Composition

Once you've learned how to translate the image in your mind into a photograph you can achieve with your camera's settings, you may need to think about how you want to compose that shot.  There are many elements of composition, but here are some that apply for beginner photographers.

How does your photo flow?

• Fluid Path: Does your photo include leading lines (such as a road or stream) or include a foreground, midground, and background (which leads your eyes from one level to another)?
• Jarring Path: Does your photo include multiple, well-spaced elements for the eyes to bounce around between, with no lines (must be well-placed)?

Have a balanced photo, and consider including elements at the edges to keep the eyes focused.

Are you considering rule of thirds or a center-weighted image?  Look for a balanced shot that focuses the eyes where you want them to go.

Perspective: from what angle are you shooting?  Did you consciously make that choice?  What are you trying to convey with that perspective?  Is this the most flattering angle for a portrait?

Minimalist vs. Maximalist: keeping a calm, serene background with a single subject vs. a powerful, chaotic, crowded image with elements competing off each other.

Color: Keep in mind color theory--complementary (opposite on the color wheel), analogous (next to each other on the color wheel), different colors in similar shades, or the same color in different shades.

Fill The Frame: cut everything else out but the subject

There are many more elements of composition to consider, but this is just a starting place.  Don't get overwhelmed; embrace what makes you a photographer!

Sources for this post: Digital Photography School here and here

Up close and far away

 What to photograph when it rains?  Rain drops! 

I was shooting into the sun, but I liked all the shapes.

Direct Light And Shadow

I was doing a photo shoot and was photographing this little cutie in the shade through the fence post, but when I came around the other side, I couldn't resist the view from this angle, even with the inconsistent light.

Bokeh, by chance or by luck

 Just managed to capture this photo through a window...and the bokeh took care of itself.

 This was a huge dandelion, that I made even bigger by getting close, closer, closest.

I'm so pleased to be growing cherry tomatoes!  I think the focus ended up being on the little hairs on the plant.  I tried to get one of the green tomatoes in front of a dark background so the contrast would make the little tomato more important.

Becky's Woodstock Photo Walk Photos

We had a great time on our photo walk, discussing technique, pointing out interesting shots, and working on our bokeh and shadows.

My bokeh photos.  Aperture was f/2.2, using my 85mm lens.

These two shots were using the same aperture (f/2.2).  The only difference is how close I was to my subject.  By getting closer to your subject, and having the background at a good distance away, you will create better bokeh.

My shadow pictures:

I increased the aperture for these two shots to f/5 to gain a larger depth of field.  Because the bridge is on one plane and I selected my focal point, (plus it was a distance), there is more clarity than the stone wall, which I was sitting on.

And one that is kind of like a shadow.

Looking forward to our next meeting, which has been pushed to Tuesday, July 8th at 6pm.  Keep practicing and posting!

Camera walk around Woodstock

 I can't decide which is a better example of shadow.

 Becky, showing us the way to photograph.

 I like the reflection in this one.  It was fun to rediscover taking photographs in late afternoon.

The only caption for this one could be "shadow. "

 I like the gradual change of green to yellow/green and being able to see the individual blades of  grass in the foreground. 

I look 10 feet tall!

Bedtime Shadows

My son, who was supposed to be sleeping, was instead quietly playing a very detailed army game in his bed last night.  I couldn't tell him to turn off his reading light because I wanted to run and get my camera! 

In order to see anything in the dark side of the specturm, my ISO was incredibly high (like 3200) but I decreased the noise in Lightroom after the fact.  Worth it.

Becky's Bokeh

I had a photo shoot in Massachusetts last week, and the location is absolutely gorgeous but can be a bit busy for portrait backgrounds.  For individual shots, I kept the f/stop lower than 3 and lower than 5 for both girls.

 The result is a sense of place and season, but no question as to what is the subject of my photograph and where my eye should focus.

I hope you ladies have been working on your bokeh this month, too!  Looking forward to seeing what you've done!  Don't forget to post and I'll see you next Tuesday the 24th for our photo walk in Woodstock!

Indoor Shadows

I was hired to take photos of this little boy to commemorate his 1st birthday.  His mother works at the Baker library at Dartmouth College (and she had her wedding photos taken there) so she asked if we could take some there indoors.  Normally I detest indoor photography, but what could I say?  I embraced the shadows that come from shooting indoors at 7:30 am.

The lighting (and metering) were challenging, but the location was so beautiful, I am happy with the result.  Happy I was able to go outside my comfort zone!

June 3rd Meeting Recap

Last night was the first night of the camera club's summer session, and Helen and I were pleased to spend the evening with Janice, who recently moved to the area from Florida.  Janice has some wonderful experiences (and Becky's dream lens!) and we are looking forward to having her contribute to the group.  Finnie and Christine were unable to join us, but hopefully all the new members will be able to go through the previous month's entries and posts to catch up with what the Artistree Camera Club has been up to and already covered.

If you need any help posting your photos, please let me know.  Really all you need to do is go to http://blogger.com and login to your account.  Once you are on blogger's main page, you will see Artistree Camera Club listed under the blogs you manage.  Just click on the orange square with a pencil to create a new post.  The toolbar is very simple to use for text, and simply click on the picture icon to insert a photo to the post.  If you click on the photo once it is uploaded, select the X-large size to have it displayed as large as possible, so we can all enjoy the smaller details of your shot.  Click on it again if you'd like to remove it.  Please leave comments below or email me at rubsomedirtblog@gmail.com if you have any questions at all!

For the month of June, we have two assignments: try to capture images with SHADOW and/or capture images with nice BOKEH.  Don't forget the tutorial on bokeh here and aperture here.  Digital Photography School is also a great place to start if you need some resources!

Looking forward to seeing you all at the photo walk on Tuesday, June 24th at 6 pm.  We are going to meet in front of the Norman Williams Library in Woodstock.  Hope to see you then!  Keep posting!

Lastly, the July meeting has been pushed back one week to Tuesday, July 8th at 6 pm.