Tom Clark - Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

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Figure 15-9:An example of leading viewers from the foreground into the image.

Light your scene to suggest depth.You can light the farthest elements more than the nearer elements to create the sense of depth. Viewers will notice the foreground elements and continuously go to the brighter elements as their eyes move through the scene's space.

Include multiple areas in one composition.By looking through the main area of interest and into another area beyond it, you get the sense that there's more to the story. For example, say you're shooting the master bedroom of a high-end condominium. By opening the bathroom door and choosing a perspective that shows the room in a pleasant way and reveals the bathroom's whirlpool, you're showing viewers that the people who sleep in this room have style and a private, luxury bath.

Lighting is just as important as composition. Lighting interiors can be simple or complex depending on the space and your desired look. To achieve a natural look, shoot during the day and let as much daylight in through the windows as possible. Using a single strobe at a low setting and bouncing it off the ceiling helps to fill in shadow areas and lower the overall contrast. (Chapter 10 provides more on the different types of lights.) This is a minimalist approach and provides good clean results — assuming, of course, you have a decent amount and quality of window light to work with.

In This Chapter

Looking at the main considerations when shooting images with motion

Getting great images of hard-to-capture subjects

When most people think of photography, they think of a process that provides a still, motionless image. But you also can use photography to convey motion, and knowing how to handle moving subjects to achieve the results you want opens up new avenues for your photography. Because your digital sensor has a much stronger reaction to light than its film predecessors, your subjects don't have to have to sit still and wait for the camera to (slowly) capture an image. Shooting at 1/250 second is fast enough to freeze most normal amounts of motion, and most cameras even have the ability to shoot at speeds much faster than that.

Freezing motion and creating sharp images seem to be the most technically correct ways to photograph, but many types of subjects move in a lot of interesting ways. Deciding how to photograph each subject is up to you, and part of that decision is choosing when to eliminate and capture the appearance of motion in your compositions. For example, if you want movement to be a key element in your message and the identity of your subject isn't necessary, adding motion blur could be the way to go. A random businessman walking down the city street in the rain could become even more anonymous with motion blur. The rain would be blurred as well and its visual impact may be increased.

If you're ready to show motion in your photos, you need to know how to successfully capture it so you get the exact look you want in your image. In this chapter, I provide you with all the information you need.

A subject in motion may cause you to become apprehensive and concerned about your technical performance while shooting an image. And when you become too concerned with technical issues, it's difficult to pay proper attention to your subject and surroundings. But don't worry. Knowing how to use your equipment is the best way to be prepared to achieve great results and make the most out of any situation. (Chapter 3 provides some details to help you discover your equipment.)

The basic rules of composition (see Chapter 5) apply to moving subjects just as they do to stationary subjects. However, trying to capture or convey motion does bring some new challenges. Perhaps the three main elements to think about when shooting moving subjects are getting the subjects in focus, placing them in your frame in the most appropriate way, and determining whether to freeze the motion or to show it. I explain each of these elements in the following sections.

Focus is one of the most important compositional elements, and whether you can get a moving subject in focus depends on the methods you use. With a digital SLR, you can either focus manually or you can take advantage of the camera's ability to autofocus.

If you're familiar with focusing manually, and you're confident in your skills, you may succeed using that method. But beware. Using manual focus for moving subjects is risky because there's a lot of room for human error. When you focus manually, you need to take your time and ensure that your focus is exactly where you want it to be. However, by the time you get the focus right on a subject in motion, you may have already missed the shot.

So, taking advantage of autofocus enables you to spend less time thinking of focus and more time concentrating on other aspects of composition and exposure. Consider the two types of autofocus:

One-shot autofocus:You use one-shot autofocus primarily for still subjects. However, you can use this setting while shooting subjects in motion by predetermining where your subject will be, locking the focus on that area by holding the shutter release button down halfway, and then waiting for the subject to enter the area of your focal plane to take the picture. (For more information on focus, see Chapters 3 and 7.)

Sometimes I use one-shot autofocus when I shoot fashion images. I ask a model to step into a specific area, lock my focus on that area, and then ask him to back up and walk toward me. I take the shot when he reaches the area of focus. This way I get a natural walk from him and achieve sharp focus.

Continuous autofocus:When photographers shoot subjects in motion, they usually use a setting designed to track movement and automatically adjust focus accordingly. Nikon refers to this setting as continuous, and Canon refers to it as AlServo. (Read your owner's manual to find out which autofocus settings your camera has and exactly how to use them.)

Continuous focus allows you to focus directly on a moving subject by leading it. Leading a moving target refers to aiming ahead of it in order to make up for the distance it will travel. The continuous focus setting causes your camera to focus ahead of your subject based on how fast the subject is moving. Leading is best for shooting unpredictable subjects that are likely to be moving.

Most often, photographers compose images of moving subjects based on the direction in which they're moving. The general rule is to provide more space in front of the subject than behind it. This space in front is referred to as active space. It gives the subject room to move into the frame and gives viewers a sense of where the subject is going.

Figure 16-1 shows an example of active space in a composition. You may often follow this example, but remember that each situation is unique and should be photographed accordingly. Look for what's most interesting in telling the story of your subject. Perhaps where the subject came from is more interesting than where it's going. For instance, a rally car kicking up a trail of dust behind it could create interesting lines and shapes.

Because action is part of the message when photographing a subject in motion, be on the lookout for compositional elements that help give the sense of movement. Here are some elements that can help you: