Photo Lesson - Composition Technique

Get It Right the First Time!

One of the skills that digital has taken away from us is the ability to produce on the first shot. Some people ask me what the advantage is to shooting with film. It would seem the most obvious answer, as well as the most overlooked, is the concept of getting the picture right the first time! We often think that photoshop is our ultimate savior when we mess up. But with film, there was no rescue plan after you took the photo. Because of the limited number of exposures and cost of developing, we often had to put much thought into our scene before capturing the photograph.

What You See (may be) What You Get

When looking through your viewfinder or LCD screen, you’ll of course see the objects and subjects. Now the question is what to do with them. You always have these choices. You can wait until these subjects move into the position you want (‘into your frame’). You can also choose where to place these subjects/objects. Lastly you can place yourself in a position that encompasses everything that will describe your picture.

To get a better understanding, imagine a picture frame. Now try to imagine how your picture will look like in that frame. For instance, where would the objects be placed or how would the person be looking at the camera. Try to get a sense of how you or someone would feel looking at that frame and what the picture would be conveying to someone. This concept is probably the best way in which to understand how objects and subjects should be framed in your photo (hence the term ‘framing’).

Vince Versace, a highly well known photographer and a Nikon Legend Behind the Lens has an interesting view in terms of composition. But I’ll be saving that for more advanced lessons!

The easiest and least stressful objective would be to take the photograph correctly the first time. Yes photoshop is great, but there is only so much that it can do. There are limitations to what it cannot fix or bring back. The less work you have to do after you've taken the photo, the more you can concentrate on taking better and more creative photographs.

Next post will focus on lines and patterns.