Dennis Glennon's
Five Fundamentals of Photography
More is more
Some of the most intriguing outdoor images appear as if you are looking out a window at the real world, rather than looking at a picture. One feels as if they can jump into the image rather than onto it. This feel of reality and dimension is called "depth".
A great way to achieve depth is to include a second subject in your image, one that is not too close, in proximity, to what you are intending to photograph. Capturing something (or someone) in the background or foreground of your frame (visual area) will give your photo the detail and depth that most novice images lack.
My "Blue Moo" image is an excellent example of this technique. Taking a picture of some cows produces just a picture of some cow. Add a barn and you have a scene.
Show Size. Show Something Smaller
When adding a second subject to the background or foreground of your frame,
you also achieve 'scale', which is showing size. Hobbyists tend to photograph the Grand Canyon, for instance, after the other tourists have finally strayed from the scene. After all, who wants vacation photos with strangers in them? From a personal standpoint, this is understandable, but from a photographic standpoint, it is not at all practical. When the hobbyist gets his photos back, he anticipates a scene of awe-inspiring beauty, but what he winds up with is a very uninspiring image. Why?
Without a focal point to show size (scale) you have just a picture of a hole in the ground. Who knows how big it is, and who cares? If you have to explain your photograph, it wasn't taken well. When you include a person, animal, or object of familiarity, you take a potentially boring image and turn it into a spectacle.
My Morraine Lake image illustrates this by including two canoos in the scene.
Fill the Frame
Some of the most impressive photos are impressive simply because of their simplicity! No clutter or visual 'background noise' exists in them. The area you see when looking through your camera's viewfinder is called the 'frame' and you want to fill this area with excitement and give it impact. Zoom in. Get close. Eliminate the grasses around the flower and photograph the flower only. Maybe even crop the image so tight you actually lose some of the subject's edges. Make it interesting!
When my dog Rachel was a puppy, I took a great headshot of her using this technique. Her precious face is all you need in the viewing area! Click here to have a look!
X out the middle!
A common mistake novices make is to constantly center their subjects. You look through your camera to take a picture of a boat and you place that boat right smack dab in the middle of the scene. Why??? Who ever told you that you had to do that?
The Rule of Thirds will help you to add variety, interest, and a unique perspective to your photos, making them much more interesting to the viewer. Imagine the frame (viewing area) divided into thirds; horizontally and vertically, just like a Tic-Tac-Toe board. If you use that invisible board as a placement guide, you can achieve some very pretty compositon. Using the Rule Of Thirds breaks your viewing area into thirds and gives you three ways to compose your picture.
Place your subject in one of these three positions:
1)on either one of the three horizontal lines
Where you place the horizon in your shot affects what is emphasized. To emphasize the land, use a high horizon. To emphasize the sky, use a low horizon.
2)in one of the three vertical areas
3)directly on an "intersection" where the lines meet and cross
Click here to see an image of a rowboat taken using The Rule Of Thirds.
Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy...
Keep your images from looking 'flat' by positioning yourself with the sun behind you and on one shoulder to take your picture. Lighting your subject this way brings out colors and shades, which adds detail and depth to your final image. The slight angle of 'side lighting', as the sun shines over one shoulder, casts shadows that will enhance texture and form.
Flip though a family or decorating and take a look at the recipe pages. Examine the photographs of the prepared dishes. You'll find foods are almost always photographed with the light to the side; at either the four, five, seven or eight o'clock position.
This is because doing so causes the texture of the foods to show up in wonderful detail, making the image more exciting and more realistic. If someone can make a plate of spaghetti look exciting using this technique, imagine what you can do when photographing your grandkids!
