In a world of color, why would you want to create black and white photos? There are many reasons to do so, from the timeless nature of the image to the way it enhances the mood and tones in the photo. It is also a way to see differently and grow your composition skills.
Photographer and YouTuber Mark Denny has created an on-location landscape workflow that allows him to repeatedly create the best images when shooting. In this 14-minute video, he breaks down his five easy-to-remember steps that you can replicate.
There is a wealth of information on the internet about composition—endless blog posts about visual rules, geometric concepts, and photos with all kinds of lines and shapes drawn over them to the prove the point. But all of this information focuses on the "what" of composition rather than the "why." A photographer must stop and ask themselves: "why even bother following visual rules?"
Landscape photographer Mark Denney recently stumbled across an old folder full of "favorite" images from a few years back. At first, he was just enjoying seeing the progressed he'd made over the years, but then he noticed something: "As I reviewed these images, I noticed the same three compositional mistakes repeated over and over."
When it comes to composition “rules”, it’s important to understand the concepts so that you have them in the back of your mind while shooting. You’re not going to jail if you break them, but you will likely end up with a better image if you follow them! This 6-minute video from photographer Evan Ranft runs through 4 common composition mistakes that photographers make, and how to avoid them.
Improving your composition can bring balance and personality to your photography, simultaneously enabling you to produce more appealing images. And as quick tips go, this 90-second video from Mango Street Lab is absolutely packed full of key compositional advice.
Today I want to share a super-simple idea that, if you can grasp it and put it into practice, I guarantee will really help your photography.
When was the last time you saw a round photo? It's probably been a while. The world is ruled by squares and rectangles. It's almost as if there's no place for circles, but I have come round to thinking that maybe those ancient mathematicians were onto something when they got all excited by circles, maybe you can have your pi and eat it too.
Here's a simple composition tip that promises to help add depth and impact to your images. Instead of thinking of light and lines separately, try to combine the two by having your strongest light source and your leading lines work together.
Every great photograph consists of three key elements. First and foremost composition, then lighting and, of course, the moment. Look at any great image and you’ll notice these elements.
The filmmakers behind ShoHawk have put together a simple infographic for filmmakers that, with all due respect of course, we think applies even better to photographers. The graphic describes 15 principles of Mise en Scéne, and it helps explain how different visual elements and styles in an scene (or photo) help tell different kinds of stories.
There are only a few people alive as qualified to give photography and composition advice as Huntington Witherill. A former "artist of the year," he studied under the great Ansel Adams and in this video he describes his approach to composing eye-catching images.
Here's a great video on photographic composition, created by The Cooperative of Photography using tips and photographs by legendary photojournalist Steve McCurry. Each of the 9 composition tips is illustrated with examples from McCurry's impressive body of work.