Hi girls, it's been awhile since I've posted a Photography tutorial here and my husband was bugging me to tell you all about some of my new found skills so here it is!
Today I'll be talking about how to compose a great photograph. This is all information that I've read/heard (thanks hubby!) or found out for myself over the past 10 weeks of owning a DSLR so hopefully you will pick up some tips that will help you take better photo's of everything from landscapes and interiors to children and pets!
Since I'm still new to photography, as far as I can see you don't need to be 'trained' in photography to take a great, balanced looking photo. You just have to give a little thought to a few factors before you press that shutter button, so I though it might help to see how my thought process works when I'm taking a photo as a photography-newbie...
1. Consider your lighting, foreground and background:
Before I even lift the camera to my eyes I look around. I'm looking to see where the light is best for what I am wanting shoot. For instance, if I'm shooting interior decor items, flowers or food (actually pretty much anything indoors) I will want to be near a window where there is plenty of natural light to highlight my subject, like in the images below:
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| All these images were shot with afternoon light predominantly coming from a large north facing window...it's flattering on pretty much everything, people included! |
Photographer's all seem to swear by that good north facing light and since my main living room window faces that way and I seem to get great shots time after time in there with very little effort, I'll have to agree with them and recommend it! ;)
The next step for me is that I think if I shoot in this great spot with north facing light, what (if anything) will be in the foreground and what will be in the background? That way if I need to move a few things around and add or remove objects to get a better shot I can sort that out first. Obviously if I'm shooting someone outside and there's a giant ugly wall or similar in the background I will have to choose a better location or shoot from a better angle that hides it. It's that old saying of location, location, location!
2. Frame your shot:
Once you have your location and gorgeous natural light sorted you're half way there, so hold your camera up and focus on your subject through the lens, how does it look??
For me this is 'the moment' - I can instantly see if what I'm framing through the lens looks balanced and 'right'. If you don't trust yourself to see that just yet, just ask yourself what was your first impression of what you saw? If you wrinkled your nose up now is time to fix it! But how do you do that?
A good place to start is to walk around your subject (if you can) and look at it through the lens from all different angles, get down to it's 'eye'-level, stand slightly above it etc. Is there an angle that stands out for you? Is anything getting in the way of your shot if you take it from this great angle?
Perhaps you want to bring something in closer to your subject to add interest? I often move things around at this point before taking a shot, 'staging' I suppose you'd call it and you know how I like doing that...
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| Resting my camera on the coffee table gave me a much more interesting vantage point for photographing these coffee cups! |
Now you have found a nice angle that makes your heart sing, go ahead and take a few shots; try holding your camera both vertically and horizontally (or portrait and landscape) and see which image looks best.
I always shoot a mixture of both, so don't forget to mix it up! Take a few shots, try out different Aperture settings to get more or less of the image in focus (see the Shooting in Aperture Priority Mode tutorial if you need help with that) and review them on your display screen, how are they looking now?
Are you happy with them or do you want MORE?! I always want something more at this point haha, so below are some tips to get your nicely lit photo's looking that little bit more special!
3. The Rule of Thirds:
There are some additional 'rules' when it comes to taking a photo that looks beautifully balanced. You'll know when you come across one because it'll just pop out at you though you probably won't consciously know why (the human brain is subconsciously a very mathematical beast that loves visual symmetry) and I'm still learning how to apply the rule of thirds but I'll tell you what it is and how it helps.
Right, so the image that comes out of a digital camera is essentially a rectangle. Imagine that rectangle is divided evenly into thirds, both vertically and horizontally so it's nice and balanced (the OCD side in me loves this idea of balance!) with these dividing lines there will be intersecting points where the axis meet, they are demonstrated nicely in the image below:
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| Image via Google |
The idea is that by placing your subject on one of these vertical or horizontal lines or at one of the axis points your eyes will be able to view the image in a more natural and pleasing way and you'll have a more impressive shot!
Having your image centered in the frame - while there is a time and place for it - is apparently not always the best way to get an eye catching shot...hmm, so that's why photographers always have people off centre and doing all kinds of funny things in photo's - there is a method to the madness! ;)
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| Here the foreground glacier sits right on the first horizontal line with the background glaciers perfectly placed on the second one...beautifully balanced and obviously taken with care! |
But hey, these photography 'rules' are made to be broken and you don't have to fret and worry about getting it perfect but I've found that it definitely helps you compose a more balanced shot to keep it in mind no matter what you're shooting. Just ask yourself, if this picture was divided into thirds where should my subject be? So, there you go, you can use this rule, or break it, up to you!
4. Create some 'Negative Space':
This is probably something that most amateur photographer's don't do and I only did it initially because I remembered my husband rabbiting on about it back when he was learning photography all those years ago! ;)
Negative space is the space in an image that isn't filled up with your subject. It's just the empty area. That's it.
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| Here I took pretty much the same photo, one with a tight 'portrait' crop and one with a loose 'landscape' one allowing plenty of negative space. Each has it's own mood, but which is more interesting to you? |
You can use this 'empty' space to your advantage to take a more dynamic shot. While there is a time and place for a person or subject to fill the whole frame or most of it, it's also great to let your subject 'breathe'. Just give them some space and if you can put your subject on one of the third lines, even better! You're well on your way to a professional looking image, woohoo!
Here are some examples of my photography using negative space and the rule of thirds together, it's not a hard concept to grasp (even for the mathematically challenged like me) but it takes a little practice (and yep, I'm definitely still working on it!) but I know you'll be rocking it in no time you clever things...
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| Plenty of clean white space draws your eye to the beautiful blooms and the main point of focus is about where the first vertical line would be too, score! :) |
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| I think this image is the best I've done working with the rule of thirds and negative space, here my model is exactly on vertical third line, yay! |
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| I noticed my niece is about on the vertical third line here in my first ever portrait shoot! My eye did it naturally so it's definitely a subconscious thing. Just remember when using negative space with people that their eyes should either be gazing into the lens or looking into the empty space, never away from it, that would be weird but hey, if you want to try it... ;) |
So, I hope these tips have helped you guys today! They have been a godsend to me and are pretty much the rules and ideas I'm living by right now, though I break them here and there or where's the fun in it right?!
Once you get shooting balanced looking images down pat you can move on to playing with different lighting conditions...back lighting, fill lighting with flashes etc...I'm having some fun with those on my portrait shoots right now, so I will post a tutorial on lighting soon! :)
Don't be shy, go and take some shots of whatever you like using the rule of thirds and negative space, I'll bet you'll be impressed! And if you post them on your blog, let me know, I'd love to see them!!
Till next time...
Serenity Now
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
Shabby Creek Cottage
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