Composition

I want to try something a little different today. Lots of you are trying to take better pictures, and are interested in photography (since you are reading this.) So I am going to do a few tutorial style posts to give you an idea of some of the things that go through my mind when I click the shutter. With any kind of camera (including your phone camera!) you can take better pictures by choosing your composition. What do I mean by this? Well, what is it that you are taking a picture of? In my case it's often a kid. If it's only a kid I will get in close and fill the frame with them. It might be the expression on their face. If I want a picture of what they are doing, I will include some of the background, but beware, very little of the background is needed to provide context. Next, how am I going to position them within the frame? Oftentimes dead center does not provide for the most interesting picture. Off center and specifically, using the rule of thirds, often works well. What is the rule of thirds? Imagine your rectangle frame and cut it into thirds. (Please excuse my extremely primitive "drawing" here.)

In the example the subject is centered and although an ok picture, it is not as dynamic as the next picture which puts the subject approximately one third of the way into the frame. Especially her eyes (the most important part of the face) are positioned one third of the way from the top of the frame.

I will include a few more comparison's for you and then I want you to try and the rule of thirds for yourself. If you are taking a close up, the eyes naturally fall in approximately the top third of the face, convenient eh?