bruises and bandaids » composition

30 Days of Photography Tips… Day 29

Cori Derksen — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:25:07 +0000

DAY #29!

TIP #29: Use natural lines to draw the eye toward your subject.

Look at the lines in the world around you and use them in your images. Use lines to draw the eye in toward your subject. You achieve this by positioning yourself and your subject so that the lines lead toward them when you’re looking through your camera.

shooting photos outside in open shade

Cori Derksen — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:08:29 +0000

I blogged about this little girl’s pics previously but only when referring to the color and contrast. This time I’m going to focus on composition and my manual camera settings.

These shots were taken outside in the full shade of a building wall. Full shade is the best! Especially for those who are still learning. It’s much more forgiving and easier to shoot in than sun and other tricky lighting situations. Look at the composition of this shot below. She fits into the rule of thirds here.
My manual camera settings for all three of these shots were actually the same:
ISO – 200 (morning, but in full shade)
aperture – 3.2
shutter speed – 1/800

In this picture below the little girl is front and center. It’s all about her and her sweet little smile.

Same location, but pulled back a bit so you can see all of her. She’s sportin’ just a bit of attitude and I love it. :)

silhouettes in photography

Cori Derksen — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:33:34 +0000

Silhouettes at dusk. Ahhh. Love them.

Here are my manual settings for this shot:
ISO –500 (evening, dusk very little light left in the day)
shutter speed – 1/1600
aperture – 3.2
lens – 50mm 1.2L

telling a story through your images

Cori Derksen — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:18:09 +0000

Photography should tell a story. Here are a couple of stories portrayed in an image or two.

perspective in photography

Cori Derksen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:22:24 +0000

Get down low. Look at life a little differently than you do when you’re standing. Sit down and look around. Then get on your knees and look around. How do things look differently? Now, lay down, how do they look now? Perspective. It’s a big deal. It changes things.

perspective

Cori Derksen — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:33:58 +0000

How do things look to you? What’s your perspective? Does life and whatever it is you photograph look the same every day? Does the picture you just shot look the same as your last picture? Well then…change something. Change your perspective. Are you standing up? Well, then get down on your knees, or better yet, your belly. Here’s a shot taken where I’m down on my knees or low to the ground somehow.

During this shot, I’m right above the baby, maybe on my tip toes…

Get down and see the world from their perspective…

And what about the sun? Where is the sun? Is it shining on your subject? What about having the sun behind your subject?

Change things up a bit. Don’t always look at things the same way every day or every time you pick up your camera. Sit down, lay down, stand up, get up on a chair, do something…to change your perspective. :)

composition: lines & patterns

Cori Derksen — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:45:18 +0000

Lines and patterns make pictures interesting. They also can control the path of your eye. They can guide your eye toward the focal point of the image. They can also keep your eye in the picture (and not let it escape). I’ll show you what I mean with some examples below. Now remember, this is from my experience and my eyes, not the terminology from a college class. :)

In this first image below look at the lines in the brick wall, the lines created by the pipe on the right, and the lines created by the sidewalk. All the lines draw your eyes toward little Molly’s face.

Ok, now look at the two images below. First let’s look at the image on the left in the autumn trees. The lines from the sidewalk guide your eyes toward the family. The parking meters guide your eyes toward the center of the family. The trees create a canopy that your eyes will likely follow. Possibly like this. Your eyes go from the family, up the left side of the tree trunks, not able to escape the top of the picture, and back down the tree trunks on the right, in turn…guiding you back to look at the family again.

The picture on the right with the little guy leaning on the brick wall. The lines in the brick wall draw your eyes toward his face.

I love this picture below. I love the lines and patterns in this picture. I think it’s very interesting and pleasing to the eye. And again…your eyes follow the railroad tracks toward little Audrey.

This picture below has a few different things going on. First the line created by the green grass draws your eyes toward the couple. The lines from the dirt near the trunks of the trees cause your eyes to follow them toward the couple. And then the canopy created by the trees up in the sky keep your eyes in the picture. What I mean by that is that your eyes don’t escape through the top of the image because it’s plain bright white. There is a canopy of trees, so often, your eyes will follow the lines of the branches back down to the subject yet again.

All righty, so go use some lines and patterns to create some beautiful pictures! :)

composition: fill the frame

Cori Derksen — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:00:47 +0000

Another beautiful way of composing a picture is to completely fill the frame. Fill it with your fabulous subject. Fill it with your landscape. Fill it with whatever you’re shooting. I’ll include some examples below.
Fill the frame with that little face…completely. At times I will even cut off a slight portion of the head (or chest) whatever feels right. Fill your viewfinder with that beautiful face and then…click. Try it. Look. See if you like it. I love it. More emotion. More sweetness. Just more.

composition: rule of thirds

Cori Derksen — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:30:46 +0000

I’ve gotten some requests to cover the subject of composition. Thanks for your input! And here goes…an initial post on composition. There are a lot of ways to compose a picture and make it look interesting. But there is something about the rule of thirds that draws my eyes to an image. I love pictures that use the rule of thirds. Ok, so here it is… An image can be divided into thirds horizontally as well as vertically. When the subject lies on one of those lines, it’s appealing or interesting to the eye, or something….it just looks good. :) Check this out below.

If you have other questions or things that are or aren’t working for you, feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to see what’s working, what’s not working, and what you’re interested in learning! :)

get closer

Cori Derksen — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:00:57 +0000

So, you’re all set and you’ve got your eye in the viewfinder and you’re ready to “click” the shutter. BUT WAIT….move in closer (or zoom in closer if you’re using a zoom lens) to your subject (child, hubby, cat, whatever)….now take the picture. Get up close and personal. SO much more life, especially when photographing a child.

If you’ve got a beautiful composition and you need the snow or the trees or the barn in the picture then, yes, absolutely take that first picture. And then after that….go in closer and take it again.