Composition: Understanding Arrangement of Subjects in a Photo

PICTURES BROUGHT INTO CLASS:
A-Day = Due Monday Feb. 11th
B-Day = Due Wednesday Feb. 12th

FINAL EDITS POSTED TO BLOGS:
A-Day = Due Thursday Feb. 27th
B-Day = Due Friday Feb. 28th

What is Composition?  = Click to view Power Point

Requirements for this Project:

-Take a minimum of 30 pictures (you choose the subject) with the following composition concepts in mind:  

Before you shoot or compose, ask yourself the following questions. What am I going to do/photograph? Why am I going to make/photograph it? How am I going to make/photograph it? 

; 

1. 1. Simplicity: Fill the frame; eliminate dead space; eliminate distracting elements. 
2. 
   

2. 2.  Good Lighting and Focus:  Always try to get the best lighting and focus. Side lighting = better texture. ALWAYS make sure your camera is in focus.  Do Not turn in completely blurry pictures.
3. 
   
4. 3. Rule of Thirds: Position your main subject(s) at any of the 4 green points. It will usually result in a more interesting composition. You can hit more than 1 point and you can position diagonally as well as vertically and horizontally.  NEVER place the subject in the middle (see red x).
5. 
   
6. 

5. 4. Emphasize Foreground: This is a Landscape picture (a image of land).  For this you need to  place the horizon (aka where the sky meets the ground) in the upper half of the frame. (see blue arrow pointing upward).  There should be more ground than sky.
6. 
   
7. 5. Emphasize Height and Distance: This is a Landscape picture (a image of land).  For this you need to  place the horizon (aka where the sky meets the ground) in the lower half of the frame. (see blue arrow pointing downward).  There should be more sky than ground.
8. 
   

6. 6.  Leading Lines: These are lines created by objects that lead the viewers eye around the page.

7. Multiple Subjects: Have more than one object/subject in the picture.  Tip: An odd number of subjects is easier to compose than even. 

When we return to class, I will be teaching you how to edit your pictures.  Create a post on your blog called “Composition" using these images. Post on Blog. Label each image correctly with each point discussed in class and write a small explanation of how that label is demonstrated the corresponding image to show your understanding. You are using 1 picture per point.   This will be graded as a project.