non-threatening and allowing casual study. In other words, it's a pleasant distraction.

Minimize visual conflicts, eliminate contrasty edges.

We try to avoid visual conflicts in the scene and contrasty elements on the edges of the frame. Both of these interrupt the eye's random movement and diminish the enjoyment of the viewing experience.

In forest scenes, visual conflicts arise, for instance, when one tree is partially hidden by the tree in front, or when one tree crosses over another, or when a tree or branch is partly in and partly out of the frame.

Edges of a photograph are especially important. There are good evolutionary reasons for this, but suffice it to say that contrasty elements on the edge or a photograph, or the periphery of our vision, claim an inordinate amount of our attention. They are distracting.

We don't always succeed, but we try to minimize distracting visual conflicts and truncated edge elements through careful composition—on a tripod. A concerted effort is made to "deconflict" or separate the trees as much as possible, and the edges of the photograph are carefully examined. If we can't eliminate edge problems with the initial composition, we eliminate them in post-processing. That's a bit of work, but we don't want anything to interfere with the viewer's serene appreciation of the photograph.

Communicate feeling.

A successful photograph communicates a feeling, and in the healthcare environment we want that feeling to be comforting, not anxiety-provoking. There was a feeling of serenity in this quiet rain forest. Even though we had never been there before, it felt familiar and safe. And we really liked the harmonious color contrast between the blue-green ferns and the yellow-green moss.

A forest is visually chaotic. To communicate serenity and calm, we worked to minimize elements of the scene that could have been visually unsettling. Careful camera placement "de-conflicted" many of the trees. Edges were inspected and modified as needed. Rare areas of potentially scary deep shadow (such as under the fallen log) were lightened to maintain detail. Bright areas in the background were subdued to make the photograph conform to the soft, even light we remembered experiencing when we were there. We softened the background and added a slight blue tint to make it seem less harsh while keeping the foreground moss a yellow-green and maintaining full sharpness in the main trees.

The complex work of simplifying.

That sounds like a lot when we write it down, but it's the same process we follow with all our photographs. Our goal is to make the work of composition and post processing invisible. Since our audience in the healthcare environment is often under considerable stress, we would like them to linger over our photographs. explore details, reminisce about similar places, and be pleasantly distracted—at least for a moment.