Composition training and resources?

[l2oBiN]

I am more and more recognising that i would like to improve my "eye" for pleasing arrangements/composition to be able to make great images of my surroundings rather than relying on "the grand views" as so many images do. Does anyone have any recommendations on books/reading material/example photos/general tips etc...that helped develop their "eye" or might be a good read in general?

Marko

[Tim Meisburger]

I have read three books on composition recently, and truthfully I don't think they helped me much. They do provide a compositional vocabulary that is useful in describing why an image works, but nothing I read set off any insights in my head. I think the only advice I've ever had that was really useful was get closer, look around the frame, and that a strong composition will be visible in a thumbnail.

I will be really interested in the responses to this question.

[jnantz]

hi marko

i haven't ever found instructional photo books helpful at composition
but i have found going to museums, and looking at artwork very helpful,
any kind of art, painting, sculpture, photography ... new, old, its all good.

good luck !
john

[IanG]

You might look at the Michael Freeman book "Achieving Photographic Style". It's a book that looks at the style &ways of working of many well known phographers and talks about trying to find your own style.

Ian

[Preston]

Reading a book is a good way to understand the basic concept behind composition and to learn the terminology. Also, looking at the work of those who's work 'sings' for you is also helpful. In my opinion though, making photographs is really the only way to refine your craft and vision.

As we all know, the view camera has that nice, big groundglass. So, link up with a fellow photographer whos work you admire, or inspires you, and kindly ask them to have a look at your proposed composition. Ask that person pointed questions and let them know you will not take their critical comments personally.

Bear in mind though, that anyone providing suggestions on composition will be imparting their own vision/ compositional style. You are the final arbitor.

--P

[chassis]

This is a great thread. The OP’s question is one I have been thinking about lately. I agree with the comments that reading a book gives an appreciation and a common language. For my own work, I have found that getting out there and making the image is the best way to develop composition skills.

I like the idea to get closer and look around the frame.

There is a good thread somewhere on this site started by Frank Petronio, something like “what I would have done..." is a good one. The comment in mind is the one about making the image anyway, rather than thinking to yourself, “nope, there’s nothing here”.

[Nathan Potter]

A really excellent thread and here is how I handle composition.

In the broadest sense composition comes from knowing what you are trying to show and say in a photograph. What exactly are you trying to communicate about the scene? Once you have a clear idea about that, then composition needs to take hold, and for me that means eliminating every possible distraction that could muddle the intent of the message.

Composition is not very difficult in concept and general principles can be found in books on design. In general I try to avoid any image elements that are not related to the subject at hand. Any geometrical construction within the image will weaken the composition unless of course that is the subject of the image. In a sense such an approach leads to some degree of minimalism but in practice often complex subjects and ideas will require a complex scene but always the message should be clear.

Of course after years of image making I now am super critical about how to frame a scene in a way that eliminates distractions. I don't bother taking stuff I really like unless the composition is nearly flawless. Maybe the penalty I pay for being obsessive.

Nathan Potter, Austin TX.

[ROL]

Excellent question, and one I believe many, many photographers would benefit from asking themselves. In the absence of natural talent, I generally suggest seeking out basic drawing (i.e., basic art) classes at your local college or extension program. You gotta know the rules before you can break them. It is also worth considering that composition involves more than physical subject structure, but also light itself, both tonal and/or saturation. You may find useful in your education the ability of most modern dCams to provide a simple assisting "Rule of Thirds" overlay, without the penalty of developing and printing. And if at first you don't "succeed", there's always cropping.

[Struan Gray]

I internalised more than I realised by visiting lots of art galleries. Some of it had to be unlearned.

Photography claims to have revolutionised the framing of images, but any good art history will have a chapter on the influence of Japanese woodcut prints on western painting, and a lot of that had to do with framing and interactions with the borders of the image. A lot of the famous sets of images are now available online.

I have learned a lot from abstract or near-abstract art, particularly painting and print making. Some of it is nothing but composition, and provides good lessons in how feeling and gesture can be generated from very simple means.

I've deliberately refrained from specific recommendations. You'll learn much more if you find your own. Expose yourself to as wide a variety as you can, and choose your own favourites and models to follow. I am largely inspired by landscape, but many of those I have learned the most from are landscapes by people best known for other work. I wouldn't have found them by asking others where to look for the best landscape photographers and painters.

One exception. A book I browsed in a bookshop on a rainy afternoon but have never forgotten. Pictures on a page by Harold Evans. A news editor's view of how to take the photographs submitted by the photojournalists and crop them to make headline images. A great way of seeing how narrative can be built (or destroyed) by framing and juxtaposition.

[Greg Miller]

And if at first you don't "succeed", there's always cropping.

Assuming the camera was in the right place, at the right height, with the right focal length lens, with the right depth of field, at the right time of day, in the right season, when the sun is coming from the right direction, in the right weather conditions.

I agree with Preston and the concept of finding a mentor who can go out in the field with you and assist you.