As the availability of DSLR grew bigger everyday the number of
Photographers or you may say number of quality photographs is still
insignificant. To capture a great photographer you have to break the textbook
rules, but before breaking the rules you need to know the textbook rules. You
can't just "go crazy" with the shutter release button when you get
hold of a camera.
Through this post I will try to introduce the basic rules of
composition.
Parts of a Photograph:
First of all, if we dissect a photo we will have layers.
a)Fore Ground
b)Mid Ground/Centre
c)Back Ground
To get a better understanding about those layers see the picture below
Now we need to get acquainted with few basic rules of composition which will help us to take better photograph.
Rule of Thirds:
Lets imagine that your image is divided by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal
lines into 9 equal segments.
According to rule of thirds you should position the most important
elements in your photograph along these lines, or at the points where they
intersect.
If you can manage to do that it will add balance and interest to your
photo otherwise the photograph will look dull. Most cameras now have an option
of rule of thirds grid over the LCD screen.
In this post we are staying with basics only, but if you need to learn more feel free to "google" golden triangles, golden spiral, golden rectangle or golden ratio.
Balancing Elements:
By following rule of thirds anyone can creates a more interesting
photo, but that does not mean you can leave the rest of the photograph void
which can make it feel empty. You should fill in the space by including another
object of lesser importance.
Here, the empty space was filled by the building on the other side of
the shot.
Leading Lines:
When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn along lines. By
thinking about how you place lines in your composition, you can affect the way
we view the image, pulling us into the picture, towards the subject, or on a
journey through the scene. There are many different types of line. It could be straight,
diagonal, curvy, zigzag etc and each can be used to enhance our photo's
composition.
Symmetry and Patterns:
We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made.,
They can make for very eye-catching compositions, particularly in situations
where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is to break the
symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and a focal point to the
scene.
In the picture above there is a visible pattern of windows we can easily detect.
Viewpoint:
Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you
will shoot it from. 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. In the picture above the photographer can take the picture from another building as a plain frontal view, but he did so it would be just a plain photo, this picture rather tells a story. Rather than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from
high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very
close up, and so on. Sometimes unusual viewpoint creates an intriguing
and slightly abstract photo.
Background:
It is very common that we imagine a great photo looking at a scenery but when we take the photo it seems nothing like we saw. The captured image lacks impact because the subject blends into
a busy background. The human eye is excellent at distinguishing between
different elements in a scene, but camera has a tendency to flatten the
foreground and background, and that's why it differs lot than what we have imagined our photo would look like. We can easily overcome this problem while shooting -
we just have to look around for a plain and unobtrusive background and compose your shot so
that it doesn't distract or detract from the subject.
The plain background in this composition ensures nothing distracts the viewers from
the subject.
Depth:
Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have
to choose our composition carefully to conveys the sense of depth that was
present in the actual scene. You can create depth in a photo by including
objects in the foreground, middle ground and background. Another useful
composition technique is overlapping, where you deliberately partially obscure
one object with another. The human eye naturally recognizes these layers and
mentally separates them out, creating an image with more depth.
Emphasis your scene's depth by including interesting subjects at
varying distances from the camera.
Framing:
The world is full of objects which make perfect natural frames, such as
trees, archways and holes. By 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.
Here, the surrounding hills form a natural frame, and the piece of wood
provides a focal point.
Cropping:
When we take a photo it is possible that distracting objects get photographed with the subject. Through cropping we can get a solution for this problem. By cropping
tight around the subject you eliminate the background "noise",
ensuring the subject gets the viewer's undivided attention.
You remember the fantastic photo of Che. The original pic was the left one, to help the viewers to not get distracted the unnecessary elements have been removed.
Experimentation:
Until now you read about the very basic rules of composition of photography. Now you need to get the camera and start clicking. With the blessing of digital photography we no longer have to
worry about buying films or film processing costs or running out of shots. Which give us a big window of opportunity to experiment with our photos. we
can fire off tons of shots and delete the unwanted ones later at absolutely no
extra cost. Take advantage of this fact and experiment with your composition -
you never know whether an idea will work until you try it.
Digital photography allows us to experiment with different compositions
until we find the perfect one. Composition in photography is far from a science, and as a result all
of the "rules" above should be taken with a pinch of salt. As I said earlier, rules are meant to be broken. But first get acquainted with the basic rules and after you have a good grip over those you can experiment with your photos.
Good Luck.
