Pictures don't just come out looking right. If you look at some of the pictures you especially like, you will notice that the way the picture was composed probably has a lot to do with it. What we mean by composition is how you place your subject(s) on the blank canvas that's your 4x6 (or 5x7 or 8x10).
With today's high-tech pro cameras and IS and VR lenses, learning to take perfectly sharp, expertly exposed photographs is a snap. There are thousands of technically perfect photographs in print and on the web and it seems there are as many talented amateurs emerging every day. But there is a notable difference in the work of a photographer who takes the time to think about the composition of their image. The composition sets the mood for the shot and tells the story. Compositions can be used to evoke powerful emotional responses in a viewer, a goal for many photographers, but something that is achieved by few.
When we spot a great photo waiting to happen, photographers often take many shots of the same thing to better their odds of doing it justice. But how often have you viewed your shots later and ended up with 5, 10, or 20 photos of the same scene or subject that are, well, pretty darn good! You can't put all these duplicates in your portfolio or your 'Favorites' set on Twitter, so you are left with the challenge of needing to pick your best photo from the set. How do you do it?
Portrait photography can be one of the more challenging aspects of photography; capturing a photo that appears natural and conveys the subject's personality is a skill that takes practice. The good news is you don't need any fancy equipment to snap great portraits, because portrait photography is about capturing a sense of a person's character, rather than producing technically perfect compositions. These tips will help you move beyond simple 'snapshots' to taking some truly engaging portrait photos.
Have you seen a photograph that you literally want to step through the frame and enter that world? Or have you seen a photograph that instantly made your mouth water and your hunger give a little twitch of hunger? Composition in photography is creating a story or capturing a moment that comes to life through the photograph. Professional photographers spend hours in the classroom learning the techniques for composition in photography and even more hours learning and fine-tuning this skill.