Creative Compositions.
| Posted in 2009, Photography, Tips |
0
Whilst I have only a small understanding of the physics and technology behind the camera, I've been told it's my ability to compose photos that people love. Here I'll be giving you some tips on how to compose your shots a little better. In no way, shape or form am I saying I'm the expert - because I definitely am not. These tips might not even be useful to some people, because they might prefer to shoot a different way. I'm simply putting these tips out there just in case it helps someone (and I hope it does). I'll be using my own photographs as examples.
1. Don't point your camera so that your subject is centered. I can see you doing it right now. Just don't do it.
Guys. Anybody can put the subject of their photos smack bang in the center of the image. Your visually impaired grandfather could probably do it. This is possibly the least creative way to compose an image. In some circumstances it works, but in most cases, taking a photograph of your awesome sexy car on a straight angle right in the centre isn't going to make anyone jizz in their pants. Myself included.
Try tilting that camera - what's the loss?! If the shot you took turns out to be revolting (more revolting than you putting your subject right in the center), then you can delete it. It's fine. It's all about experimenting.
2. There are no such things as 'rules' when it comes to composing your image.
You shouldn't even consider this blog post as a rule. In fact, don't even think of any rules being in photography at all - they are all merely guidelines and tips. At the end of the day, a photograph that has excellent creative merit will win over a 'technically correct' but ordinary photo. The average passer by isn't going to give a rat's ass what aperture and ISO you shot it at - they aren't even going to know what those things mean. What matters is that your photograph caught their eye.
Furthermore, if you spend too much time worrying about how to make sure your aperture, ISO, shutter speed, exposure, blah blah blah are correct - you might've already missed the perfect shot.
Don't get me wrong - it's incredibly important to understand aperture, exposure and ISO (because if you don't understand those things your photograph really isn't going to turn out very good in the first place), but what I'm saying is, don't stress your head about it.
Every photographer is different - whilst you might be terrible at one aspect of photography, you might be better at another aspect that someone else might not be good at. For example - I've spent four years practicing photography in my spare time and it is only now that I've really begun to focus on the technical aspects of my photographs. I rarely think about things such as what aperture to shoot on because I'm too busy thinking about how to compose the image, or how to effectively capture the moment - this is what I know to be my strong point. Luke on the other hand, is much more technically skilled than I am, so I spend time learning from what he knows, and he spends time learning what I have learnt about post-processing and composition. It takes years and years for photographers to better themselves - don't feel pressured to be perfect all at once!
Once you figure out what kind of photographer you are, and what your strong points are, you'll soon be able to start focusing on bettering your skills in that area before moving onto the next.
3. Portraits and people.
I thought this would be an appropriate tip for Christmas time - everyone will be catching up with their family and friends, so it's the perfect time to bring a camera along. Now this is going to be a huge category, so bear with me.
a. Use natural light.
If you're shooting indoors, open curtains/blinds and try to get as much natural light in as possible. Avoid using the built-in flash in your camera. Direct flash is hideous. You might not see it, but it's really not flattering. If it's really dark then yes, of course it's going to be necessary to use it. Otherwise, 'auto flash'-ing will do you more harm than good.
b. I said it before, but I'm going to say it again.
Avoid that centered shooting. If you're really confident that the photo looks best centered, go for it. Otherwise, don't - this is particularly important for portraits. Looking back on most of my photographs of people, most of them have either been shot to the far left or far right of the frame. Shooting subjects this way creates interest. This is especially effective in studio shooting, where a plain black or white background adds extra impact.
c. Don't ask your subjects to pose.
Photographs of people are best when they are either
a) doing their own thing and posing in their own way for you, or
b) when they aren't conscious of you.
When people know there's a camera on them there's a pressure to look a certain way. They end up freezing and the result is an awkward and uncomfortable photo. Try to take photos of people while they're either talking to you, or somebody else. The most important thing to remember is that you're trying to take photos of that person - you shouldn't be asking them to behave in a way that is not how they normally would, because then you're not really shooting 'them', are you? Unless you're shooting a professionally trained model that you've paid for, don't expect people to be comfortable if they're asked to pose and they don't want to. This will improve the flow of your shoot greatly.
Another important note: if you're not comfortable, they won't be comfortable. Most of the time, we can sense when other people are stressed. Don't freak out, otherwise you'll make it worse! Just go with the flow of what's happening right there and then, and it'll be okay. Most of the time I just tell people the following:
'Go do your own thing and I'll come follow'.
It works like a charm!
d. Don't just capture faces.
Capture everything. Hands, eyes, feet, ears. Pay attention to the emotions that are happening right there and then. Photographs like this not only contribute to an interesting gallery, but they say a lot too. 65% percent of our communication lies in body language - getting a photo of how someone's hand is placed on their partner's back will probably say a lot more than just taking a photo of their faces. If you have time, don't be afraid to shoot from all angles - up high, down low, close-up...totally up to you.
1. Don't point your camera so that your subject is centered. I can see you doing it right now. Just don't do it.
Guys. Anybody can put the subject of their photos smack bang in the center of the image. Your visually impaired grandfather could probably do it. This is possibly the least creative way to compose an image. In some circumstances it works, but in most cases, taking a photograph of your awesome sexy car on a straight angle right in the centre isn't going to make anyone jizz in their pants. Myself included.
Try tilting that camera - what's the loss?! If the shot you took turns out to be revolting (more revolting than you putting your subject right in the center), then you can delete it. It's fine. It's all about experimenting.
Compare this straight angled shot to the photograph below.
Whilst I was shooting, they were all so happy and laughing. The atmosphere was really cheerful.
Tilting the camera here made the photo much more lively and captured
the atmosphere more effectively than the previous photo.
P.S. Both these photos are totally overexposed (fancy term for 'way too bright' for those who don't know).
I'm aware of it. I'm merely showing them as an example of composition.
2. There are no such things as 'rules' when it comes to composing your image.
You shouldn't even consider this blog post as a rule. In fact, don't even think of any rules being in photography at all - they are all merely guidelines and tips. At the end of the day, a photograph that has excellent creative merit will win over a 'technically correct' but ordinary photo. The average passer by isn't going to give a rat's ass what aperture and ISO you shot it at - they aren't even going to know what those things mean. What matters is that your photograph caught their eye.
Furthermore, if you spend too much time worrying about how to make sure your aperture, ISO, shutter speed, exposure, blah blah blah are correct - you might've already missed the perfect shot.
An example of almost missing the perfect shot. I saw in my head the kind of photo I could take as my brother ran up the stairs - yep, I composed it with half the stairs cut off.
If I had fiddled with the dials on my camera at that time, I would've missed the shot completely.
Don't get me wrong - it's incredibly important to understand aperture, exposure and ISO (because if you don't understand those things your photograph really isn't going to turn out very good in the first place), but what I'm saying is, don't stress your head about it.
Every photographer is different - whilst you might be terrible at one aspect of photography, you might be better at another aspect that someone else might not be good at. For example - I've spent four years practicing photography in my spare time and it is only now that I've really begun to focus on the technical aspects of my photographs. I rarely think about things such as what aperture to shoot on because I'm too busy thinking about how to compose the image, or how to effectively capture the moment - this is what I know to be my strong point. Luke on the other hand, is much more technically skilled than I am, so I spend time learning from what he knows, and he spends time learning what I have learnt about post-processing and composition. It takes years and years for photographers to better themselves - don't feel pressured to be perfect all at once!
Once you figure out what kind of photographer you are, and what your strong points are, you'll soon be able to start focusing on bettering your skills in that area before moving onto the next.
3. Portraits and people.
I thought this would be an appropriate tip for Christmas time - everyone will be catching up with their family and friends, so it's the perfect time to bring a camera along. Now this is going to be a huge category, so bear with me.
a. Use natural light.
If you're shooting indoors, open curtains/blinds and try to get as much natural light in as possible. Avoid using the built-in flash in your camera. Direct flash is hideous. You might not see it, but it's really not flattering. If it's really dark then yes, of course it's going to be necessary to use it. Otherwise, 'auto flash'-ing will do you more harm than good.
b. I said it before, but I'm going to say it again.
Avoid that centered shooting. If you're really confident that the photo looks best centered, go for it. Otherwise, don't - this is particularly important for portraits. Looking back on most of my photographs of people, most of them have either been shot to the far left or far right of the frame. Shooting subjects this way creates interest. This is especially effective in studio shooting, where a plain black or white background adds extra impact.
An example of a shot with the subject to the far left of the image.
c. Don't ask your subjects to pose.
Photographs of people are best when they are either
a) doing their own thing and posing in their own way for you, or
b) when they aren't conscious of you.
I did this shoot with Jen a few months back. We literally spent the whole shoot talking.
I then put a chair outside to give her something to work with and let her do what she wanted.
When people know there's a camera on them there's a pressure to look a certain way. They end up freezing and the result is an awkward and uncomfortable photo. Try to take photos of people while they're either talking to you, or somebody else. The most important thing to remember is that you're trying to take photos of that person - you shouldn't be asking them to behave in a way that is not how they normally would, because then you're not really shooting 'them', are you? Unless you're shooting a professionally trained model that you've paid for, don't expect people to be comfortable if they're asked to pose and they don't want to. This will improve the flow of your shoot greatly.
Another important note: if you're not comfortable, they won't be comfortable. Most of the time, we can sense when other people are stressed. Don't freak out, otherwise you'll make it worse! Just go with the flow of what's happening right there and then, and it'll be okay. Most of the time I just tell people the following:
'Go do your own thing and I'll come follow'.
It works like a charm!
d. Don't just capture faces.
Capture everything. Hands, eyes, feet, ears. Pay attention to the emotions that are happening right there and then. Photographs like this not only contribute to an interesting gallery, but they say a lot too. 65% percent of our communication lies in body language - getting a photo of how someone's hand is placed on their partner's back will probably say a lot more than just taking a photo of their faces. If you have time, don't be afraid to shoot from all angles - up high, down low, close-up...totally up to you.
An example of taking photos of something other than someone's face.
