Friday, July 22, 2011

Composition Summarized

Over the past few months I’ve posted several guidelines on composition and this post will summarize them. 


We have several guest photographers with us today and I’d like to thank them very much for sharing their photos. Their images are great and add unique character to this post. It’s always important to view other photographer's work and learn new ways to improve our own photos. This post would not be nearly as interesting without my guest's photographs.


I've posted the photos in the category the photographer chose or, if they did not choose a category, I chose one for them. Photography, like art, is subjective. Some of these photos fit into several categories so I choose which I felt suited the image best. 

These compositional guidelines help you take more compelling photographs. They give a natural balance, draw attention to the important parts of the scene, or lead the viewer's eye through the image.

The guidelines take your photographs from snapshot quality to professional looking images. Once you have the guidelines down pat, start experimenting with breaking them.

All photos and other content are copyright protected. Do not use content in any way without explicit permission from image or blog owner. Thank you. 

Compositional Guideline: The Rule of Thirds



Jim from:  Holes In My Soles

"Looking across Chobe River
from Ihaha Camp at sunset. 

Chobe National Park, Botswana."


In Jim's comment on his photo above: "Horizon I have placed at lower third horizontal. Sun I have placed at right third vertical. Unenhanced, just as my camera took them on Sunset setting."  Jim, this is one of the most beautiful sunset photos I have seen! 


The basic principle behind the Rule of Thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds, vertically and horizontally, so that you have 9 parts in your image. Some cameras allow you to set the viewfinder or LCD display into a Rule of Thirds format meaning that when you look through your viewfinder you see the grid. Picture this grid over Jim's photo above.




The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or on the grid lines that your photo is more balanced. 


Below is a great candid shot. There's a bit of mystery here with the mother and child looking away from the camera. It makes you wonder who or what they are looking at. The mother is on the left vertical grid line.

Christine Tandoc  (Melissa Tandoc’s sister)
Melissa's Blog: Depth

I will be posting more of Christine's images in my next post on street photography. Her work is some of the best I've seen! She captures great emotion and human interest in her images.

Melissa's blog, Depth, is always full of wisdom, wit, candor and wonderful poetry and verse. Be sure and visit her.

Jim from:  Holes In My Soles
"Awaiting the lions...again."
Chobe National ParkBotswana.
Jim's comments on his second photo: "Second breaks the rules. The pain endurance of this mauled hippo demands a full frontal effect on the viewer so his eye with tears streaming is centrally located." Check out more of Jim's nature and travel photos on his blog. His photos and posts are always fascinating. I love them because I get to learn about and see places I'd never get to see otherwise.

The 4 images below all follow the Rule of Thirds. Can you spot the imaginary grid lines in each photo?
Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 



Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 


Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 


Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 

 
I'm not sure how old Rimly's son is but his photos are excellent. I love macro images and Ron captures them with a great eye for photography. Keep it up, Ron! 

Rimly's blog, Journey, is entertaining on many levels. Her poems and writing are lovely and thoughtful, her talent obvious. Be sure and visit her blog. It's always a joy to read her work.

Read the full  Rule of Thirds Post 



Compositional Guideline: Composing Backgrounds & Elements


Background is one of the essentials in photography. However you must be aware of everything around your subject before you take the shot, not just the background.





Christine Tandoc  (Melissa Tandoc’s sister)
Melissa's Blog: Depth


If necessary, place your subject in a different location with a different background or take the shot from a different angle. Turn your subject, kneel down and shoot up, stand on something sturdy and shoot downward.




Jaqui Wilson
Artyjax-Creating My Art


Jaqui Wilson
Artyjax-Creating My Art
Jaqui Wilson is one of my favorite artist-photographers. Her art degree shows in her photography. Her use of color, detail, dimension and composition are always a joy to see. Be sure and visit her blog, and from there check out her photos on Flickr. You'll enjoy her personal perspective in both her art and her images.




Photos By Jan
Jan Neel Photography




Photos By Jan


Jan Neel Photography (above)
As Jan says on her blog, Photos By Jan, her images are random pictures of things or people she finds interesting. And her photos are not only interesting, she has a great eye for composition. She uses, as she puts it, a cheap camera and posts her photos without much editing. I love it! It shows you can be a terrific photographer without lots of fancy gear or software. I hope you'll see more of Jan's work in my posts! Be sure and stop by her blog, it's well worth your time. 




Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 



Do the elements in your composition add to it or distract from it? Remember to stop and look around before you push the shutter release button.







Christine Tandoc  (Melissa Tandoc’s sister)
Melissa's Blog: Depth




Another of my favorite travel and photo blogs is: Team G Square
Team G Square is another truly interesting travel blog. They always offer great information to match their images. They are a must see. Check them out.




Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 



Compositional Guideline: To Chop or Not


Chopping arms, legs and heads in the wrong places gives your photos a distracting unprofessional look. Your photos look like snapshots if cropped incorrectly.  Don’t chop off part of a head, hands, feet or legs unless done with well thought out planning.


This is one of the best examples I've seen of proper cropping for maximum impact.  The water, the boats, the relaxed feet propped on the wall - the whole image says "I'm relaxed - I'm on vacation - don't you wish you were here?" And yes I do!

Alida Sharp
Blackpurl's knitpickings
 Alida is an expat living in Belize. She's doing amazing things and explains her blog this way: "I began this journal just before our move to Russia to chronicle all of our life experiences so that I don't forget a minute of this incredible journey called life. Being an American abroad has its ups and downs.  And being a missionary to people recovering from alcoholism and/or drug addiction along with working to eradicate the sexual exploitation of children/youth is rarely glamorous but, every step of the way we are grateful for each experience we encounter."

Take a step back, move closer, zoom in or out to prevent cutting off an arm, leg or feet in the wrong place. Shoot more into your photo than you plan on using - you can crop your photos in post editing for the look you want to achieve.


Faye combined 4 photos of she and her friends into a great collage. The ideal cropping of arms, legs and hands draws attention to the faces of each person. 

Faye and her friends
FAYErytale
Faye commented on the cameras/phones used for these photos: "We've used different cameras on that. The first picture on the upper left was taken using my phone that time which is Nokia 7373.The next picture was taken using a DSLR camera. Below the first picture was taken by phone which is Nokia 5610. And beside it was taken by an ordinary digital camera." 


Faye's blog combines fashion and photography. She has a great sense of both along with a charming outlook on life.  As she puts it "I love how the rain pours, the fireworks, how great the photography is, how wonderful the stories and poems are, everything that the world has."  You'll always leave her blog with a smile on your face.


Team G Square


Read the full To Chop or Not Post


Compositional Guideline: 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.

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.




Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 
I love not only the cat snoozing on the deck but the cat peeking out the window.

Photos By Jan


The rocks and trees on the right and left of the image frame the waterfall beautifully.
Team G Square

The ship is framed by the sun and also the wave in the foreground.
Team G Square


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.


Read the full Frame Your Subject Post


Compositional Guideline: Leading Lines


There are many different types of lines we can use in our photographic compositions: straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, and circular. Each can be used to improve our photo's composition. 

Looking at a photo containing strong lines naturally draws our eye along them. Think about how you place lines in your photo and you can affect the way the image is seen. The viewer can be pulled toward the subject, through the scene or into the picture.


I felt this fit the leading line guideline because the angles of the paths and building pull us into the photo. What do you think?
Team G Square

This cute little guy is definitely pulling us up from the corner of the photo into the center.
Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 

The hills, waterline and clouds pull us into the photo.
Photos By Jan



Team G Square

The colorful tree leads your eye up and through the photo.


Photo by Rimly Bezbarua’s son Ron 
Here's a perfect capture of the bend in the curved railing leading your eye to the center of the image.
Photos By Jan


The power lines, row of buildings and trees, and motorbikes very powerfully pulls your eye into the center of the photo.
Christine Tandoc  (Melissa Tandoc’s sister)
Melissa's Blog: Depth

Lines have many uses in a photograph. They can unify, divide, or accent a composition. If they are interesting enough, they can become the subject of the image themselves.

Read the full Leading Lines Post


All photos and other content are copyright protected. Do not use content in any way without explicit permission from image or blog owner. Thank you. 




If you'd put a particular photo into a different category which photo and which category would that be? Remember, all photography, like art, is subjective and open to the viewer's imagination. Leave a comment and let us know what you think. Post a photo of your own in the comment box.









52 comments:

Nelieta said...

Excellent photos! Really enjoyed this post with the explanations. Well done to all the photographers!

Jan Neel said...

beautiful and well done, I loved seeing all these photos and learning something as well. Thank you for the opportunity Mari. 

Bec Owen said...

Wow! What a great post, Mari! I really enjoyed seeing all these wonderful photos and reading your explanations!  Thank you!

melissatandoc said...

Oh, so wonderful post Mari... with really talented, creative artists all mixed into one. It's like having a photo seminar for a few minutes. Thank you so much for sharing this. I really learned a lot from here :) And as it made my sister very happy, I'm truly grateful :)

I'm not sure in which category this photo fits... but the idea of such photo came from my seven year old niece...hahaha...it's a fun shot.

FAYE said...

wow, A lot of guests bloggers! The photos, the explanation behind it catches my attention! I really enjoyed this post!

Thank you very much for featuring me. =)A big big hug for you ! hehehe.

naimishika g said...

great photography. good luck . please do visit my mobile photography site www.my-mobile-photography.blogspot.com

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Will be by to visit your site. I love the idea. 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

A big hug back to you. Thank you for participating. Your collage is great - it's fun to see you and your friends having such a good time. 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Your photo of your niece is gorgeous! I love the lighting on her, the shadows and the props (her purse and the love seat). I also love the blend of a classical pose with the addition of the modern light she is holding. Very clever idea!  We will have to use this in one of my posts.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you Bec. When I sent out a call for guest photographers I wasn't sure what to expect. I am thrilled to say the least. It's fun that there's not only great talent here, but each photographer has their own style and uses different equipment, mostly Point and Shoot Cameras.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you Jan. Your images really are terrific. I took a look at your latest post and love what you've done. I have to get back over to leave a comment. I'm hoping you will post again as a guest photographer. If you'd like to leave a photo - open your comment box, click the + sign in the lower left and upload a photo. 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

They did a great job! I'm thrilled with every one of them!

Jim McIntosh said...

I had great pleasure in being asked to submit photos, and to appear amongst these other great contributors. I have never considered myself much of a photographer, but recently have paid more attention to the art. It comes as an honour for others to even think my photos are worthy.
 Thanks Mari for this article .

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Jim, I've enjoyed your photos and your posts ever since I first discovered your blog. Your photos are always interesting and well composed. I hope you will be a guest photographer here often. 

Rimly Bezbarua said...

Mari I so thoroughly enjoyed this. Each of them are great and you put Ron among them. He is yet to see this but I am sure it will give him a great boost. I am planning on writing a post for this which I will link to this post. Just loved it. Thank you. By the way Ron took these last year, he was 16 then

Alejandro Guzman said...

Wow just brilliant

melissatandoc said...

Thank you Mari :*

Alpana Jaiswal said...

Loved the pictures...its nice to see the familiar names..

Team g square said...

Superb post , i think its my privilege to be among such fantastic photographers .

Jaqui Wilson said...

What a great blog Mari and great images, thank you for adding a couple of mine and such kind words!
Jaqui

Jaqui Wilson said...

What a great blog Mari and great images, thank you for adding a couple of mine and such kind words!Jaqui

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Ron is great at composing his photos and seems to enjoy a macro field of photography that includes zoology. I appreciate his participation in this post and hope he will participate in the future. 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

The guest photographers did a great job! I'll be posting guest photographers in the future, perhaps you'd like to participate. Faye, one of my guests, took 2 of her photos with cell phones. :D Thank you for your compliment.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I agree - it's so nice to have familiar names participate. Perhaps you'd like to participate in the future. :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I've always enjoyed your photos and posts. I'm honored to have you as a guest photographer. I hope to have you participate again soon. :D 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I love both of your posted photos. They are very different in style which is terrific. Your images, whether painted or photographed, are always a pleasure to view. I will contact you again to be a guest photographer. :D

Sailor said...

I liked your reviews based on your previous postings. Links to a lot of wonderful photography blogs!

Jpbrandanophoto said...

Some great tips and it was interesting to see that talent flows deep in some families; Melissa's sister and Rimly's son are  very talented


http://jpweddingphotograpy.blogspot.com/2011/07/why-is-it-second-nature-for-wedding.html

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I wholeheartedly agree!

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you, Sailor. I hope you will post some photos in my next call for guest photographers :D

bod for tea said...

It was great the first time round and even better the second :D BTW have entered this post in a blog hop, hope you don't mind http://www.littlestuff.co.uk/2011/07/its-back-were-calling-for-some-blog-love-to-be-shared/comment-page-1/#comment-18031

Sarah-Jane Klemis said...

Delightful post with some amazing photo's I thoroughly enjoyed these.  The black and white ones are my favourites, I don't know why in a world with such amazing colours that I am drawn to the black and white, just stunningly beautiful I guess

Alida said...

Thanks for including my photo...I just love all of the tips. I am learning so much from you.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I agree - Christine's black and white photos are some of the best I've seen. She is a master of street photography too.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I love the photo you took - it's so fun and perfectly composed. I'm happy you are learning from my blog. I love teaching photography.

Dawn said...

Mari, this was so interesting to read through all the tips, and have strong photographic examples of each rule.  I've been aware of most of these rules in a peripheral manner over the years, but it never hurts to have it all explained by a professional.  I believe this post may have been the one you suggested I submit a photo - the one from the Smoky Mountains.  I'm going to see if I can get that to work here. I think it worked!  :)   

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Your photo is stunning! Yes, it works perfectly in at least 2 categories - leading lines and backgrounds and elements. I've always loved the blue shades in both the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains and you've shown the colors beautifully here. I'm glad you're enjoying the posts. 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I'm honored you entered my blog at Little Stuff. I checked it out and it's a great site! Thank you for leaving a comment.

Kriti Mukherjee said...

Fascinating! All of them have done just a fabulous job. THank you Mari for sharing this!

cooking varieties (wan maznah said...

Hi mari these photos are mostly so beautiful, some are so mesmerizing, because they have great artistry in them, not just a technique like black and white or grey etc.
This is my view as a non photographer but has artistic eyes and a taste for things classy ... my eyes got glued to the Jan Neel photo of the trees and sun rays and her bird.. waooooooooow !

I love the artistic photo scenery – on the trees/greens in the mist, from team g square. The lights and mist have created a very artistic texture to the mountains- this breath taking view had been brilliantly captured.

cooking varieties (wan maznah said...

Hi mari these photos are mostly so beautiful, some are so mesmerizing, because they have great artistry in them, not just a technique like black and white or grey etc.
This is my view as a non photographer but has artistic eyes and a taste for things classy ... my eyes got glued to the Jan Neel photo of the trees and sun rays and her bird.. waooooooooow !

I love the artistic photo scenery – on the trees/greens in the mist, from team g square. The lights and mist have created a very artistic texture to the mountains- this breath taking view had been brilliantly captured.

cooking varieties (wan maznah said...

Hi mari these photos are mostly so beautiful, some are so mesmerizing, because they have great artistry in them, not just a technique like black and white or grey etc.
This is my view as a non photographer but has artistic eyes and a taste for things classy ... my eyes got glued to the Jan Neel photo of the trees and sun rays and her bird.. waooooooooow !

I love the artistic photo scenery – on the trees/greens in the mist, from team g square. The lights and mist have created a very artistic texture to the mountains- this breath taking view had been brilliantly captured.

cooking varieties (wan maznah said...

Hi mari these photos are mostly so beautiful, some are so mesmerizing, because they have great artistry in them, not just a technique like black and white or grey etc.
This is my view as a non photographer but has artistic eyes and a taste for things classy ... my eyes got glued to the Jan Neel photo of the trees and sun rays and her bird.. waooooooooow !

I love the artistic photo scenery – on the trees/greens in the mist, from team g square. The lights and mist have created a very artistic texture to the mountains- this breath taking view had been brilliantly captured.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Hi Kriti - we have some excellent photographers in our various groups!

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

cooking varieties (wan maznah has left a new comment on your post "Composition Summarized": Hi mari these photos are mostly so beautiful, some are so mesmerizing, because they have great artistry in them, not just a technique like black and white or grey etc.This is my view as a non photographer but has artistic eyes and a taste for things classy ... my eyes got glued to the Jan Neel photo of the trees and sun rays and her bird.. waooooooooow ! I love the artistic photo scenery – on the trees/greens in the mist, from team g square. The lights and mist have created a very artistic texture to the mountains- this breath taking view had been brilliantly captured. 

Savirag said...

What talent lies hidden.... Beautiful

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

These are talented photographers, I agree.

Sukanya said...

Mari: your blog is a wonderful resource for budding photographers. this post inspired me to showcase my son's photos. please visit my blog and give us some feedback!http://sukanyabora.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/2728/
thanks much...sukanya

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I think a photo club for kids would be great!! Since my blog is aimed at beginners I'd do posts for kids. :D I left a message on your blog. Thank you for asking for my opinion.

Rhyme Me a Smile said...

I love all this free help with my photography!  :)

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

:D Glad to be of service!

Vj Sharma said...

Wow !!!

Somehow I am not able to get out of your blog. You are great stuff out here and hope to visit it frequently... Check out some of my recent photographs at http://bit.ly/tmzrd2 and would love to see your feedback.