Are you THAT good?

abraxas · Nov 2, 2007

How important is composition in your photography?

Are you careful and mindful about it- or just click away?

ann · Nov 2, 2007

it is critical.

i rarely cropped with film and so rarely with digital. My training and background and years of experience allow the technical side to be running in the background. After 60 years of working hard this whole process has become a Zen exercise.

skieur · Nov 2, 2007

Photography is 50% technique/technical excellence and 50% composition. That is how photography is evaluated for either contests or professionally for publishing or inclusion in a show or display.

skieur

Helen B · Nov 2, 2007

ann said:
it is critical.

i rarely cropped with film and so rarely with digital. My training and background and years of experience allow the technical side to be running in the background. After 60 years of working hard this whole process has become a Zen exercise.

Perfect. I'd say the same, except that I've only worked at it for forty years and I'm very reluctant to put it into words, or to even hint at it. Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery is one of the best books on the mental practice of photography there is.

Best,
Helen

Snyder · Nov 2, 2007

It is very important this is what I believe will set us apart from amauter photogs. A well composed photo will go further in news/magazine publication and so on or at least that how it is in my career field of photojournalism. When I doucment events I make sure to cover the events getting all the angles, wide, medium, close up, looking for emotion and lighting. Making sure what is in the background works and the people in the photo look natural and following the sequence of events unfolding before me.

JHF Photography · Nov 2, 2007

I always strive to get the composition right in camera. It gives me a personal sense of satisfaction to know that I got the shot then and there, that it doesn't need to be fiddled with later.

Jason

LaFoto · Nov 2, 2007

I at least try with each and every single one of my photos to get the composition done in the camera. Sometimes I already see and know that I cannot crop as closely as I would want to and need to move back a bit or zoom out a bit, KNOWING that I will have to apply the "digital scissors" later, but all in all I plan to get the composition right before I shoot. (Back in the film-and-print-days I also sometimes had to order a print one size larger than I really wanted and cut it back to its size in order to help composition).

When I get really low for a very low POV, I sometimes have trouble aligning, and that is when I am happy for the chance to realign my photo with the help of PS. But all in all I seem to have got better at not producing slanting horizons or slanting lines these days.

Of my most recent cemetery photos, I had to crop only about 20 % of the lot, the rest was composed to my liking in-camera. Makes me happy!

Buszaj · Nov 2, 2007

I think that composition is one of the most important aspects when taking pictures. But thinking about it depends on what you are shooting. If you are shooting something that is still or will be there for a while, then you have time to follow the rule of thirds, exact subject placement, etc. But when shooting fast moving subjects like sports or wildlife, then I just try to get it in the centre of the frame as best as I can. Then I crop or leave it.

Iron Flatline · Nov 2, 2007

Composition is the meat, technique is just ... uh... technique.

Wow, I died mid-metaphor there...

Anyway, composition is what defines the shot.

Back to the metaphor... you can always tell people "I had Fish for dinner"... but you'll only say "I had something salty" if it wasn't right.

Hmm... I guess picking a decent subject helps, too.

I love winter, when we talk about photography a lot more because most of us are too lazy to go out and shoot in the cold dark.

ann · Nov 2, 2007

great book Helen. Another that might interest you "THE Inner Game of Tennis" they were both on a required reading list for a photo class i took in the 70's.

dpolston · Nov 2, 2007

I too think composition is key. Having said that; I also think it's flexible and relative to who is looking.

I do a lot of commercial work for churches and organizations that do tons of print advertising (albeit mostly for handouts and posters and such) and I notice myself taking 3 or 4 photo "sets" at different compositions of the same subject.

I'll take one for a "portrait", one off the the left for "text on the right" then vice-versa, then one in the upper third for "lower third text", and the list goes on and on.

So I think that you HAVE to be aware of composition. It'll make or break you.

Come to think of it, I usually take sets of 6 or 7! (gosh, I take a lot of shots)

abraxas · Nov 3, 2007

I used to draw a lot when I was a kid. I'd draw complicated landscapes and spend days and days on them. There was nothing worse than finding out I'd screwed up about 3/4 of the way through--Tear them up and start another. I got to where I'd spend some time figuring out what I wanted and drift on it a bit, then start. I got better- I could spend more time and concentrate on the details more- The technique.

I should remember that I suppose, and put more care into the composing. I think I get too much in a hurry. I want a shot of it all. The light changes so fast.

I'll give it a shot this weekend... Can't wait to see if it works

craig · Nov 3, 2007

I try and think that my shots are well composed and my goal in life is to never crop in post processing. I put a lot of thought into each shot. After 30 years in it I still make major flaws. Sometimes I just get caught in the moment and not the photograph. Luckily sometimes these moments make for amazing photos.

Love & Bass

RacePhoto · Nov 3, 2007

Back in the dark ages, before I owned a zoom lens, it was a little harder, but now it's easier to compose a photo by cropping with composition, in camera. Doesn't mean I get it right all the time, or not even most of the time. But it's much closer than having a rangefinder or twin lens reflex with a fixed lens! :thumbup:

My 35-105 on the AE1 is still my favorite general lens/camera combination. But since I moved to digital, I'm learning to use the 10D and 28-135 as my walkabout/travel/car camera.

As some above, I may take a couple with one composition, then try another angle, or at least look at the shot portrait and landscape, to see if that does anything for me.

I think that after time, one just looks and has an idea of what the shot is going to be, visualizing it before the camera is even up to the eye, or out of the bag. Sometimes I see photos, that I never take, because I'm riding along in the car and can't stop.

I did some shots two weekends ago, that I had in my mind for three years. Finally drove back out to the place and took an afternoon. Found something better that I hadn't seen when I drove past before. Found that one shot I imagined I wanted, didn't work at all, so I never took it.

Exposure is important, and can set the mood, but composition is the larger message that jumps out of the picture in the end.

I don't want to get into "what is art" or anything approaching that. But a snapshot captures content, composition makes it more meaningful and tells the story.

Percentage? Depends on the subject. Composition can be almost everything and sometimes, it can be less important when the subject lacks flexibility.