Friday, June 10, 2011

Frame your subject


  
One of the easier compositional techniques in photography is the use of framing your subject, in your photo, using elements in the scene. This is one more tool in your arsenal of compositional techniques.







Framing draws the viewer’s eye to the main subject and provides more depth to the picture. The result is an image which draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest. Framing often intrigues the viewer and causes them to linger on your image. Framing can offer context of who, what, when and where your photo was taken.

In the photo below the Robin in the birdbath is my main subject. The flower pots, flowers and small statue in front draw your eye in and up to the splashing bird.











Frames in photographs can include using anything from windows, trees, tunnels, arches or doorways. Use your imagination – take advantage of serendipitous opportunities. Don’t limit yourself, experiment.















Framed by trees:














Look over the bike's seat and the helmet for a nice ocean view. 








Photo credit John Sterling Jr.

Shooting through the dead grass framed the new bikes parked at the abandoned gas station. I love the contrast here between new and old.




Photo credit John Sterling Jr.




























Framing can give your image the feeling of depth: 










Framing can tell a story. Below the newborn colt huddles close to mom, probably trying to figure out what the heck his new world is all about.









Whether or not you use framing for composition in your photograph will depend on the subject and location. What you use as a frame in the scene will depend on your surroundings or what you are trying to convey. Often I just get lucky with a shot and find it frames itself.



Photo credit John Sterling Jr.





To my advanced readers:
When using framing decide if you want the frame itself in focus. A blurred frame adds a sense of unique mood and depth to your shots so use a large aperture. Use a narrow aperture if you want your frame in focus.


Links to my other posts on composition:

And Matt Considine's informative guest post : Capturing a Satisfying Image



And as always, read, read, read and practice, practice practice!


Here's links to suggested reading. Also, your local library may have these books.

Suggested reading: David duChemin's books are great - I have several. They are easy to understand and follow and packed with information. 













And another good one:

Composition Digital Field Guide




Post a photo in the comments section using any of the composition techniques or any photo you'd like to share. Here's how:


You can upload a photo in a comment box.  Click into a comment box. See the plus sign (+) in the lower left corner of your comment box. Click it and follow the instructions. It will upload a thumbnail photo. Click the thumbnail to enlarge the photo for viewing. If you have trouble let me know :D





48 comments:

Jessica Mokrzycki said...

I love all the photos...my favorite is the child at the window. Great tips. Thanks :)

David_Smith001 said...

Love your pics so much, you did a great job taking them!! Framing is so important and you did a great job showing us how to implement this element. Nice post!!

melissatandoc said...

Oh Mari... you're the best... those tips are very useful to me and I'd also like to thank you for the ones you gave me on to crop or not to crop... I'd like to post three images as you've suggested... let's see how I get there... ;)

Sulekha Rawat said...

Robin in the bird bath does it for me. Excellent photos and amazing clarity in each one...wow

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Hi Jessica - I sent you a friend request. Hope you'll keep following my blog for more tips :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Hi Sulekha - I made the mosaic pots and birdbath. I love doing crafts and the birds certainly enjoy my birdbaths. Glad you did too.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Hi Sulekha - I made the mosaic pots and birdbath - the birds obviously love them :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Such powerful images! I love all three variations. If you'd like me to critique them or make suggestions send me a FaceBook message and I can do it there. Or I can do it here - it's up to you:D I'm so happy that you posted your lovely street candid image!

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I'm truly honored to have a photograph of Erin here. This is a great photo of her making a new friend. I've been reading your posts for a while now and one thing that has always stood out for me are your descriptions of how easily she made friends. I hope you keep posting her images in my posts. They are indeed special for all of us.

SJ said...

I love the window shot with the little boy looking out, so cute.  Well I really enjoyed all these shots, the framing seems to work really well but I wouldn't of understood that.
 

Hostel Tinktinkie Argentina said...

I love all the photos! They are really good and illustrate your explanation. Thank you for sharing!

Nelieta travel blog

AJ said...

Very informative! I thought framing can just be done by windows, doors, arches, and trees. Your sample photos show that it could be anything. I should try the use of foreground. Haven't really used that technique before.

Tagged ArtLover said...

especially liked that little boy in the window. Amazing moment captured!!!

Rimly Bezbarua said...

Gosh your pictures are spectacular

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Framing adds real impact to your photos. It's just one more tool in photo composition that gives your images a professional look. 

And it's funs!

Hemant Kumar said...

Though i am a writer of children's books but photography is my second attraction....i hope i will learn more and more from here....best wishes.
Hemant
http://choldrensheaven.blogspot.com

Ravenmyth said...

Mari...each photo invites you in like a good book and you just want more...you are right about the framing...it does draw you in. I too love the colour and action in the photo of the Robin..you captured the spraying water perfectly...and because so much is going on...you linger at first...waiting for your visual to catch up with that little jewel...The Robin...even his colouring fits..it is like it was choreographed.

The old and the new of the Motorcycles is brilliant..one of them looks like a Ducati..( hope the men don't catch me making a mistake if I am wrong)...I always thought Ducati's looked like a piece of Art...

The Ferry shot reminds me of a photo I took here in Vancouver...we have the cruise ships and our B.C. Ferries...give the shot depth with the tree on the left...then sweeps you around to the green buoy and following through to the city...love it all...

Here is a picture I took a few years ago...if you look in the shadow of the Lily...you will see a little frog hanging out in the shade...I love frogs and can hear them at night...again, another shot taken at the Lake...

Anonymous said...

THX for sharing

Rogueartist said...

Mari, I am steering my students to your site to study your composition.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

What a beautiful portrait - you've captured her big beautiful eyes wonderfully! She is taking in the whole world in one look. Is this your little one? 

Bod for tea said...

Great advice Mari. I love the shot of the mountain framed by the trees. So majestic. And getting down on all fours with the blades of grass is such a fab idea. Must try this when I'm snapping DD to see the world at her level...

P.S. Hope you're enjoying Disqus. Did you find your comments?

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I love the little frog! What a beautiful pond - I love the way the blade of grass in the foreground draws you in and then you spot that cute frog. Nice framing! I love the Puget Sound ferry system. It's so fun to take the ferry to Seattle. We've taken the ferry to Victoria for the weekend and loved it. 

I've always wanted a Ducati!!! Italian design is wonderful. The bike photos were taken on a  road trip - me in my car, my son and his friend on their bikes. I'm glad you posted your photo. :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you so much! I also critique photos, at no charge, if folks are interested. Photography, like art, is subjective and my opinion is just that - my opinion :D

Sailor said...

Hello there, You have some amazing pictures there. Your models look great as usual! Say Hello to them too.

I am getting busy these days with my regular job and I am not finding any time to visit my followers and you see that there are no comments for me either. Thanks for stopping by. I will try my best to visit you whenever you have a new post.

Sailor said...

Email subscription of your blog. Better way to find your new posts.

Alpana Jaiswal said...

A pleasure to be here,the photographs are beautiful...

Alejandro Guzman said...

Love the one of the boy looking out the window...  almost spooky.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I had camera in hand, my nephew walked up to the window and I quickly snapped the shot. Got lucky! It is kind of spooky.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Alpana, I have always loved this portrait of you. Thank you for sharing it on my site. 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Visit whenever you can. I understand busy! I get your posts via email so I won't miss any. I'm working on a post now that I'll publish in a week or so. I thought of you when I was writing it and found the perfect photo for it. Two baby elephants playing! Maybe someday you'll get to buy one - what a special childhood dream that was for you. :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I agree, that's a beautiful mountain. It's Mt. Rainier and is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.  It's 54 miles from my house but if it explodes in my lifetime I shouldn't be faced with a Pompeii type disaster. I hope not anyway.

Getting down on all fours with your camera and exploring DD's world with her would be great fun! Now there's a documentary for you!

Yes, Disqus seem to have caught up with me :D

Climb2nowhere said...

You really take the most interesting pictures that also happen to be beautiful. I love the one of the little boy by the window and the man in front of the house.
Thanks for the great tips!

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you. The little boy is my nephew and that was one of those lucky shots. The man is my younger son. He's in a popular band and tours the country. That's kind of his Jim Morrison from The Doors stance. :D He uses that photo in some of his marketing. The Doors were a 1960s group. I'm not sure how old you are :D

Cristina said...

Great post Mari!
Here is one of my babies.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

What a beauty. I can understand why an artist like yourself would love such a colorful bird! Thank you for posting this lovely image!

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you for asking me to critique your photos and make suggestions. Remember that all art is subjective to the creator and viewer so what I like may not appeal to you. But here goes. 

I cropped distracting elements and I cropped to isolate the woman a bit more in the image: 1. I cropped the car out of the top portion of both photos. I felt the car was distracting and lead my eye away from the woman, especially in the smaller photo. 2. I slightly cropped the right hand side of the smaller photo in tighter to the woman. I wanted to point out the isolation of her world.3. In the larger view, I love the strong horizontal and vertical lines of the curb, the lines in the street and light poles which frame her. I cropped just a bit of this photo, again to draw the eye to the woman.  In composing photos, diagonal lines are a  way to draw the eye of the viewer through the photograph. They create points of interest as they intersect with other horizontal and vertical lines and add depth in the photo. 

Excellent work, Melissa!!  I look forward to seeing more of your work here in my next post.

melissatandoc said...

Thank you sooo much Mari... there's so many things I still want to learn and I really don't mind that you critiqued my work. I truly appreciate it. 

annasides said...

Love your site Mari!  Interesting content.  I don't know how in the world I have been missing this????

Jpbrandanophoto said...

 As always some great information presented in a  clear manner that will help many new photographers!!!

Jim

Ipoochpr61 said...

beautiful photos mari!!  have a good week
~laura

Kristy Dolha said...

I love reading about these tips. My favourite picture here is the little boy at the window. Beautiful shot!

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you Kristy. My nephew walked up to the window and I was quick enough to snap his photo. This is what I call a lucky shot!

emilene said...

Mari! What a lovely addition - this is the first time I am able to add a photo to a comment. I love the idea! Thank you so much for always leaving such lovely comments on my hiking blog, I appreciate hearing from you! As I said in my last post, I've noticed hearts jump out at me on our walks in the form of leaves, stones and now even in trees! I'd love to share it and will be posting whatever I've seen on a particular hike as the last photograph in my post. This is the heart that I saw last Thursday - clear as can be! Cape Town is surrounded by beautiful mountains and I cannot imagine my life without spending at least one day a week exploring all it has to offer. Who knows, maybe one day you'll come out this way and capture some of it with your own lens! :)

www.thursdayhiking.blogspot.com

Arti said...

Very interesting tips, surely are very helpful and they are simple too! Great pics and great tips, Many Thanks for sharing :)

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

What a beautiful photo and it's straight from nature to your camera and your artistic eye! My favorite type of images!!

Kriti Mukherjee said...

I also think framing guides a pair wandering eyes to what the photographer wants to portray. Doesn't let you stray a lot - really good post as always Mari : ) Your pics are fantastic!

Sorcerer said...

The Robin in the bird bath...That was my fave one.
Thank you for the tips on photography.
thank you for sharing wonderful information..thank you very much

Christine Jackman said...

The image of the child framed by the window is wonderful.