Many times this type of photo will exhibit textures in a subtle variation of a single color as in this photograph from Jordan.

On the other side of the world down in Peru, they splash on a whole palette of bright colors.

Here are more examples of complex composition in photography.

Now that you’ve learned about simplicity and complexity as they apply to photographic composition, here is a little test for you. Would you describe the following picture as simple or complex?

In the next photo, the photographer was able to catch the birds in a different spot. Notice how the flowering tree frames the birds in front of a simpler background.

Here are more photographs demonstrating simplicity in composition.

In the following picture, the train is obviously meant to be the main focal point of the picture.

Notice how it’s more difficult to focus on the subject when competing for attention is the fence in the foreground, the loading platform on the left, and the overpass with light poles and electrical wires. To a certain degree these competing items could be cropped out to give more attention to the main subject as seen in the next image.

But whenever possible, look for ways to simplify your photos and strengthen the center of interest by selecting uncomplicated backgrounds, leaving out unrelated subjects and moving in close. Notice how the following picture is shot from a closer angle and has the uncomplicated sky as the background.

But while the brain constantly filters the extraneous information we don’t care about, something different happens when we consider art. It is then we make a more conscious judgment of the piece. Is it balanced or unbalanced? Does it have good color or bad? Does it please the senses or not? These questions are asked because we are trying to evaluate based on the rules of composition even if we don’t know what they are.

Composition is spatially arranging parts as they relate to each other and to the whole. We celebrate good composition in music, art, literature and architecture. The same is true of photography which explains why some pictures are more appealing than others.

The rules of composition are not cast in stone. In fact, it’s better to refer to them as guidelines rather than rules. The composition guidelines have evolved over time and originate from different people, places, artistic impression and ideas. You don’t have to follow these guidelines but knowing them will help you understand how great photographers are able to capture winning pictures. Maybe your next photograph will be in that category.

Next: Simplicity versus Complexity

While pondering this, I came up with the following broad photographer types. See if any of these descriptions fit you.

Type 1 – The Cell Phone Photographer
I’m not sure this even deserves a category. You’ve all seen them whipping out their camera phone on a whim having no idea just how lousy the picture will turn out when viewed on anything larger than a 2-inch screen. Even though poorly lit and out of focus, they email the newborn baby pic to everyone, who can now view it on a computer monitor, and it’s still difficult to tell whether it’s a boy or a girl.

Type 2 – The Casual Photographer
Loves her point and click camera. Her goal is getting everyone centered in the shot without chopping off any heads. She doesn’t worry about the lighting because the auto-flash takes care of that. She has no idea what composition means so to her a great shot is a fluke.

Type 3 – The Amateur Photographer
Doesn’t mind spending a little more money on equipment and has experimented with different camera settings to understand how they work. She pays more attention to her surroundings while taking pictures and many of her shots turn out as expected. She may not know the rules of composition but she still has an eye for making a photo more interesting.

Type 4 -The Professional Photographer
Spends more on a single lens than the amateur paid for all her equipment combined. He has the right equipment for any condition whether he’s shooting in studio or on location. In addition to having the right equipment, he chooses interesting and unusual locations to make his photos unique. Although most of his shots turn out as expected, he continually critiques his own work to improve the composition of his photos.

What type of photographer are you? Did you notice that only the professional photographer thinks about the rules of composition before taking the shot?

Getting proficient at taking great photographs takes more than just learning how your camera works. While it’s possible to get great pictures without knowing the rules of composition, how are you going to know if following them, or not, will lead to becoming a great photographer.

Some people will scoff at following the rules as something only art critics are concerned with. Ansel Adams seemed to agree when he said “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”

We will forgive the Type 1 and Type 2 photographers if they don’t care how their photographs turn out. But if raising your skill level beyond that of the casual photographer is what you seek, then you must do more than just upgrade your camera equipment. You must learn something about the rules of composition.

We will talk more in depth about these rules in coming posts.

This in spite of the fact that my first encounter with something blowing up that I can remember actually scared the living daylights out of me.

I couldn’t have been much older than five. My older brother came back into the house after emptying the trash into the cans behind our garage. He remarked that the transformer atop the telephone pole in the corner of our back yard was making a gurgling noise. We all stepped out into the summer night to gaze up at the metallic beast wondering what was going on.

Then it blew.

KABLAM!! Like a mortar shell had just landed twenty feet away from us. The biggest fireworks display in the whole neighborhood – EVER! Every house on the block went dark! Mom spent the next hour trying to pry me out of her lap after getting me to calm down. Maybe that’s why I’ve always been so jumpy ever since.

The July 4th holiday brings to mind many fond childhood recollections. For many years, my family went to the local town square for a flag raising ceremony followed by a pancake breakfast. Were we more patriotic back then or is that just my memory playing with me?

I dunno, but one thing I’m pretty sure about. What is it about fireworks that the older you get, the smaller and less impressive they seem to be? I’m talking about the kind you buy at the local stand and light yourself. Is it just me or are they really getting chintzier as time goes by.

Anyway, it’s always good to get a few pictures of the day’s festivities with family and friends. If you’ve always wanted to photograph the big fireworks show but weren’t sure if you could do it right, check out this article on how to photograph fireworks displays.

Here are a couple of my favorites from the galleries of those who were able to capture great images of their local show.

Stay safe out there and remember to take a moment to remember the sacrifice of those who fought to give us our independence.

Having skipped Windows Vista entirely wasn’t surprising to anyone who knows me well. But after talking with so many who have gone on to the latest operating system, most of them urging me on, I finally decided to make the jump.

Microsoft has a funny way of getting you coming or going when it comes to pricing their flagship software. That’s a nice way of saying that they are going to get their pound of flesh including my right arm, a few more vital body parts and maybe even my first born child.

First you have to decide which version of Windows you want: Home Basic, Home Premium, Pro, Ultimate, Infinity and Beyond. Whoops, sorry. That last version probably slipped in because of a recent visit from the grandkids.

Anyway, after comparing the differences, I decide to go pro. But that’s not all. I still have to decide which type of license to buy. I can get an upgrade license for $180 or the full version for $280. The upgrade license requires that you have a registered XP license already on the computer while the full version does not.

But there is still a third option. I can get an OEM license.

What’s an OEM license? That’s what Original Equipment Manufacturers pay to pre-load Windows on a computer that is bought complete. I can order an OEM license for only $120 but there’s a catch. If my motherboard should ever fail, I would not be able to reuse the license on a new motherboard.

The folks in Redmond figure that giving you permission to reuse your Windows 7 license whenever you feel the need to upgrade your other computer components should cost you double the upgrade license and triple the OEM license.

No wonder Bill Gates has a bizillion dollars in the bank.

Well, if I’m going to save money on an OEM license, I should at least order me some new OE to go with it, right? I’ve built plenty of computers over the past twenty years so building another should be easy. That is … after I decide what new type of hardware to get.

I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment.

Why not email her something that is a little more personalized?

Here’s an idea to save your bacon. Take a cute photo from your childhood that evokes a fond memory and add a funny cartoon dialog to it. Here are instructions on how to do this using Photoshop Elements but you can use just about any image editing software if you want.

First thing you want to do after finding and opening your photo image is click File => Duplicate so the original is preserved. Now close the original file and use the copy to create your eCard.

Next, Alt+Ctrl+I to resize the image so it’s easy to view on a computer screen. I picked 700 pixels for my width. Double-click on the Zoom tool to view your document at 100% (actual pixels).

Add the Cartoon Bubble

In the Layers palette, click the New Layer button. Go to the Content palette and double click a cartoon talk bubble shape to add to the new layer. If you don’t see the Content palette, go to Window on the top navigation bar and click Content to make it show.

With the cartoon talk bubble now in the new layer, click and drag a corner handle to size it to your photo. If the tail of the cartoon bubble faces the wrong way, click and drag one of the side handles till the image flips horizontally. Use the Move Tool (press the V key or hold down the Ctrl key) to drag the bubble into the correct position.

Let’s add a stroke to the cartoon bubble. Make sure your layer with the cartoon bubble is still selected. Then in the Effects palette, click the Layer Styles button and double-click the thumbnail you want to apply to the shape. I used the Black Stroke at 2px.

Add the Text for the Cartoon Bubble

In the Layers palette, click the New Layer button . Press T to select the Text Tool. I used the Digital Strip font available from our Fonts Download page. Add in your selected text. Use the text alignment drop down to center the block of text. Then hold down the CTRL key while you click and drag the text to align within the cartoon bubble.

Finally, go to File => Save For Web and choose JPEG as the file type. This saves the image in a compact file size, good for emailing or posting on your Facebook page.

Your mother will really appreciate the personalized greeting and your procrastination ends up saving you a few bucks.

Happy Mother’s Day!