Have you ever wondered why some photographs are more pleasing than others?, why some photographs evoke an "Oh or Wow" response?, or some photographers consistently produce quality photographs that sell or score points with judges and critics? The simple answer is STRONG COMPOSITION.
Composition is the arrangement of a subject or subjects within in the photo's frame which produces pleasing results or moving into a position or point of view that products pleasing results. Other than exposure, it is the single most important thing that the photographer controls before pressing that shutter.
My two favorite photographer are William Albert Allard and Ansel Adams. Allard was a long time photographer for National Geographic. His photographs are timeless because of the strong composition. Take a look at this cover photo for the book, Portraits of America.
Would you have thought to have the cowboy poise with his back to a mirror with the American flag and longhorn head on the wall? Allard was a genius when it comes to composition and that's what I love about his photography. This book is a classic and inexpensive on Amazon.
Another photographer that I admire is Ansel Adams. Ansel used a large format camera taking black and white photos mainly of the west. His favorite place to photograph was Yosemite National Park.
This is Ansel Adams' Snake River and Grand Tetons. It is a classic "S" curve composition which I will explore in a future post.
If you want to be a better photographer, look at classic photographers photographs like Allard and Adams and study their composition. Ask yourself why did they put the subject on the right? Why is that river at the bottom of the frame? They could arrange the photograph any way they wanted to and they chose this composition.
In the next blog we will explore the rule of thirds.
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