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Article & Photograph by James
H. Egbert. © 2006.
Have you ever been driving down
the road and come upon a breathtaking nature scene, then pulled
over grabbed your camera and snapped off a few shots? Then when
you got the images back from the processor you explain to people
this is not what it looked like it was really much prettier.
Well, we have all been there one time or another. So what does
a great outdoor photograph have that snapshots do not? A super
composition. It is an image that catches the eye of the viewer
and evokes an emotional response, preferable the one intended
by the photographer. There is a huge difference between taking
snapshots and photographs. When taking snapshots we tend not
to scrutinize subject placement or evaluate complementing or
distracting elements. Yet, when taking photographs, we pay careful
attention to every aspect of the composition. Composition is
subjective in the choice of subject matter, location and perspective.
However, there are guidelines that can lead you down the path
to improved composition.
What Defines a GOOD Photograph?
Pick up any good print publication and it will be full of them.
Go to fine art galleries. Why not stop by a book store and dig
up books on travel or outdoor photography. Even packaging on
products you normally buy and print advertisements on bill boards.
You live in a world that surrounds you in good photographs.
All of these photographs had something that made them worth
publishing or displaying in a public forum. What is it? Although
there are exceptions to every rule, all of these published photos
have several things in common. Impact: Something about a good
photograph draws your attention to it. Much like a great dramatic
movie, there has to be a fine balance of drama and emotional
character in the image. I like to refer to it as the OOOOH!
Or AAAAH! Factor. This factor can be beautiful, disgusting,
awe inspiring, or gut wrenching; but it can never be boring.
A good photograph stirs your emotions and your intellect, often
in conflicting ways.
Impact in Five - Four - Three . . .
How can you put impact into your photographs? By actively choosing
attention-drawing subject matter is a good place to start. Plan
your photo around a center of interest ( this does not mean
the center of the frame ). Good choice of subject matter is
also a clear choice of subject matter. Viewers should recognize
what the subject of your photo is. Composition: Once you've
chosen that "award-winning" subject matter, you have to show
it off best by using good composition. Good photos are not an
accident. Composition involves the selection and arrangement
of the subject within the picture area. First you need to develop
your eyesight to be able to see and recognize the composition.
"The photographer's most important and likewise most difficult
tasks are not learning to manage his camera, or to develop,
or to print. It is learning to see photographically. - That
is, learning to see his subject matter in terms of the capacities
of his tools an processes, so that he can instantaneously translate
the elements and values in a scene before his into the photograph
he wants to make." ~ Edward Weston
Photogenic Sight
Good photographs have impact in one form or another. Learning
to see photographically involves seeking out subjects and situations
that have impact and can be recorded on film. In order to see
like your camera, it helps to know the advantages and limitations
of a single lens and film for recording images, as opposed to
two eyes with binocular vision and optic nerves and brain for
perception. Human vision is naturally binocular, that is, we
see out of two eyes and blend the images into one in our brain.
This gives us superior depth perception to the single lens vision
of a camera. The angle of view of a 50-mm normal lens is 46
degrees. Although human vision can cover up to 155 degrees,
we normally pay attention to only about 40 to 50 degrees, therefore
the photos from a normal lens look natural to us. Wide angle
and telephoto lenses can give us a different view of the world.
By being aware of the potential of the lens focal length to
change our view of things, you can make more informed choices
when taking pictures. Focus and depth-of-field are very important
to photography but, something we are not normally aware of when
seeing normally. Everything within our field of view is normally
in focus, because we automatically focus on anything we look
at. You must be aware of the effect of these factors on your
photographs in order to manipulate them effectively. Time is
also a factor in both human vision and photography. Photography
is capable of stretching or compressing time into an image.
You can take a picture with either a very long or very short
exposure. Most camera shutter dials read from one second to
one /one thousandth of a second, while human vision sees at
about a fifteenth of a second. The camera allows you to either
freeze or blur motion by capturing a slice of time on film.
Film's sensitivity to light and color only approximates the
eye's perception. You need to learn both the limitations and
advantages of film as a recording medium in order to take pictures
effectively. Learn to translate what you can see into what you
can photograph. Develop a discriminating eye, learn the art
of seeing photogenically.
What's Your Subject?
Your task as a photographer is to capture your subject in such
a fashion that people are either enticed or forced to look and
appreciate your photographs. Photograph the unusual. Photograph
the usual in an unusual fashion. Explore the nature of light
and its effect on the subject. Sometimes light can be the subject
itself. Learn the elements of design. Line, shape, form, texture,
and color work together to reveal the subject and form a composition.
Light and shadows reveal and conceal these design elements and
affect the mood of the photograph. Photography means to "write
with light." When we photograph something, we are not just recording
the physical presence of our subject matter, but more important,
the quality and direction of the light falling upon the subject.
When shooting in average light, we'll make average photographs,
but when we're shooting in exceptional light, the potential
is there for us to make exceptional photographs.
Meat and Potatoes Composition
Throughout the procedure of composing an image one should be
mindful of the basic rules of composition. Here is a quick review
of them. Use the rule of thirds as a starting point in the overall
composition. Imagine a tic - tac - toe grid overlaying your
frame. Position your subjects and elements carefully in the
frame, at or near the intersecting points of the grid to draw
attention to the primary subjects. Use leading diagonal lines
and curves to draw the viewer's eye into the image and to the
main subject, i.e., a log in the foreground laying out into
a lake. Watch for the amount of negative space in your composition.
Too much will create an imbalance, where the eye drifts off
of the main subject to the void of nothingness. Too little can
squeeze the composition and reduce its impact and balance. Consider
the camera orientation (vertical/horizontal). One to one may
be better than the other. Try framing the subject with a simple
arrangement of interesting components around or beside the main
subject, such as between trees, branches of a tree, flowers
. . . Keep your horizon level especially when working with horizons
that are level in nature such as oceans, seas, large lakes,
large deserts . . . Add something to the foreground. Landscape
and scenic photographs may be greatly enhanced by having something
such as a flower, rocks, a tree stump, tree . . . in the foreground.
Be certain that both the foreground and the main subject are
in focus. Look for patterns in nature. They often create an
appealing image all by themselves, i.e., ripples in sand, curving
wood grain, water ripples, a stand of trees . . . Try not to
include everything in a scene, rather distill down the essence
of the scene with a few of its main components and include only
them. Many times these basic rules are followed yet the resulting
photographs fail because of unwanted and unnoticed distracting
elements.
It's All in There!
Distracting elements are lethal to the success of an image because
they draw the viewer's eye away from the main subject. Determining
what is distracting in an image can be subjective to the viewer
but, for the most part anything that your eye may be drawn to
such as a dead brown pine tree, a white rock in the foreground,
a clump of dead brown grass, litter, etc. has the potential
to be a distracting element. Our brains seem programmed to focus
on what we like in a landscape and we tend not to notice or
focus on portions of the scene that do not enhance our appreciation
of the view, so the search for distracting elements should be
done slowly and carefully. You may have to force yourself to
see more than you might with just a simple scan. Some things
like trash can be physically removed from the scene others may
require you to change position or lens. However, respect what
Nature has created and works with it without destroying it.
It may be convenient to have a friend along who can hold back
a branch while you take a shot. Including trees in one's image
may greatly enhance it. However, there are some tree issues
to be aware of. By not including an appropriate amount of a
tree in an image one may inadvertently create an unnatural feeling.
Be careful not to cut off the bottom of a tree you are placing
in the foreground. In our everyday experience we see the trunks
of trees firmly anchored to the ground. Hence a photograph that
cuts off the base of a tree seems unnatural. When tree branches
are coming in from the side of the frame, show the base of the
tree. Also, if you are shooting a mountain scene and have a
large prominence as your main subject carefully consider the
impact before placing anything at a higher position than the
highest point of the prominence. Sometimes by our selection
of perspective we can make trees that are less than a hundred
feet tall tower over a prominence thousands of feet tall. By
stepping back or changing the perspective angle you may eliminate
the unnatural element from the image. In doing this you have
essentially recomposed the image and now you should scan the
entire frame again for other potential distracting elements
or defects that may have been introduced.
It's Not How You See It's Where
As a rule most people perceive the visual world from a standing
height of four to six feet. Rarely, even when on vacation do
we get down on all fours and crawl around the ground to get
a better view. So you can make images that are interesting and
different by simply shooting from a lower or higher vantage
point. Another note on perspective would be to consider which
perspective best translates the emotional response you have
to the scene. By lowering your perspective to the ground you
may create the effect that the subject is more dominant in the
surroundings, by going to a higher vantage point the subject
may seem more inclusive in the surroundings.
Tools of The Craftsman
One to one tool, the tripod, is perhaps the most important in
helping photographers improve compositionally. The rule of thumb
espoused by everyone (and we agree) is that a tripod is a must
for clear sharp photographs. Your hand just cannot hold a camera
still enough, especially when shooting slower films, macro,
or telephoto. However, there are other great reasons to use
one. After you find the angle and composition you desire, plant
a tripod under your camera. Now you can let go, think, take
a break, warm your fingers, whatever . . . and your camera is
still framing exactly what you want. Using a tripod gives you
the freedom to slowly consider every aspect (lens selection,
metering, composition, depth of field . . . ) of the shot before
tripping the shutter. Your compositions will be greatly improved
by using a tripod. After you set up your shot, you then have
as much time as you need to look around the frame and really
critiques the image, allowing you to remove distracting elements,
fine tune the angle of your shot, look at the edges of the frame
for distracting objects that maybe jutting into the frame .
. . You certainly can't do this by just hand holding your camera.
Beyond the Basics
So far we have discussed some of the basic mechanical rules
that if followed can improve your composition but, often photographers
wish to improve by capturing unique images. Have you ever wondered
why, as outdoor photographers or professional photographers
for that matter we get caught up in routines? In any occupation
this is hazardous, yet photographers seem to be a strange lot
who thrives on photographing what has been photographed before.
Is this wrong or a problem? Who knows? Are some locations shot
to death? Probably but, with every advancement in equipment
and film the opportunity for making even a better image exists
so we keep on shooting the same old places. Also, there is the
argument that even though you have the exact same foreground
and background framed you will have different clouds, light,
humidity, particulate level . . . therefore a different image.
Because we are all made from the same mold, it is normal for
us to often agree and like a particular composition especially
of a well-photographed subject. However, when shooting a scene
that maybe Ansel Adams and countless others have photographed,
try a new angle, a different lens, consider breaking some of
the compositional rules . . . If you keep coming back to the
same old published scene, shoot it, then just walk back a few
steps and look. Search for that new perspective no one has tried.
Usually people don't work well under pressure so relax, take
a deep breath, put the camera away and try to connect with the
place. Truthfully, it does not always work, you get nothing
but, at least you are relaxed. However, if you connect and find
a groove it is a good day.
Same Pot Different Recipe
To be original in a place that is photographed literally thousands
of times a day is very difficult and may not be worth the effort.
Instead, remove yourself from the well-trodden path and create
unique images by shooting undiscovered compositions of rarely
traveled places. However, first you must have an eye for composition
so that you can recognize and harvest wonderful potential in
the landscape. One to one of the most useful exercises you can
practice to help develop your compositional eye is to copy other
photographers' work. When you are shooting in an area review
the postcard rack. If a particular image strikes you, find the
location and try to take the same shot. Also, review photography
magazines, coffee table books, etc. and look carefully at the
images paying particular attention to the ones you like. Analyze
them to determine their compositional elements. In doing so
you will begin to identify techniques and arrangements that
you find appealing. Once identified you may practice them in
the field and thus develop your compositional eye. By studying
photographs you don't like you can learn what to exclude in
your images.
Ask Yourself Why
It is important when shooting nature & landscapes that you
photograph something that stirs an emotion. It can be a field
of wildflowers, a small cascade or a grand waterfall. Whatever
it is you should be compelled to shoot the scene at an emotional
level. Before you frame up the image in your viewfinder ask
yourself why do I want to take this shot? Then ask yourself,
would I spend $300.00 to print it, matte and frame this for
my wall? If the answer is no, save your film. Even when the
answer is yes sometimes the image still fails. Beautiful scenery
does not necessarily translate into photogenic scenery. What
our eye sees with natural depth perception and panoramic vision
does not always translate to film. Only by trial and error and
relying on the tried and true rules of composition will you
begin to yield photographs with better compositions. Take your
time, learn the basics, and most important, PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
PRACTICE!
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