I bought a camera on impulse during the lock down, around the end of 2020. Haven't held it until recently, intending to take portraits, so went on, clicked them buttons, got home, rendered, and then it hit me, they, for lack of a better word, kinda suck, how to make these better?

With the quest to improve them portraits, i went to the netz, looked about the whats and hows of photography, fascination and intrigue cloaked me, a few hours later in the rabbit hole, I got hooked, got hooked by a topic, by the concept of photo composition.

what is composition?

with the help of youtubes, below is a summary of what i have gathered so far, this blog entry also serves as a reference whenever I get stuck on how to progress.

Composition

what is in the frame, where it is located, and the relationship established by these elements and how they're positioned to convey meaning.

not sure what is it yet, but from above, i understand it means "framing a subject, and the setting". As someone famous also said

What you put in the frame determines the photograph. Joel Meyerowitz

He went on and continued to mention about what you put in and what you decide to leave out determines the photo. I highly suggest we go and rewatch that episode.

So composition is essentially the concept of where and what we put in a frame. Along this definition, below are notes from some of the videos about composition that i think will be useful.

take away as much as you can, focus on a subject, have a dominant subject
introduce depth, have a background, foreground, midground, control these by adjusting your aperture, by applying blur (also related, headrooms)
use the rule of thirds - subject on one of the four crossings, above or below the lines
balance
- care with negative and dead space, i find this valid with stills
- i find that negative space is wanted in places like subjects intending to do action, have space in the direction of action (related, leading/looking room)
leading lines, unsure if this is under geometry, but separating as i feel their is much more to understand here
geometry, patterns, repetitions, shapes, textures
symmetry - their is beauty in symmetry (and asymmetry)
fill the frame, for stills, fill the frame
framing/frame within frame - also look for "non-frame" frames like colors, shadows, etc
use contrast
use shadows
break the rules

Above is a list of things i thought should be recorded, will update them as we learn more about composing our photos. Also, do not forget, you do you

embrace imperfections - shown in Ernst Haas works

During the search, several photography topics were also touched on, and not knowing where to fit them, i decided to continue below.

Composition (After)

Things to mull over after above, think about the elements in below perspectives ;), incorporate these to above after sometime.

Story telling from a single image. Characters, situation, power dynamic, sense of drama, theme, movement.

aspect ratio.
points (Focal Points)
- direct the viewers eyes, direct attention
lines
- vertical => height and strength
- horizontal => distance and calm
- diagonals => off-tilted energy
- curved => graceful
- leading lines to pull the eyes
shapes
- irregular => organic, natural, chaotic
- geometric => tidy and order
texture and patterns
- with textures, we can pop or blend in subject against the background
- patterns and repetitions to show, power and control, harmony, insanity
- breaking patterns to highlight
- more tangible connection of the viewer to the image
spaces
- positive => area given to the subject
- negative => empty space that surrounds them
- large space taken => more important
- filled frame => more chaotic
- spacious/simplified frame => soothing/sad
depth
- fg, mg, bg
- shows hierarchy of importance/power
balance
- to control order
- odds is mostly better
- the horizon line
angles/perspective
color and tone
- tone => brightness and contrast of an image

combine these all, plan ahead!

Where to go next?

Elements/Building Blocks

shape

The outline of the object, length, width. Shape creates balance and harmony. Try the easy hack of squinting or defocusing the lens, you'll for sure see shapes.

form

depth, dimension, to look real, to look 3d rather than flat. Enhance form and shape to introduce depth. Introduce form through lighting, use light and shadow to give a sense of volume.

texture

This elevates the surface detail, makes you able to connect with it, touch it. Our brain makes a connection based on how things feel like. Emphasize by making the light skid along the surface, thats why golden hour photos has dem nice effects.

light

Warm light normally mean calm, direct light is to dramatic and intense mood. Pay attention to the quality, intensity, direction, the color of light in the scene.

color

Separates your subject, makes subjects pop, used to show more of previous building blocks.

mood

Not sure.

Why i think i started

take photos to tell a story, show the world a face of a state of a fragment in time in a bounded miniscule space, to not forget. I just want to photograph mundane stuff, portraits, the streets, what happens in the streets.

Am I a photographer now? No, I would like to think that I am someone who just wants to show a story

Sources

Below is where I got the most of whats bulleted in this post, but a lot lot more can be found and digested in the netz