Comments on: 5 More Elements of Composition in Photography

By: Carol

Carol — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:00:36 +0000

Each of your 10 photos also emphasize “simplify your subject” and these do a great job of that.

By: Sue Michiels

Sue Michiels — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:06:28 +0000

Emotional involvement in the subject and enticement to stay and look at the photo a while longer.

By: Adrian Nixon

Adrian Nixon — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:55:07 +0000

Cracking photography. I really like the chair and green wall. the simplicity is wonderful.

By: Bittner Photography

Bittner Photography — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 02:11:50 +0000

Thanks for all of your articles especially this one. Composition is something I need to keep working on. I love the baby shot! Is that a round crib? Would love to see another shot of this to get an idea of the real proportions. I love the distortion of everything but the main subject, great job!

By: Bob Hewitt

Bob Hewitt — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:47:38 +0000

In the context of Balance, I’d suggest mentioning the “Rule” of Thirds. Regards, B.H.

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:43:27 +0000

I think the direction the light is and the timing that it is done can have great impacts. The diffference between a white background and a pretty blue, yelloe, red, or orange can have a big effect. I don’t like dull backgrounds too often and go for the right time and direction to get those pretty backgound colors that can add a little life to the subject when I am outdoors shooting. I plan my time and locations for directions and make sure I know what the moisture level is also as it can have a disastrous effect on those backgrounds.

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:11:07 +0000

Thank you so much for this and the other composition articles! I have just begun to venture into serious photography, ie, taking more than those generic, run-of-the-mill snapshots of kids and grandkids, and I find these to be very helpful!

By: Matt Farias

Matt Farias — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 01:02:11 +0000

I guess what is missing to complete this series on Composition it would be checking your corners and check along the edges. I know that I have always heard that from professionals looking at my work but always without explanation. With fear of asking a silly question in front of my peers I never asked for an explanation. So I would walk away wondering what the heck is he talking about and staring at my photo never revealed any clues right away.

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:33:24 +0000

@Bella: I think you will be surprised how cheaply these photos were made: Peruse the EXIF data on flickr and find the details!

The “match” shot is taken with a Rebel XT at 50mm F4…The 50mm 1.8 (a very sharp lens) would do this easily and well….This is canon’s cheapest lens, and you could easily get one for 100 dollars. The Rebel XT is a very inexpensive camera. Buy one used.

“Noche de luna llena”. (moon with crow) was taken with a digital compact (Powershot A430) which retailed for less than 200 dollars four years ago. Now this would be worth approximately $40…I will grant that is probably a heavy crop, but the same shot from a superzoom compact could probably be made.

Not sure about the green wall and chair, but it is taken with a Nikon D70 at 60mm. This could easily have been the kit lens.

There is no EXIF data on the child from the dollhouse, but that shot could easily be made with a kit lens on an APS-C sensor camera.

The baby in the crib is taken with an ultrawide lens, which is probably an expensive piece of glass (although there are some cheap fisheyes nowadays). The camera was an EOS 5DmkII, so not an inexpensive camera, but not a fortune either.

Pictures are taken by people, not cameras! Your kit lens is a probably a versatile and relatively sharp zoom lens. You could also get a supersharp 50mm 1.8, and work on your compositions with your feet and eyes.

By: Bella

Bella — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:52:32 +0000

I like these photos but i can’t discard the fact your probably using a great camera & lens not to mention the post production. I really don’t think my kit lens would reproduce these terribly well.