Composition: Zoom and Perspective

Often when we zoom in or out all we are thinking about is how much of a scene we are capturing - or how "close" our shot is going to be. But zooming has another, very important, effect on our images. Zooming can greatly alter the perspective of an image by compressing or expanding a scene. As we zoom in, the distance between objects in our picture seems less and less. Conversely, as we zoom out, the distance between objects in our picture seems greater and greater. Consider the following two images:

Notice the tree in the foreground (red arrow) is basically the same size. However, the tree marked with the blue arrow seems much farther away in the second image than it does in the first. You can see that all the elements in the two pictures are affected in a similar manner. The fist image was taken at 180mm and the second at 17mm. I ended up with two substantially different images because of the focal length.

Cut Out Distractions

There are lots of things we can do with our cameras to make our pictures look better, but sometimes there are simple things we can do that have nothing to do with our camera settings.  Many times simplifying the scene we are photographing can make our images look better.  Simplifying helps to focus a viewer's attention on our subject.  Often, what seems to stand out when we are looking at real life in three dimensions can blend in when we see it in a two dimensional picture; so it's good to reduce the number of competing or distracting elements that we include in our frame.

There are two primary ways to cut out distractions.  First, we can change our angle in order to change what is behind our subject.  Second, (sometimes) we can just move something out of the way - or wait for something (people) to move out of the way.  In either case, the goal is to make the background more plain and uniform so that our subject doesn't have any competition for attention.

In the picture below I noticed the colorful toys were distracting from my subject.

So I moved them.

If you have the means, you can remove distractions after the fact on your computer.  This is the same image as the one above with a little Photoshop magic:

Composition: Lines

The two images above display a principle that is talked about often in landscape and nature photography. Lines can be used to draw one's attention into an image.  Our eyes naturally follow strong lines in a photograph so lines that lead toward the center of the frame will naturally help focus our attention there.  Taking advantage of this principle helps us to create more interesting and more compelling pictures.

This same principle can be applied when we are photographing children (or anything else.)  Consider how lines lead your eyes and focus your attention in these images:

Composition: Framing Your Subject

As we try to produce more compelling and attractive images, it is important to consider some design principles.  One technique that can make your pictures more pleasing is framing your subject.  Framing your subject helps to isolate and highlight the most important part of your image.  The result is the same as framing a painting or a printed picture - when you hang it on the wall the frame showcases what it's containing.

Sometimes frames within an image are obvious (like in the picture above,) but they don't necessarily have to be so straightforward.  Any lines that cut across you image and create a border for your subject can serve as a frame.

Composition: Cut Off the Subject

Sometimes it's fun to do something different.  Here's a technique you can experiment with (but you probably don't want to over do it):  Try cutting your subject in half with the edge of your frame.  Doing so gives your image a bit of mystery (or mischievousness depending on the facial expression.)  It may not be for everybody - and it certainly isn't for every shot - but it's a fun trick to play with from time to time.  Here are some examples:

Looking Down on Your Kids

Recently I wrote this post about photographing your children on their level by squatting down. In general, I think moms should make a habit of employing that technique. However, there aren't any "rules" of composition that can't be broken. Often, doing something unusual can produce a compelling and interesting image.

One of my favorite techniques when photographing my own kids is shooting down from directly above them. It emphasizes how small they are and highlights their helplessness. One key, though is to make sure you get their attention - seeing their eyes is often what makes the image work. Check out these examples and try it for yourself.

Composition: Stoop to Their Level

Have you ever seen a row of professional photographers kneeling down on a sideline? They sure are lazy. Or maybe they know what they are doing. What about somebody you've paid to photograph your kids - did he or she kneel down?

Lots of times we can improve our photographs by getting on the same level as our subject. This is particularly true when photographing kids. While I have seen lots of pros getting their knees dirty, I don't see moms do it very often. But if you kneel, squat or sit, I think you'll like the results.

Getting on your kids' level makes your photographs seem much more personal. It makes the viewer feel like part of the scene instead of like an outside observer. Check out the difference it makes in these pictures:

Composition: Crooked Camera

If you are a perfectionist like me, you probably notice when a picture is just a bit askew. It's like the person was standing on a hill to take a picture or one of his legs is shorter than the other. Whatever the reason, it just doesn't look right. So when you are trying to hold your camera straight, make sure it's straight.

However, don't feel like you always have to have your camera in either the horizontal or vertical position. Sometimes tilting your camera off of the axis can make your image much more interesting - just make sure it looks like you did it on purpose.

Check out these examples:

Composition: Off-Center

We often get in a rut when it comes to photographic composition. It's good to experiment with different techniques and styles. One thing to try is putting your subject off-center. Instead of lining your subject up with the box in the middle of your view finder, put it off to one side. (There's a composition rule called "the rule of thirds" that makes this same point.)

Having your subject in the center of your frame is by no means bad. However, in some circumstances, your image can be much more interesting and compelling if the subject is not centered. Consider these images.

Composition: Fill the Frame - Caveat

I talked last time about filling the frame and cutting elements out of your image that don't contribute to its success. This typically means zooming in or walking closer, but don't take this too far and think that every picture should be a close-up. Sometimes it is better to fill the frame by zooming out.

Remember to pay attention to what you can see through the view finder (and not just what you are looking at.) Consider whether your picture would benefit from adding more of the scene.

Sometimes it is beneficial to add elements to your image that provide context or a more interesting composition. With kids, this often means showing enough of what is happening around them so that someone who wasn't there can tell what was going on. Many times making your child small in the frame can be compelling if the rest of the image is interesting and well composed.

Consider this shot of our daughter at the aquarium in Atlanta:

Composition: Fill the Frame

When composing a shot through the view finder of your camera, it is important to consider how much of a scene you are including in your shot. Often times pictures can be improved by simply zooming (or walking) closer to your subject. By doing this, we can literally fill up our frame with what we are trying to capture in an image. Many times inexperienced photographers include unneeded elements that end up being distractions.

As you frame your shot try to "fill the frame" with your subject. If your child is the subject, let him stretch from edge to edge or top to bottom. After all, he is the most important part of the picture.

Too many times we concentrate on what we are looking at and not what we can see. While your eye is on your view finder, ask yourself what you can see that doesn't add to the appeal of the scene, and then cut it out by zooming closer.

In this image, notice how much "extra junk" there is. Do we need to see that much stroller? What about that bench in the background? It doesn't add anything helpful to the picture by giving us context or an interesting visual element. We don't really want to look at any of that stuff, so why include it in the frame?

This is better. Now we see that beautiful girl first and our eyes don't bounce around to anything else.