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#1
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Composition basics
Any good and quick pointers when it comes to composition? I'll be
shooting a lot of architecture (mostly modern skyscrapers and other buildings, but also some old architecture), landscapes (city and nature) as well as daily life (if I dare come close enough to point a camera in their faces ;-) So far I've picked up a few things along the way which I try to keep in mind when shooting: - Ask yourself what you want to convey to the viewer. Focus on that subject instead of trying to cram everything into the shot all at once. -If the same scene has many interesting subjects, rather do one shot for each of them close-up instead of an "overview" shot far away which doesn't really focus on anything. - Avoid distractions (a dark subject upon a dark tree etc.). Keep it simple. - When shooting moving subjects (a car etc.) leave some empty "breathing space" in front of the subject, in the direction it's going. - don't put your subject smack in the middle of the shot, but a little to the left, right, up or down. That makes the whole picture more interesting and "artistic" Anything more to add to this list? |
#2
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Composition basics
Arild P. wrote:
Any good and quick pointers when it comes to composition? I'll be shooting a lot of architecture (mostly modern skyscrapers and other buildings, but also some old architecture), landscapes (city and nature) as well as daily life (if I dare come close enough to point a camera in their faces ;-) So far I've picked up a few things along the way which I try to keep in mind when shooting: - Ask yourself what you want to convey to the viewer. Focus on that subject instead of trying to cram everything into the shot all at once. Think about how the subject relates to the background, not just compositionally but in meaning & color & texture to tie them together. -If the same scene has many interesting subjects, rather do one shot for each of them close-up instead of an "overview" shot far away which doesn't really focus on anything. - Avoid distractions (a dark subject upon a dark tree etc.). Keep it simple. - When shooting moving subjects (a car etc.) leave some empty "breathing space" in front of the subject, in the direction it's going. - don't put your subject smack in the middle of the shot, but a little to the left, right, up or down. That makes the whole picture more interesting and "artistic" Anything more to add to this list? -- Paul Furman http://www.edgehill.net/1 Bay Natives http://www.baynatives.com |
#3
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Composition basics
good luck !
steppy the gamer o_0 Free Games i love to play : a href=http://www.gamestotal.com massive online games/aa href=http://uc.gamestotal.com free massive online games/aa href=http://uc.gamestotal.com/freegames/ free strategy games/aa href=http://gc.gamestotal.com strategy games/aa href=http://uc.gamestotal.com/i.cfm?p=about free online strategy games/aa href=http://uc.gamestotal.com/i.cfm?p=aboutgc free massive multiplayer online games/aa href=http://www.stephenyong.com games like runescape/aa href=http://gc.gamestotal.com/i.cfm?p=aboutgcmultiplayer online games/aa href=http://aw.gamestotal.com free online mmorpg games/aa href=http://uc.gamestotal.com massive online games free/aa href=http://3700.gamestotal.com free online games like runescape/aa href=http://www.gamestotal.com/corp/ massive free online games/a Arild P. wrote: Any good and quick pointers when it comes to composition? I'll be shooting a lot of architecture (mostly modern skyscrapers and other buildings, but also some old architecture), landscapes (city and nature) as well as daily life (if I dare come close enough to point a camera in their faces ;-) So far I've picked up a few things along the way which I try to keep in mind when shooting: - Ask yourself what you want to convey to the viewer. Focus on that subject instead of trying to cram everything into the shot all at once. -If the same scene has many interesting subjects, rather do one shot for each of them close-up instead of an "overview" shot far away which doesn't really focus on anything. - Avoid distractions (a dark subject upon a dark tree etc.). Keep it simple. - When shooting moving subjects (a car etc.) leave some empty "breathing space" in front of the subject, in the direction it's going. - don't put your subject smack in the middle of the shot, but a little to the left, right, up or down. That makes the whole picture more interesting and "artistic" Anything more to add to this list? |
#4
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Composition basics
Our good friend and fellow group member Ron Bigelow has been good enough to
put up a series of articles at ... http://ronbigelow.com/articles/articles.htm Have a look about 1/2 way down the list - you'll find 3 in a row dealing with composition. Hope this helps. Cheers, |
#5
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Composition basics
I would summarize most of what one might need about composition in a
couple of simple points: 1) Have a primary center of interest, and consider how your composition works to make this obvious and pleasing. That means knowing what interests you about a scene, and if it is a particular object, making it big enough and central to not be obscured by what is less important. On the other hand, obviously setting is important too. 2) Look for balances. Having a center of interest literally centered in the photo makes it so prominent that nothing can possible compete. Sometimes that is OK. But at least as often, interest is created when there are secondary points of interest as well, and the placement of the points of interest is balanced across the composition. For instance, a face that is slightly above center in a portrait might be balanced by a necklace below center. Or a river balancing a mountain. This is a very subjective matter, and I'd just say, be aware of it. You want there to be interesting things in multiple areas of the composition, without detracting from #1 above. --------------- Marc Sabatella Music, art, & educational materials Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer" http://www.outsideshore.com/ |
#6
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Composition basics
On 14 Jul 2006 07:28:52 -0700, "Arild P." wrote:
Often shooting in a city with tall buildings is like shooting in a canyon....sometimes noon is the best time to shoot...cause the light penetrates deeper to the floor; and depending upon the orientation of the street( EWNS)? The time of day and what you are trying to capture, particularly in a city, will determine when you shoot - and your composition. Early sunday morning will give a good bare street and emphasize the depersonalization among other things; shooting at lunch time will give you alot of stationary people and they will fill different spaces than say around 9a, or for that matter about coffe hour. Then again...you can emphasize bustle if you shoot when people leave work. Interesting vantage points yield different compositions. If you want to shoot a corner for example...bring a tall ladder (and a helper) and shoot from a higher elevation. Pick apart the geometry of the buildings, railings, shadows and look for relationships - convergences, parrallels, etc. The light will effect what it looks like...it's composition in terms of it's wholeness and detail. Big light or little light? High or low? Stuff looks different inside or outside depeneding upon the light and the factors that mitigate that. It's nice to see a place under a few conditions of light and weather and times - study it. Figure out what it is that you see..what grabs you,then what it's parts are-what makes it work; then figure out how to capture what you see. How do you want to juggle the "space" betwean" your elements?- what lens will do that- you know - like longer lens -more compression; wider makes more space. And you're right..what's of interest?, what does it have? That's probably what you want to get in close on. Put it "in your face". Shoot from a distance, then move in- systematically. If your going to cover a place or an object...there's usually an approach, a strong manifestation of it, and then a fairwell or reprise (or surpise). I muse. Probably the best thing you could do would be to look at bodies of works of similar subjects and try to copy what makes sense to you - that others have done. You probably will do so imperfectly..and they will be original then - for you. So much to consider. Best of luck and enjoy. Ken Ellis |
#7
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Composition basics
Ken Ellis wrote:
On 14 Jul 2006 07:28:52 -0700, "Arild P." wrote: Often shooting in a city with tall buildings is like shooting in a canyon....sometimes noon is the best time to shoot...cause the light penetrates deeper to the floor; and depending upon the orientation of the street( EWNS)? The time of day and what you are trying to capture, particularly in a city, will determine when you shoot - and your composition. Early sunday morning will give a good bare street and emphasize the depersonalization among other things; shooting at lunch time will give you alot of stationary people and they will fill different spaces than say around 9a, or for that matter about coffe hour. Then again...you can emphasize bustle if you shoot when people leave work. Interesting vantage points yield different compositions. If you want to shoot a corner for example...bring a tall ladder (and a helper) and shoot from a higher elevation. Pick apart the geometry of the buildings, railings, shadows and look for relationships - convergences, parrallels, etc. The light will effect what it looks like...it's composition in terms of it's wholeness and detail. Big light or little light? High or low? Stuff looks different inside or outside depeneding upon the light and the factors that mitigate that. It's nice to see a place under a few conditions of light and weather and times - study it. Figure out what it is that you see..what grabs you,then what it's parts are-what makes it work; then figure out how to capture what you see. How do you want to juggle the "space" betwean" your elements?- what lens will do that- you know - like longer lens -more compression; wider makes more space. And you're right..what's of interest?, what does it have? That's probably what you want to get in close on. Put it "in your face". Shoot from a distance, then move in- systematically. If your going to cover a place or an object...there's usually an approach, a strong manifestation of it, and then a fairwell or reprise (or surpise). I muse. Probably the best thing you could do would be to look at bodies of works of similar subjects and try to copy what makes sense to you - that others have done. You probably will do so imperfectly..and they will be original then - for you. For city streets you may need to pick your date so that the sun is in the right place to give you the illumination you need to get the shot you want. -- --John to email, dial "usenet" and validate (was jclarke at eye bee em dot net) |
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