Tom Clark - Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

In this part .

Great compositions tell stories, and the chapters in this part help you best tell yours. These chapters provide you with in-depth info on the key compositional elements. You find out about using focal points, making the most of perspective, and choosing backgrounds that support your story instead of taking away from it. I also tell you about light (a critical element of any composition), show you how to keep viewers' eyes in your image with framing, and give you tips for creating a harmonious image.

In This Chapter

t Determining your subject and focusing attention on it

| Applying selective focus

%. Making good use of two focal points

n Chapter 3,1 tell you how your camera and lens work together to achieve «£ focus in an image. In this chapter, I discuss how to control what's in focus in your composition and why this control is essential. You can enhance the sense of purpose or message in your photography by literally focusing on what's important and controlling what your viewers focus on throughout the scene.

By creating primary and secondary focal points in your compositions, you can control the order and amount of time in which viewers look at the elements in a scene. You also can control your focus by eliminating distracting details that aren't relevant to your message. I tell you everything you need to know about focal points in this chapter.

When you approach a scene and decide to take a photograph, some reason drives you to make that decision. That reason is most likely going to be your subject. A subject gives purpose and meaning to a photograph — it's the focus, or the star of the show. The exact point where you place your focus is your focal point. In most cases, your focal point is your subject or some part of your subject. Selecting a focal point provides a clear way of informing your viewers of what they're supposed to be looking at. If you were focusing on the subject when taking the photograph, your viewers will focus on it when viewing the photograph.

In Figure 7–1, the dew-covered spider web is the subject of the photo. It not only provides life to the photo, but it also tells you (because of the dew) that the scene took place in the morning and creates an interesting effect by reflecting and refracting light. (You can read more about using light to tell your story in Chapter 10.) Without the web and the dew atop it, the blades of grass wouldn't be very interesting, and I really wouldn't have had a reason to take the photograph.

100mm macro, 1/500 sec, i/2.8, 100

Figure 7–1:Morning dew settled on a web that's covering the ground amid blades of grass.

Your focal point determines how far from your camera the focal plane is placed. The focal plane is a flat area that's parallel to your digital sensor and intersects with your focal point. Every point that falls in line with the focal plane is sharp. For instance, if several people are standing in a straight line parallel to the camera and the camera is pointed directly at them, each person will be in focus, assuming you placed your focal point on one of them.

The further an element is from the focal plane, the more blurry it will appear in your photograph. In Figure 7–1, for example, the blades of grass become blurrier as they get further away from the spider web. You have control over how far your focus reaches in front and behind the plane of focus. The distance your focus reaches is called depth of field (see Chapter 3 for more).

Selecting a focal point and manipulating depth of field gives you the ability to control which details are noticed and ignored by your viewers. Focal point and depth of field are major tools used to create your message in a photograph. Having a shallow depth of field (as I do in Figure 7–1) can cause your viewers to notice your focal point more clearly. In a composition with a great depth of field, your viewer may not even know which point contains the most focus because everything appears sharp in the scene. (Refer to the later section "Controlling depth of field" for more information.)

When choosing your focal point, ask yourself, "What is the story here?" and focus on that subject. After you're in the habit of choosing your focal point without having to think too hard about it, you can consider other variables that help draw attention to your subject, which the following sections explain.

A successful composition appropriately reveals your subject to your viewer and sends the message you intended for the photograph. Making an element your focal point is a great first step in revealing it as the subject. Sometimes you may need to go even further in drawing attention to the subject, however. For instance, you may want to make clear that other elements in the scene are just playing supporting roles to help tell the story of the main subject. Here are some techniques (apart from making it the focal point) for making your subject stand out:

Use contrast to your advantage.A viewer's eyes are drawn toward the highest point of contrast. If your subject is in focus and has more contrast than any other areas of the scene, it will stand out the most. Contrast is determined by how drastic the difference in tones or colors is. In Figure 7–2, the clouds in the foreground have more tonal contrast than any other elements in the frame. Chapter 10 explains more about understanding and controlling contrast.

Follow the rule of thirds.Placing your focal point or subject away from the edges or center of the frame assures that it's more pleasing for the eyes to rest on. I explain this concept, referred to as the rule of thirds, in detail in Chapter 5. The subject in Figure 7–2 is positioned along the bottom third of the frame.

Eliminate competing elements.Using a shallow depth of field helps make your focal point stand out by blurring the other elements in the scene and thus softening their details. (See the later section "Controlling depth of field" for more info.)

If an element becomes so blurry that it's no longer identifiable, it becomes negative space. Negative space is any area of the frame that doesn't contain any elements, details, or relevant information. Surrounding your subject with negative space helps draw attention to the subject by eliminating competing elements.

Choose your moment wisely.Capturing a moment when something significant or recognizable is happening assures that your viewers can relate to why the photograph was created. The significant moment is known as the decisive moment, and it could be anything from a handshake to a revealing facial expression to the moment a salmon jumps into a grizzly's mouth.

Combine these techniques to draw the most attention to your focal point. The more ways you make your focal point stand out, the easier it will be for a viewer to identify it as the subject.

50mm, 1/2000 sec, f/7.1, 50

Figure 7–2:Using multiple techniques to draw attention to your subject helps your viewers know what to look at.

Having control over your focal point and where it's placed in a scene is one of the most important aspects of creating compelling compositions. A proper focal point is natural, and viewers may take it for granted when executed perfectly. But a poorly executed focal point stands out like a fly in Chardonnay.