iSee iShoot iPhone - episode #003 - Basic Photo Composition
Flickr group - http://www.flickr.com/groups/iseeishootiphone/
iSee iShoot iPhone on iTunes - http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/isee-ishoot-iphone/id457263248
The The Mac Attack episode I mentioned during the show - iOS and iDevice tips, tricks and some troubleshooting
Please remember that these rules of composition aren’t set in stone. Instead, use them as guidelines for your own ideas. Play around with these rules and have fun.
Rule of Thirds - Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal parts, think if a tic-tac-toe grid. Place the most important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect. Some iPhone photo apps even offer an option to turn on a rule of thirds grid.
Lines - Our eyes are naturally drawn along lines. Thinking about how you place lines in your photo. Are you pulling the viewer into and though the photo.
Patterns - Emphasizing and highlighting patterns can make for very interesting shots. What’s even more interesting are photos that show patterns that are broken.
Symmetry - Placing the point of interest dead center of a photo where both sides or the top and bottom of the photo you look like mirror images of the other side. TIP: Not sure when you’re creating an image. Shoot the photo twice. One symmetrical then again Asymmetrical.
Viewpoint - Don’t just shoot from eye level. Photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, or very close. Extreme view points can make for really interesting photos but don’t endanger yourself or anyone else when your trying to get yourself to a good vantage point.
Balancing - Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty (that’s called ‘empty space’ and that’s OK too). Try to balance the "weight" of your subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the space.
Background - Our eyes and brain distinguish between different elements in a scene. The camera does not. Camera’s have the tendency to flatten the foreground and background, and this can often ruin a great photo. Look around for a plain and unobtrusive background and compose your shot so that it doesn't distract or detract from what you are shooting. Sometimes this requires you to move your subject, but usually it means you, the photographer will have to move to make a more pleasing photograph and shoot from an angle that eliminates any kind of background distractions.
Depth - Photography is a two-dimensional medium, it’s up to you to convey a sense of depth. You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground, middle ground and background.
Framing - The world is full of objects which make perfect natural frames - trees, archways, holes and windows (to name a few). By placing these around the edge of the composition you help isolate the main subject from the outside world.
This episodes assignment:
Pick one of the photographic "rules" discussed during the show and shoot a few photos that demonstrate that rule.
