eliminate & simplify - the first steps in photography composition
These two images were taken from more or less the same spot.
All that changed was my vantage point, and my choice of lens.
This vibrant park in Manhattan seemed like an interesting place to photograph, but when photographing a couple, I really want the accent to be on them. The best way to do this is to frame them so that the background is as simple as possible, but still complements the final photograph. I had the couple sit on top of this grassy mound, and I lay down on the grass, and framed them tightly Read more inside...
photographic composition - finding and framing your best shot
Strolling through Green Park in London, I saw these rows of winter-barren trees. The way the snow clung to the trees and branches from the morning's snow storm, white against dark brown, gave a posterized effect already - the crazy patterns of the branches starkly etched against the white snow.
I took several photographs, finally liking this photo above the most of all. Aside from resizing, it is straight out of camera ... my iPhone 4. And therein was a lesson for me that I mulled over the rest of the day, while further Read more inside...
composition: finding the perfect background for photographs
Photographers and clients alike regularly comment on this photograph in my portfolio, and the question invariably asked is whether this is a Photoshop effect. Far from it - this image is straight out of the camera ... Read more inside...
Wedding day portraits - Simplifying composition for effect
With this article I want to reinforce the idea from a few recent posts about being very specific about your composition. By simplifying the image, we have greater impact. We include only what we need to include in the frame to enhance it. Just as important, is what we exclude: Read more inside...
Portraits of the bride and bridesmaids - location and direction
One of the series of photographs that I like to "have in my pocket" are the individual photos of the bride with each bridesmaid. This is the kind of photograph you can hammer out very quickly, one after the other. The bride with a bridesmaid, hugging each other. I always make time for this. One stumbling block might be a lack of place to do this. But there is usually somewhere to do this, by isolating your subject with a long lens against an out-of-focus background.
Still at the bride's house, we had a few minutes Read more inside...
Positioning your subject - direction of light & choice of background
Taking cover from the rain under an awning during a photography workshop in New York, we ended up in this spot against a wall that was painted black. However, looking along the wall at an angle, the black paint of the wall reflected the light from behind. This completely changed the character of the background. Since the available light was low level, and not flattering, we added some light from an off-camera flash in a softbox.
Shooting nearly completely in line with the flash, the light on Catherine was Read more inside...
While unloading lighting gear from the van to shoot a last few images for a certain section for my next book, I turned around and noticed the way the light fell on Anelisa. Beautiful portrait light. The (cropped) pull-back shot will show why .. Read more inside...
Photography composition - Look at your background!
The impact in this photo of our model, Jessica, relies equally on her looks and pose, the lighting, and the background. The background was very specifically chosen by how *I* positioned myself in relation to my subject. The background was out of focus neon lights in Times Square. I composed the photo very tightly with a 70-200mm lens, set to 200mm. By compressing the perspective with that tight focal length, I can select exactly what I want to include in the image. And that's the key here to the composition - deciding what to Read more inside...
dynamic composition - changing your viewpoint (model - Carrie)
Near the end of the recent photo session with Carrie, I walked across the street to find another angle. Walking back, I noticed the sun just dipping behind the roof of this old train station. I thought it might flare interestingly if I caught the sun just on the edge there.
The problem was that I had to step into the street a few times when there was a lull in the traffic. The angle was a tough one since I had to, or rather, wanted to keep my camera at ground level to shoot up. I wanted the flare, and I wanted this Read more inside...
In composing a photograph, what you exclude from the frame, is as important as what you include. With this portrait of Anelisa, I noticed that at this angle, the light reflecting off the black-painted wall created a warm glow of light behind her. With the receding lines of the bricks, I immediately composed the photo to exclude everything but our model and the specific background. A very specific background. Looking at the edges of the camera's viewfinder, I eliminated everything that could distract or didn't add to Read more inside...
