composition

electricalperson

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does anybody have any tips on composition? my pictures seem to be a little boring and lacking a bit. does anyone know any good photographers that i can look at there work and get a little inspiration or better ideas?
 
has anyone else had this problem before? my subjects are just boring i suppose. i have a hard time seeing and figuring out what to take a picture of that will look good. i am just starting up. i ordered a book on composition so that will help. :) im using a 35mm canon slr and a holga. i like the holga more because of the larger negative since i cant afford a medium format slr.
 
has anyone else had this problem before? my subjects are just boring i suppose. i have a hard time seeing and figuring out what to take a picture of that will look good. i am just starting up. i ordered a book on composition so that will help. :) im using a 35mm canon slr and a holga. i like the holga more because of the larger negative since i cant afford a medium format slr.
Book recommendation: Amazon.com: Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition) (9780817441814): Bryan Peterson: Books
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
some people just dont have "the eye" for photography. basically, u can learn all the technical skills, but if u dont have a good eye for photography, youll never learn.

however, the way i learn, is by looking at other photographers' shots, and seeing what about the photo makes it GREAT. the rule of thirds helps for starters. i just learn by looking at other shots by other people, and practicing. i will shoot something from many different angles, using different lenses, using different settings, and eventually i just figure out what works in a scene without having to do all that. just try everything and see what works :)
 
I have 2 ideas:

1) Someone said something like, "imagine the subject is the nucleus of the atom and you are a proton spinning wildly around nucleus. Do the same when photographing. Investigate every angle on a circular horizontal axis and on a vertical axis." This doesn't have a direct relationship to composition but gives you the clay to mold a composition--and I think with better clay the easier it can be. This tip helped me and is an automatic part of my process when shooting.

2) Take a drawing class. Many art schools make first year students learn a variety of mediums unrelated to their majors. It helps them learn how to see. The trap people often fall into when photographing is that they simply frame things up, point and shoot, and the results are immediate and they move on. Imagine walking into a room with a model with a three foot sheet of paper and charcoal. Wouldn't you make sure the lighting on her was something you wanted and supported the feeling you wanted to convey. If there were weird things behind her in the background, wouldn't you move them or adjust things. Would necessarily you slap her in the middle of the paper? Would you use the same width stroke for the entire picture or would you vary it to form points of interest? (in photography an analogous idea would be controlling contrast in the image with color or tone). The list goes on and on. I think getting into a drawing class might be painful but there is something about constructing a 3D world on a 2D surface by hand that is very instructive. Photography is closer to painting than it is to an objective recording instrument.

just my ideas. Good luck!
 
......

1) Someone said something like, "imagine the subject is the nucleus of the atom and you are a proton spinning wildly around nucleus........

:lol: Some of the nuclear scientist members may take exception to "proton spinning wildly around nucleus". That would be one seriously broke atom. :lol:
 
Op, this grid should help with composition.

grid.png
 
That picture is flat out pointless without any explanation.

I suggest see if you can find the following book in the local library:
"The Photographer's Eye" by Michael Freeman.

I have never read a better book that was more useful in explaining composition, all the rules, and more importantly how to break them. If you can't find it in the library, buy it!
 

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