Steve Silverman Imaging: Shooting for Composition Workshop Images, Part 4

Jeremy Petrick. Technique: Framing.

Ok, I get that the Center of Interest is the weathered door. Framing? Where? I think you had some interesting possibilities here and you sort of blew it. It's really just a record shot of the door. The content on either side of the door is pretty benign. Converting it to black and white helps. I would have worked a little harder on this series because I strongly suspect there were some interesting possibilities.

Carlos Nazareth. Technique: Fibonacci and Contrast.

This is an excellent example of how the Fibonacci Curve strengthens an image and cropping to panoramic emphasizes the curve even more. The Center of Interest is obvious. The leaves on the left are so-so but they don't hurt the photo too much. I would probably clone out the small vertical branch because it does nothing for the image.

Carlos Nazareth. Technique: Motion Blur.

Carlos tried to apply Motion Blur by spinning the barrel of the zoom lens. The prerequisite for creating this type of image is strong vertical lines. If anything, this image has stronger horizontal lines. As a result, a lot of the image just sort of looks like a mess. I'm not crazy about the Center of Interest, the blond grass. It doesn't speak to me especially since the flowers in front of it are prettier and more interesting. Remember to decide "what" before you decide "how."

I was sort of intrigued by what you might be able to do with this image by applying Depth of Field as a compositional technique. I used OnOne Focus Point to create an oval of focus around the tall grass and further blur the surroundings. Then I used OneOne PhotoTools Impressionistic tool to make the area surrounding the tall grass more painterly. Finally, I cropped the image to an 8x10 ratio which resulted in the grass being placed on the axis of the Rule of Thirds.

Terza Kurki. Technique: S Curve.

The purpose of an S Curve, similar to leading lines, should be to lead us to "something." In this case, I don't know what it is. Perhaps by moving to the right and backing up you could have created a more dramatic S Curve from right to left. Additionally, the sky is bright and without definition. Since our eye naturally goes to the "whitest and the brightest" in an image, the sky weakens the photo. Shooting at essentially eye level makes the whole thing look too "normal. In addition to backing up, I would have shot from a very high level to take the sky out. My tripod goes to 9 feet and I frequently bring a ladder (because I'm short!).

Sally MacRae Jaffe. Technique: Unknown.

Insects and animals are tough, tough, tough subjects to shoot creatively. Rarely, will they pause long enough for you to carefully consider what you are doing. To be a good photographer of this kind of subject matter, you have to practice, practice, practice. When you have the opportunity to get the shot, you have to compose instantaneously and intuitively. The major problem with this image, even though the background is pretty blown out of focus, is that it's still way too busy. It distracts and detracts from the Center of Interest. Regardless, you did a pretty good job. A quality macro lens, shot wide open, with IS (Image Stabilization), would enable you to nail this shot and take the background to a complete blur. Some of this can be accomplished in post processing. Unfortunately, you sent me a very small file which cannot be effectively edited.

You can see from applying the Rule of Thirds, the dragon fly just misses both axes, upper left and lower left. Any movement either direction would have strengthened this image.

Lisa Lawin. Technique: Unspecified.

This is a nice image that is, quite frankly, a dime a dozen. It's really a documentary shot of this bloom. It doesn't tell a story because there is no composition at all that I can detect. You build a composition of this bloom by backing up and placing it in some context at an angle other than what we are normally used to seeing it at. The image is only partially in focus because it was shot at f/5.7. The other way to build a better composition is to fill the frame with the bloom, open up as far as possible, and make one part of the bloom stand in sharp focus while the rest of it goes to a blur.

Larry Weinman. Technique: Leading Lines

This is interesting image in a lot of ways. Leading Lines take you from the top of the image through to the back of the image. In this case, the pergola itself is the Center of Interest so the compositional technique is the foundation for the entire image. I like the angle and the lens choice which warps the straight lines of the supporting posts. The processing is over the top. I think it goes a little too far. I don't like the fringing in the trees.

Jodell Kruse. Technique: Repetition and Depth of Field

What makes this image work is neither Repetition nor Depth of Field. The compositional technique is actually Contrast using Light and Dark. The dark areas serve to direct your attention to the light areas, the Center of Interest. Kudos to Jodell for being observant and finding this subject matter.

This image was under exposed which took away from the drama of the shot. I added richness, color, and tone in the mushrooms by putting the image through OnOne PhotoTools Color and Tone Enhancer as well as the Golden Enhancer tool.