Composition and Seeing Shapes

photo by Carol Luallin

Each week the photography class finds one or two important controls on the camera we already own and use.  We learn something about the basic concepts of photography like aperture and depth of field.  We also concentrate on one of the visual elements.  For week two students looked around them for shapes and tried to use the rule of thirds.  

We have seen and accepted the unique shapes of things all of our lives, but have probably not thought a lot about it.  It's one of the things you start to notice when you're trying to learn to take better pictures.  Looking at the world through a viewfinder gives you some edges to contain your vision.  It gives you some boundaries to compare things to.  It makes you look at things in a different way. 

I encourage my students to change their pictures to black and white so that we're not distracted by all the shiny colors.  Lines and shapes and textures are often easier to emphasize without the color.  Save your original color file, change it to black and white and rename it, and you have both.  

Even if you don't have image editing software like PhotoShop, you can do basic cropping and editing in Picassa, which is free.  It's made by Google and is easy to find on the web.  Look at your world with new eyes, and share your vision with someone else.  You are an artist.

 photos by Jessica  Beethe

Littleton Photography Class - Session 2

Your camera:  set different apertures in manual or aperture priority mode
Take a series of photographs where the aperture changes and other variables stay the same.  Do you see the difference that changing the aperture makes?  Remember that the largest number (like f/22) is actually the smallest hole.

Set your camera for different ISO's.  The lower  numbers (like an ISO of 100) are for situations where there is lots of light.  The higher numbers are for lower light situations.  Newer and more expensive cameras do a great job even with very high ISO's.  See what your camera will do.

Terms:     focus - which part of your picture is sharp and clear.  If you're interested in understanding the technical details about how light is focused through a camera lens, Google "circles of confusion".
depth of field - the part of the image that is acceptably sharp. Depth of field is affected by 3 main variables, one of which is the aperture.  A large aperture (small number, like f/2.8) will create shallow depth of field.  Things in front of or behind the center of interest that you focused on will appear blurry and out of focus.  A small aperture (big number, like f/16) will have a greater depth of field.  Objects all the way back through your image may be acceptably sharp.

Blurriness caused by depth of field will affect only part of your image.  If your whole picture is blurry, you may have a problem caused by camera shake.  With slower shutter speeds and/or longer lenses, your breathing and heart beating can cause the camera to shake enough to blur your pictures.  Use a tripod.  Brace yourself against a stationary object.  If that is not possible, let all the air out of your lungs, then hold your breath, brace your arms against your side, and be sure to squeeze the shutter release button.  If you punch down on the top of your camera, you may be shaking the camera!

Seeing:  This week look for shapes - angular, geometric shapes and circles and ovals.  Try to notice the shapes of negative spaces, and objects and their shadows.  Look for framing as a compositional element. Take a silhouette.  Look for a repetition of shapes that forms an interesting pattern.  Try to use the rule of thirds.  Practice placing the horizon one third from the top, and one third from the bottom.

student photograph by Sean Palizza