When you travel it’s a great idea to make sure you take a camera along. How you see the scene determines how good your scenic shots will be. You might be rewarded with some surprising results.

Shooting What You See

Sometimes you might have taken a photo that looked good in real life but didn’t look so great on the computer. This might be because of the type of lens you used. Normally the human eye views a field about 40 degrees wide. Evaluate this rule against a scene like a landscape. Don’t move your eyes right or left and note what you’re viewing. Analyze the same scene as it appears in the view-finder. Observe what is now included or what is missing. A camera with a zoom lens will usually allow you to ‘frame’ the image the same as your eye. Work this out by testing each setting so you know how to match what you are you are seeing with your eyes unaided.

Composition

Composition is the art of ‘framing’ the photograph or arranging the elements so that it draws the viewer’s eye to what you want seen or noticed. Here are some basic rules of composition:

1. The Eye Scans Diagonally

The eye usually scans automatically from bottom right of a picture diagonally across to the top left. Get an idea of how this works by flipping any picture on the horizontal plane using the image flip function in your photo editing software. The balance of the picture changes when you flip it with some becoming more prominent one way but not the other. This rule definitely applies in taking portrait photos.

Position the subject turned away from the camera about 45 degrees. Let him rest his hands together on his thighs. Now tell him to turn towards the camera. This is a head to knees pose. Now examine the image in your view finder. You should notice that your eye goes first to the hands and which then guides it up to the face. Make your photograph, upload it, then use the flip horizontal tool. What version looks best?

Here’s an exercise you can do: look over a photography website or through a book to see the rule in action. You may discover that a shape, color, or line has been employed by the photographer as a guiding element to direct the eye to the subject in the middle of the composition. This rule can also be broken to produce a jarring effect.

2. Frame the Photograph

The edges of a photograph are like the fence around a house. The space is defined by them. Have one of your pictures framed and you’ll see how this works. Now the picture and its contents are better defined. Apply this compositionally by placement of the subject so it is between trees, in a doorway, viewed through a window, etc. On the other hand, you can place the subject against a neutral background like an ocean scene or something featureless. With nothing else to distract it, the eye is drawn to the picture’s subject.

Add to the mood and feel of your final image by framing to include background elements. Sometimes the subject can be overwhelmed by a background that is too cluttered or dominating. Do your best to avoid these. By including the background, however, you can tell a better story. Once you think you’ve framed the scene, ask yourself if it answers the following questions
This is what location?
Who is it?
What is their relevance to their surroundings?
What are the subjects doing?

The Rule of Thirds

This rule divides the image into thirds horizontally and/or vertically. The central zone is for the subject. Alternatively, arranged to occupy the points where the grids intersect. Landscapes generally use this rule by having the sky in the top zone and the subject in the middle zone. The bottom third or foreground acts as a foundation to the subject.

Vertical framing is the usual rule with portrait photography. If you imagine the frame to be divided into thirds from top to bottom, the face appears where the top and center sections meet each other. This permits some ‘space’ above the head and makes it easier to view. The horizontal spaces on either side of your subject are balanced this way.

If you’d like a mood of intensity, try some extreme close ups.

Practise makes perfect. Shoot a lot of shots, then analyze both the good – and the bad. The basics of this very rewarding hobby can be quickly learned.