How to Compose a Photo Pt.1
I expect you’ve heard of the Rule of Thirds, Diagonals and other compositional tools to help improve your photos. The question is how to you make big solid elements like trees and buildings line up to conform to these compositional tools? I mean you can’t move the horizon can you?
Yes you can and it’s really easy too. In my photo the horizon is running through the photo at about waist level. But you can easily move it up or down in the image and put it behind my shoulders or even make it so low down it disappears. In how to compose a photo we'll show you how using the video camera so you actually see the composition change in the viewfinder. This is real life composition management.
So many people believe that beautifully composed pictures are a function of expensive cameras, lenses or maybe a menu setting but they’re not. Great compositions live outside the camera and inside your imagination. The trick is knowing how to channel what you’d like an image to look like - out through the camera and into a picture you’re proud of.
Remember your camera is only a tool for interpreting what’s around you into a photo. It’s you who has to tell it what to do.
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Scene in a scene |
Landscape photography is one of those areas where patience, thinking it through and taking your time pays dividends. We have all seen a scene we want to capture but sadly we’re in a hurry, so we leap out the car and just grab a shot without giving it too much thought.
This may or may not result in a great shot. But have you thought to ask yourself if there’s more to be had from a location than the obvious? You have to build upon an initial idea. Explore possibilities.
I was in Vietnam driving through the mountains when we came upon this amazing view of rice terraces. We stopped so the film crew could shoot some aerial shots with their drone so Simon and I took the opportunity to look around and shoot this video.
As we drove up the hill I’d noticed one of the little paths that wind their way through the paddies so we went for a walk to see what it would yield.
Almost straight away we came upon some greenery we could use as foreground, which can frame a scene and give it more depth. In some cases just finding a bit of foreground can make or break an image.
But don’t forget to look around you. It’s all to easy to miss a beautiful detail of the landscape that’s right next to you because you’re absorbed by what’s in front.
You have to concentrate and really look at a scene. In the first shot of the last scenario there’s a stick poking up on the left. I didn’t really notice it to begin with. It wasn’t until I checked the shot in the LCD it became apparent.
So how do we remove it? Well obviously there’s Photoshop but I’m lazy. A few steps to the side will change the geometry of the image. It makes things align differently so you can lose unwanted clutter from the composition.
So besides making sure the light is appropriate for the scene, here are 3 landscape photography tips to consider.
- Take time – think of other possibilities for the location
- Find some foreground. It could make a world of difference
- Look to the side as well as in front. You might have missed something
These things are not functions of your camera. They are functions of you thinking like a photographer.
