Composition

If you read my previous post you will know I have started working my way through the book Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs by Henry Carroll. The first chapter of the book is all about composition and how you frame the photo.

From reading the chapter I picked up on a couple of important points:

• composition is the foundation to your image
• lines give structure and guide attention
• Landscape = eyes side to side
• Portrait = eyes up and down
• Harmony and Balance

The main thing to remember about composition is; its a guideline not a rule. 

Not every photo has to have perfect balance or fit the rule of thirds, in fact sometimes it looks better when it breaks these, be daring, make art.

I took all of this information into consideration when I went out and took photos with Katie. I was no longer thinking about what looked nice it was more what created balance and what gives my image structure.

I also tried to think about the rule of thirds and how that would make my photos draw attention more. Does that make sense? Lets just go with it.

Although not all of the photos I took are focused on composition, I did get a little bit carried away. Hey photography is my thing!

With this photo I really thought about balance and composition. Katie is centre frame and the lines created by the road and path really draw attention to her. Yeah it's not perfect but the intention is there.

For this close up I really thought about the rule of thirds and how it can help make a photo shine. When you first look at this photo you're immediately drawn to her eyes this is because they're sat on the grid line so it automatically draws your attention to it.

Also the background is out of focus which also makes Katie really stand out.

It's grid isn't too clear but if you look closely the second line of the grid flows directly through her pupil. This makes her look like she's looking into the audiences eye and creates a relationship with the viewer.

I hope you enjoyed the first post in my new photography series type thing. I felt like it sounded a bit like school work but it's okay because I don't care. I really enjoyed taking these photos and thinking a lot more about the composition of a photo rather than just point and shoot and hope for the best.