Follow Low_ISO on Twitter for blog update notifications I sometimes get asked "Hey great shot, how did you think of that?" by someone who is looking at one of my images. Usually I have an answer for them - but not always. Most shots are planned, but there are also great shots that come from trial and error, and even some that are just a product of dumb luck. Regardless of how the shot was captured, there was something about it that piqued the interest of the viewer and drew them in. This "something" is almost always good composition.
Many novices have very good ideas. For instance, they are on vacation and see a beautiful landscape or unique feature. They want to capture this image, so they put their significant other in the shot, focus, and fire. In most of these types of images, they center the subject in front of the background. This results in a perfectly acceptable shot in most circumstances. What many novices don't realize is that with a bit of thought beforehand, they can turn an acceptable shot into a great one.
How do you do this? Well, there's no quick and simple way, but that's not a problem. Most of us don't shoot with speed in mind. One of the joys of photography is being able to take your time and produce a wonderful image, and many people find this very relaxing and satisfying. When you see a truly great shot, odds are a lot of things went into that image. It is true that good composition has many elements to it, but there are three things that can greatly improve your pictures that are very easy to do. The best thing is, you can use these with any type of gear - your DSLR, your point and shoot, or even your phone camera. No pro gear required!
1. Observe the rule of thirds
The rule of thirds has been around forever. It's been used by not only photographers, but by painters, videographers, and other types of artists. When viewing a picture, your eyes are naturally drawn to certain parts of the image that give it a pleasing look. By simply putting your subject or focus of your shot in these areas, your pictures will be noticeably nicer to look at. All you need to know is the sweet spots, so here they are:
The lines are 1/3rd and 2/3rds of the way horizontally and vertically across the image area (hence the name of the rule). The circled areas where these lines intersect are the "sweet spots". Imagine a symmetrical tic-tac-toe in your viewfinder when you compose your shots and it will give your images an entirely different feel. Here's an example:
It's a decent shot, wife in front of scenery on vacation. Something nice to show the family when you get home! However, observing the rule of thirds can change this shot into:
This image is much more pleasing to look at. The subject is in a nice position, and much more of the scenic background is visible. One tip when using the rule of thirds is have your subject look "into" the frame, towards the empty space. This gives the shot more depth, and is a great improvement over having someone look into the lens and smile.
2. Check your background!
I've taken many shots over my life that I thought would turn out wonderful, only to be humbled once I saw them on my screen. I've had ducks on peoples heads, telephone poles coming out of uncle Bob's head at picnics, and trees that look like funky hats. All of this could have been avoided if I checked my background.
It only takes a second, but take a look at what's behind your subject. Is there trash on the ground? Is the background really busy? The basic rule is you want a background that doesn't interfere with your subject. Ideally this is a clean, uncluttered scene, but this isn't a necessity. Once you start looking at backgrounds it will become second nature and those trees coming out of heads will be a thing of the past. Here are some examples.
Hey, it's a statue! A nice statue! Surrounded by nice shrubs and a ...... chain link fence. When I took this shot, I didn't remember being in a secure facility. Not only did I get the ugly fence in there, that tree on the left seems cluttered, the viewer doesn't know where to look. Thankfully I took another shot.
Hey, much better. By taking the background into consideration, I realized I needed to get closer and shoot at an angle where the background was uniform and wouldn't take away from my subject. (I also used the rule of thirds, I'm sneaky like that.)
3. Foregrounds are important too
How many times have you taken a shot of something where it just seems to be standing there kind of ho-hum? Those shots of the mountains you took sure don't look like those postcards on the rack. One trick you can use to bring static subjects alive is to add foreground interest. This helps to add depth to the image and frame it in it's proper context. Your eyes see in 3-D, try to add this quality to your pictures. Here are some mountain shots to illustrate.
This is a nice shot of a mountain and some trees. I added a bit of foreground to help out, but it still seems to be lacking a bit. It is a solid shot, but very generic. Let us move back a bit to grab some of the foreground in the shot.
Okay, now this is how I remember it. The mountain is smaller in this shot, but it almost looks bigger and more majestic. Another element the foreground adds is color - it makes the shot more interesting. And hey, the crest of the mountain is about 1/3rd of the way from the top, and the straight line where the meadow meets the trees is about 1/3rd of the way from the bottom. Coincidence? Nope, there's that rule of 1/3rds being helpful again.
Hopefully this helps out with your images and introduces a different way to look at your subject when taking pictures. Until next time, happy shooting!