1 – COMPOSITION / FRAMING

Decide what you want to include inside the frame AND what you want to leave outside the frame – what you leave out is as important as what you include.

Use your hands to test the framing of your pictures. Practice looking through the viewfinder and composing pictures without taking a photo

Fill the frame – check the edges of the pictures – is it how you want it?

WHAT’S THE MAIN FOCAL POINT?

EVERY PHOTO HAS A FOREGROUND AND A BACKGROUND, SO USE THEM TOGETHER TO MAKE INTERESTING ELEMENTS TO A SHOT

Foreground focus Background focus

USE A NATURAL FRAMEBY PLACING THESE AROUND THE EDGE OF THE COMPOSITION YOU HELP TO ISOLATE THE MAIN SUBJECT FROM THE OUTSIDE

WORLD. THE RESULT IS A MORE FOCUSED IMAGE WHICH DRAWS YOUR EYE NATURALLY TO THE MAIN POINT OF

INTEREST.

2 – POINT OF VIEW (P.O.V) Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the

composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys.

Believe it or not, the best angle for a photo is not always directly in front of the subject. Some of the most interesting photos are taken from a unique P.O.V

Stand above your subject and try and get a bird’s eye view

AND Crouch on the ground and try and get a

worm’s eye view

HOW DOES THE POV CHANGE THE EFFECT OF THE PICTURE – DOES IT MAKE THE MAIN SUBJECT APPEAR BIGGER OR SMALLER?

ASK YOURSELF IF A PHOTO WOULD LOOK BETTER AS A LANDSCAPE OR A PORTRAIT

SHOT?

CLOSE UP – OR – FAR AWAY?

3 – LIGHTING/FLASH Ordinarily the main source of light should be

behind you when taking a photo, unless you want to create a silhouette affect – then you can backlight your subject

IF THERE IS NOT ENOUGH LIGHT FROM THE SOURCE YOU CAN USE FLASH

TIP: DON’T USE FLASH UNLESS YOU HAVE TO, OTHERWISE YOU CAN LOSE DETAIL IN THE PICTURE

MOST IMPORTANTLY: EXPERIMENT AND HAVE FUN!