GoingManual.com It's time to take control!    Home    Tutorials    Photography Forum  Photography Tutorial Introduction Part I – Gear The Camera  -  Focus  -  Resolution  -  MegaPixels Vs Print Size  -  Sharpening Semi auto settings  -  Aperture Priority (Av)  -  Shutter priority (Tv) Zoom and Focal Length  -  A Note About Sensor Size Other Camera Features  -  Viewfinders  -  Lens Hood  -  LCD screen  -  White Balance Extra Equipment  -  Tripod  -  Cable Release  -  Filter systems  -  Polarizer and ND filter  -  External Flash  -  Studio Lighting  -  Reflectors Part II – Capturing The Scene Your First Manual Photo  -  It's All About Exposure  -  The Light Meter  -  Exposure Explained  -  Controlling Exposure Creative Effects  -  Aperture and Depth Of Field  -  DOF Preview  -  Shutter speed Putting it all Together  -  ISO  -  Ap. & Shutter Relationship  -  Stop for a minute  -  So What?  -  The Bulb Setting Metering the Scene  -  18% of Everything Metering modes  -  Matrix  -  Average  -  Center weighted  -  Spot or semi-spot Taking Meter Readings  -  Expose for your subject  -  Sunsets and sunrises  -  Reflecting sun  -  Night Exposures  -  Moon  -  Green Foliage  -  Bright or White Scenes  -  Dark or Black Scenes Understanding Your Histogram  -  Flash Metering Composition Lead in The Viewer Eye  -  Point of Focus  -  Fill the frame  -  The Rule of Thirds  -  Moving Subjects  -  Print and frame Sizes Different Styles Learn by doing  -  Giving and Getting Critique  -  Portraits  -  Groups  -  Children  -  Shooting Outdoors  -  Silhouettes  -  Macro  -  Products  -  Landscapes  -  Sports and Action  -  Panning  -  Rear Sync Flash  -  Abstract  -  Long Exposures  -  Black and White A few Other Useful Things  -  Blown Out Skies  -  Neutral Density Filters  -  Polarizing Filters  -  Electronic noise You're Half Way There! Part III The Digital darkroom  -  Computer hardware  -  Card Reader  -  Printers  -  Mouse Post Processing  -  The Ethics of Altering  -  Choosing Your Program  -  Tutorials   Photoshop Tutorials   Photoshop Primer   Saving Your Image   Adding a Border   Using Levels   Using Curves   The S-Curve   Correcting White Balance   Improving Saturation   The Clone Tool   Correcting Lens Distortion   Blending Multiple Images   Black and White Conversion   Sepia Conversion   Reducing Noise   Cropping for Different Print Sizes   Sharpening   Working With RAW Files   The Gimp Tutorials   The Gimp Primer   Saving Your Image   Adding a Border   Using Levels   Using Curves   The S-Curve   Correcting White Balance   Improving Saturation   The Clone Tool   Correcting Lens Distortion   Blending Multiple Images   Black and White Conversion   Sepia Conversion   Reducing Noise   Cropping for Different Print Sizes   Sharpening   Working With RAW Files   << Flash Metering The Rule of Thirds >> Composition “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” ~Ansel Adams “ How a photo is composed depends on your subject and how you hope to capture it. Photography is a form of art so while we will discuss various rules to help never be afraid to try something your own way. Try to find your own vision and express what you see. Composition is affected sometimes by the slightest change in viewpoint. A few inches to the left or right can make the difference between a disappointing shot and what you hoped to achieve. Look through the viewfinder and try different positions before taking your picture. Watch how the changing view points affect the composition. Tip: When you find a scene worth shooting, stop. Don't get your camera out right away. Sit and look at it for a few minutes and consider what is that had captured your interest. Break it down into elements and then decide how best to compose those elements. Give your subject the time it deserves. Lead in The Eye Let your viewer's eye be led into the image. There are many ways to do this; with foreground, mid and background, depth of field or elements of the composition such as roads, rivers or fence lines etc. The image on the left uses a short DOF to keep only one flower in focus. There is also a curve to the layout of the flowers that helps to draw the eye up and through the image. The rice field photo on the right has an interesting curved shaped, that again draws your eye up to the traditional Japanese farmers house. Point of Focus Leading your eye into a strong point of focus or main subject can produce striking results too. Avoid having too many elements to your picture as the clutter will detract from the photos impact. Backgrounds that appear cluttered are often referred to as noisy, likening the effect to that of a buzz on a sound recording. If you do include other items in your composition, make sure they compliment the subject rather than detract from it. Fill the Frame Solve a tricky composition problem and concentrates the scene on the subject The man on the right is cooking in a messy kitchen that added little merit to the photo. I was interested in the tattoos on his back so, with his permission, moved in closer to remove the distracting elements. << Flash Metering The Rule of Thirds >>

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