In the previous articles, we took learnt how capture and manipulate the light entering the camera. In this one, we are going to take a look at how to follow some basic rules to make your pictures look instantly better.
Have you noticed how some pictures look so pleasing to the eye while others dont?
Even if its the same camera and the lighting conditions, there’s no guarantee that one picture will be as good as the other and this is where composition comes in.
Composition is the way of placing the elements in a photograph depending on how the photographer wants to guide the eyes of the viewer.
Fill the frame
When you fill the frame with your subject, you’re making a clear statement of what’s the most important in the photo. As it takes up most, if not all, of the image the viewer is immediately drawn to your subject.Too much space around the subject can reduce the impact of the photo if there’s no reason for there to be space.
In the above picture, the viewer is distracted by all the elements in the picture and doesn’t know where to look. And as a photographer, we wouldn’t want that, at least most of the times.
But look at this picture, where the frame is filled with these three people who look like a family and the emotion in the picture is amplified. It can be very subtle, but the old lady’s hand and the young lady’s eyes are leading the viewer’s eyes to the boy, hence now, with this framing, the viewer knows where to look at.
Dont cut off limbs
While focusing on filling the frame with the subject, Often times we tend to cut off the subject’s limbs. This will not only spoil your shot, but the unintentional limb chopping can also pull attention away from what the viewer should really be looking at. Of course, there are times when this rule can be ignored but for the most part, pay attention to it.
Negative space
Negative space is the area around your subject. It’s the empty space in a photograph, also known as white space. The subject is the positive space. While we just discussed how one should fill the frame with the subject, there’ll be times when one would want to use negative space in their image to give the photo an aesthetic or maybe one might want to give less emphasis to the subject.
So the next time you are taking a photo, think about the story you want to tell and where you want the emphasis to be and decide whether you want to fill the frame or use negative space. Be mindful and click.
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