See how Jason Powell takes an old photograph back to the site where it was originally taken, then re-photographs the site with the old photograph in the new picture. SEE ARTICLE.

Photographer Jason Powell takes a photo using an historic picture at the Capitol. (Bill O'Leary/WASHINGTON POST)

STEPS TO TAKE – this is also a review of ISO/White Balance & the Composition Blogs

1. Find the old photo then go to the place where it was taken – a childhood home or playground, a historic building or location, a travel location with special meaning.

REVIEW of CAMERA SETTINGS:

2. Match your ISO setting in the camera to the light level at the location: a lot of light – ISO 200; or very little light – ISO 800 or higher (however ISO 800 or more will create some digital grain/ noise but you will get the picture as a trade-off). 

3. Set your WHITE BALANCE for the type of light you are shooting in (sunny, cloudy/overcast, shadow, indoors with tungsten/ incandescent light – choose the appropriate symbol in the White Balance settings).

4. Will this be a close-up, or a long-shot, or a medium-shot?   If it is a close-up and you have a telephoto lens, then use the telephoto.

APERTURE: It will blur the background nicely if the f-stop is under f/8 (f/5.6, f/4, f/3.5, f/2, f/1.8). Set A or AV (your Aperture) setting to the Aperture you want. The camera then chooses the appropriate shutter speed to match up with the Aperture. This is called Aperture priority.  (A smaller Aperture – f/11, f/16, f/22, [aperture numbers are actually fractions 1/11, 1/16, 1/22] will make the background of your image sharper).

5. Your SHUTTER SPEED number should be higher than the length of the lens – for instance: if your lens is 150mm or 200mm, then your shutter speed should be faster (higher) than 150^th/second or 200^th/second (these are also fractions), so that you avoid camera shake/ blur for a sharp image.

Also, if the light is a bit low, you choose the shutter speed greater than your lens length and let the camera choose the appropriate aperture to match up with the shutter speed so that your image is sharp. This is called Shutter speed priority.

REVIEW of COMPOSITION:

6. RULE OF THIRDS or SYMMETRY: When you are composing your image in the viewfinder/viewing screen, you can make the image symmetrical or imagine the Rule of Thirds grid.

Remember, with the Rule of Thirds grid, there are four strong power points that are great locations for objects of interest. Just move yourself and the camera around until your object of interest/person is on one of the power points.

The Rule of Thirds also can be used to place the horizon line(s). Place horizon lines, or ‘partial’ horizon lines, spacially at 1/3, and ½, ¼, or 1/8. Remember that you can have several “horizon lines”, especially if there is no sky.

7. FRAMING: If you want to “hold in” or frame your scene, find something – a shadow, tree, building, post, or anything that creates an edge at the side of the scene – and manage your image in the viewfinder so that you have a different element that ‘frames in’ one or both sides of the image.   This makes the image feel more intimate and inclusive.

8. FOREGROUND: A foreground element (an object that seems closer to you in space and is therefore larger than the background) – in this case the old photograph – gives a sense of depth and space. This is an illusion of course, because the photograph is actually flat, but a great visual trick.

9. DIAGONALS: Strong diagonals give the illusion of depth and distance. Diagonals could be lines made by differences in: tone (light & dark), colour (blue & orange), texture (rough & smooth, fluffy & solid), or different material (grass & concrete). Another great trick.

Well done if you got this far!!! When you reviewed the camera settings and composition, did it make more sense this time? Were you able to compose your scene differently?  THIS TAKES PRACTICE and ATTENTION. So, just keep at it, you will be happy with the results!!!!

Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, age 32, a mother of seven children, in Nipomo, California, March 1936.

DOROTHEA  LANGE - photographs for the F.S.A.

David Fincher, who most recently received Best Director nominations for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network (and who is currently wrapping up The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), is set to produce a biopic about the amazing Depression-era photographer Dorothea Lange. Lange’s work put a human face on the Depression and its effects, and has been extremely influential on documentary photography as a whole. See her photographs of the 1930s drought in the USA at flavorwire:

See the variations of the florence owens thompson photo the ‘Migrant Mother’ photograph above.

August 1936. Drought refugees from Abilene, Texas, following the crops of California as migratory workers. Said the father: “The finest people in this world live in Texas but I just can’t seem to accomplish nothin’ there. Two year drought, then a crop, then two years drought and so on. I got two brothers still trying to make it back there.”

BACKGROUND: Lange’s boss, Roy  Stryker was an American economist, government official, and photographer. He is most famous for heading the Information Division of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) during the Great Depression and launching the documentary photography movement of the FSA. He hired Dorothea Lange as well as Arthur Rothstein, Walker Evans, Ben Shahn, John Vachon, Marion Post Wolcott, Russell Lee, Jack Delano, Gordon Parks, John Collier Jr, Carl Mydans, and Edwin and Louise Rosskam.

STRYKER’S METHOD: 1) Stryker made sure that the photographers were well briefed on their assigned areas before being sent out, and he ensured that they were properly funded. 2) He also made sure that mainstream publications had access to FSA photographs.  3) This both helped focus public attention on the plight of the rural poor and  4) it set up the commercial careers of his photographers.  Wikipedia

Filmaker David Fincher has the possibility of making this depression era come alive through the eyes and camera of Dorothea Lange; with parallels of the struggle and hardships that all displaced workers and their families experience, then and now.

Diagonal and Framing

Notice: The sidewalk line begins at the corner – a strong place or point to begin a diagonal. In this image it is emphasized as well by the tonal difference of dark wall and light sidewalk. The partial diagonal line at the top of the yellow house is also on a diagonal. If you mentally draw a line along the sidewalk and continue the line of the yellow house, you know they will join somewhere in the distance, outside the frame. This gives the illusion of depth.  The image was taken in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico by this blogger.

MORE EXAMPLES: from istockphoto

DIAGONAL garden walkway taken from a HIGH VANTAGE POINT with a FOREGROUND - 1/8 HORIZON LINE of flowers at the bottom/front of the image

Notice: in the Garden image there are 4 Compositional Elements used: Diagonal, High Vantage Point, 1/8 Horizon Line at the bottom edge and the Foreground of flowers at the bottom.

"Vanishing Perspective Point" made by two diagonals meeting in the distance

Strong colours emphasize and Frame two Diagonal Lines that converge in the distance = "Vanishing Perspective"

Diagonals are exciting because they seem to take you INTO the picture!! You have a sense of depth and distance. The most exciting angle is 45 degrees.                                        Notice: the size of any object appears smaller if it is in the distance.

ARE YOU READY for a LITTLE CHALLENGE?  Be playful!!  Have fun!!  Get help!!

1.   On a sunny day, find some solid shadows (not leafy shadows).

2.  How can you make the shadows into a diagonal?  Move yourself one way or the other, higher or lower, and move the camera.  Don’t concern yourself with subject matter, just look for shadows and put them on a diagonal.

3.  If you have read the other Composition Tutorials – especially ‘Rule of Thirds‘ and ‘Horizontal layers‘,  as well as ‘Framing‘ and ‘Foreground,  then incorporate one, two or three of those compositional elements into the image – whatever you can. Again, don’t concern yourself with subject matter, just concentrate on looking for the above elements.

.4.  Play around with variations of a shadow diagonal + plus the other elements, until you realize that you are looking at subject matter (in this case shadows) in a different way.

5. What happened?  Any surprises?  What did you learn from the experience?

Many of us know little about the complexity and challenges of the people of South Africa. The following three differring viewpoints about the diversity, cultures, and the hopes and dreams of the people who live there, will help us to understand through contemporary photographs what South Africa is now. Notice too, how the photographic message can be interpreted/read differently from a political, social, outsider or insider point of view.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

1. BBC News in Pictures – The article starts: “During South Africa’s apartheid era the most common photographs to emerge from the country were of violence, poverty and inequality. But now there is a new breed of photographer flourishing in the formerly segregated nation.”

Click HERE for a glimpse of the show at the V&A Museum, London that ran from April 12 – July 17, 2011 and watch the video with Tamar Garb talking about images of urban sophistication and personal empowerment, poverty, AIDS, homophobia and zenophobia. The exhibition was co-curated by Tamar Garb and Martin Barnes.  

2. African Colours - challenges the meaning of the images and how they were created. African Colours is the premier internet space for the promotion of contemporary African art since 2000. With a central office in Nairobi, its work is supported by representatives  in Africa, Europe & America. Click  HERE to read their viewpoint.

‘Pieter and Maryna Vermeulen with Timana Phosiwa’ (2006) | Pieter Hugo | Courtesy of ‘weblog.liberatormagazine.com’

3. Photographers in South Africa with various allegiances and photographic styles have been telling many of African’s stories from a wide range of vantage points. The British Journal of Photography article gives us an excellent in-depth look at how the photographer, the subject and the viewer are influenced as a result of these multiple viewpoints. The background information in the article creates a base for greater understanding of a changing, complex country that many people know little about. Click HERE for more background.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITKG0dMzUVc

A framing element could be:

• architectural: such as a door, window, archway, edge of a building at the side of the photo,
• architectonic: = acts like architecture - but is not part of a building: stand alone posts or columns, natural archway, even tree trunks that act like posts,
• natural elements: such as plants, tree foliage, tree trunks, rocks, sticks, cave entrance, on one, two or three sides of the subject,
• man-made elements: that act as a frame: car window, people on either side of the subject but who look different eg. Guards at Buckingham palace on either side of your subject, object (like the tires below) on either side of the subject, a texture, pattern, colour or tonal difference on one or both sides of the subject (like the dark shadows in the black and white photo below).

WHY do this? The framing element emphasizes, or isolates, or contains the subject. It is not as dominant as the subject because it has a supporting roll with the intention of leading your eye quickly to the subject. This is especially helpful if the surroundings are busy or distracting. It helps to make sure your subject is emphasized or easily seen.

EXAMPLE:  Thailand rally - seen in Composition #3  ’Foreground’ blog

WHAT CREATES THE FRAME in the following photos? - (all the photos are thanks to istockphoto)

 

 

HOW to do this. Become alert and aware of what you might use as a framing element. Move yourself and your camera until you get the available framing elements in place around your subject.

Answers: Shadows, Double arches, Columns,  Dark door frame on 4 sides, Arms in the foreground on either side of a person beyond, Tires on both sides of a man.

LOOK AROUND RIGHT NOW FOR THESE FRAMING ELEMENTS.

CHALLENGE: Try it with your camera. - Amazing when you know what to look for!

istockphoto.com Chinese Fishermen

A FOREGROUND OBJECT in a scene is a common way to structure a photograph.

A Foreground Object will help to create the illusion of depth in your very flat, two-dimensional photograph. In art and photography there are 3 basic planes: the Foreground – at the front where the objects are large; the Middle ground – the middle distance where objects are smaller; and the Background – the far distance where objects appear the smallest. Because objects appear as different sizes in the three planes, we use that information to create the illusion of space. The following images all seem to have depth that is created by the large size of the foreground objects. Notice that the size differences in all the images relate to the ‘plane’ they are in.  

Foreground Objects

istockphoto.com-manhattan-skater

The gold figure in the ‘foreground‘ of Manhattan Skater is very large compared to the skaters in the middle distance. In this image the space is compressed – it ends at the building in the middle distance – so there really is no distant background. Notice too how the division of thirds has been used – these divisions are created by the gray shadow areas at the bottom (near) and the top (farther) areas of the image. This way the dark figures of the skaters show up against the very white ice.

istockphoto.com Golden Temple

In this image, three people are in the foreground looking toward the Golden Temple that is at the centre point of the background. The image has the additional element of a walkway that is on a diagonal. The blue lake – notice the colour difference – in the middle ground separates the women physically from the temple in the background. Does this also signify an emotional or psychological distance?  If the image included the point where the lake and the walkway meet up, notice that it would be at the upper 1/3 division.  You do not have to know all these structural things to enjoy the picture, but the simplicity and strength of the image was created by the photographer with these things in mind. The good news: after you have done this many, many times, it becomes automatic. What ‘Vantage Point’ has this image been taken from?

The last photograph of a rally or gathering in Thailand also has a foreground figure at the left that is observing the scene. Notice that his red clothes imply he is part of the group at the rally. The gathering is happening in the middle ground. There is enough background – that begins at the two small trees and also close to the top 1/3 division –  to establish the location in a city. The photographer took the image from a high Vantage Point, just as the other two images were. A new composition element has been used here and that is Framing. The two sides of the picture are held in or framed in by the gray post on the left and the building on the right. This helps to ‘contain’ a lot of small, busy details in the image.

Light Field Technology Lens - change the focus later in the computer

A young company called Lytro is introducing their new point and shoot camera with Light Field Technology. The following articles give hope to the camera ‘challenged’, hope for taking fast moving objects, and hope for the moments when you can’t really see the viewing screen but take the picture anyway. This new technology would now give you the option to shoot in very low light when focusing is difficult. It would also give you choices about a shallow depth of field shot that you would like to see in two versions – with different objects in focus – but you only had time to take one shot. It seems that with a camera using Light Field Technology, you can now change your focus after the fact, in the computer!

A 'Light Field' LENS

QUOTES: Ina Fried recently wrote: “The breakthrough is a different type of sensor that captures what are known as light fields — basically, all the light that is moving in all directions in the view of the camera. That offers several advantages over traditional photography, the most revolutionary of which is that photos no longer need to be focused before they are taken.” Ina Fried, Meet the Stealthy Start-Up That Aims to Sharpen Focus of Entire Camera Industry.

Several years earlier Bryan Larson had written: “… I want to address some of the potential possibilities this technology has for photographers: 1) Shoot your photo as usual, but select your focal point on your computer afterwards,                                                  2) Allow the viewer to manually toggle between different focal points,                                    3)  Create precise depth maps using a single image, 4)  Creation of  3D images/models and associated phototexturing.”   Bryan Larson.  Multi-Aperture Photography and Computational Focusing

In 2007 Adobe talked about the technology and a new type of multi-faceted lens:

Technology, is seems, is about to help you out, especially if you are just starting to use a camera or know very little about the settings on your camera. This new lens will create options that you can use, after you take the photo!

Rule of Thirds EXAMPLE

Follow the Composition Series here to create better photographs!

Scientists and researchers have described what you know you feel when the basic structure of something is a satisfying visual configuration – the Parthenon in architecture, the Mona Lisa in painting, the iPod and iPad electronic devices, beautiful faces and many other things that are generally considered visually satisfying:

• This satisfying spatial configuration is based on  –  the Golden Mean or Golden Ratio. It makes you feel good or satisfied.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=piIiR6cqGlY

NOTE: In Composition #2 blog you will learn more about the Golden Ratio – and its cousin the Rule of Thirds. Take a look.

NOTE: Now you can see how the first photograph is structured with the post at 1/3 and the horizon line at 1/3 - (the pile of sand is in the foreground or front plane and blocks you from seeing around the right side = this device is logically called a Foreground Block. You will learn more and more compositional elements in continuing blogs.)                                       The photograph is a glimpse of industrial landscape out the window of a speeding bus. Is it really a photograph about nothing? What time of day is it? What time of year is it? It is not pretty. So, is it - gritty, reality, peripheral vision of something that you really did not see but were aware enough to get a sense of what the whole landscape is about? Again, is it really about nothing?

OK, lets go back to structure.  The beauty of knowing about the Rule of Thirds is you can a) purposely use these powerful divisions, or  b) consciously depart from them when you are constructing a photograph in the viewfinder of your camera or video camera.

YOUR CHOICE:

• It depends on whether you want to put all the emphasis on the elements in the image so that the viewer is drawn into the image, or

• if you want to depart from the Golden Ratio for the purpose of destabilizing the image to make the viewer uncomfortable, so that the image emotionally ‘matches’ the uncomfortable subject matter of the scene.

• You can also normalize a horrifying scene – see this site’s blog on “Edward Burtynsky’s Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico” – by using the Golden Ratio exactly, to create a strong and satisfying image of something shocking, mundane or trivial; where the senses are satisfied but the brain objects to the content or never saw it that way before.

So, the Golden Mean or Rule of Thirds, as it is used in art, is just the beginning, but it is a powerful beginning from which to construct your vision, your intention and your mood for an image.

Let’s look at some images using the RULE of THIRDS ……..………1/3                 1/3

• Look for main figures on a 1/3 line and important parts or objects at the red ‘power points’ where the four lines cross.

EXAMPLE: Floria Sigismondi is an artist who creates extreme images in both her photographs and her videos. She ‘normalizes’ the images and makes them quick to ‘read’ by using the Rule of Thirds.

Floria Sigismondi

Now that you can visualize the thirds grid and know where the four “power points” are, let’s look again and notice how they have been used to construct some vertical images:

• horizon lines or shadows on the top 1/3 horizontal line,

Floria Sigismondi - http://photo.box.sk/techn.php3?id=21

• people placed on a 1/3 vertical line, the face and body in the left photo, or
• important parts/objects on one of the “power points“ - the face and eye - both the left & right images,
• Look again and imagine the grid and power points.

Great art, furniture, architecture, fashion, interior design, devices of all kinds and even our own bodies, follow closely or even loosely the Golden Ratio principle of design. You know in your gut when the design of something deviates too far from the satisfaction of that principle.

• Remember the easy Rule of Thirds proportions = 1:3

THRILL YOURSELF: Start noticing the proportions of everything around you and how you visually feel about what you see! Awareness is a gift to cultivate.

It is recommended that you view COMPOSITION  #1 and #2 first to really understand the Rule of Thirds.

When you are constructing your image in the viewfinder of your camera, you can layer your image with additional horizon lines - or horizontal elements that act like horizon lines. You saw in the prior blog: Composition #2 - Rule of Thirds, how using 1/3 divisions in your image strengthens your composition. That is because 1/3 is a deeply satisfying spatial division to the human brain/psyche.

MULTIPLE HORIZON LINES CHALLENGE: How many horizon lines can you count in each image?  HINT: There are 4 in the first image.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbDMkhzvSdU

Why? Multiple horizon lines can give complexity and depth to your image. You can even use BOTH the top 1/3 line AND the bottom 1/3 line to structure an image. For instance, in a landscape the top 1/3 horizontal line could be where you place the earth/sky line, and the bottom 1/3 might be on a water/land division line, or a forest/field division line or any line created by two different colours, textures or patterns. 

How you can manage that in your viewfinder is to move yourself up and down until those divisions are more or less on the horizontal 1/3 lines. As you move higher or lower - stepping up on something if you need to or squatting on your heels - the distance between the elements will visually expand or compress. TRY IT!

A picture or photograph is a flat, two-dimensional illusion of a scene that is actually three-dimensional. When you take a photograph you can manipulate the illusion of distance and space in several ways.  Multiple horizon lines are just one way to do it. Stay tuned for Dynamic Diagonals, Framing, Vanishing Point, and Foreground objects that also help create the illusion of space.

ACTION: LEARN TO SEE MORE: Watch the video again:

• look for horizon lines close together – earth/ sky, earth/ water.
• look for other horizontal elements that divide the image:  texture differences such as sand/grass or sea/ sand or dark cloud/ light sky or electrical wires. Any others?
• colour differences such as - yellow of dry grass/ dark gray of sandy beach.
• Stop the video at several different images so you can count the “horizon lines”.
• Notice when you can find those divisions more easily.
• Look out your window for some “horizon lines” or partial horizon lines – actual, colour or texture – that horizontally divide the scene out your window .

WELL DONE!!  Do you see how many more divisions that you notice?

When you learn the basics of photography composition you will have a lot more great photos to choose from! So, you need to know the choices you have to structure your image and what effect the different structures have. This is a visual language used in photography, painting/drawing and film. However, the content and the ‘message’ are your own.  The structuring of the image just helps you express the content/mood more clearly through visual reinforcement.  You will often use three or more elements in each image, so there will be many combinations for you to create the feeling that you want.

Thirds Grid with red "Power Points"

Since there are many compositional elements for you to choose from, let’s begin with the basic grid divisions that are classic – the Rule of Thirds – sometimes referred to as Golden Ratio, Golden Section, Golden Mean, Golden Number, or PHI.

The Golden Mean or Rule of Thirds

First, watch this VIDEO to get the idea.  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HIyptT8bMI

Now, some BACKGROUND to the Golden Mean and why it works so well.  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmaVqkR0ZXg

Additional Compositional Elements such as - Shallow Depth of Field, Foreground, Foreground Block, Dynamic Diagonals, Multiple Horizon Lines, Points of View, Framing, Pattern, Panning, Slow Motion and others will be continually added in new blog posts.

ACTION: Find images that you like in the newspaper, National Geographic Magazine and advertisements in Fashion Magazines. If you can mark them up, take a black marker pen or crayon and impose a Grid of Thirds on top of the image, OR imagine the grid over the image. Where does the main subject in the image fit on the grid?  What is on the “power point(s)” - the 4 points where the lines cross? Notice how these photographers structure the image. Can you identify some of the elements in this video?  Scroll all the way through and look for Power Points and 1/3 divisions.                                                                         TRY IT OUT YOURSELF! Hint: move your camera AND yourself to the right position to capture the subject at 1/3.