How do I develop composition?

[Bruce Wilson]

I've been shooting pretty seriously since July, and while my technical
skills have improved quite a bit, my compositional skills are still very
poor. For examples, look at any photograph you see at
http://chemweb.sdstate.edu/wilson, concentrate on the most recent additions
to the Collections. Color may be good, exposure okay, but unless the subject
is inherently fascinating, the photo has no zing. I've read books by John
Shaw and Art Wolfe that have sections about composition, but strangely those
situation never seem to crop up, so I'm going without any compositional
rules to guide me (well, no so much rules, but situations I find where there
examples might guide me).

How do I develop my compositional skills? How did you find yours? All
criticism accepted, even those that start with, "You bonehead, you blew a
beautiful shot!" as long as they get me closer to composing a fine
photograph.

Thanks,

Bruce Wilson
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
South Dakota State University
http://chemweb.sdstate.edu

[Jeff]

It helps me, greatly, when I am looking at a scene to shoot to ask
myself 'What emotion does this bring up?' and 'How strong is it?.' If either
answers are weak, I move on. If the answers are strong, I walk around the
whole scene, or as much as I physically can, and snap off a ton of pics.
Some shots that particularly stand out, I bracket.
Sometimes we forget the real reason why we take photos in the first
place: to capture something we felt when we were there.
Good luck, Jeff.

Bruce Wilson wrote in message <80qnte$6ve$1...@news.dakota.net>...

[DWA652]

>I've been shooting pretty seriously since July, and while my technical
>skills have improved quite a bit, my compositional skills are still very
>poor. For examples, look at any photograph you see at
>http://chemweb.sdstate.edu/wilson, concentrate on the most recent additions
>to the Collections. Color may be good, exposure okay, but unless the subject
>is inherently fascinating, the photo has no zing. I've read books by John
>Shaw and Art Wolfe that have sections about composition, but strangely those
>situation never seem to crop up, so I'm going without any compositional
>rules to guide me (well, no so much rules, but situations I find where there
>examples might guide me).
>
>How do I develop my compositional skills? How did you find yours? All
>criticism accepted, even those that start with, "You bonehead, you blew a
>beautiful shot!" as long as they get me closer to composing a fine
>photograph.
>
>Thanks,

Well, you have a good attitude! Here are a few suggestions:

1) Read some good books on composition (http://www.PhotoBookstore.com)

2) Try going an entire week and shooting only 1 lens. Try to analyze changes
in perspective, even going from one extreme to the other.

3) Analyze the photos in the Shaw/Wolfe books you already own. Ask yourself why
their photos are different than yours?

4) Go to a small public park, or even your backyard, and try and find the most
interesting composition you can find in a couple of hours (only 1 composition
allowed).

5) Go to an art museum and analyze what makes the paintings "art". At the
least, think about what you do and do not like about them. Then try to
incorporate those ideas into your own art.

6) Ponder a single subject (e.g. a daisy, a blade of grass, a train car, etc.)
and try to visualize, in your mind, outstanding images of that subject. Then
go out and try and acheive that.

Just some of my ideas ...

God Bless,

Don Allen
http://www.DonAllen.net
http://members.xoom.com/donallenfoto
Photos + a large set of photo links including my PHOTO BOOK LIST - NOW WITH
BOOK REVIEWS!!!!

[Keith Clark]

Two things you can do, the first one will teach you things you'll never
learn in any classroom.

1. Work as an assistant to a commercial photographer.

2. Take ART and graphic design classes. Take a beginning one of each and
watch your photos improve.

Cheers,

Keith

Bruce Wilson wrote:
>
> I've been shooting pretty seriously since July, and while my technical
> skills have improved quite a bit, my compositional skills are still very
> poor. For examples, look at any photograph you see at
> http://chemweb.sdstate.edu/wilson, concentrate on the most recent additions
> to the Collections. Color may be good, exposure okay, but unless the subject
> is inherently fascinating, the photo has no zing. I've read books by John
> Shaw and Art Wolfe that have sections about composition, but strangely those
> situation never seem to crop up, so I'm going without any compositional
> rules to guide me (well, no so much rules, but situations I find where there
> examples might guide me).
>
> How do I develop my compositional skills? How did you find yours? All
> criticism accepted, even those that start with, "You bonehead, you blew a
> beautiful shot!" as long as they get me closer to composing a fine
> photograph.
>
> Thanks,
>

[Dirk J. Bakker]

Why do we care about composition? Composition simply put: facilitates clear
"reading" of an image. When I frame a subject in the viewfinder, I
first establish my POV, then, the
perspective (using my own two feet), then,
zoom in (crop) to include "the least with the most" of the subject, then,
frame it until it resonates. Until there is a harmony between all the shapes
involved that sings the story I want to tell about the subject.

The subject does not have to be "inherently fascinating" for its image to sing,
to resonate. But the seeing does.

HTH,

Dirk Bakker

[T70SSRS]

>"Bruce Wilson" b.e.wils...@usa.net writes;

>I've been shooting pretty seriously since July, and while my technical
>skills have improved quite a bit, my compositional skills are still very
>poor.

>Color may be good, exposure okay, but unless the subject

>is inherently fascinating, the photo has no zing.

Give yourself some time. Several months of serious shooting is only a start.
Persistance, practice, and patience are the elements of success.

> I've read books by John
>Shaw and Art Wolfe that have sections about composition, but strangely those
>situation never seem to crop up, so I'm going without any compositional
>rules to guide me (well, no so much rules, but situations I find where there
>examples might guide me).

How about the rule of thirds? That can be a helpful place to start. These books
are good sources of information, and good examples to aspire to. But remember
that the examples these books provide are products of years of experience and
countless rolls of film. Expecting those kinds of results after your relatively
short time frame is expecting alot. What these books don't show you are the
thousands of photographs that don't make it through the editing process. It's
been said that one difference between the successful proffessional and the
novice, is that the pros use larger trash cans.

>How do I develop my compositional skills?

Practice. Shoot lots of film. Shoot subjects that interest you. Join a camera
club. Take a photography course. Compare the results you are getting now with
the results you get this time next year. The technical aspects can be learned
relatively quickly, but developing an eye for composition can be much more
difficult. Keep in mind the suggestions you read in books when framing your
shots, but don't let less than spectacular results get you down. Keep at it,
and you will see improvements.
Tom

[Tim Kingston]

Jeff wrote in message ...

> It helps me, greatly, when I am looking at a scene to shoot to ask
>myself 'What emotion does this bring up?' and 'How strong is it?.' If
either
>answers are weak, I move on. If the answers are strong, I walk around the
>whole scene, or as much as I physically can, and snap off a ton of pics.

Hi,
I think Jeff makes an excellent point. I agree with the others as well when
it comes gaining some knowledge either through reading or attending a
beginners Art class etc.

The key thing , in my opinion is the emotion, what are you trying to say ,
visually. For example on your web page the first photo of the red leaves.
What was it about that scene that made you shoot it? I would guess the
color, and probably the pattern of all those leaves? What happens when I
look at it is, I want to look around to see what you are trying to show me
but I get distracted by the overcast sky leaking through in spots.
If you had moved a little, say to the right to eliminate those bright spots
it would be more enjoyable for me. Also by focusing on only the 6 or so
leaves at the front , my eye kinda stops there. If you had increased the
depth of field to say F22 then much more of the scene would be in focus.
If that was your intention.

The shot of the brown dead leaves has a nice background with the twigs.
Again my eye is diverted though, by the partial leaf in the upper left hand
corner.

I would suggest looking at your own photos as if you were a stranger where
do first start to look . Is your attention being diverted by something. Did
you get your message across?

Look again at those books and paintings etc. The ones I really like , the
artist seems to arrange the scene in such a way that , visually , it is
almost like you are taken on a little tour. There is a plan that leads your
eyes to what they want to show you with no objects to distract you , unless
they are planned. That is what makes good composition in my humble opinion.

Tim

[Mike Shipman]

Jeff,

 

Lots of decent suggestions here. I teach photo composition and I'd like to add some more suggestions.

 

1) Follow these three guidelines: Explore, Isolate, Organize.  This means:

 

a.  Explore your surroundings and subject well (on-site and with research). Take a few moments before you start blazing away to actually "see" rather than "respond" to a situation. Everyone is prone to being overcome by an incredible scene or unusual subject, and usually the first picture is the obvious one. When you spend more time with a subject you begin to see more interesting characteristics and can portray the subject as you see it (emotionally as well as compositionally) rather than how a million other people see it within a fleeting glance before they move on.

 

b) Isolate the subject.  Make your subject obvious.  This is done by keeping your composition as simple as possible. Don't try to include everything in the picture at once.  Subject isolation and compositional simplicity can be had by blurring the background using a large aperture setting, choosing an uncluttered background, making the subject large in the frame, reducing or eliminating other elements in the frame unrelated to the subject, etc.

 

c) Organize the frame. Take your eye on a trip around the edges of the viewfinder to look for stray twigs, wires, white paper, garbage, pieces and parts of people, cars, animals, etc. that detract or intrude on the picture.  Use the "rule" of thirds or golden mean, or other compositional guidelines to compose your subject so it is shown in its best and simplest form.

 

 

Also, go to your local bookstore/library/art museum/camera club/gallery and look at pictures, lots of them. Analyze them based on what your likes and dislikes are. What do you find interesting about a particular image? Is it the lighting? The arrangement of picture elements? The subject matter?

 

Take a class or two in photo composition if they are offered in your area through community education or community college. Be warned, though, you may find that classes offered through community education (often given by volunteers, sometimes pros, often by amateur hobbyists) don't meet your needs. But, they are also inexpensive. Look for classes that are offered in a workshop style (with critiques of your images) rather than a straight lecture style.

 

And, finally, shoot what you like and shoot lots of film. This is a case where "practice makes perfect" really does apply. I mean "perfect" in the sense that you become satisfied with your results first, then worry about what others think.

 

Good Luck!

--
Mike Shipman    
Blue Planet Photography
Stock * Fine Art * Décor * Instruction
PO Box 44569  Boise ID  83711-0569
208.327.1016 (voice)
m...@blueplanetphotography.com (email)
http://www.blueplanetphotography.com (web)