In part two of our series on composition, Robert Keeley explains how you can use leading lines, framing devices and silhouettes to improve your pictures.
LEADING LINES
'Leading lines' draw our eye through a scene, but contrary to their
name, they don’t always have to be lines. A series of objects
photographed from the close foreground to the distant background will
work as well as a road will to create an illusion of depth, which is
what we are seeking when we use leading lines.
Patterns receding into
the distance also work well to keep us interested in an image.
Leading
lines are most obvious with features like roads, railway tracks, and
rivers or creeks, but bear in mind they can be created by a series of
repeating features which recede into the distance and draw our eyes
through the scene. Note that in this image the horizon has also been
placed on the lower horizontal third.
FRAME WITHIN A FRAME
This is simple and effective. To focus attention on your main
subject, search within your frame for another framing element. This can
include items like a doorway or a window, a curved tree branch or a
spread of branches around the edges of a frame. A framing device can be
quite subtle or distinctive. Depending on your key subject, either
approach can work to focus our attention on the main subject. The key
here is not to let the framing device overwhelm your main subject.
To
emphasise any feature you want to make the key element of your
composition, it sometimes works to try to find natural or man-made
framing devices inside your scene. These help draw the eye to your main
subject. Here a curving tree branch helps focus our attention on the
distance peak. In other scenarios windows or doors will work just as
well.
SILHOUETTES
Silhouettes are great, and many amateurs spot them, and are keen to
photograph them. But amateurs frequently make the mistake of adding too
much “dead” black space into their shot, or merge two silhouettes into
an indistinct outline. Most often the dead space will be the ground area
along the bottom of the frame. To use the power of the great
orange/yellow light you’ll see at sunrise or sunset, find a distinctive
black outline to put against this light, then lower the featureless
ground line to near the bottom of your frame. Keep your outlines simple
and distinctive. And if you’re in doubt, forget about it, or look for
an entirely different approach. There are times when pictures should not
be taken!
In
this composition three design elements have combined very effectively
to create an image with high impact. Importantly, the cyclist is
silhouetted very distinctively. The rider is also positioned using the
rule of thirds, and to round the image off the strong warm light of
sunset adds some bold colour.
These are just a handful of the many ideas which can be used in
composing your pictures. Great photographers have used them, but
importantly they have also gone against these concepts when they
recognise that will work just as well. Like most things in photography,
knowledge comes with time and practice. Get out there and try these
ideas, and then talk them over with fellow photographers. Time, practice,
and feedback are the best ways to get better.
For more in-depth information about composition be sure to see the upcoming feature in the November issue of Australian Photography + Digital.
Click here to see part one of this series.