Composition in Photography: Design Elements
Part 1: Introduction
In this article, I will take up a VERY easy topic in photography that might be very well ENORMOUSLY difficult for some. And there is absolutely valid reason for it.
Photography is a wonderful mixture of science and art. The science part can be intriguing and is an important aspect but not the whole of it. Techniques like depth-of-field control, slow shutter speed effects or motion freeze are all cool but they only compliment one of the core concepts of photography which is closer to art:
Composition
A photographer is an Artist and a dreadful fate of an artist is “predictability”.
And it is this area where we are all set apart from each other. We see things differently, perceive differently and of course think differently. Although biologically we are all human, all these contribute to the “uniqueness” of one person and hence to his/her creation in any field of art.
So am I saying only a specific people can become a photographer? Absolutely not. We, humans, have an excellent gift of learning. We learn by imitating, we learn by reading and collaborating through communication. Same applies to photography. We first have to imitate the best works from legendary photographers, try to “see through” their work, analyze it, appreciate it and follow it before we can innovate our own styles.
After going through a bunch of photography works from distinguished photographers like Ansel Adams, Edward Curtis and Irving Penn and many others… I noticed “few” patterns and commonalities that make their work extraordinary. And then after researching on internet and library books, I found there are a LOT of concepts and ideas behind those “few” patterns. Somehow the patterns were “deliberately” introduced to be noticed and CREATING new ideas for the rest of the photographers (like me) to learn and adore.
Here I am going to share some of my insights combining already available plethora of information on this topic while throwing in some of my examples in this engaging discussion of COMPOSITION: How to make a photo more “appealing” and “pleasing” to our eyes. Like good food is not a direct outcome of cooking in a good utensil, it’s the photographer’s decision that makes a photo great and hardly the camera itself. Of course you must know the technical part of taking the photo or you will land up ruining your best shot due to incorrect camera and flash settings.
This discussion is very subjective, slightly controversial but informative as well. Please understand, real artists are not confined into any set of rules. But I can guarantee you that they are MORE aware of these “rules” than us and thus are able to consciously take a superior decisions to either follow the rules or break them. So I would suggest that my tips are mere guidelines and are not meant to be followed diligently in EVERY situation.
Sounds kind of a disclaimer, huh… well it’s a message from a photographer to a photographer. Most of the time we THINK that we are limited by what is presented to us for taking photos, but little we REALIZE that it us who choose WHAT we photograph, in what ANGLE, from what POSITION. and WHEN we press the shutter, click!
Now let’s jump right in. For simplicity I have broken the material into four easy key elements to remember and understand.
- Choosing the subject
- Choosing the environment to compliment the subject
- Positioning the subject
- Breaking the rules
Let’s start with Choosing the subject >>>, shall we?
