Composition Intro Pt.1
Some people have an instinct for photo composition - they just know when something works. If that isn't you, don't despair - it can also be learnt - I did it myself !
When we look at a view, person or object it's always in the middle of what we see. Try looking at a cup of coffee on the table and as you do it be aware of how much else you can see. The walls of the room, the chairs round the table and more, but your brain is filtering it out.
When composing a photo you must remember your camera can't do that for you. You have to arrange the photo so everything looks like it's in the right place.
There are a whole bunch of photo composition rules we'll go into in photo composition 2 that the great and the good have come up with over the years - and that's where you should start.
Take your time with composition, look around the edges of the viewfinder to see if there's any gaps and spaces you don't need, is the horizon straight? These are all things to check before pressing the shutter.
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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.
