Good composition when capturing a digital photo is a little like good art. Even when people aren't consciously aware of all the components that go into great compositions, they still know what they like. That's because the very essence of composition is to arrange subject matter in a way that is both pleasing and which communicates the message the photographer is trying to get across. Framing and lighting are two elements of composing an image that can dramatically improve the quality of your images.
Framing images
Most kinds of photography benefit from building a visual frame around your subject, but architectural photos benefit more than most. If possible, frame your main subject by using doorways, windows, arches, the space between buildings, or the enveloping branches of trees as a pseudo border. Usually, these frames are in the foreground, which creates a feeling of depth, but if you're creative, you can find ways to use background objects to frame a composition.
When you're ready to shoot, keep some of these framing tips in mind:
- Use curves, lines, and shapes to guide the viewer's eye, as shown in Figure 1. In this case, the lines draw the eye to the center rock formation. Fences, gracefully curving seashores, meandering roads, railroad tracks, and receding tree lines all can lead the viewer through your carefully crafted composition.
Figure 1: Lines and shapes can guide your viewer through your photograph.
- Try to balance your compositions. Place interesting subject matter on both sides of the frame. If you pose a person on one side of the frame, include a building or some foliage on the other side to create a balanced look.
- Avoid splitting your photo in half with the horizon. Place the horizon one-third down from the top if you want to emphasize the foreground, or one-third up from the bottom if the background and sky are your most favored subjects.
- You don't have to compose landscapes in landscape mode. Try shooting some verticals. If you incorporate strong vertical lines, such as trees off to one side of the shot, your landscape photo can be naturally converted to a vertical orientation.
Using lighting techniques
You can make lots of improvements to a challenging subject simply by using good lighting techniques. Your uncle's bald head, a teenager's less-than-perfect complexion, a harshly lit beach scene, a drop of falling water - you can portray all these attractively with effective lighting techniques. In your uncle's case, throwing the top of his head in shadow and avoiding shiny lights can minimize glare. The teenager might benefit from diffuse lighting that softens the texture of his or her face. You can fix up that glaring direct sunlight on the beach by using a reflector to bounce light into the shadows. And you can freeze a drop of water in midair with a halo of light added by an electronic flash.
To use light effectively and take your photography to the next level, here are some tricks you'll want to master:
- Managing the quality of light: Light can be highly directional or soft and diffuse. It can cast sharp shadows and dot your subjects with specular highlights. Light comes in different colors, too. Figure 2 shows the kind of effect you can get with diffuse light.
Figure 2: Use diffuse light to soften an image.
- Using multiple lights: Photographers create some of the best pictures by using two, three, four, or more lights. One source can be used to illuminate the main part of your subject, and others can outline its edges, fill in the shadows, or call attention to a particular area. Some lighting arrangements are used often enough that they have their own names: broad lighting, rim lighting, Paramount lighting, and so forth.
- Making best use of a light source's duration: Generally, electronic flash units are the main noncontinuous light source photographers put to work. Using the duration of the flash creatively requires practice and experience. Some techniques are simple. For example, you can use your flash's brief duration (particularly when shooting up close) to freeze even the fastest action. More complex is the use of repeating flashes to trace movement, or balancing flash output with ambient light to create combination exposures.
- Subtracting light: Sometimes, you don't want to add light to a scene as much as you want to remove it, to create a particular lighting effect or look. Barndoors are little flaps that look like a horse's blinders, and fit over an electronic flash or other light source to block the light or feather it onto a subject. Opaque sheets can block light coming from a particular direction, functioning as a sort of reverse reflector. Gadgets that stage lighting directors call cookies or gobos can change the size and shape of a beam of light. With lighting effects, sometimes less is more.
