The Art of Photography
Download as PPT, PDF
2 likes172 views
The document discusses several compositional techniques for photography including the rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetry and patterns, depth of field, filling the frame, framing, and viewpoint. The rule of thirds involves dividing the frame into thirds and placing elements along those lines. Leading lines draw the eye through the photo along diagonal or curved lines. Symmetry and patterns can make eye-catching compositions when used intentionally. Depth of field and overlapping objects create a sense of depth. Framing isolates the subject within natural frames. Viewpoint, such as bird's eye or worm's eye views, impacts the message conveyed.
The Art of Photography
- 2. The Rule of Thirds The rule of thirds involves mentally dividing up your image using 2 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines, as shown below. You then position the important elements in your scene along those lines, or at the points where they meet.
- 11. Leading Lines When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn along lines. By thinking about how you place lines in your composition, you can affect the way we view the image, pulling us into the picture, towards the subject, or on a journey "through" the scene. There are many different types of line - straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial etc - and each can be used to enhance our photo's composition.
- 23. Symmetry and Patterns We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made., They can make for very eye-catching compositions, particularly in situations where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is to break the symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and a focal point to the scene.
- 29. Depth of Field Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have to choose our composition carefully to convey the sense of depth that was present in the actual scene. You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground, middle ground and background. Another useful composition technique is overlapping, where you deliberately partially obscure one object with another. The human eye naturally recognizes these layers and mentally separates them out, creating an image with more depth.
- 34. Fill your Frame with subject
- 43. Framing The world is full of objects, which make perfect natural frames, such as trees, archways and holes. By placing these around the edge of the composition you help to isolate the main subject from the outside world. The result is a more focused image, which draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest.
- 50. Viewpoint Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys. Rather than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so on.
- 51. Birds Eye View: The viewer is looking DOWN on the subject
- 54. Worms Eye View: Viewer is looking UP at the subject