1,017 words “Composition” means taking better photos By Alfred DeBat One way to improve your photography is through better “composition,” which only means thoughtfully “composing” the image in the viewfinder for the greatest impact. After learning a few basic rules, it is easy to do because they will focus your attention on the subject and its surroundings in the viewfinder. Digital photographers have a distinct advantage of seeing the picture they have just taken on the camera’s LCD monitor. You can immediately reshoot an improved version of your previous image.      This is not complicated, but it means paying attention to what you are doing. If you read a book on composition, one of the first things you would learn is the Rule of Thirds. This rule suggests that the viewfinder image should be divided equally into three imaginary horizontal sections and three vertical sections. In scenic photos, never have the horizon or the subject directly in the middle of the photo. Rather, two-thirds of the picture should show the sky (hopefully with some interesting looking clouds) or two-thirds landscape, seascape or cityscape with one-third (or less) as sky. Why?      Because most scenic pictures with the horizon in the middle are boring. The same rule applies to a subject placement in the photo. For example, if you are taking a seascape and place the lighthouse in the middle of the picture, the image is very static and uninteresting. However, if the lighthouse is moved to one of one-third or two-thirds location on the imaginary grid, the overall image becomes more dynamic with greater appeal. The viewer’s eyes will travel back and forth between the open expanse of sea and the lighthouse on one side of the photo.      If you want to prove this to yourself, take a look at a book illustrating the works of realistic fine-art painters or a photo annual displaying the work of professional photographers, both of whom regularly employ the Rule of Thirds.      Another composition “rule” is the use of the “S” curve, such as a serpentine road, river, railroad tracks, etc., winding out of the photo into the distance. If available, this visual device will give the photo “depth.” There are other visual devices that create depth. Some visual element (even out of focus) near the camera, along with a sharply focused middle ground and background image also provides the illusion of depth. For example, when you include tree branches in the corner of your photo of the Grand Canyon or a silhouette of a hiker standing near the rim, the photo will be more interesting than the Grand Canyon alone. The branches provide a reference point for the distant scene, and the hiker helps relate the viewer to the size and expanse of the panorama. Remember to keep the Rule of Thirds in mind, when it comes to the horizon and placement of the secondary subjects.      Perspective is another composition tool. For example, a line of trees, telephone poles or a narrowing roadway that recede into the distance also indicates depth. If your main subject is in the foreground, be sure that there is something in the distance to which the viewer can relate, such as a smaller or less important secondary subject. If your foreground subject is a person try to include a meaningful object, building, monument, mountain, etc. in the scene to provide additional interest and depth to the image through perspective.      Rules are made to be broken, so don’t worry if you don’t slavishly follow them all the time. But it is important to remember the rules and be very aware of what you are composing in the viewfinder.      Too many snapshot shooters pay little attention to what they see or don’t see in their camera’s viewfinder. For example, if you are photographing one or more people, make sure that tree limbs or traffic signs aren’t growing out of the top of their heads. Usually you can move the camera to avoid disturbing background elements behind them. It just takes a moment to notice what you are doing and move your camera position for a better shot.      Outdoors, the same thing can be said about lighting. If you have a group of people squinting because of bright overhead sunlight, move them into the shade for a more pleasant portrait. Or, ask them to turn around and place the sun behind them. Then select your camera’s “fill flash” or “force flash” setting for a close-up flash portrait of the group. The flash with sunlight will fill in any shadows in their faces and produce a very nice portrait. (When it comes to composition, I can’t figure out why so many snapshot shooters tend to take full-length pictures of their friends and family. Are their subjects’ shoes that interesting? It’s much better to fill the viewfinder up with just faces. I really think that many people are just too shy to get up close to their subjects – and that’s a mistake.)      Speaking of portraits, that is probably one place, the Rule of Thirds doesn’t necessarily apply all the time. Here the portrait subject is the center of interest. There are really two kinds of portraits – formal and environmental. Formal portraits are mainly in a controlled situation, frequently with muted or out-of-focus backgrounds, so that the subject is the only point of interest. Usually a head-and-shoulders view, the formal portrait is designed to provide an attractive depiction of the subject, which can be enjoyed for years to come. Therefore, the portrait subject is usually centered in the photograph.      An environmental portrait is one that is made in an “environment,” which usually has some connection to the portrait subject. For example, a carpenter working in his woodshop, a homemaker in the kitchen, a sailing buff with his boat, a cyber whiz at a computer, or a hunter in the field posing with his dog. Here the challenge is to capture the subject in an environment that depicts work, hobby or avocation through the backdrop of his or her surroundings. The rules of composition can still apply, since the photo combines several elements in addition to the portrait subject.