The Power is in Your Hands: Composition Part 2

A Sense of Scale

I'm sure that at first glance you can't see the tiny man but he's there! He's a little black vertical line in the bottom right corner. Of course, at this size he's too small to give you a sense of scale but at the original size of this photo, you definitely get a sense of how BIG the pyramids are!

If you're photographing something big, try sticking something in the frame to help your viewers put the subject in perspective like a plant in a big window, a squirrel next to a giant tree--use your imagination!

Sports/Action Shots

To be a good spots photographer, you have to learn to anticipate your photo. For repetitive activities like kicking a punching bag, mentally count how quick their movements are and take your photo accordingly. And get to know your shutter speeds! Become familiar with what kinds of speeds you need to get certain shots. Obviously if your shooting a runner, you'll need a quicker speed. 

These taekwando photos didn't turn out so well at first but after a little while I got the hang of how fast they were moving and learned to anticipate their actions. This one in particular wasn't super fast, just super high. By the time he reached this height, his momentum had slowed significantly so it was actually pretty easy to anticipate this shot. I think I got it in just the right place! But if you recall a photo I posted recently of an apple exploding, that was an extremely fast shutter speed (and I should mention, an extremely lucky shot!). Of course, it took me several times to get it right. They were kicking apples left and right so I had time to practice my timing. You might not always have that chance to practice but you'll get the hang of it sooner or later and then you won't need so many practice shots!

Symmetry

Symmetry is one subject split in the middle so that one side mirrors the other. This was the best example I could find from my own work of symmetry.

Why is symmetry so captivating? I think it's because very little is symmetrical in nature--thus it's so eye catching! We find ourselves looking at symmetrical things and wondering why we can't look away; what is it that makes it different? In fact, I've heard it said that some of the most successful models have very symmetrical faces (a rarity among humans).

Radial Composition

The idea behind radial composition is that there is one central point from which everything moves out from. 

Another great example of radial photos? Try photographing a ferris wheel with blurred movement but make sure to keep your frame tight around the subject!

Going Somewhere & Coming from Somewhere

One great way to capture the sense of a journey is to use tracks--they are great and lead your eye right through the photo (front to back or back to front!). 

Other tips: try photographing people from behind to get the sens that you're following them or to get a view of what's ahead. You might also try playing with the size of your subject and the placement of them in the frame. Obviously big and in foreground will give you a sense that there is something beyond your subject, where as small and in the background will give you a sense of what's behind them.

Depth of Field (DOF)

Depth of Field refers to the sense you get that something is far away or close by which is easy to achieve by blurring portions of your photo but leaving your subject sharp and in focus. This can be achieved by either moving in really close so that all things in the background are blurred, or by increasing the f-number (decreasing the aperture diameter) will increases the DOF.

This is a pretty typical and standard photographer's tip which will definitely make your photos stand out from the rest.