5) Composition.
Most of the pictures that
communicate to a broader audience are not a result of
a fortunate accident, but the photographers' effort,
that is achieved by careful planning, and often, patience,
sometimes requiring waiting during long periods of time,
in order for either certain lighting or subject conditions
to become appropriate for the compositional harmony.
You will find out that at
some times a carefully planned composition will be required,
or on contrary, a good reaction, capable of a quick
sensing of the best moment for the picture taking will
be necessary to take a good picture. Most of the time,
a 'good' photo-composition is a product of the selection
and arrangement of the photo-subject(s) within the frame
of the picture area seen through the camera's viewfinder.
If you look at the picture
area's frame as though it is a piece of canvas, dividing
it into thirds vertically and horizontally, positioning
your subject on the intersections of (the upper left,
or the upper right for example) or along the imaginary
lines, you can strengthen your composition by having
your main element being positioned at the visually strongest
areas of it. It is when the main subject occupys one
of the visually strongest compositional positions in
the photo that your composition seems to be visually
strong.
Sometimes, a part of the
picture's appeal is in its main subject being off-centered
as in this photo. On the other hand, positioned symmetrically
in the center of the frame, the subject offers a direct
visual contact, thus establishing communication with
the picture viewer, as in this photograph.
Often positioning your subject
there also suggests a direct confrontation. Arranging
and selecting your picture elements so that all of them
together have a unified effect, while rejecting or cropping
off those objects that tend to destroy the harmony,
often stands behind an appealing to the eye and visually
strong composition. Whether to select or reject, suppress
or emphasize, crop or expand, to use a vertical or a
horizontal framing format, to place your objects in
certain positions or choose a different point of view,
as well as having many other compositional choices that
you will have to make each and every time before making
your exposure, will be your task at hand, if you want
your photo to be interesting, revealing and special
in appearance. It is important to understand that when
looking at your subject with your eyes, the scene you
see is appearing limited only by your attention and
visibility of the subject itself.
On contrary, and when looked
at through the camera's viewfinder, the scene or subject
appears limited to the edges of the frame of the picture
area. While there are many ways in which an object or
a scene could be looked at and photographed, searching
for and finding new ways and angles to see in, photographing,
and later showing your picture-subject to the other
people, while communicating the idea behind it, could
make the difference between a common, often used and
boring view, and an off-beat, never used, and interesting
approach to look at it. Thus, your point of view at
the subject before and during your photographing of
it, becomes not only the single strongest composition-building
device that you can use each time you are composing
your shot, but also your viewpoint in the final product
-- the picture. Strong compositional knowledge of how
to, altered the appearance of the otherwise 'maybe-boring'
sight in this photo of a mall.
