Genesis of an image: composition

There are many levels of photographers on this forum ranging from professionals to amateurs to beginners.

Wanted to post a thread that deals more with photography as opposed to gear.

Two of the most important elements in any photograph are composition and light.

This thread is specifically concerned with composition.

Light is vitally important, but is often ignored for various reasons by those just learning photography. Topic for another thread

Composition is something that impacts everyone, even those that don't have time to worry about the light. Whether you are taking snapshots or using a tripod, shooting with an iPhone or a DSLR, *every* photographer has to think about composition.

I'm going to provide 3 examples with images I posted in the February POTD thread. All examples were shot with a 35mm lens on a full frame sensor. The differences in perspective were from moving my feet, not from zooming

While I welcome feedback on these examples, my real hope is that others will post examples of their own showing the nuances of composition to help educate others or that people will post images looking for the advice of others on improving their composition.

----------

Example #1.

Broad image of the subject:



Moved in and shot it from several different vantage points.

Vantage point #1:


Busy on several levels. What is the light post doing there? What is the tree branch doing there?

Vantage point #2:


Better on some levels. Some of the distracting elements aren't there anymore. But the power lines are still cutting across the image and the light isn't optimal.

Vantage point #3:


Still better composition. Now the power lines aren't crossing the elements of the image but are instead serving as leading lines drawing the eye into the image.

Final image:


Best composition and also waited for the light (and the clouds) to bring everything together.

----------

Example #2.

Providence hurricane barrier. I shot a series of this while waiting for the light on the previous series of images.

Vantage point #1


While it has some foreground elements, the light post is just out of place and dominates the composition without adding anything--and in fact it seriously detracts from the composition.

Vantage point #2


I posted a similar image to the POTD thread. A better composition as the light post is now off to the left and not the dominant element of the image. The arch of the bridge is there and the hurricane barrier is also there. The light post is still kind of distracting.

Vantage point #3


A closer view of the hurricane barrier without any foreground elements. A simpler composition with the subject front-and-center.

----------

Example #3.

This is a more complicated composition.

I was playing around with shooting a 35mm lens wide open at f/1.4. Decided to take a photo of my kitchen from my porch. Was prone on my elbows looking in.

Vantage point #1


Noticed that the frames of the glass on the door could be positioned to frame the background. Decided to play with this a bit.

Vantage point #2


A different view with a resultant different framing of the door frames with the background.

Vantage point #3


I liked this better as the door frames lined up with the background. Part of the reason this was a challenging composition relates to the distance between the frames on the door and the background doorway. Relatively small changes in camera position had very large effects on the relationship between the two in the composition. Shifting the camera even a small amount changed the relationship of the elements in the image dramatically. Additionally, I was trying to maintain a relative "dead on" position with the door. So I found myself crawling a bit to the left or a bit to the right and then "chimping" to see how the composition looked. This is an example where shooting with a rangefinder complicated things compared to a DSLR, as parallax entered into the equation: what I was seeing through the viewfinder wasn't what the lens was seeing. The slight offset between viewfinder and lens created a huge difference in the relationship between foreground and background elements. I had to adjust for this on the fly after reviewing each shot.

I almost went to bed after the above photo (this entire exercise was done at around 1 am). But I noticed the smudges on the center glass of the door, realized they were made from cat noses looking out of the door, and thought it would be cool to have a cat in the image.

So I went inside, woke up the offending cat knowing how much he loves to look outside this door, and went back to my previous position.

I was able to capture this image:

AT06 said:

Nice post - very clear with some very good photos.

Click to expand...

Thanks

Phrasikleia said:

*snipped*

Click to expand...

Thank you for this response. I'm really trying to focus on composition at the moment, which means I'm willing to take bad photos knowing that I'll be reviewing them later to try to learn from my mistakes. Makes it easier to have ready examples for teaching threads

Your response here was perfect. Provided a very clear example of the importance of composition and the importance of *thinking* about composition. I fell into the trap when I first started photography of thinking that "zooming" was the most important thing--something catches your eye, stand in the same spot, and zoom your lens until the composition seems to work. It was much later that I realized that you need to zoom with your feet. It usually isn't a question of finding the right crop with a zoom lens, it's a question of finding the *perfect* vantage point that captures a subject with foreground, midground, and background elements all aligning just right to complement each other.

The thread you linked to was a very interesting read. A more advanced discussion than this one, but again very interesting.

BTW, I love the first image in that thread (which you also posted here in the February POTD thread, "Midas Touch" I think). Just a stellar image.

James Craner said:

You woke up the Cat - Poor kitty! Joking aside I like you post, more please

Click to expand...

He didn't mind. He loved the attention

ijohn.8.80 said:

Enthusiast.

Going from original to final, it is amazing how a different perspective can change something so much! Thank you to those here that told me to go left, I was really stuck on the diagonal approach as I'd been spending a lot of time poring over John Gollings architectural shots at the time!

I'm really pleased with the final shot, I love the perspective and the difference of the very still older couple on the right and the dynamic movement of the young Indian couple just sitting on the left!

I dare say I'm not finished with this spot though, it has so much potential to me.

Click to expand...

I agree with you that the spot has potential. I like your final image. Thanks for sharing . I like seeing examples of others "working" a subject.