Photography

Composition Essentials
 Contents
 Why is composition
important
 What we see
 Rules of composition
 When to break the rules
 Using depth of field
 Using Zoom
 Portrait Photography
 Action Photography
 Nature and Landscapes
 Why is Composition Important
 Camera reality different
than Your reality
 Camera has limited
range of focus and
exposure
 Film and digital disks
have much narrower
exposure range than
your eyes
 What We See
 Different than through the camera lens
 We see rectangle with rounded corners
 We see in panoramic
 Our job is to take panoramic reality and
translate it into an interesting photo using the
rules of composition
 More than 1 way to frame a photograph
 Our job to see what is best for what we want
Panoramic

Non-Panoramic
 Rules of Composition
 Isolate the Focal Point
 Use the Rule of Thirds
 Fill the Frame
 Move the Horizon
 Use Lines, Symmetry, and Patterns
 Keep the Horizon Straight
 Use Foreground to Balance the Background
 Every Picture Tells a Story
 Isolate the Focal Point
 Focal point is the main subject of your picture
 Viewer’s eye is drawn to this subject or area
 Plan your photo around this focal point
 Biggest mistake is not considering a focal point
before you take your picture
 You should be able to answer…why did the
photographer take this picture
 When subject too large….use secondary focal
point such as building or people in a landscape
 Use the Rule of Thirds
 Single most important rule of photography to
learn and apply
 Helps to restore balance to photograph
 In your mind divide the picture plane into 9
boxes
Sweet Spots of
1 2 3 Picture
Generally if Focal Point on
4 5 6 a sweet spot….interesting
composition
7 8 9
 Rule of Thirds
 Golden rule of Photography
 Thumb through a magazine, open a
photography book , watch a movie, you will
see professional photographers using this rule
75% of the time
 Focal Point in the Middle is Boring
Sweet Spots of
Picture
Generally if Focal Point on
a sweet spot….interesting
composition
 Fill the Frame
 Minimize the amount of dead space in the
photograph
 Get Close…Zoom in
 Walk over to it
 Getting tight shot of subject uncomfortable but
much more interesting
 You can crop but you lose clarity…pixels to
enlarge back to original size
 Move the Horizon
 Rule is closely related to rule of thirds
 Do not put horizon line in the middle of your
picture…boring
 Put on the upper third if you are focusing on
the foreground
 Put on the lower third is you are focusing on
the distant landscape or sky
 These are guidelines….experiment…digital is
free
Horizon on Upper Third
Horizon on Lower Third
 Use Lines, Symmetry, and Patterns
 Photographs are two-dimensional representations of three-
dimensional scenes
 How to lead viewer through a picture to get a sense of depth
 Look for natural or artificial lines to lead
 A row of trees, fence, a towering skyscraper or a natural flow
of a stream
 Look for repetition and patterns
 Patterns can be man-made or natural
 All lines and patterns add a sense of depth
 Combine patterns and lines with a sense of symmetry
Working With Lines
Symmetry
Manufactured
Manufactured Patterns
Patterns
Patterns in Nature
 Keep the Horizon Straight
 Seems obvious but common mistake
 Vertical pictures less obvious
 Horizontal pictures very obvious, askew lines
really affect the feel of the photograph
 If a digital photo, then image can be adjusted
on computer
 Use Foreground
to Balance Background

 When photographing a distant subject….place

something of interest in the foreground…
provides a sense of balance
 Adds a sense of depth and perspective
 Viewer goes to foreground first then eyes go to
the distance
 Every Picture Tells a Story
 Your job is to create an image with depth, motion, and
some sort of story.
 To lead the viewer through the picture is part of
telling the story.
 When looking at a painting or picture your eyes
naturally go to one place (focal point) then wander
throughout the composition (movement).
 Good photographers and artists use techniques like
lines, symmetry, patterns, and multiple focal points to
lead the viewer in a specific way through an image.
 If you can do this….you can create a successful
composition.
What Is This Story
 When to Break the Rules

 Only once you are good at, know and fully

understand the Rules
 Change Your Perspective
 Ignore Symmetry
 Surprise the Viewer
 Use several Focal Points
 Change Your Perspective
 Experiment with different views of the same
scene
 Hold your camera horizontally and vertically
while looking at the same scene
 Get close to the ground or high up and view
from a different perspective of same scene
Vertical vs. Horizontal
More than one way to frame a photograph
From Above
From Below
 Ignore Symmetry
 When the viewer expects symmetry, and does
n’t get it, you have introduced tension and
drama into the image
 This is good if your subject agrees with it
 Do this for common scenes…railroad track,
road, or rivers
 Surprise the Viewer
 Seen one landscape…seen them all…not
really but sometimes it can seem that way.
 Go for the unusual
 Frame your picture in an unexpected way.
 Side view mirror of car….reflections in the
water….etc
 Use unusual angles
Use Shadows to Add Interest
In Reflections
 Use Multiple Focal Points
 Most pictures rely on 1-2 focal points.
 You can add more.
 If you have several people and the photo
would be cluttered…arrange the figures into a
geometric pattern.
 If the subjects’ heads form an implied triangle
shape, you have introduced order into the
photo. Despite the fact that there are several
people
 Zoom Zoom Zoom
 Digital vs. Optical
 Zoom to fill the frame
 Hold camera very steady…use tripod or set
down on something if possible
 Additional magnification creates blurry
pictures especially in low light when camera
may use a slower shutter speed
 Some cameras allow you to shoot and zoom at
the same time for an unusual effect
 Portrait Photography
 Hard to get good pictures when posed
 Capture subject at ease
 Digital LCD panels let people be more at ease when
you look at that instead of the viewfinder
 If you get subject to relax, will look better on film
 When trying to capture spontaneous moments step
back and blend in with surroundings
 To capture the best portraits with a digital camera use
the maximum magnification/zoom
 Focus on subject and make sure the background is an
indistinct blur
 Action Photography
 Often considered the most exciting kind photography
but also the most demanding
 Technique called panning
 Keeps the subject in focus and background in a
motion blur
 Position yourself so you can twist at the waist
 Set shutter speed low if possible on camera
 Twist body with motion of the subject…Press the
shutter release and continue tracking
 Follow through the motion even after shutter stops
 Farther the background the less motion blur effect
 Nature and Landscapes
 Wide angle best for landscapes…not zoom
 Waterfalls or running stream…leave shutter
open longer to get the water in a blur…shoot
in lower light or use a “neutral density” filter
which won’t affect the color but reduces the
light entering the lens
 Wildlife…like action photography…use
telephoto lens…fill the frame
Water
Wildlife
 Capture the Moment
 Shutter delay in digital cameras
 Focus lock is very useful in digital cameras
 Takes only a second
 Push the shutter slightly and point to whatever you
would like to be in focus
 Next, recompose your picture then snap the picture
with very little pressure
 Helps to keep the camera steady
 Getting a really blue sky…tip camera up lock in and
then move camera down and snap picture
 Your homework for tomorrow:
 Turn in 10 pictures in the student drop only folder:
1. A landscape
2. An architectural landscape
3. A portrait of someone you know
4. A self portrait (of you)
5. A still-life
6. Anything that shows leading lines
7. Anything that shows pattern from nature
8. Anything that shows pattern from man-made stuff
9. An animal or insect
10. Something that you love
FOLLOW THE RULES! BE CREATIVE!