The actual shop is better than the photo. There is a reason for that.

Last time, I decided on the next shot to take.

And let's say a few days later, I actually tried taking it.

Before opening, I wiped the counter, placed the glasses and small plates, held up my smartphone, and took a shot.

At the time, I thought it wasn't bad.

But when I looked back at it on the screen later, it was a little different.

I looked up and looked at the actual counter once more.

As I thought, this one is better.

I returned to the screen.

As I thought, something is different.

Today, I will look at the true nature of that 'something is different'.

When looking with your eyes, you surprisingly don't see everything

When you are standing in front of the counter, what are you looking at?

Probably the glass and the wood grain around it.

While your gaze is there, other things don't really enter your vision.

To be precise, they are entering your eyes, but you are not seeing them.

A stack of receipts.

A charging cable.

A tissue box.

A cardboard box leaning against the back wall.

The things that are there every day become invisible before you know it.

But a smartphone won't do that for you.

The human eye sees what it wants to see. But a camera captures everything that is there.

That is why the shop you saw with your eyes and the shop in the photo look a little different.

It is not that you are bad at taking photos.

It is just that the photo captured things you didn't even notice.

Many things are speaking within a single frame

Take another look at the photo you took.

A seat where you can spend time calmly by yourself.

You must have taken the photo because you wanted to show that.

But there are other things in the frame as well.

Half of a menu stand on the far right.

Three condiments on the left.

A cash register in the back.

Just one chair leg in the foreground.

A cable extending from the edge of the table.

None of these are bad things.

They are there because they are necessary for business.

It is just that they don't have much to do with what you wanted to convey in this photo.

The eyes of the person looking at the photo move around the frame.

They look at the glass, look at the menu stand, look at the condiments, and look at the register in the back.

It is a state where many things seem to be speaking at the same time within a single frame.

When that happens, even the glass and seat you most wanted people to see end up becoming just one of those many things.

Before adding something, remove one thing

You look at a photo and think, "Something feels off."

Then, you want to add something.

Maybe I should make it a little brighter.

Maybe I should place a plant there.

Maybe I should arrange another dish.

Maybe it would have more atmosphere if I processed it a little.

But before that, try doing the opposite just once.

Before adding something, try removing just one thing that is unrelated to what you want to convey.

Move the tissue box out of the frame.

Drop the cable to the other side of the table.

Shift the chair that is partially in the shot.

Clear away one empty glass.

That is all.

And then, take the photo again.

When you compare them, you might find that the glass and the seat catch your eye more than they did before.

You didn't add anything.

You just removed one thing that wasn't what you wanted people to focus on.

You don't have to clean everything up

You don't need to think, "Well, I guess I should tidy everything up" here.

A shop is not a studio.

When you are open for business, there are dishcloths, order slips are left out, and condiments are on the tables.

If you remove all of that, the scene will look different from your everyday shop.

Photos that are too perfectly arranged can cause customers who visit in person to feel that it is "different from what I expected."

Besides, if you try to clean everything up before taking photos, you will need another day for the shoot.

That is exactly what we talked about avoiding last time.

Therefore, you don't need to look at the entire shop.

Look only at what is inside the frame on your smartphone screen.

It is fine for everything outside that frame to stay as it is.

If there is one thing in the frame that is unrelated to what you want to convey this time,

try moving it one meter to the side.

As long as it is out of the photo, that is enough.

Today's task

It will be finished in five minutes.

1. Take one photo of the scene you decided on last time

First, please take it just as it is.

2. Look at the photo you took right there on the spot

Before you retake it, look at the screen just once.

3. Decide on one thing you want people to see most in this photo

Is it the glass?

Is it the seat?

Is it the food?

Choose only one.

4. Find one other thing that catches your eye the most

Try looking slowly all the way to the edge of the screen.

You will probably find at least one.

5. Move that aside and take another photo

Do not move five things at once.

Just one thing.

That way, you will understand for yourself what was getting in the way of the photo.

Once you have taken it, try placing it side-by-side with the first photo.

It has probably changed a little.

Even so, when you compare it to the actual shop,

you might think,

"It should be a little more like this."

Even if you remove one object, there is still a difference that remains.

Next time, we will take a closer look at that.