Photograph, especially DSLR photograph, probably is an art based on technique. If you write, reasonably you should know how to fill the ink, and if you draw, reasonably you should know what the different pigment feature is. Similarly, when you compose to photograph something, you’d better know some techniques about it. Thus, you can master the photographic composition arbitrary.
Photograph is an art about creative finding. Firstly, to find, then to compose, and finally, to take, this is the sequence. If you find a creative finding, it means you now in the so-called “art” domain. It is said the art usually is not a trivial matter…So, many of photographic composition techniques are related to what you can find, especially, what you can creatively find. Mainly, as following:
1.1 The Golden Section
You should know not only what the golden section is, but also know how they occur, hide or compose in the landscape or in your idols’ position. Following the golden mean theory you can find where are the aesthetic balance in your picture.
1.2. Framing
Take advantage of what you find in your landscape, or in your idols’ position, to frame your view, this makes your picture somewhat have a formalism aesthetic taste. If you think you are a “photograph artist”, you not just imagine the framing as rectangling. Yes, the framing could be circling, bloting something out and so on. It could be a abstract shape, and could unbalance too. But, maybe, don’t forget golden section.
1.3. Crossing lines/diagonals
they could help you find and make your view focus where the golden section is. So, as an “art” photographer, locating the crossing lines/diagonals in the landscape and idols’ position, it’s the big job.
1.4. Lighting
The spirit of the photograph is the light. No matter it’s sunlight, moonlight, flashlight and so on. Handling the light, you can create golden section, you can frame and cross your view.
1.5. Depth-of-Field and Focus
You can compose the depth-of-field and focus in different way. This technique create different longitudinal composition effects. You can take advantage of it to frame, cross and so on, and make your pictures produce somewhat three-dimensional feeling.
1.6. Normal Focus Length and Perspective
For the 35mm full frame DSLR’s no-cropped pictures, the lens’ perspective at 50mm focus length, is very similar with viewers’ perspective. More than 50mm, the lens’ perspective will be lengthened, and less than 50mm, the lens’ perspective will be compressed. Naturally, focus distances is important too. You can change the focus length, maybe, and focus distance, to figure out where the different frame locates in your perspective.
1.7. Depth-of-Field Separation
You can change the depth-of-field, to separate the subject from its background, it usually means, the blurred background forms a frame. This is one of big jobs the DSLR aperture has.
1.8. Contrast Separation
Not only depth-of-field can separate the subject from background, but also contrast can do so too. How to enhance or reduce contrast? What’s your answer? Just photoshop? no, not just photoshop.
1.9. Compressing
Compression is a function of focus distance and enlargement, but view frame make the focus length effective too. however, different perspective “feeling” make your picture as if with different “frames”
1.10. Lyers
Using some techniques, such as Depth-of-Field Separation, Compressing, you can divide the landscape into some layers longitudinally. Because of layers, the picture is not only worth paying first look, but also worth paying second look.
All these are the photograph composition techniques, but all photograph composition techniques are not just these. But, could you know where these techniques can be applied correctly? It’s decided by your feeling completely. Maybe it’s why an artist is different from a photographer.
If you are interested, perhaps the example of abstract art should be helpful. Because they have abstracted the fine taste from the messy and concrete world.
2.Three Principles of Photographic Composition
The three principles of photograph composition is the strategy and spirit. They decide how to apply all those photograph techniques. There are two types: one is for normal style, another is for dramatic taste.
2.1 Three Principles of Photographic Composition, Normal Type
- Balance-just make your picture’s view balance.
- Focus-just make your picture’s subject focused (emphasized).
- Harmony everything else-just prevent your picture’s background from mess and monotone.
2.2 Three Principles of Photographic Composition, Dramatic Type
- Shock-is any more balance needed? No, just shock it! It’s cool.
- Messy-what is the decisive moment? Isn’t it the clearness from mess? And what is the indecisive moment? Isn’t the mess from the clearness?
- Deformation-nothing more, just because somewhat the deformation is also a dramatic art.
3. All in All
All in All, the unique key is expressing. In order to express, any technique and any principle may be abandoned. What is the most perfect composition? Just don’t compose it.
Cartier-Bresson told the Washington Post in 1957, "Photography is not like painting," There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said. "Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."
