Project 52, Week 5, Cropping

Here we are starting the 5th week of the 52 week project and at the end of the first month of the Project 12.  To re-cap, this month we've been learning about the Focal Point, the main subject, the reason for taking the picture in the first place.  We've learned some techniques for concentrating on the focal point:

• Simplification
• What to do if there is more than 1 focal point, including the Rule of Odds
• Rule of Thirds (One of the Golden Rules of photography composition)
• Cropping (this week's topic)

Cropping:
Cropping is a fundamental composition tool which helps you to focus on the subject so you can tell your story more effectively.  It's more than just cutting away the edges of a photograph.  Effective cropping can turn a "snapshot" into a "photograph".

• Decide on your subject. Why are you taking this particular photograph?
• Decide on your story. What do you want the photo to say?
• Focus on your subject.  Do you want to show more close up detail or do you need to include more background to compliment the story line?
• Remove excess negative space.
• Remove distracting elements. 
• Apply the Rule of Thirds or other Golden Rules, when applicable.  (Remember rules can be broken.)
• Cropping portraits:  Be kind
• As a general rule, don't cut off a person's limbs at the joints.
• Don't lop off too many limbs 
• Don't cut off the top of a head (Unless you need to for composition's sake.)

There are 2 ways to "crop" a photograph.  One is "in camera" while you are composing the picture (the preferred method) and one is in the computer with photo-editing software.  (There is a third way - after the photo is printed, trim it with scissors. )

In Camera Cropping  --  To remove distracting elements. 

• If possible, physically remove or move the distractions. 
• Usually removing distractions isn't practical so you may need to move the subject.  Sometimes just moving the subject a little to the left or right will give you a whole different picture.
• Move yourself to get a different viewpoint.  You can't move a mountain (for example) so you may need to move yourself.   Move left, right, up, and down to find the best point of view.
• Rotate the camera. Change from landscape (more wide than tall) to portrait (more tall than wide).
• Fill the frame with the subject. 

In the computer, post-production re-composing:

• See all of the above rules.
• Use photo-editing software of your choice
• Microsoft Office Suite allows you to crop photos easily.  I sometimes practice cropping "professional" photographs to see if I can improve the composition.  (Correct composition is in the eye of the beholder.  It helps if you have a trained eye and good eye sight.)

Suggested Readings and Photographs:
Using Focal Points in Photography by Darren Rouse at Digital Photography School

How To Crop a Photo for Better Composition by Elizabeth West at Photography 101
Cropping Photos: Every Picture Tells a Story at caddpower.com
In Camera Cropping by Wendy Folse at photoinf.com
Cropping in Photography Composition by Rolando Gomez at Lens Diaries
Composition - Cropping by Geoff Lawrence at photoinf.com

Composition - Cropping in Lightroom 3 at Serious Amateur Photography
Use Crop Guides for Better Composition (Photoshop Elements 10) at AdobeTV
Cropping Photos Using the Rule of Thirds (Photoshop) by Sara Horton at Scrapper's Guide

Project 52, Week Four, The Rule of Thirds

Last week we studied the Rule of Odds.  Not coincidentally, this week's topic is the Rule of Thirds, probably the most well known photographic composition rule. 

Basically, the rule says to divide your scene into thirds vertically and horizontally so you have 9 sections (like a tic-tac-toe game).  Place the most important elements of the scene at (near) one of the four intersections, the points of focus, or along the lines.  For example,

• Avoid placing the primary subject smack in the middle of the photo. 
• If the primary subject is vertical (more tall than wide like a lighthouse or most people), place it along the left or right lines.
• If the sky is more interesting, place the horizon along the bottom line and at the top line if you want to emphasize the foreground. 
• For portraits, place the eyes along or near the top horizontal line.  This applies to pictures of people and animals.
• If the subject is looking left or moving to the left, place the subject along the right vertical line to "give them room".  Then conversely, if the subject is looking/moving right, placement is along the left vertical line.

There are times to break the Rule of Thirds without hesitation or guilt. That time would come when the composition of your photograph is better without the rule than with it.  Perhaps when your composition wants to emphasize the symmetry of a scene.

To practice viewing the Rule of Thirds in action, I inserted photos into PowerPoint and pasted a grid like this over them, re-sizing it as necessary to fit the photo.  I then noted if I thought the Rule or Thirds was followed and if it enhanced the composition.  I cropped some photographs that I thought did not follow the Rule and then overlaid them with the grid again to see if that improved the composition.

Suggested Reading and Photographs:

1. Composition: Rule of Thirds from Cambridge in Colour
2. Creativity and the Rule of Thirds by Jim Altengarten, and Guidelines for Better Photographic Composition: Rule of Thirds from photoinf.com
3. Break the Rule of Thirds from Digital Photography School
4. The Rule of Thirds from Silverlight
5. Photographic Composition: The Rule of Thirds and the Horizontal Line from Valerie Hayken's Photo-Talk

Photography is Golden aka The Golden Rules

There are other Rules based on mathematical equations that are somewhat (a little to a lot) more complicated to understand than the Rule of Thirds.  If you're interested, here are some resources:

1. The Golden Mean from Photozone
2. The Golden Ratio from An Open Ended Course in Photography, includes The Rule of Thirds, The Golden Triangle, and The Golden Spiral
3. The Golden Ratio from ThincTanc
4. The Golden Spiral from fabiovisentin.com
5. Dividing the Frame from The Art of Photography, includes The Golden Section, Golden Triangles,and The Golden Spiral
6. Diagonal Method from Diagonal Method

Nature's Best Photography Students - a free e-magazine

Nature's Best Photography Students is a blog and free e-magazine whose mission, to quote the website, is to "create a nature-oriented online publication and media platform that is developed and primarily produced by young, talented, and motivated students who seek to involve and inspire a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts.  NBP Students are 21 years of age and younger."  Nature’s Best Photography Students is the student version of the award-winning, quarterly magazine, Nature’s Best Photography."

Unfortunately, it appears that the magazine is not published regularly, but it's free so I'm not really complaining.  I use the word "unfortunately" because it's a very nice magazine: informative, colorful, and inspiring (not to mention free!).  There have been 13 issues published since it began in 2008 with the last one dated July 2011.  

The Table of Contents for the 38 page July issue looks like this:

• Ranch Life in Texas
• Interview with Photo Editor Steve Freligh
• Tips and Tricks: Photo Books
• NANPA Scholarship Program

The last blog update, Shooting Moving Water, was on January 12, 2012.  There are several blog contributors, all young enthusiastic photographers.  Sometimes their youthfulness is annoying to an old lady like me.  One or two of them exhibited self-confidence bordering on cockiness, but I might be a little cocky myself if I had their talent.

Project 52, Week 3, Rule of Odds

Week 3's topic is the Rule of Odds.  One doesn't hear this stated as a rule everyday when studying photographic composition, but it's well known in interior design, painting, and other creative arts.  The rule is simple: an odd number of subjects is more visually appealing than an even number. 

For this week's photograph, take pictures of one, three, five, or even seven subjects. 

1. If you use more than three subjects you may risk cluttering the photograph and confusing the viewer.
2. You can have one primary subject flanked (framed) by two secondary subjects.
3. As with most rules, this one should be broken on occassion.  For example, you wouldn't include an extra person in wedding photos of the bride and groom or wait for a family to have three childen before taking a family portrait.  Or if you see two pink polka dotted turkey buzzards flying over your house, don't wait for the third one to show up.

Suggested reading and photographs:

Digital Photography School:
The Odd Rule of Compostion
Four Rules of Photographic Composition, Rule of Odds

Art Composition Rules from About.com Painting

New Rules of Photography from Niki <3

Photography Compostion, at 2:27 on Youtube videot\, from Mindbites

Project 52, Week 2, Multiple Focal Points

Last week we learned the importance of focusing on one subject or element to tell the story.  This week we're going to learn that there can be more than one focal point in a photograph.

Some things to remember:

• More than 3 focal points are probably too many.  It will confuse and befuddle the viewer.
• You can have one primary focal point with the other focal points directing the eye to the major element
• An odd number of focal points are usually more interesting than an even number.
• A group can be one focal point.
• Placing multiple focal points on different planes is often more dynamic (such as placing them at different heights or place one in front and two in back)

Notice that I usually say "usually" or "often" or "probably" instead of "always".  That's because the Rules of Composition are only guidelines.  You can usually bend and break these rules as necessary to make the photograph.

Suggested reading and photographic examples:

1. Creating Two Compelling Visual Focal Points from Digital Photo Secrets
2. Compositional Tip Multiple Focal Points from The DPhoto
3. Photography Rules of Composition: Major-Minor from Ultimate Photo Tips

Project 52: Month 1, Focal Point

This month's theme is Focal Point, aka Point of Focus.

One picture is worth a thousand words.

The focal point of a photograph is the center of interest or the subject of the photograph.  It is the reason for the photograph and it should tell a story or convey a mood.  The photographer should compose the picture so that the eye is drawn to the focal point.  That's why I've started the Project 12 - 52 -365 with this topic.

How many times have you looked at your friends' (or you own) snapshots and been unable to determine why the picture was taken?  Often the difference between amateur snapshots and professional photographs is that the professional understands the importance of focusing on the main subject (or subjects),  

The viewer's eye can be directed to the Focal Point by using such composition techniques as:

1. Placement of subject
2. Simplifying
3. Creative focus (blurring of background)
4. Framing
5. Cropping (in-camera and post production)
6. Leading lines
7. Point of view/Camera angle
8. Light
9. Contrast
10. Use of color

When you take your photograph(s) this month, try to focus on the subject.  Stop and think, "Why am I taking a picture of this subject?"  "What do I want the viewer to see and feel when they look at the photograph?  What story am I trying to tell?  What mood do I want to convey?" 

Each week and month I will make suggestions for further study so that we can learn more about composition.  By the end of the year, we should both be taking better pictures.  But don't forget to have a good time!

Suggested reading and photography examples:

1. Photograph Subject Placement, Center or Point or Interest, For Photography
2. Improving Your Photography, Strong Focal Point, by Peter Ensenberger, Photocomposition Articles
3. The Importance of a Focal Point In Photo Compositions, Picture Correct
4. Using Focal Points In Photography, Digital Photography School
5. Composition: Is a Focal Point Required?, Better Photo Instructor Insights

 (Yeah, I know this post should have come before the last one, but I was a little discombobulated at the end of last year.  Too many days off work, I think.  I planned to start this series of articles, leisurely, in the middle of December, but didn't quite make it.  I'll try to do better next month.)

Project 52, Week 1, Simplicity

It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer.

You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things.
But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary. ... David Bailey

The first topic in my Project 52 is Simplicity. The goal is to produce a picture that tells the story through the main subject without distracting elements.  Some ways of achieving this:

• Zoom in on the subject (which can be a pair or even a group)
• Avoid distracting elements
• Keep the background simple
• Blur the background/use narrow depth of field 
• Crop the picture post-production

Suggested Reading and Photographic Examples:

1. Photography Rules of Composition: Simplify from Ultimate Photo Tips
2. Photography Rules of Composition: Eliminate Distractions from Ultimate Photo Tips
3. The Master Guide for Wildlife Photographers: Wildlife Compositions by Bill Silliker from Photo Composition Articles
4. Guidelines for Better Photographic Composition: Simplicity from Photo Composition Articles
5. Photography Composition Rules: Simplifying from Fodor's Focus on Travel Photography
6. Less Can Be More  from Kathleen Clemons Photographpy

Photography Composition Project 52

Learning the basic guidelines of composition is rather like learning to walk. With a little practice you stop thinking about taking steps and just walk. Then you learn to run, hop, skip, jump, and dance. (Some with more grace than others.) 

“Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.” , Edward Weston

"Photographic composition is the pleasing arrangement of subject matter elements within thepicture area. Creative photography depends foremost on the photographer's ability to see as the camera sees because a photograph does not reproduce a scene quite the way we see it. The camera sees and records only a small isolated part of the larger scene, reduces it to only two dimensions, frames it, and freezes it. It does not discriminate as we do. When we look at a scene we selectively see only the important elements and more or less ignore the rest. A camera, on the other hand, sees all the details within the field of view. This is the reason some of our pictures are often disappointing. Backgrounds may be cluttered with objects we do not remember, our subjects are smaller in the frame or less striking than we recall, or the entire scene may lack significance and life.

Good pictures are seldom created by chance. To make the most of any subject, you must understand the basic principles of composition. The way you arrange the elements of a scene within a picture, catch the viewer’s attention, please the eye, or make a clear statement are all qualities of good composition. By developing photographic composition skills, you can produce photographs that suggest movement, life, depth, shape, and form, recreating the impact of the original scene.

How are photographic composition skills developed? You look, you study, you practice. Every time you take a picture, look all around within the viewfinder. Consider the way each element will be recorded and how it relates to the overall composition. You must become thoroughly familiar with the camera and learn how the operation of each control alters the image. Experiment with the camera and look at the results carefully to see if they meet your expectations. With experience and knowledge of your equipment, you begin to "think through your camera" so you are free to concentrate on composition. Devote serious study to the principles of good composition. Study books and magazine articles on composition. You should analyze various media: motion pictures, TV, magazines, books and newspapers, and evaluate what you see. What is good about this picture or that TV image? What is bad about it? What principles of good composition could you apply in a different way to make the picture better.

Good or correct composition is impossible to define precisely. There are no hard-and-fast rules to follow that ensure good composition in every photograph. There are only the principles and elements that provide a means of achieving pleasing composition when applied properly." Basic Photographic Composition, NAVY Training Manual

Once you master the basic composition guidelines, you're free to compose photographs in any way that's pleasing to you.  Remember that photographic composition is subjective.  What one person finds attractive, another may find displeasing. 

"... so called “composition” becomes a personal thing, to be developed along with technique, as a personal way of seeing", Edward Weston

 "The so-called rules of photographic composition are,

in my opinion, invalid, irrelevant and immaterial", Ansel Adams

 

Also see:

My Project 52 for 2012

Project 52

My Project 52 for 2012

I decided to do a Project 52  this year.  I'm not very good at following through with commitments so I probably won't even make it through the first month, but I'm willing to give it a try.  I decided to use composition as my theme to match last year's project so I can practice what I learned.

If you'd like to start your own Project 52, I posted the topics on the page labeled 2012 Project-12-52-365.  It's set up so you do a Project 52 to take a picture a week, a Project 12 for a picture a month, or a Project 365 and take a picture a day using the monthly or weekly theme .  If you don't get started the first week in January, you can still start at the beginning by following the numbered columns or jump in at the middle of the year by using the date columns.

I will try to post a lesson about the weekly or monthly theme regularly because the purpose of this project is to improve photography skills.  We can take a picture a day, but if we don't learn something about the correct techniques, a fat lot of good all those pictures will do us.

You can think up your own theme if you like.  Some people use the same subject for every picture.  Shoes, pets, themselves, a garden.  If you want other ideas, just Google "Project 52" or "Project 365".  Here are some sites I found:

Project 52.org

DIgital Photography School:

• 365 Grateful – A Photography Project that Could Change Your Life 
• The Importance of Personal Projects
• 11 Tips to Succeed with a Photo365 Project

Photojojo!

• Project 365: How to Take a Photo a Day and See Your Life in a Whole New Way
• Sweet Photo Project Ideas for the New Year!

You can do this project even if you don't have a camera.  Check out my Project Photography Composition page.

Project 52

I’m reading and researching most of the time when I'm not at work.  Sometimes it’s important stuff.  Sometimes it’s insignificant, but important stuff.  Sometimes it’s just weird.  Usually, it starts as one or the other, but then I get sidetracked and by the time I’m finished, I can’t remember where I started.

I was researching something the other day when I came across the phrase “Project 52” a couple of times, so when I finished the original research I Googled “Photography Project 52”.   This is what I learned.

Project 365, as it relates to photography, is a yearlong project to take one picture a day for a year.  That doesn’t sound so hard, does it?  At least not for someone who likes taking photographs.  But you know how it is, life gets in the way of living and you miss a day or two here and then a week or two and then you forget about it altogether and you’re nowhere close to half way through the project.  Project 52 is a yearlong project to take one picture a week for 52 weeks.  So of course, Project 12 would be one picture a month for 12 months.  Sometimes you can’t even keep up with Project 12.

Let's borrow a phrase from journalism and consider the What, Who, When, Where, Why, and How of a photography Project 52:

What:

• A photography Project 52 is a commitment to take at least 1 photograph a week, usually following a specific theme or topic
• Project 365 photographers commit to taking a photograph a day
• For those with a fear of commitment, there's Project 12, one picture a month

Who:

• Me
• You
• Any amateur photographer wanting to improve photographic skills.

When:

• Every month, week, or day
• Next year, starting January 1
• Anytime you want to start

Where:

• Where ever you are
• Indoors or outdoors

Why:

• to improve your photography skills,
• to help you be more creative,
• to provide a challenge,
• to have fun

How:

• Using any camera you have
• How ever you want