photo:basics
basics of creating a good photograph
This largely depends on the PURPOSE of the photograph:
Technical quality:
the key factors in a photograph that allows one to make reasonable size enlargements with good detail are:
for the advanced photographers, other technical issues are:
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contrast control
grain/noise control - depends on film used, developer used, push-pull developing or digital ISO noise
sensor dust control - dust on the sensor will degrade every photo
Composition:
there are 2 main aspects to a photograph:
most great photos convey an emotion to the viewer
if a scene creates an emotion in you, you have a good starting chance to capture that emotion in your image as hopefully this will spark your creativity, and then its up to your technical and creative aptitude to make the image work.
it is much harder to create something from a circumstance that doesn't do much for you, not impossible, but much harder, and often you need to be in a conducive frame of mind for this to occur.
The idea is to keep the viewer's eye involved with a composition by providing an interesting design. That can be done any number of ways, perhaps by offering the eye a circular route, a long graceful curve, or perhaps a back and forth attraction of two or more well balanced elements.
to attract an eye, composition should have:
an entry point such as the bottom left of an S-curve
an exit point
elements that attract the eye - the subject
balance between the elements
simplicity:
in general, the simpler the composition, the more pleasing to the eye
remove everything from the scene that does not contribute to the emotion you want to portray
remove unnecessary background and other features by choosing a mix of lens focal length and thus perspective, position of camera, shallow depth of field, shadows.
keep the corners subdued with little texture and values darker - perhaps even try adding a bit of vignetting but don't overdo it.
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lines:
look for lines in your image and then work out how best to place them
implied lines and geometric forms can hold the picture together
horizontal lines denotes repose, calm, tranquillity
diagonal lines are dynamic, suggesting force, energy and motion, especially if flowing from left to right
curves such as the graceful female form are generally very pleasing to the eye, and denote beauty, charm
S-curves such as rivers, snakes, etc thus place them for maximum effect so they lead the eye to the subject.
a successful leading line will take the viewer to the subject and usually start in the lower left but not in the corner exactly
avoid leaning your lines outwards, leaning inwards is better
avoid straight lines unless they are short
avoid X-forms
avoid subject straight on, try for some diagonal lines
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balance:
look for balance of your subjects by creating geometric shapes or patterns that link them such as triangles
good balance of shapes, areas of light and dark are important for a pleasing, natural effect
often great images have elements that repeat throughout the image such as a series of triangular shapes or compositions. However, sometimes it is better to vary forms, so if there are round trees, avoid round clouds.
adding a secondary centre of interest for balance can work well and help keep the viewer's eyes alternating between the two, but it is important to ensure it does not compete with the primary subject
group you subjects of importance together and avoid scattering them around which would make them compete for attention.
avoid grouping elements in even numbers, if there is a pair, then use different sizes or positions for each.
equal or classical balance makes for dignity and repose but can be static and unimaginative
informal balance such as offsetting a large subject by a smaller secondary subject tends to be more dynamic and eye-catching
purposely making an image unbalanced can create tension and other emotions such as isolation, loneliness.
use of complementary colours such as red-green, orange-blue.
the rule of thirds helps create balance:
in general, subjects or horizons do not look good in the centre, but are better when a third from the edge of the frame.
avoid breaking your image into equal parts
balance of positive and negative space
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create an illusion of depth:
place objects so they overlap but do not cause distracting mergers
atmospheric perspective - colors get cooler and lighter as they recede; fog is great for this.
create at least 3 planes - foreground, midground and background
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framing:
consider using foreground elements to frame and focus attention on the subject
select your framing so that your subject faces into the image, not out of it.
avoid diagonal lines or S-curves originating exactly at a corner of the frame unless it is an abstract
make sure lines that should be horizontal are horizontal.
avoid mergers:
border mergers - cutting subjects at the edge of the image such as the top of their head or their feet.
near mergers - secondary subjects placed too close to the primary subject can distract and cause imbalance
background mergers - always avoid background shapes merging with the subject such as trees growing out of the subject's head.
Black & White Photography:
a B&W photo is not just a colour photo without the colour.
B&W photography allows one to concentrate on texture and form whilst ignoring the colour components which may otherwise detract.
thus a good B&W photograph is often one which has good contrast, whilst highlighting the subject's texture and form through appropriate camera angle, perspective, contrast control and lighting.
B&W in itself can evoke certain moods such as eloquence, romanticism or harsh realism.
B&W often allows patterns to become more evident, and situations that may appear a bit flat & boring in colour such as an overcast day, can be made to look great in B&W by forcing the viewer to concentrate on the patterns, texture & form.
B&W often makes skin tones more flattering by minimising the impact of blemishes, uneven colouring
by using coloured
filters, one can render an object either lighter or darker and thereby alter the contrast of the photo, fortunately, in digital photography, this can be manipulated by adjusting the relative contribution of each of the colour channels instead of being forced to work with the one chosen by the optical filter you have chosen.
Using colour:
see also:
colour can be used to convey emotion and mood:
yellow - Autumn, happiness
red - warmth, danger, heat
blue - restfulness, passivity, cold
orange - Autumn
green - freshness
violet - nobility, elegance, warmth
using complementary colours together which increases their apparent intensity via simultaneous contrast:
using harmonizing colours:
these colours are found by using the points of an isosceles triangle on a colour wheel - if mixed together, they form grey.
red & orange harmonize with blue-green
photo/basics.txt · Last modified: 2019/04/07 08:38 by gary1