Composition 101...again lol?

Question

I’ve been having a lot of hard time trying to get good composition ,partly because I never tried to learn, but I kind of began to understand the basics and the importance of following the guidelines(as it has ruined some of my pics partly) and I know sometimes I should brake the rules to make my photos a bit more artistic(as Picasso did) but im just posting some of this pics up to see if im improving at all, I tried to get them done as fast as I could so I can get used to naturally getting composition into place. I tried to do cross, rule of thirds, and the golden rule, I want to learn on simple objects first before I can start on the complexity of people…..

http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=co1ei9.jpg

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9461/co12jf6.jpg

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9461/co12jf6.jpg

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9059/co14xq0.jpg

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/1473/co15az2.jpg

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/1473/co15az2.jpg

http://img170.imageshack.us/my.php?image=co16uu7.jpg

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/807/co13xn6.jpg

Sorry for repeating some pics, these were thones supoosed to follow after the repeated ones

Answer 1

Sorry, you can't expect to get there overnight by shooting whatever you ran across in your home. Nikonfotos has given you a couple of good websites, betterphoto is a good site for short tutorials. Also try www.photo.net. Many forums there on different aspects of photography, but if nothing else, browse some portfolios to see good composition and post work. The quality there is higher than Flickr or myspace, on the whole.

Kodak has a good website as well. I think it is kodak.com. They have lots of tips and tutorials for beginning photographers. They also have a great book on SLR photography. It is out of print and geared for the film user, but exposure and composition are the same no matter what media you are using to create your images.

Continue to practice, of course. But you need some more formal learning in order to improve as you go. Otherwise you will make the same mistake over and over and never realize what you could be doing differently. Look at some photos in magazines like National Geographic or even the bridal and fashion magazines, if you're interested in portraiture. Study the composition and lighting. Then try to duplicate the same thing on your own. Compare and see what you get right and what you missed. Then adjust and try again.

Don't give up. You can learn this stuff, but it will take some effort and won't happen overnight. Get some books and study the basics. Learn your camera and how it functions. Keep practicing. Let us know how it goes!

PS Get a book called "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. You can find it on Amazon or maybe in your local book store. He has a revised version out for digital, and it is one of the best books on using natural light ever! If you don't read a single other thing, get this book!

Answer 2

There was no composition or any of the rules of thirds. From what I saw in your pictures they were snap shots of objects in the house. If you want to be a photographer you need to do some reading and learn these things if not you will just keep shooting snap shots. In stead of trying to be like Picasso and breaking the rules and stuff why don't you look at a book by Ansel Adams since he was a master photographer.

A simple definition of rules of thirds is your view finder is broken up into 9 grids like a tic-tac-toe board. You need to put your subject if it is say a sunrise in maybe the lower left corner if it has a lot of nice colorful clouds in the sky, if the sky has no clouds but you have a good landscape then you move it to the top. The last thing you do is put it "dead center" which is what most people do.

Here are few links do some reading:

http://www.photonhead.com/beginners/
http://www.betterphoto.com/home.asp
http://www.lexar.com/dp/index.html?CMP=EMC-DP

Also go over to my 360 profile and look at the photos there it will give you an idea on some of the questions you asked.

I hope this helps,
Kevin

Answer 3

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Answer 4

I wonder if the first guy looked close enough at your photos. Your photos definitely seem to adhere to the rule of thirds, in part. However, your subject matter is less than intriguing, and you need to work on getting the pictures in focus. Good luck, and keep shooting.