Picture Composition

• There are two parts to taking good photographs– Exposure– Composition

• Exposure is the technical part of the photographic process

• Composition is the creative part of the photographic process

Composing Pictures

• So far we have looked at the various exposure controls

• Tonight we will look at some basics of photographic composition

• No amount of control or editing can take the place of good picture composition.

• This is by no means a complete discussion of composition, just some basics.

• Good composition is essential in photography. It allows you to convey messages and emotions through the images that you shoot.

• Composition is a visual process of organizing the elements and individual details of a scene into a balanced and pleasing arrangement.

• Photographic composition is ultimately a matter of person taste.

• What one person likes another person may hate.

• We will discuss some general rules of composition that can help you take better photographs.

• Some general rules of composition that can help you take better photographs are;– Framing– Strong focal point– Rule of thirds– Leading lines– Angle of view– Perspective– Balance

Some General Composition Rules - Framing• Fill the entire photograph with your

subject

Have a strong focal point

• Choose one main subject for you photograph.

• The main subject can be one object or several.

• Do not include distractions that pull people away from your photo.

Rule of Thirds

• Divide you viewfinder into thirds both horizontally and vertically

• Place your subject along the divide lines between the equal areas or at the places where the these lines meet

Leading Lines

• Leading lines help to lead the viewers eye to the important object in the photograph

• Be careful using leading lines so they do not lead away form the important part of the photograph

Angle of View

• Sometimes you will get a more interesting photograph by changing you angle of view.

Perspective

• Sometime it will make a photograph more interesting if you add an object to convey the perspective of the photo.

Balance

• The correct combination of colors, shapes, and areas of light and dark that complement one another

Optical vs Digital Zoom

• Optical zoom uses the optics (lens) of the camera to bring the subject closer.

• Digital zoom enlarges a portion of the image, thus 'simulating' optical zoom.

Optical vs Digital Zoom

•  What the camera does is to crops a portion of the image and then enlarges it back to size

• When the camera does this you loose image quality.

Is Digital Zoom Bad

•  No really it is just another way of cropping images using software.

• If you do not intend to make enlargements of your photos it will give you decent results.

• However you can achieve the same effect of the camera digital zoom by cropping the image in photo editing software.