Present Composition

A “Mastering the Art of Photography” Topic

Developed by Harry O’Connor

Final: September 25, 2012

Notes: All notes are on the final page

Cary Photographic Artists

Agenda

• Rule #1 of composition

• Easiest way to improve your shot

• Composition guidelines

• Summary & discussion

2 Composition

Rule #1 of composition

• It is your art – create images that please you – Look at the scene before you look through your camera

– Move around to see how the shapes work together

• Left, right, closer, farther, higher, lower (not just zoom)

• The “rules” are really guidelines that help you think about arranging the shapes in your photo in a pleasing manner

Composition 3

Easiest way to improve your shots

• Before you click, run your eye around the four corners of the image. Make sure:

– nothing intrudes that you don’t want in

– nothing is cut off that you do want in

– the background doesn’t interfere with the subject

• (tree growing from head; bright spots; tilted; etc)

Composition 4

Your eye sees the subject; the

camera sees everything.

Compositional guidelines

• Horizontals and verticals

• Backgrounds

• Rule of thirds

• Lines - diagonals and curves

• Balance

• Depth of field

• Framing / cropping

Composition 5

Example of slightly off horizontal

• Tilted • Level

Composition 6

Slight adjustments can be made in processing software, but the

surest way is to get it right in camera

Be aware of sensor plane distortion

• Point the camera up and verticals converge

• Point the camera away and horizontals converge

Composition 7

The eye expects some convergence, but

you should evaluate it when composing.

Watch your backgrounds

• Distractive • Neutral

Composition 8

• Imagine a grid dividing the horizontal and vertical sides into three equal parts

• Important elements like horizons should be on or near a grid line, not centered

• An important element gets more attention when it is on or near an intersection

• The sectors should be viewed as areas

of interest, not a hard grid

Rule of thirds

Composition 9

Rule of thirds example 1

Composition 10

Horizon on bottom line

Sky fills top third

Bale on/near two bottom intersections

Fairly distinct subject in each middle box

Composition 11

Rule of thirds example 2

Eye on top left intersection

Face runs right along the left gridline

Shoulders/back near bottom grid

Most of left third is “negative space”

Top right two boxes “negative space”

Leading lines

• Photo with diagonal • Photo with s curve

Composition 12

Balance

• Photo with large/small • Photo with bright/dark

Composition 13

Depth of field

• Photo with all in focus • Photo with subject in focus

Composition 14

Shallow DoF is difficult to achieve with small sensor cameras.

Framing

• Photo with room around subject

• Photo with subject at the edge of frame

Composition 15

You generally want to leave some room around the subject. Entering

the frame is often better than leaving it. Cutting off part of the subject

with the edge of the frame often leaves a feel of “amputation.”

Summary • The “rules” of composition are guidelines that

can help you express your artistic vision in a high quality and pleasing photograph – You can produce boring photographs that follow all the rules

– You can produce exciting photographs that follow none of the rules

• Understanding and thinking about the rules as you prepare to take your photo should lead to better results

• Discussion

Composition 16

Notes

1. Permission to freely copy, distribute and non-commercially use this material in its entirety is granted to everyone. Permission to modify, disassemble or charge for this material is expressly denied.

2. All photos in this presentation were taken by Harry O’Connor. Reproduction or use except as granted in Note 1 requires written permission.

3. Further reading and research:

17 Composition

http://digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-composition-tips

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules

http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials/composition/master-the-art-of-photographic-composition/