Vacation Photography

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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

You’ll get more out of travel if you take a camera along. Good scenic or vacation photographs are about what you see and how you see it. You can be surprised at the results.

Shooting What You See

Sometimes you might have taken a photo that looked good in real life but didn’t look so great on the computer. One reason for this could be the type of lens you used. The human eye sees in a field of vision 40 degrees wide. You can test this out by viewing a general scene like a skyline. Make an inventory of what can you see of the scene if you don’t move your eyes. Examine the scene now as it appears through the viewfinder. Notice how some scenic elements are excluded now, or some are now perhaps included. You can use the zoom function to frame the image the way you see it unaided. You can work this out by trial and error until you know what zoom setting will give you exactly what you see with your eye.

Composition

Composition is the art of ‘framing’ the photograph or arranging the elements so that it draws the viewer’s eye to what you want seen or noticed. Here are some basic rules of composition:

1. The Eye Scans Diagonally

The eye usually scans automatically from bottom right of a picture diagonally across to the top left. Get an idea of how this works by flipping any picture on the horizontal plane using the image flip function in your photo editing software. Flipping changes the weight of some of the elements in the picture, some gain more weight, some almost disappear. This is a useful rule and can be used, for instance, in portrait photography.

Pose your subject with his body turned 45 degrees to his left. Suggest that your subject loosely close his hands and put them on his thighs. Now tell him to turn towards the camera. This is a medium-length pose. Examine the scene using the viewfinder. The hands usually attract your attention, but then direct the eye up to the person’s face. Take the shot, then use your photo-editing software to flip it horizontally. Which looks best and is most communicative?

Here’s an exercise you can do: look over a photography website or through a book to see the rule in action. Many artists use this principle by positioning or framing so an object or color points the way to the central element of the picture. This rule can also be broken to produce a jarring effect.

2. Frame the Photograph

The edges of a photograph are like the fence around a house. The space thereby gains definition. Have one of your pictures framed and you’ll see how this works. Everything in the picture becomes more ‘defined’. You can use this in composition by deliberately placing your subject between trees, standing in a doorway, or at the side of a building. A contrasting effect can be achieved by choosing a neutral background like a seascape. The eye is drawn to the subject without distraction by any other elements.

Add to the mood and feel of your final image by framing to include background elements. Sometimes the background can be cluttered, or includes strong shapes that overwhelm the subject. If possible, avoid these. However, generally speaking, by including enough of the background you can contribute to the telling of the visual story. Frame your picture so it answers most if not all of these questions
Where is this?
What is the identity of the subject?
Why are they in that location or scene?
What are the subjects doing?

The Rule of Thirds

This rule divides the image into thirds horizontally and/or vertically. The subject should be in the central zone. Alternatively, arranged to occupy the points where the grids intersect. This is usually applied in landscapes by placing the sky in the top third and the subject in the central area. The subject is supported by the lower third or foreground.

Portrait photography means that usually the subject is framed vertically. Picture the image divided by three horizontal lines; the face should be where the two upper lines meet. Doing this allows space over the head and provides a more pleasing effect. And this is a more balanced composition with the space either side of the subject.

Try extreme close-ups to create a feeling of intensity and intimacy.

With photography the more you shoot the better you get. Take lots of photos and analyze the ones you like – and the ones you don’t like. Expect to learn the basics of this rewarding hobby quite quickly.

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