Three skills of PhotographyThe skilled professional images here on my post this week are examples of 3 types of general rules people should try to use when they seek to capture beautiful shots. There is an area of experimentation which helps the photographer eliminate unwanted shots so the final drafts here are their best attempts.
‘Sunrise on the Boardwalk ‘ Captured by Artura Donate
‘Sunrise on the Boardwalk ‘
Captured by Artura Donate
Leading Lines
This sea dock makes the viewer want to run to the end of the boardwalk to see the sand and the surf. This method creates movement. We start in the lower edge of the photograph and then look gradually deeper out to sea where we notice the sunrise. Vertical, diagonal, and horizontal lines all converge at the sunrise. It’s not only shows depth, but is inviting as well.
My back porch walkway illustrates another use of leading lines which add depth and show your eyes where to start and finish.My back porch image to demonstrate the use of leading lines. There are diagonal, vertical and horizontal lines shown. The eyes follow a natural path to the bottom.
Depth of Field
My draw-over to show the depth by focusing on the hand and blurring the background. Some of the body is purposely obscured to focus on the hand.Michael Zhang took this picture on March 23, 2009. It is of a friend who fell asleep on the floor. The hand is in sharp focus and the highlight of the picture while the background is blurred so it won’t distract from the hand.My Missionary son is highlighted by being the first subject our eyes rest on. The big city of Bogota is smaller and of less importance in the background. This layering is a wonderful way to highlight a specific item.I tried to draw around him to show how his body stands apart from the blurred city miles away from him. This shows layering and depth and the background does not distract us.
Rule of Thirds
Seashell at the beach was captured by Vysledek Obrazku and added to her shots of various seashells illustrating the rule of thirds. This image is off centered and intersects at the lower right corner, but is balanced by the ocean waves behind it. The focus is drawn to the shell instead of the water.Here I have drawn around the shell to show how it stands apart from the ocean and appears to be in front of the waves. Because the shell is not crowded out by the lighting or the ocean, it is the highlight of the scene. If you can imagine a grid , this shell meets at the intersection of points.My example of how balance and focus are achieved by putting the most important subject at the intersecting points of a grid.Here I’ve drawn a grid on the bird scene to show you how the eye naturally focuses here and how the flowers ( which are less important ) bring balance to the photo.
Conclusion:
These 6 images tell us some of the rules of photography that form appealing pictures because they have been carefully captured using the rule of thirds, balancing off center, viewpoint, back ground, depth of field, leading lines and cropping. With natural lighting and timing the subject’s presentation is caught just at the right moment which I found all the pictures both beautiful and informative.
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