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03/23/2003 08:20:34 PM · #1 |
I've read a few comments recently, and things written within other threads, that have been about composition, and wanted to make this comment.
The 'rules' - the thirds thing, leading lines, all that stuff, are not 'rules' per se. They are guides, and tools to aid the analysis of a photograph. A well composed photo employs means to lead the eye through all the detail to it's central subject: thus, for example, the thirds: your eye is more easily drawn AWAY from the centre of an image (with certain exceptions). Also your eye is drawn to the brightest point in an image. Your eye is also more easily drawn from left to right, unless you live in a country where one reads from right to left. All these things contribute to good composition, but all these things can be misleading if followed too precisely, and thousands of exceptions exist.
Take a good look at some of this site's favourite shots (especially Mr Setzler's wonderful photo), and see how many really hold to all these 'rules'. It's instructive.
Good composition is, frankly, no more nor less than the right way to shoot any particular subject. I'm not suggesting that the rules be thrown out the window - just that sometimes I think it's easy for people, especially those new to photography, to think that if they reigiously foloow the rules they'll automatically take good photos.
Just a thought.
Ed
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03/23/2003 09:04:33 PM · #2 |
I totally agree with Ed. In some images, the "rule" of thirds works great, perhaps even most of them. Perhaps. But there are many times when front and center is the ticket: or perhaps at the bottom or top of an image. I feel each image kind of writes its own story, and as long as it plays by its own rules, it will be pretty successful.
The problem with composition (or with us?) is that many of us don't stop to think about when or when not to use a "rule."
David |
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03/23/2003 09:43:05 PM · #3 |
The way that I see composition is like this:
If a shot is relying on a visual "gimmick" (I don't use that term in a derogatory manner) then its composition isn't as important as it may be. If I'm doing an abstract of an object, or a landscape, then composition is extremely important. For example, everyone has seen a sunset -- it's nothing that will really make people say WOW, so therefore its up to the strength of the composition to make your viewer wowed. However not everyone has seen a blueberry splashing into milk captured at a key moment, therefore composition isn't as important, and would be difficult to arrange since it's such a spur of the moment thing. |
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03/23/2003 10:20:11 PM · #4 |
| A good book to read(that I'm still studying) is called, Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye by Rudolf Arnheim. It's an incredible book taking you through balance, weight, forms, shapes; among many other aspects of composition. The only downfall of the book I've noticed so far is it reads like a VCR manual. But the content is there and good. |
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03/23/2003 10:46:42 PM · #5 |
I would argue that there is composition--from good to bad--possible in every photo... Including blueberry splash shots. It's all in how they are cropped and presented to the viewer.
Sometimes, all you have to do to screw up a photo that already has good composition is to crop it wrong. And sometimes, all have you do to a photo that has weak composition is to crop it right, and suddenly the photo can be a lot better. Sometimes a whole lot better.
For me, composition is largely intuitive. I know the rule of thirds, I know about leading lines and such, but I rarely think about these things as I compose my photos. Instead, I look for balance. Light vs. dark, round vs. straight, smooth vs. rough, etc... and try to combine these in an effective way to present them to the viewer.
However, I do tend to think more about the "rules" when cropping photos. Because cropping is such a two-dimensional process, I find it easier to crop these elements into a photo, than to try and concentrate on whether or not they are present when the shutter is opened. |
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03/23/2003 10:50:27 PM · #6 |
| we could always have a series of challenges dealing with different "types" of composition. We've already dealt with leading lines, and now I think we could try "S curves" and "triangular composition" maybe even a formal challenge dealing with the "rule of thirds" (though the latter is less specific). I'm sure there are more we could mention. |
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03/23/2003 11:22:56 PM · #7 |
I find the right composition is purely situational. Judging strictly on a formula would not work for me. It is what the image needs to convey its message that is important. I vote one image down for soft focus and mark the next one up - it just depends. Same with composition - some times having something in the foreground, middle ground and distance is the right thing - but not always. Same with "rule" of thirds. I am trying to learn as many techniques and theories as possible to see what I can use and when.
Dennis |
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03/24/2003 12:59:41 AM · #8 |
| Of course there are exceptions, but don't you think it's important to know the rules before you decide not to follow them? The real beginners usually need and want guidance. Some people can achieve good compositions through intuition, but lots of people don't. For a newbie who has always just shot every subject in its entirety, straight-on, I think it can be really beneficial to learn that there actually are guidelines and "rules" that may help them. |
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03/24/2003 06:27:23 AM · #9 |
Of course there are exceptions, but don't you think it's important to know the rules before you decide not to follow them? The real beginners usually need and want guidance. Some people can achieve good compositions through intuition, but lots of people don't. For a newbie who has always just shot every subject in its entirety, straight-on, I think it can be really beneficial to learn that there actually are guidelines and "rules" that may help them.
I agree with Indigo. I'm a newbie to photography, and I'm very thankfull that there are some guidelines to take better pictures. And they actually work! I also think that those rules are very 'natural', I mean that an image just 'feels' better when it's composed with those guidelines in mind.
At the other hand, I can imagine that when you become more experienced, the rules are subject of frustration and that they stand in the way for the more creative work.
But, when I look at experimental photographs, where the rules aren't taken too seriously, I can only conclude that they are not made for a big audience, how creative they may be. It's like many other things in life: how more conventional a picture is, the broader the public.
(...forgive me my handicapped English grammar)
Message edited by author 2003-03-24 06:27:57. |
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