Download - Basic Photography Principles
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Basic Photography Principles
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Basic Photography Rules
Rules are meant to be broken!
If you intend to break a rule you should always
learn it first to make sure your breaking of it isall the more effective!
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Discussion points
Rule of thirds
Active Space Angles
Background
Contrast Fill your frame
Framing
Lines (SOLTAX) Number of objects
Additional elements
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The Rule of Thirds
Divide into nine equal parts by
two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines
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The Rule of Thirds
Place points of interest in the intersections or along thelines
Peoples eyes usually go to one of the intersection pointsmost naturally rather than the centre of the shot
Aligning a subject with the intersection points createsmore tension, energy and interest in the compositionthan simply centering the subject would
What are the points of interest in the shot?
Where am I intentionally placing them?
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In this image the head of the subject is placed on one of the
intersecting points - especially his eyes which are a natural
point of focus for a portrait. His tie and flower also take up asecondary point of interest.
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Active / Dead Space
If the object is centered in the photograph, theres no balance forthe viewer.
Create active space the area in which the subject is moving into
A person facing left should be placed on the right allowing the
person to look into the photo.
If your subject (be it a person, dog, elephant, whatever) is facing acertain direction, the space should be given to that side
Using the dead space behind your subject will capture the entirescene.
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Angles
Think outside the box and explore different angles
If you were to get down onto the ground and angle yourcamera up and towards the subject, the result of thatphoto would portray superiority (youre looking up to it
and emphasis the size of the object)
If you angle down and towards the object, the end resultwill be that object is looking up to you (inferior).
Try to use different angles in landscape photos.
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Background
A background can either make or break the overall resultof a photograph
The wrong background can pull a viewers attention awayfrom the point of interest, distracting them and taking allthe flavour from the photograph
Photographs present us with images in 2D, rather than3D.
Before taking your photo, check your background to besure there are no people that shouldnt be there, coloursthat clash with your point of interest which will pull theeye from your subject or any other object that just
doesnt belong.
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Background
If your background doesnt compliment your point ofinterest, consider:
Moving your subject into a more appropriate position
Waiting for the background to become more suitable(people getting out of the way, for example)
Changing your position and shoot from an alternativeangle
Filling your frame with the subject, eliminating thebackground completely
Fade out your background by playing with your F-stops
Photo-editing afterwards (Photoshop)
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Contrast
Creating contrast to enhance an image
High contrast will create a vibrant, solid andloud image that will steal the attention of theviewer. Using blacks and whites with very little or no use
of greys.
Use opposite colours
Low contrast will produce a warm and softimage, creating a soothing or mellow image. Use similar shades, very little difference from the
darkest part of the photo to the lightest.
Colours which are close to each other on thecolour wheel will create a low-contrast photo.
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Contrasts
Less is more. Bringing additional colours into the image willdecrease the level of contrast. The viewers attention will tend toshift away from your focal points when other colours are present.
Ratio Impact. Having more of one contrasting colour will help
your focal point stand out, as opposed to having equal amounts ofboth contrasting colours.
A single red poppy set against a field of green will have greatercontrast and impact than a photograph of a poppy set against a
sea of other poppies.
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Fill f
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Fill your frame
Filling your frame with your point of interest will not onlyeliminate background distractions, it will also have a
more intimate and significant impact on the overallresults of your photograph.
Your photographs perspective holds a lot more strength
if you physically move in closer to your subject.
Features will become considerably more detailed andremarkable.
Ask yourself what youre trying to illustrate and focus onthat.
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F i
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Framing
A frame should correlate with the point of interest
Depth of field should be considered when framing a subject. Wouldyour photograph look better with the frame or subject in focus, ormaybe both?
Alternatively, a photograph may benefit by having the foreground
(the frame) out of focus, while the subject is in focus.
A frame doesnt necessarily need to completely surround thesubject, nor does it need to be in the foreground
When deciding on a frame, think about using other compositiontechniques to further enhance your photo, such as contrast, textureand shape
Using a frame that is darker than the subject will draw moreattention to the subject.
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Forms and Lines
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Forms and Lines
SOLTAX
Using lines and forms lead the eye to the point of interestand prevent the eye from wandering.
More impressive outcome and stronger composition ifyour leading line begins at the corner of your photograph.
Present diagonal lines from the bottom left of the photo tothe top right, this is because our eyes naturally scan fromleft to right. To prevent the photo from looking split, trypositioning your diagonal lines to begin slightly above or
below the corner of the photo.
Forms and Lines
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Forms and Lines
Keep vertical lines parallel with the sides of yourphotograph as much as possible
Horizontal lines should be kept as horizontal aspossible, especially with water (sea, lake, etc.)
S curves dont necessarily need to be S-shaped;any form of a winding line can be used. Some
examples include rivers, streams, paths and eventhe human body.
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Additional elements
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Additional elements
Primary numbers are stronger. Use 1 rather than 2,
3 rather than 2 or 4, etc.
Keep the corners and edges clean. Example: Treebranches should not touch the edge of the photo
Eliminate distracting elements
If it doesn't contribute to the overall image, get rid of it.
Golden hour - 1 hour after sunrise, 1 hour before sunset
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Be creative!
Enjoy!Have Fun!
Break the rules!