Tom Clark - Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

cally and horizontally. to keep a viewer's eyes from permanently exiting the frame. As the image on the

right-hand side of Figure 5-10 shows, a leading line in a corner leaves you no space to work with and no way to bring the viewer back into the image.

Your message in a photograph consists of what you include in a frame and how you include it. Anything that doesn't go with your message should be left out of your frame (check out Chapter 8 for tips on using perspective techniques to exclude certain elements). Everything that a viewer can see impacts what he takes away from an image. You can choose between the following two types of compositions (or find a happy medium), depending on your message:

• A simple composition:This type of composition points out exactly what you want a viewer to notice with as few distractions as possible. It includes only the supporting elements that are absolutely necessary to your message. Simplicity is a good approach if you want to make sure a viewer gets your point.

A simple composition makes the most out of the few elements that exist in it. By having fewer distractions, you can say more about your subject (assuming the subject has some sort of descriptive qualities). Imagine, for example, that you're photographing at a concert and the singer on stage is really getting into a song. You can capture that moment with a frame that simply includes the singer on stage in the spotlight with an expression that conveys the way he feels at that moment in time. The rest of your frame is filled with darkness, drawing the maximum amount of attention on the singer.

" A chaotic composition:If you push the limits of how much you can fit into a single composition, you create chaos. Chaotic compositions include more elements for a viewer to look at and are most successful when everything works together to get a single point across. At first glance a scene of chaos may seem random and pointless, but further investigation shows that something specific is happening.

A chaotic composition uses everything possible to convey a message. Picture the same moment when the singer is on stage at a concert, except this time you want to capture a different side to the story. Turn your camera toward the crowd and fill the frame with screaming, jumping fans. Now you have a frame filled with descriptive elements all working together to say the same thing; something exciting is happening. No one element takes the spotlight in a chaotic composition, but many elements reinforce a similar message.

Although each type of composition takes a very different approach, you can use either concept to create photographs with clear messages. Figure 5-11 shows an example of a simple composition in which the subject is a wake

boarder. He's caught in a moment filled with adrenaline and energy. By combining that moment with a simple composition, I focused all the energy on him. The rest of the scene is fairly peaceful. The wake boarder is the star, and this is his moment.

In Figure 5-12,1 made a fairly peaceful scene appear hectic by creating a chaotic composition. Leaves floated on top of this lake. From my point of view, I could see the reflection of a tree that was above my head. To add some interest, I dropped a stone into the water to cause some disturbance. My shutter speed was slow, so the reflections in the surface of the water were blurred but the leaves sitting on top weren't. The combination of the leaves, the reflections, and the movement cause this image to appear chaotic.

135mm, 1/640 sec, f/6.3, ISO

Figure 5-11: An example of a simple composition.

135mm, 2 sec, f/36, 100

Figure 5-12: An example of a chaotic composition.

Balance refers to a distribution of visual elements throughout an image that lets a viewer's eyes scan the entire frame without being drawn too much to one specific area. In theory, balance is most effective when your composition has perfect symmetry, which is when the left and right sides and top and bottom of your frame are the same and balanced by their opposites. You're unlikely to shoot many symmetrical scenes, though, so you need to understand how to achieve balance without having symmetry.

Weight in a composition refers to the visual impact a specific area has. A balanced composition is comfortable to look at and keeps a viewer's attention. You can draw specific attention to your subject by having it stand out more visually than the other elements in a scene. However, you still want to give viewers a reason to look throughout the entire frame. Finding the right combination of weight distribution between elements is key to achieving balance.

Balance allows viewers to look at an image with an appreciation of its use of space. You don't want to place all your elements in one area; otherwise the rest of your frame will be empty and the weight of the image may appear to be lopsided. Distribute your elements throughout the space of your frame in order to create a sense of balance that's more comfortable to look at.

In the left-hand image of Figure 5-13, the frame is practically divided in half by the diagonal line that runs from the top of the image to the bottom. The left side of the frame includes nothing that makes it worth looking at. Plus, this image is heavily weighted to the right, and the elements on that right side aren't interesting enough to keep your attention for more than a few seconds. An element on the left side of the frame would cause you to move your eyes back and forth between the two sides, which would keep your interest longer.

Both photos: 50mm, 1/30 sec, f/3.5, 640

Figure 5-13:Including the glasses on the left side of the frame created balance in this composition.

Aiming my camera lower and including some wine glasses that were sitting upside down on the bar corrected the balance problem occurring in the left-hand image in Figure 5-13. The right-hand image of Figure 5-13 shows this new version of the same scene composed in a more balanced and dynamic way. The wine glasses on the left side don't take up as much space in the frame as the glasses on the right, but they contain more tonal contrast, which gives them more weight in the composition. The two sides work together to create a sense of harmony that gives more purpose to the image and makes it easier to look at. For more information on achieving compositional balance see Chapter 12.

In This Chapter

Using color to control the message and feeling in a photograph

Making interesting compositions in black and white

Determining when to shoot for color and for black and white

Color may be the most powerful compositional element. I make such bold statement because color can alter a person's mood or cause a familiar sensation to occur. Fast-food operations know that red makes you hungry, for example. People also associate colors with various emotions. When a person says, "I'm seeing red," you know she's angry. And you know that someone who says he's blue is in low spirits.

When combined with other, more literal elements, color can enhance the mood or feeling you want to convey in a photograph. A scene of a family sitting by the fireplace will likely feel warm to a viewer because of the orange glow the fire casts onto the other elements.

In this chapter, I show you how color affects your images, how best to use the drama of black and white photography, and how to decide whether to shoot in color or not.