So you got the lighting just right? Did you remember your
distancing? Where you using off camera flashes or not? Did you put the memory
card in the camera? Did you happen to forget to take the lens cap off? Oh you
did??
Don’t worry.
That one happens to me ALL the time. Seriously, at least
once a shoot. I am not joking!
But if you have gotten all of those things taken care of,
and your subject is actually in frame, then it is time to do your job as the
wedding photographer and get that shot. Go on take it! Oh but be careful. Where
is everything positioned in your camera? Is it where you want it to be given the
mood you are attempting to achieve? If not, then…
Welcome to this week’s lesson on composition! Composition
can really make or break an image or a shot (for video) so it is important that
you don’t overlook this crucial element to your arsenal. All of you obsessive
compulsive fans out there are going to LOVE composition because you really need
to train yourself to become OCD. You need to pay attention to detail because if
you don’t, your framing could be off. That mood you wanted to capture? It’s gone.
In simple terms, composition is the arrangement or
organization of all of the visual elements in your work of art. Separate from
“posing” as we have come to think of as composition, this is more the
responsibility of you as the photographer or cinematographer to frame the shot
correctly. How much room is too much “head room?” What the heck is head room?
One of the most common ideas that you hear about in regards
to composing a work of visual art is known as the “rule of thirds.” This rule
ultimately breaks your image into 3 parts horizontally, allowing and
encouraging you to put the elements of your photo or subjects of your photo in
the different areas of your frame. This in and of itself creates a more
compelling photograph which maintains the viewer’s interest much longer than a
stale, “dead on” image. This is also where you get to be creative! Switch
things up!
How much head room you give your subject and greatly enhance
the mood of your photograph. Are you looking for more of an artistic approach
to your photography? I would definitely suggest messing around with space. So
often times, I am guilty as well, we get trapped in the confines of our own
mind. We formulate our boundaries of what we can create artistically based on
what we have seen and what people have said to do or not to do. These “Mental
Blocks” end up eliminating the creative spark that flows through our veins.
Do me a favor…
TRASH those blocks…
Let me tell you right now that it is completely OK to have a
LOT of head room in your shot! It is OK to give your subject looking space.
Throw a Dutch angle in there every now and then! When I shoot weddings, or
music videos, or films, or headshots, I make sure that I am able to give a
client exactly what they are looking for as well as some things that they
didn’t even think that they were looking for it! That is part of the beauty of
being a photographer is being able to grab hold of the space that you are
dealing with and utilizing it to the fullest potential.
Once you are able to start seeing your image like this, you
will instantly start slotting your subject into the different areas of your
frame and create the most compelling images you have ever taken! You don’t need
to be a professional Los Angeles photographer to create something that no one
has seen before. You just need to see the world in a way no one has seen it
before, professional or amateur.
See it. Set it. Shoot it.
BOOM.
No comments :
Post a Comment