Vision and depth is something we see all the time in our everyday lives. We see with our vision and we often think back on something or look forward to something with our imagination. Depth can be seen everywhere, how close or how far away something is, like when you focus your eyes on one thing and the background turns blurry behind whatever you are looking at.

Here are some things to think about when starting shooting with this theme:

• Depth can refer to distance or the quality of something. Vision can mean the ability to see or to think about the future or use your imagination.
• One thing you can think about is the future. Think about what is on your horizon, what are you looking forward to in your life or community? Is there anything specific on your mind, what goals or intentions do you have? What do you think will happen in the future?
• Another thing you can think of is distance. What does the word distance mean to you in your life? What are some things that feel distant to you or what are some things that you feel are coming closer?
• You can convey how distance looks in your photos. We use different lenses on our cameras for different feels to view. With wide angle lenses more of a scene will fit into your photograph and might create some distortion. Then telephoto lenses have a longer focal length and magnifies things in the distance. You can play around with this in your photos.
• Also, you can think about the actual distance between things you’re photographing. The size of an object changes depending on how close it is to the camera, the closer it is the larger an object will appear. You can use this to show what things seem small or big to you in your life right now or the significance of those objects.
• You may also think of this in a metaphorical way, how far ahead do you find yourself planning ahead? Or do you feel more in the present moment living day to day?
• One last thing to think about is perspective or the point of view. What kind of angles are you taking your photos from? If you shoot point up does this indicate that you are looking forward to something? Or is it a birds eye view proving a different point?

So when taking photos with this theme, really experiment! Try a lot of different angles and try doing different focal lengths with different lenses or even on your phone zooming in or out. Think of all the different ways you can take these photos or the little details you can add to these photos that mean something different to you.

For this shot, you’ll want some help and to be very safe! First, get a flower, I suggest an older flower that you’re about to throw out. Ask somebody for help holding the flower and lighting it on fire. Go outside somewhere safe so that there aren’t any fire hazards. Dip your flower into gasoline and when you’re ready have your helper light the flower on fire and snap your shots. 

Grab some cardboard and some art supplies for this next photo idea. I simply drew a bullseye with 3 circles, the outer circle being for short term goals and then the inner circle for longer term goals and the bullseye being my biggest goal I want to accomplish during my life. Then, I colored it to make it look a little more professional and hung it on the wall with some tape. I stuck a thumbtack into the cardboard on the bullseye just to draw more attention and also included a “life moves fast” postcard from the school. This post card and thumbtack are of course optional, but they do add a little more to the photo.

You’re going to need something to put your camera on for this final shot or a tripod works perfectly too! Set your camera up behind your subject where you can see the TV, then put on your favorite game. You will then go in frame in front of the camera and take your shot. You have different options for this: you can set a timer or use an app on your phone or use a wireless remote to take the shot. For me personally, I used an app on my phone called ImagingEdgeMobile. This app allows me to easily connect to my camera and take pictures on my camera from my phone. All I need to make sure is that you can’t see my phone in the actual frame. Another cool part of this app is that all the pictures you take on it while hooked up to your camera automatically go onto your phone as well!