We’ll begin the series by discussing the concept of composition.

I believe that the first part about understanding any concept is to define the word or words used to describe that concept. As defined by dictionary.com a composition is:

• the act of combining parts or elements to form a whole.
• the resulting state or product.

This definition shows why we will be starting with composition; because the composition is the image we are creating. We are not taking pictures, we are creating compositions. From the definition we can gather that if we are to create a good composition, or even just a composition by definition, the parts or elements of our photograph must come together to form a whole. If our composition is dis-jointed then is it a composition at all?

So with this understanding we can move into discussion on the techniques for creating compositions. Then in future articles we will go into the elements of design followed by the principles of design; we will then wrap up by coming full circle and seeing how those elements and principles effect our techniques and begin to form the whole in order to produce a good composition.

Alright, no more delays lets jump into the techniques!

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is all about dividing up your space aesthetically. The principle here is that if you divide what you are looking at into thirds vertically and horizontally you will come out with what I call the power grid (I may have heard that somewhere, but I like the name, something about the word power). The benefit of the power grid is that it helps you to place your subject within your overall composition. With your grid in place you will have 4 major points, one could call these power points, in which you want you subject to be on at least one of these points within your composition. This technique helps to eliminate the ‘stale still’, where the subject is perfectly centered and there is no life to the composition.

Lets consider this image:

We’ll divide the image into our power grid where we end up with 9 square areas of focus.

with 4 power points.

You’ll see that the main subject of the image is mostly focused in the top middle square and a major portion of the subject is on or around the top-right power point. This creates a much more dynamic image where the viewers eye is allowed to initially roam the image and is brought up through the image to the focus point.

Perspective

Sometimes in life to make things more interesting or to understand something better we need to see things in a different light, or change our perspective just a bit. The same is true for photography, and thus we move into our second compositional technique; while you are shooting a subject don’t be afraid to move around, change your perspective. Images become boring when they are shot static, from eye level. Try, crawling around on the ground, finding something tall to stand on, or step a few feet closer to you subject so you fill the frame a little more.

To attempt to illustrate the point I’ve set up a small still life in my home.  The first image here is just a basic eye level straight on shot of the still life. My shutter is closed down a bit to give me more depth and keep everything on the table in focus. This image is alright by itself but lets see if we can’t improve them a bit by changing our perspective.

Here’s the same image but shot from the right.

The change makes the image a little bit more dramatic, and gives it a bit more depth. And here’s one more image from from the top looking down.

With this image we get to see an element that was concealed by the other perspectives, the glass in the background adds even more depth to the receding lines of the books.

Let us not forget to talk about depth of field as it pertains to this technique, depth of field is an important part of perspective; as the focus of your subject changes so will the feeling of the photograph. Lets look at how a change in the depth of field of an image can again transform our image into a more interesting piece of art.

The image has the pot in the background blurred out adding depth and interest and also bringing you back to focus on the subject of the book stack. (sorry for the blown highlights but we can talk about lighting or my lack of light control in another post.)

Though these are not dramatic examples of how perspective changes an image I think they illustrate the point that by moving the camera to different angles will give you a completely different image. You might look silly laying down on the ground crawling around or climbing up a tree; but the change in the photo will be well worth it. A change in perspective gives the viewer something that they don’t normally see, it begins to interact with the viewer. Instead of okay I’m looking at a building, the viewer is saying, wow I’ve never seen this building from this view before, that is interesting! The image begins to interact with the viewer, and this is what we want. We want to show people new perspectives, things they may not have known. Create dynamic works of art, perhaps simply by changing perspective!

Watch your Background (and surrounding area)

The final compositional technique is more a tip than a technique but it should be something that you develop into a habit that you use for taking any photograph. Namely, watch your background. Any time you are about to press down on that shutter release, quickly scan your image, start directly behind your subject then move your eye around the frame. What you are looking for is anything that could be distracting and unnecessary. You want to remove from the frame anything that will take the attention from your subject. Possibly the most common thing to watch for are poles or other objects extending out of your subjects head, but distracting elements can come in a variety of forms, just keep a sharp eye out for anything that does not help to communicate your message.

Break the Rules!

Or perhaps I should write it as do not be afraid to break the rules.

The beauty of art is that if you break the rules, you aren’t going to put anyone or anything in danger. This is a fun technique because it gives you the freedom to experiment, to just have fun. One of the best things with owning a digital camera is that it completely eliminates what I call the ‘fear of the film’. When we have a limited amount of something we tend to be more conservative with how we use it up. We want to save our film for that perfect moment or we stick to the safe technique. With digital there is no limit to the number of pictures we can take.

When you understand the rules, you can successfully break them. Remember though, these elements and principles have been developed for a reason and used for hundreds of years, so your best bet is to utilize them to your advantage. Break the rules to experiment, find out what works for you and use the rules to your advantage to create fantastic works of art!

This post is a bit long but I think it covers an important topic of art that will benefit you as a photographer, at least that’s my hope. These are the overall techniques for creating your composition. In conjunction with these techniques there are a number of elements and principles that you should keep in mind. We will be discussing these in more detail throughout this series of articles. The following principles and elements are what we will be discussing:

Design Elements:

• Line
• Shape
• Size
• Texture
• Color
• Value
  

Design Principles:

• Balance
• Repetition
  
• Contrast
• Unity
• Proportion
• Emphasis
• Proximity
  

Share in the comments: Are there any other composition techniques that you use while shooting?

Ask yourself these questions:

What do I want to be able to do with my camera?

Find photos that you really appreciate and ask yourself, how did they get that shot? If I were to recreate this shot what would I need, how would I do it? If possible speak with the photographer.

Do I want to be able to shoot things far away?

Do I want to capture a large amount of a scene?

Do I want to shoot things that are really small?

What will the majority of my shooting situations look like? Will it be low light, fast moving subjects, or perhaps studio portraits?

Through the answer to these and similar questions you will find the answer to what lens will make a perfect companion to your photographic expeditions. Lets look at some lenses and see how the different types can relate to the different answers we get from these questions.

The Macro

Macro lenses are specialty lenses aimed at people who desire to shoot the very small. With a very shallow depth of field they can sometimes be difficult to get the hang of at first but with some practice and creativity you can produce some very impressive photographs. If you are looking to get up close and personal with the small of this world than this is the lens for you. Even within the category of macro there are a myriad of choices, you will again need to think about what you will be shooting. For instance if your subject is a stationary object then a shorter lens such as the Canon EF 50mm may work great for you, but as some of the reviews say and a factor of the shorter zoom living moving subjects could be scared off since you must get closer in to photograph them. In these cases one of the telephoto macro combination lenses may be an appropriate investment.

70-300mm Telephoto/Macro Lens

In fact in my opinion, apart from perhaps a prime lens (which we will get to later), a macro/telephoto combination lens can be one of the best initial lens investments for a beginner photographer. I say this for multiple reasons, first it allows the photographer to experiment with a couple different types of photography, helping them to shoot the very far, and also the very small. Second, these lens combination’s are often cheaper to purchase, allowing the beginner photographer on a budget to get involved in something different.

The Telephoto

800mm Canon Super Telephoto

The telephoto lens is the ultimate zoom. We discussed how the telephoto, within the cheaper models, often gets combined with a macro function. These titans of zoom more often, especially when talking professional model lenses, are single function zooms allowing you to capture the very far. Telephoto lenses come in a variety of zoom distances, from the popular 70-300mm model to the super telephoto 800mm. These super telephoto dedicated zoom lenses are most often used by professional sports and nature photographers. Remember when looking at purchasing a telephoto, well really any lens, always consider the f/stop as this will effect the use of the lens under certain light situations and you should take into account your shooting habits.

Finally a quick note for those looking to photograph other solar systems perhaps consider the Opteka 650-2600mm. As the one reviewer on amazon points out, this lens is more a just for fun (and really only if you’re looking to blow a few hundred dollars) as from what the reviewer states the lens produces grainy images, but not much more should be expected from a lens of this size at this price point.

The Wide-Angle

17-40mm Super Wide-Angle

The wide angle lens is another specialty lens allowing you to capture a greater amount of the scene within your photograph having a broad viewing angle. These lenses can be a lot of fun to play with and offer a lot of creative opportunity. These also let you get pictures in tight spaces where it would not normally be possible to capture the image. Wide angle lenses, like every other lens type, have a variety of choices from the economic to the professional. With macro lenses you will often get image distortion such as larger proportions or lens warping, what looks like the image bending around a spherical object. This phenomenon occurs because the lens uses spherical glass, which is increased with the shorter focal length, but the sensors in the camera are flat. This distortion is much greater within the cheaper models of the lens, but that is to be expected, when one spends five times as much for a lens it should produce better photographs.

The Prime

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

The final lens type we will talk about is the prime lens. This lens is called a prime because it sees the world, at it’s fixed 50mm focal length, as your eye sees it. The lens comes with a large aperture, ranging between a 1.8 and the super rare 1.0 f/stops, allowing for great photographs in low light situations. These lenses are also called the prime lens because many photographers will keep this lens attached to the camera since it offers a great amount of creative control and versatility.

Digital Lens Line

One other factor in lens decision I want to discuss is the digital line of lenses, canon ef-s and nikkor af-s. These lenses are specially made for the consumer digital slr market (think canon rebel xts and Nikon DX cameras). As many of you may be using these camera systems and are wondering if you should invest in these lenses, my initial response is no. The reason I do not recommend investing in these lenses is that since they are specially manufactured for cameras with smaller sensors they will not work on a camera system that includes a full frame sensor, so you are limited on your upgradability.

There is one exception where I would say to go ahead and pick up the digital lens line and that is if you are absolutely certain you will not be upgrading your camera system to a full frame sensor. The digital line does have it’s advantage for those using the smaller sensors. To be simple and brief they effectively eliminate the crop factor of the smaller lenses, which often amounts to about 1.6x. So for example if you purchase a 10mm ef-s lens your effective focal length is 16mm (10 x 1.6) giving you a fantastic wide angle lens.

To conclude, I hope this article has helped you in the decision making process or just in understanding the different types of lenses. Remember while shopping for a lens that the old adage is often true “you get what you pay for”. This is particularly true for lens. Though often you can scour the internet and come across a fantastic deal or, better yet, find that product that works great and is also at a steal of a price; but more often than not, price and quality go hand in hand. Assess your needs and your budget, than go for that lens that will help take your photography to the next level, and always remember to enjoy! Though equippment helps us to achieve better results and be more efficient, photography is about the experience of capturing a moment in time and not just the newest and best.

Check it out by clicking here.It comes with two domes one for neutral and one for warm light.

I would recommend signing up for their newsletter as well, they write great articles on some of the coolest photography gear and diy projects.

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Getting Around the Camera

So you now have an SLR camera and you have been playing around with it, but you keep asking…what are all these buttons and how do I use them to my advantage? We will talk briefly about the different features of the camera and how to use them. In further articles we will go more in depth with the features and experiment with different ways of using them to achieve some exciting results. The camera consists of many different functions that when changed will return a different result, this allows you to have extensive creative control over the end product.

Camera Modes

Not all the cameras will have the same labels but the modes are essentially the same in all models.

Auto or Green Square

Automatic Mode

The Auto Mode puts the camera into complete automatic mode, this setting lets your camera to be point and shoot mode where the camera will figure out what is needed for the picture to be exposed correctly. You compose the shot and press the shutter release. Automatic Mode is a good setting for getting a feel for the camera but don’t linger on this mode experiment. Being afraid to experiment will prevent you from moving on and developing in photography.

P

Program Mode

The Program mode is an almost automatic mode. The shutter and aperture are still figured by the camera but in this setting you have the option of choosing your own ISO setting, whether to use the flash or not, and also adjusting for white balance.

Av or S

Shutter Priority Mode

The shutter is like the blinds of the camera. It is positioned between the film or digital sensor and the lens. This piece of the camera is what in the end allows the sensor to be exposed to the light. The shutter is modified by increasing or decreasing the amount of time that the shutter, or blinds, stay open. The longer the shutter is open the more light will be allowed to expose the sensor.

Tv or A

Aperture Priority Mode

The aperture is defined and restricted by the lens type you are using; every lens will ave it’s own aperture rating. You will see this defined by a small number or range, often something like 3.5-5.6. The aperture, also called the f-stop (and just happening to be the inspiration for the name of this site), is like a diaphragm that opens and closes to a certain diameter. This diaphragm has 2 effects on the outcome of your photograph. The first is in the amount of light that is allowed to pass through the lens. The smaller the f-stop, the larger the opening in the diaphragm and thus more light that can be passed through the lens. this is the reason that you will sometimes here people refer to a lens as ‘fast glass’, the larger the opening in the diaphragm the faster the shutter can be, but we’ll get to that in another article.

The other effect that the aperture has is in it’s depth of field. You may have heard this term before, and it simply is talking about the amount, or depth, of the field of view that will be in focus for the photograph. The larger the aperture (remember that means the smaller number) the shallower the depth of field, meaning that only a little bit of the viewable area will be in focus. This includes both in front of and behind the focus point.

For an example below is an image taken with an f-stop of 3.5 and the same image taken at f/8. See the difference in the amount of the image that remains in focus.

This feature is arguable one of the most powerful creative features of the camera, allowing you to produce creative images dealing with the focus, drawing people into your image and having them concentrate on your focus point and not everything else in the picture.

The ISO

The ISO describes the speed of the film (or replicated speed when considering digital). ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. They provide a standard for films creators to comply with so that when you purchase film you will be able to achieve consistent results. Now when we say speed of the film we are talking about the amount of time it takes light to expose an image onto the film, films are rated anywhere between 50 to 1600. The lower the number the longer it takes to expose an image but often the high the quality of the image will be. The ISO can come into play with your images if you need that extra boost of speed in order to maintain your other settings, such as your aperture or shutter. The downfall of the ISO comes as the faster the film, the lower the quality. You will get a lot of grain, visible ‘dots’, on images that have an ISO rating of 1600.

These three features are the ones you will use for the majority of your shooting, they allow you to have an extensive amount of creative control in the outcome of your images.

White Balance

White balance is used to capture accurate colors in different shooting environments. Different light can cast different colors and sometimes will create a colored overlay in your image. Your camera will usually do a fairly decent job at self adjusting the white balance to get accurate colors, but if you are getting a color cast over your photos you may want to consider adjusting this setting a bit. To get the most accurate color representation, as every environment is different, you may want to carry either a white card or a folded up piece of white paper. You then take a picture of this completely white element in your environment and your camera is now set to take accurate photos.

Putting it all together

So how do you know when to change one setting and keep another? Or when do you increase or decrease the ISO? These questions can’t really be given a definite answer as it often depends on the situation and what you desire for the outcome of the picture. For me the ISO is the last thing I change as it has a direct impact upon the quality of the final image. I try to keep my ISO relatively low for all my images (200-400) and only jump it in situations where I need the extra boost to correctly expose an image. Also when making decisions with these settings you need to consider the desired outcome. Does slightly underexposing the image create a more favorable presentation (often done with sunsets) or perhaps you are willing to sacrifice a little bit of the depth of field in order to get a more favorable exposure.

In summery, there is a lot to consider, but don’t let it frighten you. Play around with the features and see what you can come up with!

Consideration 1: Level of Involvement

Consider how involved with photography you want to be, do aspire to eventually make photography your profession or do you just want to learn the basics in order to improve your shots and introduce a bit more creativity into your pictures? This consideration will ultimately dictate how much you are willing to spend and perhaps even the type (digital or film) of camera you want to purchase. If you are looking at just learning the basics, or if you are looking to save some money you will want to pick up cheap film slr. If you just want to pick up one camera that you’re going to stick with for a while then perhaps you want to look at beginning digital slr like the Canon Digital Rebel.

Consideration 2: Lens’

Do you have any old lens’ laying around? perhaps you have a relative or friend with a 35mm slr? If you know of someone or somewhere where you can get a hold of a lens, you will want to consider this in your decision for your first SLR. You don’t want to buy a Nikon and end up finding out cousin john has tons of canon lens’ that he would be willing to let you experiment with. Remember one of the great advantages to the SLR camera system is it’s interchangeable lens and trust me these are not cheap, so if you have others around you willing to let you borrow, you may want to consider matching camera brands with them.

Consideration 3: Digital or Film

This can be a sticky issue for a first time SLR buyer. With the boom of digital photography it is now possible to get a relatively cheap digital SLR. For the same reason film SLR cameras are also much cheaper. You will want to think about this as you are making your purchase. Perhaps consider again your level of involvement that you intend to get into with photography; then decide whether the extra couple hundred is worth it to jump into digital. If you intend to only wade in the vast sea of photography and don’t really plan on upgrading to the more professional digital cameras in the future then perhaps it would be wise to put some extra money up initially and get a camera that you will use for many years to come. But if your intention is to eventually go all out into digital and grab up one of the professional quality slr cameras, perhaps it would serve you better saving the money now and just buying the cheapest film slr to learn the basics on.

Maybe you don’t know what you intend to do down the road. You just know you are interested in photography and want to try your hand as something a little more advanced. I would recommend just getting the most basic equipment you can and experiment away. You can worry about upgrades later.

No matter your decision at this point, the main thing is to get your hands on an SLR of some type. The basics are the same for all cameras, so whatever brand you pick up you will be well prepared for shooting.

Some places to grab up cheap SLR systems:

Adorama:

Used Canon

Used Nikons

Ebay:

SLR Cameras

Point and Shoot

The point and shoot camera is the most popular choice among consumers. The quality of pictures taken with this camera has been continually improving as manufacturers are able to squeeze more and more megapixels out of smaller and smaller sensors. This type of camera is definitely a nice camera for the person on the go, as it is often very compact. Many of the cameras also come with the ability to set the camera into manual mode and make some minor adjustments in order to offer extra creative control. Because of their compact size, these cameras come with some restrictions as far as what they can do. Point and shoots come with a fixed lens which have very limited optical zoom capabilities. The lens size is a major restriction with these cameras as many creative features that high end cameras offer get their abilities from their lens.

Benefits:

• Super light and compact
• Cost effective
• High Resolution

Drawbacks:

• Fixed Lens
• Small Feature Set
• Lack of Creative Control

If you are looking for a camera you can throw in your pocket for snapshots of your friends and family and only plan to make 4×6 or the occasional 8×10 print than this camera could be for you. Don’t get caught up in the megapixel war though, look for a point and shoot that suits your needs, considering size and then find the camera that has the best optics (look for larger lens sizes on smaller bodies). A 6mp camera with a larger more capable lens will out-shoot your friends 8mp or 10mp camera with a tiny lens!

35 mm SLR

SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex, and generally means that what you see through the viewfinder is what will be composed on the film or digital sensor. This is the staple camera of the photography community. The 35mm SLR camera is used by amateur and professional photographers alike. So what makes this camera so great and versatile?  Well for starters the name hints at one of the great advantages of this camera type. The ability to compose a shot and capture what you see offers increased creative control over the camera. Other benefits of this camera system are that is is fairly compact with the ability to adapt to a variety of situations. It is able to adapt through the ability to interchange lenses. This is arguably the most beneficial aspect of the 35mm camera. By using a different camera lens you will be able to gain increased control of the final image. Some of the drawbacks of this system are cost and size. Though the cameras are more compact than the camera types we will explore a little later they are still fairly bulky, lets just say their presence is known. The other factor is cost, with a system like this where many of the greatest benefits rely on lens type, it can become costly as lens’ are fairly expensive, often more than the camera itself. If you’re not able to purchase some nicer lens’ you will lose out on some of the advantages of this system.

benefits:

• Interchangeable Lens
• Increased Creative Control
• Upgradable System

drawbacks:

• Can get Expensive
• Need Good Lenses
• More Features = More Complexity

If you are looking to purchase a 35mm for the first time take a look at Getting Started with Photography: Choosing a 35mm. I show you were you can find a fairly inexpensive 35mm film camera along with a nice lens so that you can experiment with this camera system and learn the basics.

The following camera types are largely only used by professional photographers due to either their very expensive nature, cumbersome size, or both. We’ll investigate the camera types in order to provide you with a more full understanding of the different cameras available.

Medium Format SLR

The medium format camera is used by photographers who are in need of very large prints, think billboard size photgraphy. These cameras are defined by the film size, or the size of the camera sensor in the case of digital. A medium format camera comes in many aspect ratios including 6×4.5cm, 6x6cm, 6x7cm, 6x9cm, and 6x17cm (used for panasonic images). These aspect ratios define the size of the film which is one of the major advantages to the medium format camera. The large film sizes allow for a better quality enlargement of the photograph. The 6×4.5 is arguably the most common medium format type often called or defined in the product name as a “645″.

Another advantage of the Medium format camera is the ability to rotate camera backs. This system has advantages in having the ability to change out film types mid-roll or change to digital at any point without exposing the film.

benefits:

• Interchangeable Lens
• Large Film Size
• Switchable Camera Backs

drawbacks:

• Very Expensive
• Larger size

Large Format

Large Format cameras aptly named for their very large captures. These cameras are most often used by landscape and architectural photographers and those who are needing an exceptionally large or detailed print. The 4×5 inch film size captures every detail. Perhaps one of the most famous large format users, Ansel Adams carried the giant camera to capture his outstanding landscape photgraphy. Along with the ability to use the large film sizes, large format cameras have a feature called the bellows. The bellows help the photographer compensate for perspective distortion when taking photographs of very tall objects such as building.  The problem is that when you take a photograph of something tall and you point the whole camera upwards at an angle the lines of the object have a vanishing point in the sky that all line converge to. What the bellows allow you to do is shift the lens upwards, to get the entire building in the frame, while keeping some of the elements level with the horizon capturing the image without any distortion. This is a huge advantage to architectureal photographers.

The main drawbacks of a large format system is it’s size. The camera is very large and cumbersome and is a deterrent for many photographers. The camera also takes a great amount of work and time in order to capture a photograph as every detail needs to be taken into consideration.

benefits:

• Extremely Large Film Size
• Bellows System

drawbacks:

• Very Large
• Slow Photo Process