Composition

The first step in great composition for a photo is determining what the subject of the photo is. One can’t compose the surroundings if we don’t know what we are supposed to be looking at right? With that try to not always go for the obvious subject to focus on.  Often times we get into such a funk of photographing the same thing, the same people, the same features on those people that we get lazy with our composition and don’t challenge ourselves to see a different photo from the same scenic stew.

One important thing when coming upon a scene is to visualize not just the subject as I said, but the shapes in the frame, the lighting, how those shapes and the lighting and colors all fit together. It all must come together in your head before you take the photo before it can come true when you snap the shutter.  For instance say you are at the zoo and want to take a photograph of the rhinos.  The first thing you are bound to notice is the totality of their enclosure. The fencing, the rhinos themselves, just the entire habitat that has been created. But what are you going to photograph? Are you going to take a picture of the rhinos from a hundred feet away? Yuck. Are you going to zoom super tight on the rhinos so they take up the entire frame? BORING.  But what if you saw a strand of flower hanging low behind the fence enclosure. But there are rhinos there! I can take photos of flowers anytime! I know what you’re thinking, but what if you dropped your depth of field down so that you were focused on the flower but had the distinct shape and color of the ominous beast in the background framing the flower for you. Wouldn’t that be a much more interesting shot than the other two ho hum touristy shots? But it still involves the rhino. You see the scene is what you make of it.

With all of this said, don’t become a composition nazi. Yes you have to work at it and yes it will be awkward and forceful at times, but after a bit you shouldn’t be spending more than minute surveying the area and being able to discern how you want to compose your photo.  You don’t want to over think things, because it will just cause stress and often times make your judgement cloudy.  Go with your gut and you will often times be able to view the landscape and determine how to best compose the photo within a quick thought. The beauty of our digital age is that you don’t have to nail it on the first try. If you take the photo and it just isn’t working compositionally for you, it can be changed. You can find a different angle to shoot the image at, or change the settings on the camera to control the lighting and or depth of field in the shot. The world is there to be photographed, you just have to pick the pieces of the puzzle you most want to use and do it.