B y B rian Austad

Interpreting Light’s Stories

Have Some Composure... Where is Your Posture?
Photoshop can make your ‘if only’ photos into great photos, but why waste hours fixing an image
after-the-fact. This article is all about saving time by helping you start with better photos. Last
issue we discussed exposure, this time we’ll tackle composure or more specifically, composition.

A
ll the work doesn’t have to be done in Photo- photographic means (developing, substrate, media,
shop. Both the “art” and “craft” of the pho- etc.) to re-arrange reality and compose a photograph.
tographic profession must rely on what we can If taking a photograph meant nothing more than
first accomplish in the camera. Photoshop is for polish- depicting reality, then there would be no need for the
ing, not fixing the results. arrangement of element and ‘composition’ would be
meaningless.
F irst things first
Before we jump into the guts of composing lets go R ule of Thir ds
over a few questions you should be asking yourself A common mistake most people make is trying to
before pulling the trigger. center the their subjects, but this just leads to a bord-
First, what is your subject? In the photo below the ing compositions. By shifting your subject out from the
subject is not my lovely center you can make a big different in the reactions of
wife, or her wonderful your viewers. Here’s how you do it: Imagine you draw
dog, but the relationship lines over your photo dividing your photo into 9 equal
they share. parts to form something that resembles a Tic-Tac-Toe
Second, How can you board. By aligning your focal point or another impor-
emphasize your subject? tant element on one of these lines or their intersections
In this example I got in you can create more tension, energy, and interest in the
close enough so my sub- photo than simply centering your image.
ject filled the frame.
And lastly, How can
you simplify the photo? I
accomplished this in two
ways. By moving in close
to my subject distracting
elements in the park such as flower beds and bushes are
out of the frame. I also used a telephoto lens with a
wide aperture to change the depth-of-field so the trees
in the background are out of focus.
Ask yourself these three questions before you shoot
and you will give youself the ability to make educated
decisions about the composition of your photography.
photoshop addict october 2007

Wh at is composition ?
C ompositional F r aming
Using a foreground element to create a frame within
Every time you hit the shutter button you change re-
the photo’s frame is an effective compositional tool.
ality into a compositional photograph. What does that
The framing element not only isolates and emphasizes
mean? It means that you’re not just ‘depicting reality’,
a subject, but also gives the picture a feeling of
but that you are choosing the way you arrange the ele-
depth.
ments of this reality. That’s composition! You have to
decide what to show in the frame, what viewpoint to It can serve to obscure distraction or to create an
shoot from, exposure, optics and zoom, and other non- interesting foreground where none exist. When done

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 Interpreting Light’s Stories

correctly the frame will seem so natural that the viewer

is not always conscious of its presence. Framing works
best when it is somehow related to the subject.
The image of the scenic ocean off of Antigua (top)
uses the forground to frame the vista. If this shot was
taken closer to the edge of the cliff it would have left
me with too much negative space or maybe some dis-
tracting elements that are down at the shore line.
The waterfall image to the right uses the rocks
surrounding the water to focus the viewer’s attention
on the beautiful waterfall and swimming hole here in
paradise. Using the rocks seems very natural and prob-
ably will go unnoticed by most viewers.
Choosing a frame related to the image adds more
to the story told by your image. Without the netting
framing these norwegian school children playing soccer
(right), the viewer wouldn’t immediately know what
the subject of the photo is. The net also allowed me
to emphasize the subject while still being able to cap-
ture the full scene.

C ropping

“
Thoughtful cropping can make the different be-
tween a mediocre image and a better one. Cropping
can be used to emphasize your subject and give it more
importance by removing distracting elements from

Photoshop is
your image. If you forgot to use the Rule of Thirds
when you shot your image, crop to re-compose your
image to be a bit more remarkable. You can even

for polishing,
change the photo’s orientation (ex: landscape to por-
trait).
www.photoshopaddict.com

Be sure never to crop your subject at one of their

not fixing the

joints. This will make the viewer’s eye stop at the edge
of the frame rather then follow the perceived contin-
uance of the subject’s lines past the frame of the

results.
photo.
Be sure not to crop too tightly either. Always leave
a little (breathing) room on the edge that the subject

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 is facing so the subject doesn’t create the feeling of
being too cramped.
One reason you shouldn’t crop out the distracting
background would be if it adds to the story being told
by the image as it does with the children playing soccer
(previous page). Rule of Thirds, lighting, perceived
lines, and contrast are some of the ways that you can
keep focus on your subject while including a distracting
background.

Patter ns / R epeating E lements

Look for lines, shapes, and colors that repeat in an
orderly way create patterns and form unity, structure,
and texture to your image. These patterns can be used
to excite the eyes and move them all around, or if they
create a perceived line they can lead the viewer’s eye
directly towards your focal point.
A ngle or Viewpoint
Everyone including your mother takes photos at eye-
level and directly at their subject. Each day every day
people look at the world at eye-level, so this can become
boring quickly. To add more WOW factor to your images
you should take photos from any angle other then eye-
level. Get down low to the ground or climb up high and
look down.
I saw a cool looking bronze statue in Norway of a
man rowing a kayak (above), but there was a lot of dis-
tracting elements in the background (buildings, roads,
light poles, trees, etc.). By getting down low to the
ground and using a nearby flower bed I created the look
of the man rowing across a sea of flowers. Compare the
two images above, one of them has more WOW!

Twilight & Night

Composition can be more then just tanglable elements and
perceived lines. Composition can also be displayed by creating a
feeling or a mood. One way to accomplish this is by shooting
during sunrise or sunset, or even when the sun is gone.
Often referred as the golden hours, sunrise or sunset give the
photographer a softer light than the harsh mid-day sun. Shad-
ows grow longer and their edges soften. All the nooks-and-cran-
nies of surfaces reveal themselves to provide added texture to
your image.
In the dark of night the heavens glisten and the man-made
lights shine. Ambiance sets in and what was previously
visible are now voids.
photoshop addict october 2007

Although it is important to try

and be correct on the technical side
of taken a photography, it is also
just as important to remember that
photography is visual commication.
It’s a great way to tell a story.

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 Interpreting Light’s Stories

Even the slightest change in to your prospective can

add interest. Find a different viewpoint by walking
around, moving closer, or farther away. Don’t just take
the first shot you see. By walking around the statue
(opposite page) I was able to change prospective, add
interest, and remove the distracting background. To-
tally worth the extra couple of minutes.

D iagona l L ines
The last tip of this article is to arrange the elements
in a diagonal line across the image from one corner to
the opposite corner. Here’s why:
• A diagonal line from the upper left to the lower
right corner of the photo give the sense of order
to the image.
• A diagonal line from the lower left to the upper
right corner is more dynamic, powerful, and adds
movement.
This method tends to be successful because of the
standard pattern of eye-movement. It’s normal for us
to start at the top left corner and move diagonal across
the image. Elements arranged this way are easy to per-
ceive. By introducing deviations from this natural rou-
tine you can evoke new reactions in the viewer.
In the photograph of the barn (above left) the fence
creates a diagonal from the upper left to the lower
right (comforting), but in the photograph of the Luxor
Sphinx (above right) the diagonal is from the bottom
left to upper right (dynamic).
C onclusion
Developing a compositional eye for photography
takes practice and it doesn’t happen overnight (or with
one roll of fil... umm... memory card). Don’t rush. Take
your time, think about what you want to shoot and go
out and capture the world in your own personal style.
Pretty soon you’ll realize that you interpret light’s sto-
ries very differently then you use to.

www.photoshopaddict.com

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