Tom Clark - Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

Your focal point and depth of field play a major role in conveying your message, and a slight change can have a huge impact.Tell your viewers what your subject is by making it the focal point, and determine how much of the scene should be in focus to support it. (See Chapter 7 for more on focal points.)

You choose the correct focal length to include an appropriate amount of surrounding elements.A 28mm-135mm lens provides a flexible range; it allows you to capture wide scenes, situations that require zooming in for more detail, and everything in between.

The later section "Considering Techniques to Get the Shot" tells you more about moving around, finding your focal point and depth of field, and choosing the correct focal length.

Making decisions based on perspective eventually becomes second nature. You begin to notice every detail in your frame as you develop an eye for composition and use perspective to incorporate or eliminate elements in order to create your version of the story.

If you see something in the background that you feel has some relevance to your message about the subject, you may want to find a perspective that allows you to include that element successfully. Search for the appropriate distance and angle to approach the subject so that no other element blocks what you've found. To see more of your background, usually you raise the height of your camera so you see the details of objects directly behind your subject or foreground. This also is a way to add depth to your photography.

In landscape photography, photographers often shoot from a high angle in order to include as much detail as possible and to show how expansive a scene is. The high angle also is common in portraiture, which focuses on someone's face. Conversely, fashion photography uses a low angle to

highlight the wardrobe as the subject. Of course, these are all just common practices and are encouraged to be tweaked and personalized by each individual photographer.

I make decisions on the fly based on the situation at hand. Sometimes my portraits look like fashion images and vice versa. In the left photo of Figure 8–2, I had to have a high-enough angle to show the muddy foreground and the water on the horizon through the tall grass. In the right photo those details were lost; the low angle shows less of the environment and instead shows a subject with a background. It's all about the girl or the coat she's wearing.

35mm, 1/60 sec, f/B, 100

Figure 8–2:Choose a perspective that gets your message across.

50mm, 1/60 sec, f/B, 100

Photography in its most basic form is a record of light, so it's no surprise that light is the most important element in any photographic scenario. Light causes you to see what you see. The ability to manipulate light in a scene is important but not always possible. When you can work only with available light, you may find that you choose your perspective based solely on what the light is doing.

People view photographs according to a lot of subconscious rules. Knowing these rules helps you decide which perspective would best capture a potential viewer's attention. Most good compositions are designed to keep a viewer's eyes within the frame for the longest time possible. Using contrast is one way to accomplish that task. (Refer to Chapter 10 for more on controlling contrast.) Typically, eyes go immediately to the spot on the image that has the most contrast. From there they move around the image following the lines and gradients that make up the image. (To see the lines and gradients in their basic form, squint while viewing an image; check out Chapter 3.)

Figure 8–3 presents a case in which light dictates perspective based on placing the subject in the area with the most contrast. A window just out of the frame on the right side lights the subject and the scene. The wall has a semigloss quality and reflects the light from the window, creating a highlight similar to a spotlight. With the perfect perspective, the reflected light ends up behind the subject — the female model. Because she's fairly dark compared to her surroundings and was placed in front of the lightest spot in the room, she's in the exact area your eyes go to when viewing the image (though, I'm sure the bright green mask helps draw your attention to her as well). The reflection also causes a natural vignette (a gradual loss in brightness toward the edges of an area that draw attention to the center), which helps keep your eyes from wandering outside of the frame.

If you don't have any interesting light falling into your background, you can always position the subject in a well-lit area in front of a background that's covered in shadow.

Another way that light can dictate perspective is when a photographer includes the shadow of a subject as part of the background. If you're using available light and can't move your subject, you have to find the right perspective by moving your camera. If you want to take a picture of a tree lit by the sun, for example, you can wait for the sun to move and change your perspective, but the tree is staying right where it is. Of course, if the tree happens to be a bonsai, you have the option to change the relationship of the tree and wall.

24mm, 1/20 sec, f/3.5, BOO

Figure 8–3:Creative use of available light can add interest to your compositions and draw attention to your subjects.

Here are some more suggestions for using available light to create interesting compositions:

Approach your subject from an angle that places your key light source to the side of your subject for a more dramatic composition.

Be aware of how the light affects what's behind you if you're photographing a reflective surface like a shiny car or a person wearing sunglasses. Changing your angle could create a smoother highlight or a more appealing reflection, or it could reveal details about the environment. You control the effect of this light by moving around and viewing the changes that occur in the reflective surface.

When shooting a backlit scene (a scene that has a key light source behind your subject), find an angle where the subject or an element in the scene blocks the light in order to have a normal amount of contrast in your exposure.

Making the light source visible in your frame cuts down on contrast and provides a softer overall feel. In most cases, it also causes lens flare (halos and geometrical-shaped areas of color and haze that are created when a light source shines directly into a lens). Lens flare can be good or bad depending on what you're shooting and what your message is supposed to be.

Sometimes you have more time and control over getting a shot you're happy with, but other times you have to get the shots on the fly. In those hurry-up situations, a well-trained photographer will have an idea of what to expect and will be prepared for the decisive moment. In order to prepare yourself for these types of situations, be sure to familiarize yourself with the techniques discussed in this section and get some hands-on experience using them. Before you snap a shot, look around and notice what options you have for getting a higher angle or for getting closer.

Keep in mind the basic rules of composition as discussed in Chapter 1. If you're familiar with your camera, its settings, and how to focus it, you'll have more time to concentrate on getting the best composition. I'm usually disappointed in myself when I capture a great moment and later discover I'm not satisfied with my composition.

You often can improve your composition by making quick adjustments to your perspective. Searching for something to stand on may provide you with the extra height needed to reveal more detail in the scene, or you can kneel and shoot from a low angle. I've been known to lie down on busy sidewalks to get a shot. (Don't be too embarrassed to do these things; it's the photographers with the million eye-level images who should be embarrassed.) If your subject moves and ruins your composition, move with it to regain your desired composition. Always be aware of the elements in your frame and their relationships with each other.