Hey everyone, I'm Rachel Ballard, and I wanted to share with you some
things I know about photography. There are tons of exciting topics to
cover, but today I thought I'd talk about composition. Lots of people
have mentioned that they liked my way of composing a shot- or they have
said that they find it "interesting" or "unique" (I hope that's a good
thing!) So, here goes- it may sound complicated, but it isn't- The rule
of thirds. What does this mean?? Well, it's pretty simple. When you
look through your camera's viewfinder, or when you view the screen on
the back (depending on your camera) imagine dividing that area into
three even sections. Then choose where your main subject should go. Personally,
I tend to place my subject in the left third. I don't know why, I just
like it over there. This technique helps the person viewing your
photograph make sense of it. The eye is pleased by this rule of thirds.
Now, by all means I invite you to experiment with all types of subject
placement- but if you are a beginner, or you are feeling confused about
composition, this is a great way to sort of 'organize' your shot.
Here are some examples:
In
this photo, I placed most of the subject in the left third. I like the
space surrounding the subject. Of course, not everyone likes this
placement. So here is an example of the subject being centered:
(most people are compelled to center their subjects, which is fine- but try offsetting from time to time!)
Finally, placing to the right:
After you get a feel for the different areas you can place your subjects, you will find yourself seeing the composition naturally, and creatively, without even thinking about technical terms like "thirds" - and then you'll begin to expand into more creative ways of subject placement- the upper left CORNER?? yes, it can be done. I think the most important thing to consider is what you find pleasing to the eye. If you love centering everything, then go for it.
Wow- after having just browsed through my own photos for examples, I realized that I almost always place my subject to the left. Perhaps I will take my own advice and move things around a bit!
So, get out there and shoot! Have fun with it!
To view more of Rachel's very pretty pictures, visit her shop here AND I hope you are liking this series as much as I am enjoying harassing professional photographers for you! I have Monica Shulman coming up in a couple weeks with a two part guest post on 'selfies' which is how to take pics of yourself (just in case that wasn't evident. Monica has this technique down pat, take a look at her AMAZING Flickr set and if you are wanting to release your inner Elle Moss, I think that Monica will be able to guide you to making this a reality. Jennifer Squires will be here soon as well, lovely light and clean, crisp subjects, I think you will be delighted. If there are any pressing concepts that you would like me to try to find a wonderful photographer to cover please let me know and I will go a scoutin'!
xx,
Miss B.
