A Couple Of Composition Tips

A few things work very well in composing images. I shall reiterate a few of them here, using recent photos:

First, framing. It is often a good idea to frame the object you are shooting. Use overhanging trees. A window frame. Or get even more creative, like here:

Not that every frame leads to a good picture – but some do, so learn to spot them.

Another technique that we often like: use reflections. Like here, since water is often a good source.

What did I use in the picture above? Yes, my speedlight. On camera, and zoomed in to 125mm, even though the lens is wide. And as you see, I did not use the rule of thirds in the vertical sense: because I wanted to get the reflection in.

There there’s “close-far”. Use a wide lens and get close to something in order to show depth:

And one more picture just for fun:

That images uses the above, plus it uses the background in order to tell a story.

There’s more – like the use of colour, and simplifying. A bit of thinking goes a long way in composing your shots!

 

Repeat picture

A repeat from a previous post – not the same post but I shot the same picture of the Quartier Des Spectacles again in the Montreal Hyatt Regency hotel the other day:

Montreal-Framed

Montreal-Framed

The framing did it for me, and the shadows.

We talk about framing as a useful device to draw attention to our subject. We frame pictures with whatever we can frame them with. Walls. Branches of a tree. Or a window frame, like in this picture.

Or indeed by branches:

St James Cathedral

St James Cathedral, Toronto

Can you see how I used a very wide angle lens, and I used my flash to light up the tree? I am known as the speedlighter for a reason!