Composition is one of the most important elements of photography.

In the end, its what the viewer sees.

Today I am going to introduce some of the rules of composition.

Basic camera techniques

By changing the apertureyou can control Depth of

Field.

Shallow Depth of Fieldemphasizes a specific

element in a photograph.

Deep Depth of Fieldshows the entire scene

and creates a sense ofdistance.

What do you want your picture to showcase?

Control Shutter Speed to capture action

Photos of kids and animals often need a fast shutter speed

Control shutter speed to blur action

Just make sure your shutter speed isn't too slow

Wide-Angle Lenses creatively distort your image.This is not ideal in portraits of people.

Shoot eye level. No matter who/what your subject is.If your subject is on the ground, you should be too.

Worm's eye vs Bird's eye

Telephoto / Zoom Lenses show compression and a narrow field of view.

Always 3Use your different lenses to your advantage. Whenphotographing your subject, remember the three basicshots to fully capture the scene .

1. Wide shot: Sets the scene. Captures multipleelements of the subject matter. Use your widest lenssetting.

2. Medium Shot: Takes you there. Use your mediumfocal length setting or the standard 50mm.

3. Close-Up: Shows a specific detail of the subject. Useyour telephoto setting to zoom in or use a macro lens ordiopters to get really close.

Wide: Sets the Scene

Medium: Takes you there

Close-up: Shows the details

Try Vertical andHorizontal shots of

the same scene.

Just turning yourcamera can create acompletely different

image.

What is important in the scene? Does a vertical orientation include more important elements?

Local Food Guide / coversare always a vertical shot.

Rule of Thirds

The “rule of thirds” is one of the most basic compositional toolsin photography.

The diagram above illustrates how you can visually divide aframe into horizontal and vertical thirds. Compose your subjectalong one of the thirds for compositional balance.

The circles in the diagram show “sweet spots.” Compose animportant element or point of interest where the lines intersect.

right thirds with apples in the sweet spot

bottom thirds, pumpkin in the sweet spot

Bottom, right and left thirds, barn in sweet spots

Leading Room

negative leading room vs positive leading room

Leading room gives the viewer the impression ofwhere the subject is looking or going to next.

Compose your subject facing the empty space withinthe frame to create balance within the photograph.

Experiment with horizonplacement.

By placing the horizon inthe bottom thirds of theframe, the viewerconcentrates on the sky.

This technique works bestwith a well-exposed sky orwhen you need to simplifya cluttered foreground.

By placing the horizon in thetop thirds of the frame, theviewer concentrates on theforeground.

This technique is effective touse when the sky is plain andlacks detail.

What element of the photoshould be dominant in thecomposition?

Leading Lines “lead” the viewer into the photo.

Compose your shot using available lines and shapes.

Fill the frame with your subject matter. Compose the frame by using available patterns. textures and repetitive elements.

Every corner matters.

Make sure you pay attention to the background.No ifs, ands or.....

Frame your photograph with existing lines and shapes. Eliminate negative space and give the viewer a sense of completion.

Busy background?

Declutter

Use odd numbers when composing your scene. Create balance in your photographs.

Use people or available objects to show scale. It breaks up the shot and gives the image a point of focus.

Get close

Time of day has a hugeeffect on the quality,saturation and amountof light in your image.

Always be conscious ofshadows, use them toyour advantage.

Create different moodsof the same scene byphotographing thesubject at differenttimes of the day.

Overcast light diffuses shadows and evens out how harsh the light is in on the subject .

Overcast light is ideal for portraits.

And when you can, shoot in the golden hour. Everyone and everything looks great in golden, warm light.

Thanks!!