by katatdhd
In this article we will briefly touch on a few areas that will help you take better photographs concentrating on the composition or your photographs - from a beginners viewpoint. I am assuming that you have basic knowledge of your camera at this point which is vital to your photography skills.
1. Keep It Simple
Simplify your photo as much as possible, remove unwated elements and be aware of the background. A photo with too much going on wont grab the viewers attention and keep it. If the eye wanders around the picture trying to look at all the elements that are there, it will loose its effectiveness. Make sure your subject is the most prominate feature of the photo and the background is not distracting.
2. Get in close
One of the most important lessons I ever had was to get in close to the subject. My mentor kept saying closer, closer, closer. I thought he had lost his mind. In fact he was dead on and I think that was the most valuable lesson I learned. 'Fill the frame' with you subject. (Note:Try not to cut of the edges of the subject unless ofcourse you are focusing on a specific area of your subject.) Filling the frame helps to make the subject of your photo unmistakeable and also helps to remove those unwanted distaractions from the background.
3. Composition
One of the most valuable things you need to learn to help take your photos to the next level is how to compose you photos. The most talked about 'rule' is the Rule of Thirds. This is much more simple than you would really think.
A. Rule Of Thirds
Imagine your frame with imaginary lines forming a tic-tac-toe board, Dividing it into 1/3 sections from top to bottom and also from left to right. This rule is helpful when composing shots with horizontal and vertical lines. Landscapes are the perfect example for this rule. Placing your horizon along one of the horizontal lines will make your photo have more impact. If you want the sky to be more prominant place the horizon on the bottom 1/3 if you want the sky to be less prominant place the horizon on the upper 1/3. Getting the idea?
B. Golden Section
Applying the Rule of Thirds to your frame, find all of the intersections of your tic-tac-toe board. Those 4 spots are your 'sweet spots' so to speak. When the center focal point of your subject is placed on or near one of these spots your photo will seem to have more impact and be more appealing. Using these 4 areas will keep you in the rule of thirds as well.
C. Framing Your Shot
A neat way to add depth and impact to your shot is to frame it with something in the photo. Using a tree branch to one side of your photo, or taking a photo threw an archway leaveing the archway as the frame.. Take a shot threw a window frame using the window as a frame. This takes practice but the results are well worth the effort.
D. Leading Lines
Threw the use of leading lines, you can bring the viewer into your photograph. Strong lines, like roads and foot paths can draw a veiwer in as well as other items, like a row of trees, flowers, buildings etc. Placing these kind of items along the rule of thirds or on a diagonal are great places to start while experimenting with leading lines.
E. Diagonal and Triangular Lines
This is one of my favorite types of compositions. Placeing the items of intrest using the golden mean, and leading lines to form a diagonal across the frame will give a photo great impact. This works well with most items.
Now that I have went over the most common 'rules' of photography, I am going to say RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN! Experimentation can lead to many a wonderful photograph! Article Source : www.photos-of-the-year.com
In this article we will briefly touch on a few areas that will help you take better photographs concentrating on the composition or your photographs - from a beginners viewpoint. I am assuming that you have basic knowledge of your camera at this point which is vital to your photography skills.
1. Keep It Simple
Simplify your photo as much as possible, remove unwated elements and be aware of the background. A photo with too much going on wont grab the viewers attention and keep it. If the eye wanders around the picture trying to look at all the elements that are there, it will loose its effectiveness. Make sure your subject is the most prominate feature of the photo and the background is not distracting.
2. Get in close
One of the most important lessons I ever had was to get in close to the subject. My mentor kept saying closer, closer, closer. I thought he had lost his mind. In fact he was dead on and I think that was the most valuable lesson I learned. 'Fill the frame' with you subject. (Note:Try not to cut of the edges of the subject unless ofcourse you are focusing on a specific area of your subject.) Filling the frame helps to make the subject of your photo unmistakeable and also helps to remove those unwanted distaractions from the background.
3. Composition
One of the most valuable things you need to learn to help take your photos to the next level is how to compose you photos. The most talked about 'rule' is the Rule of Thirds. This is much more simple than you would really think.
A. Rule Of Thirds
Imagine your frame with imaginary lines forming a tic-tac-toe board, Dividing it into 1/3 sections from top to bottom and also from left to right. This rule is helpful when composing shots with horizontal and vertical lines. Landscapes are the perfect example for this rule. Placing your horizon along one of the horizontal lines will make your photo have more impact. If you want the sky to be more prominant place the horizon on the bottom 1/3 if you want the sky to be less prominant place the horizon on the upper 1/3. Getting the idea?
B. Golden Section
Applying the Rule of Thirds to your frame, find all of the intersections of your tic-tac-toe board. Those 4 spots are your 'sweet spots' so to speak. When the center focal point of your subject is placed on or near one of these spots your photo will seem to have more impact and be more appealing. Using these 4 areas will keep you in the rule of thirds as well.
C. Framing Your Shot
A neat way to add depth and impact to your shot is to frame it with something in the photo. Using a tree branch to one side of your photo, or taking a photo threw an archway leaveing the archway as the frame.. Take a shot threw a window frame using the window as a frame. This takes practice but the results are well worth the effort.
D. Leading Lines
Threw the use of leading lines, you can bring the viewer into your photograph. Strong lines, like roads and foot paths can draw a veiwer in as well as other items, like a row of trees, flowers, buildings etc. Placing these kind of items along the rule of thirds or on a diagonal are great places to start while experimenting with leading lines.
E. Diagonal and Triangular Lines
This is one of my favorite types of compositions. Placeing the items of intrest using the golden mean, and leading lines to form a diagonal across the frame will give a photo great impact. This works well with most items.
Now that I have went over the most common 'rules' of photography, I am going to say RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN! Experimentation can lead to many a wonderful photograph! Article Source : www.photos-of-the-year.com
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