2020 Photo Challenge #4

January’s theme / technique: Composition and Framing

Composition and Framing is dictated by the camera and lens equipment as well as where you can and cannot stand whilst viewing the subject. Challenge yourself by using a prime lens or not using the zoom on your lens so you have to physically move to take the shot. Often the more creative images come about from taking the time to move around a subject. We’ll explore some of these techniques over the coming months, but for now consider these tips:

1. 1. Horizontal vs vertical – which looks better? Why?
   2. Missing parts of people or objects irritate the viewer and create an incomplete image. It distracts the eye. So watch the edges of your image.
   3. Rule of thirds
   4. Look for frames – These come in two types, natural or man-made. Natural would be an opening in trees or a rock formation with a hole in it. Man-made frames are doorways, windows or arches. All of these help contain the subject or scene in a form that is very pleasing to the eye.
   5. Watch your background. Make sure that there is nothing there that would detract from your subject. Things like chimneys or lamp-posts growing out of heads and other subjects diverting the eye from the main subject. You want balance by not going in too close but including enough of the environment of the subject or object to contextualise it.

This month's final assignment - Simplify your image. What is it that you want the viewer to focus on? 

Trying to include too much in an image often spoils it. An image that is cluttered causes the eye of the viewer to dart around the image trying to make sense of it.

• • Less is more as the old saying goes.
  • Eliminate anything that would distract the eye or is unnecessary to the memory you are attempting to create.
  • Sometimes a photo becomes great because of what we choose to leave out.

This final image of the Godrevy Lighthouse was taken a couple of years ago when I found myself on the headland in a layer of thick sea fog. I had to wait patiently for the top of the lighthouse to emerge from the fog. As it is not an image that is going to come along very often (right time, right place) I wanted to use this to illustrate this week’s assignment.

As you can see this time I have almost broken the rule of thirds composition by centring the lighthouse, though the blue part of the sky is at the top of the composition which balances the image nicely. This is very much a shot that says “less is more”.

[Olympus E-M10 Camera with a 40 – 150mm zoom lens, Focal length: 125mm F.stop f/10]

So there you have my four very different takes of the same subject. All bearing in mind the aesthetics of a ‘good’ photograph.

Framed

In location

Filling the frame

If you would like to join in with the 2020 photo challenge then please take a look at my 2020 Photo Challenge page. No complicated rules, just a camera required 🙂

• • Create your own post with some information about how you composed the shot.
  • Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
  • Add the tag #2020PhotoChallenge so everyone can find your entry easily in the WP Reader
  • Get your post(s) in by the end of the week, as the new theme begins next Sunday with Being Creative with Patterns

And here are a few of the posts about composition and framing from fellow bloggers.

BeckyB from Winchester frames the light

Pauline retired from gypsy life has a couple of photo shoots of her lovely garden (#1) (#2) on the Gold Coast.

Kaz who lives in Sydney, Australia captures the moonlight and shows us how to perfectly frame a scene.

Ruth from Tasmania looks at different ways of capturing a kiwi fruit orchard in New Zealand.