The Bangladesh Traveller

Composition tips for photographers: some quick tips

Posted on 27. Jan, 2009 by Mikey Leung in Events, Photography
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You’ve newly arrived in Bangladesh and you’re amazed at the colour and the energy that this country possesses. Each day is a flowing reel of potential images, bursting with human energy. So what should you try and capture in the camera?

Here are some composition tips for getting your viewers ‘into your frame.’ For the full session, you’ll need to come to the training session held on these topics at the Nordic Club next Monday 2 February, see end for more details.

STRONGER COMPOSITIONS MAKES FOR STRONGER PHOTOGRAPHY
Get closer, get intimate – wide angles versus telephotos
One of the biggest limitations of great photography is weak legs. To create a sense of place inside your images you need to be inside that place, and preferably as close as possible. Do not use a telephoto to compensate for getting close to a subject, unless there is some kind of compositional element you desire, or you’re trying to create a candid photograph while remaining unnoticed. You’ve got to move around when you shoot, use your legs, stand on things, bend down and get different angles. A camera, held only at eye level, will produces only eye-level pictures, but it’s best to mix things up as much as possible.

The Rule of Thirds
Imagine a tic-tac-toe box and try composing along those lines with vertical or horizontal lines. Images that have the horizon in the center or faces placed in the center of the photograph deflate the potential visual impact of a photograph that positions the elements on a rule-of-thirds.

Light, the essential ingredient
Good light will help you get that magic shot, so consider that before, during and after your shoot. The best times of day to shoot are for the few hours before dawn, and for the few hours before dusk. If you must shoot at mid-day, position your subjects in a way that the contrast is not too high.

WHAT TO SHOOT?
People and Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, there’s a fantastic opportunity for you to capture amazing photographs of people. If you’re not comfortable shooting people now, start with children. Women have an especially unique opportunity in Bangladesh to photograph other women.

Colour
Dhaka, one of the most frenetic cities on Earth, is actually quite a pleasurable place to go out and take photographs. Outside the city, Bangladesh is an overwhelmingly rural country beset with rivers and so rivers and fields are an integral part of the Bangladeshi existence. These provide good themes for the travel photographer and hence the challenge will be to be in the right places at the right times.

EDIT, EDIT AND EDIT SOME MORE
On Camera
I use two editing processes in my work. The first is ‘on camera’ editing, where I will go through what I’ve shot in a day and delete images that just don’t speak up as loudly as the others.

On Screen
The second edit comes ‘on screen.’ Take your photographs home and if you’re a Mac user like me, rate them so you can quickly discover what your best photographs are. Start getting objective about your photos by pretending that you’re another person viewing them.

For your audience
When showing your images, do remember that ‘less is more.’ I can think of nothing more boring than seeing 300 photos of my friend’s vacation in wherever, half of which were just a different angle on the same thing.

What’s the story?
Storytelling is an art as old as humankind. Ask yourself, what’s the story behind my photos? Ask yourself why somebody would be interested in these things, and what would they have to learn from what you have to show them. In this way, we start drawing out a series of images that communicate something.

The Perfect Frame Part 2: Composition Tips click the photo for full-size preview
Monday, February 2; Nordic Club Hse 18, Rd 55; 18.30 to 20.00; Tk1,500 each. Attendance will be limited to 15 students so register now. If you’re not an expat club card holder then give me a call at 01714 361 173, and we’ll get your name on the list at the gate.

To register, drop me an e-mail at joybangla.info AT gmail.com. Provide your name and phone number and I’ll send you a confirmation.

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Tags: Composition, Photography, Tutorials