Tips for Creative Composition in Portrait Digital Photography
Written by: Milos Pesic
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Word Count: 335 |
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 |
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Perhaps, you have wondered how to make your photos more effective. Well, one of the easiest ways would be to vary the composition and poses you use. If you always have the person standing in the middle of your photo, your future photos will soon become as predictable as another re-run of Last of the Summer Wine.
Make some experiments. For example, don't always place the person in the center of the photo. Try to place them more to one side, and find out what happens. Even with a small change you will make a big difference to the equilibrium of the image and a viewer's experience of it. One of the best-known compositional rules is the rule of thirds which means that you divide the photo up into nine squares. If you frame the shot in a way that the person occupies 2/3 of the picture, it will be dynamic but still in balance. If you move them further to the side, the sense of drama will increase.
The same is true if you place them lower in the picture, with more space above them than would be normal. The important thing to remember is that when it comes to composition there are no rights and wrongs; it's all subjective. If it looks good to you and has impact, go with it.
You can create more interest by changing your height in relation to the person. If you lie down and look up at them, or find an elevated area and look down at them, the effect will be completely different. With the first approach you will make them look tall, elongating the legs and the body; in the second approach, the head will be the most prominent thing, with the body and legs receding.
You might also consider a diagonal composition (typically the digital camera needs to be tipped 30 to 45 degrees from the horizontal). When done well it can really strengthen the appeal of an image.
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