Composition Tip

When I am looking for a way to compose an image, I consider a number of elements, and I'll use this image to go through my process.


I saw this lovely early winter morning scene, and realized there was a great opportunity to use the warmth of the lights inside the building to balance the coolness of the dawn light.


My first consideration was how to create a sense of depth to the image.  Traditional landscape photography uses the time honored approach of foreground, middle ground and background to create that depth.  So I positioned myself so there were some plants up close to the camera.  The middle ground includes the large tree on the right and the building.  And the background trees, because of the falling snow, recede in the image.  Look at the difference between the picture below, with no real foreground interest, and the image on top.

Next, I thought about the weighting of the image.  Where I placed the large tree on the right was important, as it anchors the photograph because of its mass.  I used the rule of thirds to place the bottom of the tree pretty close to the lowest intersection of the grid (See more information about the concept in the archives here).   That gives the viewer's eye space to move into the picture from the bottom between the plants and up into the midground.

Next, I wanted to add an element to show scale.  People walking to the bus, or walking their dogs were perfect for this.  They not only added the scale, but also helped tell the story of it being a cold snowy morning.


Finally, and for me, quite important is deciding on where I want the person to be.  If I placed the person in front of the building, they were bound to disappear in the confusion of details.  

Looking at the scene carefully, there was a large gap on the right side where, because of the chiaroscuro effect,   a person would certainly stand out.


And looking at the scene again with the rule of thirds in mind, putting the person in that gap balanced the weight of the tree on the right.

There's always a lot to think about when composing an image.  Take your time, and enjoy the process.  And wear good gloves.

The case for cropping

Sometimes I come upon a scene that just cries out to be photographed.  Such was the case when I walked through City Park in Denver last week during an early season snow storm.  The leaves were still on the trees, and the contrast of the fall color against the grey sky and white snow was captivating.


I pulled my camera to my eye, and made the first exposure, seen above.  It has a nice sense of balance, and scale, and gave a sense of contrast between nature and made made objects.  All well and good.


But for me, the goal is to go beyond the obvious and look for more dynamic, evocative images.  In reality, the real draw was the color of the leaves against the snow.  But upon careful observation, it was the darkness of the tree trunk and branches that gave the needed contrast to make the image sing.  So I decided to look for a composition that showed those three values-highlight, mid-tone and dark in a more concise way.  And one that would involve the viewer in a more intimate manner.


I zoomed in quite a bit, eliminating the building on the right completely, and lowering my angle of view to make the leaves in the foreground surrounded by pools of snow more important.  The resulting image, which I think conveys the feeling of the location and the day, is below.  

So my suggestion is when something grabs your attention, take the photograph that called to you.  And then, go beyond that to the next level.

Shooting on a foggy day

Lots of people think its got to be a sunny day to get great photographs.  But some of the most evocative images are made in transitional light or inclement weather.


Fog is one of my favorite conditions to shoot in.  The light wraps around objects and envelopes them a soft, lovely atmosphere.  And it creates a sense of depth that comes from the loss of definition the further away from the camera the subject is.  That means you can really separate your main subject from the background, and in a way much different that by using depth of field, for example.


One suggestion is to consider the White Balance while making exposures in this kind of light.  You could go with Auto White Balance (AWB), but I generally prefer to shoot with Daylight or maybe even a Tungsten setting.  Using the Daylight setting tends to make the image a bit bluer (Tungsten even more so), and as a result creates a more mysterious or cold quality to the photography.

Shooting On An Overcast Day

I love transitional light.  When a storm in moving in or out, there can be some very dramatic lighting.  But what do you do when it's just a completely overcast day with no definition in the clouds?


My suggestion is to look for images that work well without the sky being included.  That means tight images of trees, or the shoreline of a high mountain lake.  Maybe detail images of fall leaves on early season snow.


By doing so, you take advantage of the soft light that comes with overcast days, rather than fighting it.  That is to say that without the big contrast range of a bright sunny day, the actual saturation of the image can really pop without the highlights or shadows losing detail.

Taking Great Pictures at Concerts

  Many of us go to concerts, and want to shoot pictures while we are there.  Here are a few tips to get you started.

First, be sure taking pictures is allowed.  Some venues do not allow it, others allow picture taking as long as there is no flash, and others have no restrictions whatsoever.  Know the situation so you do not get into trouble.  And if possible, check to see if you can get access to the aisles, the area right in front of the stage, and even backstage.  Depending on the venue and the artist, you may get much better access than you expect.

Second, try to work with zoom lenses so you can respond quickly to what is happening on stage.  I like to work with one short zoom (24-70mm) on one camera, and telephoto (70-200mm) on another body.  You may choose to shoot with a zoom with a longer range (28-300), so you only have to take one camera and one lens.  I would recommend a lens that has image stabilization, so the pictures stay sharp even at slower shutter speeds.


Third, set up the camera before you go into the concert hall, in an area where you can see the menu with ease.  I recommend shooting at a high ISO, usually in the 1200-1600 range if your camera has that.  Also, be sure to set your white balance to Automatic (AWB).  Most newer digital cameras have a great ability to judge color in this kind of environment.


Finally, once the concert starts, think of the concert in a similar way to a sports event.  Watch for who the key players are, where the action is, and try to anticipate the situations so you are ready to make great images when they happen.


Here are a few images from a recent shoot with The Latin Giants at a concert they did at York College in New York.  The image below is right as the lead trumpet player took over from the previous soloist, a sax player.  Notice how the composition is such that you do not know who to focus on.

In the next image though, notice what happens when I moved to the right, zoomed in a longer focal length, and got lower in relation to the trumpet player.  Suddenly the whole picture is about this one player, and the intensity of how he is improvising.