FEBRUARY is about COMPOSITION!! By Lisa Edney
Composition - Feb 2022
Hi Everyone!
I can't believe February starts tomorrow!!
How did your January experience go? Was it easy to stay motivated and keep picking up your camera? Did you struggle with anything? What did you learn about light this month?
FEBRUARY is about COMPOSITION!!
Composition is a great topic to explore and will enhance your photography if you keep a look out for these element. Take a few moments to read through the below articles to learn more about composition.
I'm going to suggest a few options as part of our weekly prompts, but feel free to go off script and shoot any compositional elements you desire. Anyone want to try to shoot them all this month?
We can learn from each other by writing which compositional element we used in our images and how we notice compositional elements before putting camera to eye.
This is a great foundational topic that we can use for the rest of the year (along with light which is also a compositional tool). I can't wait to explore this topic with you this month.
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The 10 Element of Composition in Photography by Photography Life (This article has a 16 minute video as well)
Compositional Elements Include
Light
Lines
Shapes
Texture/Pattern
Color
Tone
Points
Distance / Depth / Depth of Field
Balance/ Symmetry
Space (Positive & Negative)
Other ideas:
Rule of Thirds by Digital Photo School
In this image, I wanted the red to pop from the darker background and so I placed the white flowers, which would draw the eye, in the upper third of the frame
Center Composition by Nikon USA
I knew I wanted this flower center stage, so I made sure to put this rare gem in the center of the frame.
Golden Triangle by Digital Photo School
When I shot the below, I knew I wanted the table lines on a diagonal and the food bowl near the golden triangle intersection.
On this shot, I knew I wanted the white portion of the flower to show near the Golden Triangle intersection and the flower stem along that center diagonal.
Golden Spiral by Reg Does Stuff (5 min video)
I find this composition the most difficult for my eye to see in the "wild" when I'm shooting... I will use the LR crop overlay tool to confirm the composition when I return home. :)
Below, I was focused on creating a leading line with the blue wall to the shoes. The contrast of the black against the vibrant blue wall and the contrasting textures of the shoes, wall and concrete captured my eye. It wasn't until I got home (with the helpful eye of April Milani) that I discovered this also fits into the golden spiral.
What compositional tools do you lean towards? Are any of the rules a challenge for you?
Happy Shooting, my friends!
