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After Light It’s All About Composition in Landscape Photography

September 16, 2009 | No Comments | Featured, Photography

Landscape Photography – After Light It’s All About Composition in Landscape Photography | By Jamie Paterson

You’ve heard time and time again that landscape photography is all about the natural light that nature provides to you at the time of taking the photograph. This is extremely true, but even if the light is perfect your photo won’t stand out unless you composed it in the best way that you can.

Okay, so what constitutes great composition is always going to be extremely subjective and there are no 100% right or wrong answer and yes sometime you have to go against the norm to tell your story. However, there are four major things that I look for when I’m taking a photo.

The first thing I always try to follow is the rule of thirds, do a Google search to find out more but essentially try to avoid having your horizons going straight through the middle of your photos and definitely try to avoid putting your subjects in the centre of your photo. If you’re taking a photo of a really impressive rock then don’t put it bang in the centre of your photo. Perhaps you could take a photo with ¾ sky and the rock placed on the right hand or left hand side it would make for a different and interesting landscape photograph. Always try to think outside of the box.

If I’m taking a landscape photograph of something like a mountain range that is a little distance away I always ensure that I include something that qualifies as foreground interest. Here’s an example, I want to take a photo of a hill that is perhaps 500M away, no just taking a photo of that hill would look pretty boring. If I managed to include a nice rock or tree in the foreground then that adds depth to the photograph and makes it significantly more interesting.

Using the same scenario as above another composition trick is to add leading lines into your photo to literally ‘lead’ people’s eyes towards the main subject in your photograph. So how could we include this in the above photo? Well we’ve found our hill and we’ve found our tree, is there a fence for example leading up to the direction of the hill (this in itself is also foreground interest), is there a creek running down from the hill as this could be used as a leading line as well. Leading lines work really well if you get them right.

One of the last composition techniques when taking landscape photographs I employ is called framing. What do you think might be more interesting? Taking a photo standing on a beach or standing back in the tree line with a shot of a branch at the top of my photo ‘framing’ my photo? Again do a search on Google images from examples of this.

So using a combination of great light, the rule of thirds, foreground interest, leading lines and framing you’ll be able to produce some stunning landscape photographs. If you have a look at some of my work you’ll see where I have tried to use at least one of these techniques in each photo.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Paterson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Landscape-Photography—After-Light-Its-All-About-Composition-in-Landscape-Photography&id=2462379

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How to Improve Your Photographs

June 24, 2009 | No Comments | Featured, Photography

How to Improve Your Photographs | By Chin Yong Sak

Have you ever wondered why your photographs seem to be too common or unattractive? This is a common problem especially for new photographers with little or no photography experience.

This article will share on some basic ways to improve your photographs and will be a good place to start if you are new to this exciting hobby. To render eye catching photographs, it is important that they are sharp and well exposed with strong composition.

There are a few reasons which contribute to blurry photographs and the more common ones are due to camera shake or poor focusing techniques.

It is important that you hand-held the camera correctly and make sure the grip is stable and firm. If the shutter speed is too slow, make sure a tripod is used to avoid camera shake. If you do not have a tripod, try resting or leaning on something to give a firm support.

Most DSLR in the market offers image stabilizing function either on the camera body or lens. You may want to use the image stabilizing function if available.

When focusing on your subject, make sure you are aiming and focusing at the right area (the area which you want the image to be sharp). Always remember to lock your focal distance if there is a need to recompose the image.

You will need to understand the relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed for a properly exposed photograph. I have another article which explains the relationships and it will be worth reading for a better understanding.

A strong composition will definitely attracts viewers’ eyes as compared to a weak one. Instead of placing your subject in the middle of the frame at eye level, it is worth exploring other angles to “tackle” them. You may want to try kneeling or lying on the ground to take a low angle shot, or stand on higher ground for a high angle approach.

I believe Rule of Thirds is a common terminology used in photography and it is useful and important for photographers to know this. Imagine there are 2 evenly spread lines running vertically and horizontally across your view-finder. You may want to frame your subject of interest on the imaginative lines (especially at the area where the lines intersect).

Although Rule of Thirds is a powerful tool commonly used by many photographers, it does not mean you have to always apply this technique. Using this technique as and when necessary together with different angles approach can help render a stronger composition and make your photographs more attractive.

Photography is just like swimming, just learning the theory is not enough. After reading this article, grab your camera now and start shooting!

Yong Sak is a Singapore Photographer who enjoys taking photographs and sharing his knowledge in photography to those who are also keen in this hobby. He shares many Photography Tips and Techniques which are useful to beginners. He owns a Photography Portal which house many Beginners Photography Fundamentals which are essentials for those who are new to photography and are hungry for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chin_Yong_Sak
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Improve-Your-Photographs&id=2451750

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