Tom Clark - Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

Use the key elements of design.Regardless of the subject, you should always apply the elements of design. Think about how your subject fits into your frame and how you're composing the other elements that surround it. Draw the viewer to the subject by incorporating leading lines and paying attention to contrast in your scene. You can read more about design principles in Chapter 4.

Make your subject stand out as the focal point.Get your subject in focus to ensure that your image has the highest quality. It would be confusing to a viewer if a twig in the background was in focus but the lion's face was blurry. To discover how to work the focus features on your camera, refer to Chapter 3.

To get the best composition possible when photographing lions, tigers, and bears (and other dangerous animals), bring a telephoto lens. By zooming in on your subject with a long lens, you can give the illusion that the image was taken up close and personal without having to risk your life.

Figure 14-5 was taken at about 100 feet from the buck in the scene. I used a long lens to get as tight a crop as possible. As I began to move in for a closer shot, he made it very clear that I was going to have to fight for the territory. I packed up and left, knowing that no photograph is worth getting in a tussle with a male elk.

300mm, 1/320 sac, f/8, 320

Figure 14-5:Photograph wildlife without overstepping your bounds.

Nature is one of the most common and fun subjects to photograph. It's also potentially the most dangerous for you and for your equipment. Before embarking on a journey through nature, be prepared with the necessary tools and information regarding your specific destination. The Internet is filled with valuable information, making researching an area easier than ever. Some things to look out for include:

Water:In nature, you develop a love/hate relationship with water. You love water because it makes for a great photographic element, and you need it to survive. It's refreshing to drink and to swim in or to rinse yourself with. All in all, staying relatively close to a fresh water source is a good idea when you're out in nature. However, you may start to hate water when it begins to rain and you're out in the middle of nowhere, when the tide comes in to drench all your camera gear, or when you slip while crossing a stream.

Keep an eye on the weather before going out, and know what you're up against. Bring a poncho or some strong plastic bags to protect yourself and your gear in case it rains. If you're shooting on the beach, find out the times for high tide and low tide. And before setting your camera on a tripod along the ocean's edge, make sure the tide is going out and not coming in. When hiking in the woods, wear shoes that have decent traction. Falling on slippery rocks can get you seriously hurt and can damage your equipment.

The sun:If you go out in the summer, the sun is going to be in the sky for long periods of time. So, as mom always says, bring sunscreen! I do most of my photographing in the morning, late afternoon, and at night. Doing so allows me to use the time during the middle of the day (which is when the sun does its worst damage) to rest in the shade, go for a swim, or explore new territories. Besides messing up your skin, the sun can provide not-so-flattering results as far as lighting your scenes during the middle of the day.

Keep in mind that without the sun, navigating an area will be much more difficult. If you're not completely familiar with your surroundings, and you're away from camp as the sun is going down, be sure to give yourself enough time to get back before it gets too dark. And always be prepared with a flashlight! When shooting night scenes, it's wise to set up camp near where you'll be placing your camera.

Location:Always know where you are and how to get to where you're going. As a precaution, keep a compass packed with your camera gear. If you don't know how to navigate with a compass, research it. If GPS is more your style, nowadays you can get a system for fairly cheap. However, if you're relying on GPS to keep you from getting lost, be sure not to run out of battery power. Otherwise, it will act only as dead weight you have to carry.

Local wildlife:Know what's out in the wilderness with you. You need to know whether an animal is a threat or not. Pay attention to which snakes are common in the area, and what to do if you encounter any large animals. If you're camping out, be sure to wash any dishes before going to sleep at night. And hoist your food up in the air to help keep wild animals from getting into it throughout the night. Also, keeping the food at a good distance from your campsite helps keep bears and mountain lions at a safe distance from you.

Never go out into the wilderness alone. If you get injured or lost, you probably won't be able to get help.

The forest is familiar, mysterious, expressive, and secretive all at the same time. You can reveal the secrets of the forest or keep them hidden depending on when and how you photograph it. Spending time in the forest is the only way to develop an appreciation for its beauty. In the following sections, I provide pointers to help you succeed when taking photos in a forest setting. (If you're shooting another location, like the beach or the mountains, follow the tips I give you earlier in this chapter.)

If you're well equipped while you're in the forest, you can almost always find something right in front of you that's worthy of photographing. If the grandiose scene doesn't appeal to you, perhaps you'll notice something happening on the intimate level, such as insects, spider webs, or wild mushrooms. (Check out the earlier section "Recognizing Compositional Elements in Nature" for more on expansive and intimate compositions.) Seek a nuance of personality in a tree or rock. Pay attention to patterns and textures. Notice what the lines in a scene are doing — where and how they lead your eyes.

The most important factor in photographing a scene in the forest is light. Direct sunlight entering through the trees in the forest creates very high contrast. The shadows aren't filled in by the sky's ambient glow. Areas being hit by the sun are much brighter than areas in deep shadow, and your digital sensor isn't capable of exposing both of these areas properly at one time.

You can create mysterious compositions by using the high contrast to your advantage, however. Be sure to include some interesting elements of composition in your frame. Give purpose or meaning to the image; otherwise, it comes across as a poorly executed snapshot of the forest in a bad lighting scenario. When shooting a high-contrast scene in the forest, you most likely rely on lines and shapes to tell your story. Remember to avoid merging lines, especially in the trees (see Chapter 9 for more information). Find a perspective that separates each tree as much as possible. Doing so provides a clear and descriptive view.

Soft, diffused light is the best for getting images of the forest with the most detail. Because the forest itself is already high in contrast, you don't need an intense key light to add any more. A little directional light is nice, though. The ideal scenario is when a thin layer of clouds is blocking the sunlight, softening it just enough to tone down the contrast.

Figure 14-6 shows an example of a forest scene photographed on a partially cloudy day with the sun being diffused by a thin layer. Notice how you can see detail throughout the entire scene. The scene shows no blown-out highlights or shadow areas that are too dark to see. The forest's natural level of contrast is enough to work well in this lighting condition.