The lines don’t have to all point in the same direction.  You can even use them as a framing device for your subject.

[Geek note:  Did you know the golden rule of composition Mark talked about in the last blog is based on the Fibonacci sequence?  This sequence is found throughout nature, like the seeds in this sunflower.]

And, we’re back.

Diagonal and converging lines are the most compelling and dynamic for your viewer.  The lines don’t even have to be straight to perform their magic.  In this photo, I have the base lines converging and pointing to the batter, who is in a box (more lines), with a curved line encircling home plate.

We can go even deeper if you want.  The catcher and umpire form a line pointing to the batter, who is holding a bat (a line).  Even the blur of the ball directs you to the batter.  Sometimes the scene isn’t the least bit subtle.

The lines don’t have to be as obvious as these examples.  The kayaker in this shot is surrounded by the white lines of splash from the rapids.  The line of the rock behind her echoes the angle of her paddle.  Her arms and the kayak form a nice triangle.

So, the next time you are trying to compose a photograph, instead of shooting a snapshot, slow down and take a breath.  Look for some lines in your scene.  Try to incorporate them in the most pleasing way to enhance your photo and lead your viewer to the subject.  When you are studying the iconic images of the great artists and photographers you admire, look for lines in their work; they are in there.  If you think about your composition before you push the shutter, you’ll be much happier with your results.

So we have our definitions straight, there are two basic orientations: vertical and horizontal.  Yes, there are squares and lots of other shapes, but vertical and horizontal are the ones most frequently used.  If you use their alternate names, portrait and landscape, you can quickly guess their most frequent subject matter.  Usually – nothing is “always” – there is an orientation that works best for certain subjects.

This isn’t complicated, right?  Long and tall subjects are usually put into a vertical format, and wide subjects into horizontal.

You need to look at the scene to determine which orientation will look better.  If you aren’t sure, shoot it in both formats; these are guidelines, not concrete rules.  Sometimes, the same subject can fit in either format.  For example, a horse is wide and made for horizontal.

But if you put the same horse in a different position, it may look better in vertical.

Horizon lines can be found in either format, but the general consensus is you don’t want them in the middle of the photograph.  If you put it in the middle, it is considered less pleasing to the eye.

Yeah, I know, it’s more than the horizon in the middle that makes the above photograph less pleasing.  To make things more confusing, a horizon line doesn’t always have to be an actual horizon; it might just be a prominent division that bisects your photograph.  Here is an example photograph with a little more to look at.  It has the line in the middle.  Some people still like this.

I prefer to move the line so that it is about one third up from the bottom of the image.  This will divide the photo into three areas, each occupying about a third of the space: water; glacier; and clouds.

Let’s combine these two ideas.  In the photo below, I wanted a vertical orientation.  It seems obvious because the bugler is standing; the tombstones are vertical; and the tree is tall.  I put the bugler in the bottom left and created a framing with the tombstones and the tree.  I intentionally made the bugler a small part of the image.  But I should have paid closer attention to the “horizon line” being created by the tree.

The photo loses much of its impact because of the horizon line.  When I shifted to a landscape orientation, with a crop, it was easy to eliminate the distraction of the horizon line.  I kept the bugler one third of the way into the photo, and he is still framed by the tree and tombstones.  He also becomes a larger component of the composition, but it is a better photo.

Composition can be a complicated, esoteric subject, but you shouldn’t avoid learning about it.  Some photographers love to argue and debate for hours about the true meaning of everything they do.  I believe you should understand the basics and use them to improve the quality of your work, but make the photographs you want to make while the pointy heads are having their debates.  The conventions and “rules” of composition shouldn’t intimidate you into putting your camera on shelf.

And with that, I’ll close with a bow and a suggestion to go out and have some fun.

I’ve always enjoyed photographing kids.  They are almost always lots of fun as photographic subjects.  As with other people shots, my favorite background is wherever they might be.

You usually need to give yourself lots of time when photographing kids.  Their first reaction is to mug for the camera.  My advice is to let them do it.  Go ahead and snap a few photos.  The sooner they get it out of their system and just get used to the camera being there, the more natural they will be.  If you’re really lucky, they’ll completely forget you’re there.

I like to be in their environment, so they’ll just forget about the camera and go about their “normal” routine.  Your main goal is to prevent any stress over the situation.  Keep the kid relaxed, and their faces will be delightful.  You can gain their trust and help them relax by relaxing yourself.  If you have a frown on your own face, they will not respond with carefree abandon.  Put the camera down and engage in their make-believe for a little while; tell them silly knock-knock jokes; let them ride around their yard.  Get down on their level for better photos, and so you don’t tower over them.  My goal is to make them absolutely comfortable, especially if this is the first time they’ve met me.

When you’re inside, take your flash off full power and put it on the lowest possible setting you can.  This allows the ambient light to fill in your background.  And get your flash off your camera, so you don’t get the “red eye.”  You can do this with sync cords, wireless triggers, or your camera’s own IR system; modern cameras have plenty of alternatives for you.

The newer cameras have much more latitude with high ISOs, allowing you to shoot images that, a few years ago, would have required you to have a flash but are now obtainable without one.  This guy was in the back of the barber shop, far away from the window.  I cranked up the ISO and fired away.

Babies are really fun because their expressions can change every second.  You should shoot plenty of photos to capture them all.  Babies like to see your face, especially your eyes.  This is hard to accomplish with a big camera glued to your face.  A good technique is to learn to shoot with your camera below your chin.  With practice, this will get easier for you.  And imagine how surprised and pleased his mother will be when she sees how quickly you connect with her little tyke.  If you can’t figure this out to your satisfaction, get a soft toy with big eyes and attach it to your camera, so the baby has something to interact with.

Bigger kids can be moody sometimes, but if you use similar techniques, you can reach them.  They can understand some of your posing requests, but don’t rush them into some weird position.  Give them the respect of their age.  Talk to them about things they care about.  Talk to them about school, friends, computer games, movies, music, etc.  Take the focus off the dreaded “annual photo for Mom and Dad.”  If you take the time to do this, you’ll see them relax and give you natural smiles.

Kids are my favorite people.  I enjoy spending time with them because they’re all so different.  They haven’t developed the attitudes of adults; they don’t worry about deadlines or bills.  With a good attitude and plenty of time, you can have lots of fun.  Kids don’t have to give you fits.  In fact, if they do, you may want to concentrate on landscapes.

If you were asked to name the subject of the majority of photos taken every day, you would probably guess, correctly, that it is people.  (If you guessed incorrectly, let me know, and I’ll try to be less subtle in my blog titles.) 

It makes sense to me.  People fascinate us, and we will look at photos of just about anyone, in any setting.  There are many reasons we make photographs of people: to capture important world events; record the routine, small moments of daily life; to illustrate a human condition; or special family event.  We have industries dedicated to photos of famous people, forgotten people, historic people, cute people, funny people, naked people, and villains.  Those photos can be broken down into formal portraits, candids, environmental, snapshots, fine art, photojournalism, and many other categories.  In other words, we shoot a whole lot of people, for a whole lot of reasons.

This can be overwhelming to new photographers who are trying to expand their skills.   There are videos, books, and workshops on each aspect and scenario of photographing people, and many give conflicting advice.  Some are very specialized – I have a 400-page, post-processing book, titled “Skin.”  (It’s a great book, by Lee Varis.  I highly recommend it.)  Where do you begin?  How do you improve your portraits?

We’ll keep it pretty general today, and get into more specific things in upcoming blogs.  Here are a few basic steps.

First of all (and you’ve read these words here before), learn the basics of your camera.  You need to understand what happens when you turn the right knob to this setting as opposed the left button to that setting.  That means practice.  Yeah, like the piano teacher used to tell you before you convinced your mom that you weren’t going to be the next Van Cliburn.  Once you know how your camera operates, you can push that part aside and concentrate on whatever subject matter you point the camera.  Practice gives you permission to open the creative side of your brain.

Know the purpose of the photograph and critique yourself.  This is a snapshot of a cute kid, playing on a summer day.  If that’s what you were trying to create, so be it.  Don’t apologize for snapshots; they are part of people photography and can capture treasured moments.  Snapshots are only bad if you meant to get something else.  You are recording a moment here, not creating fine art.  Give your snapshots a critique, but keep it at the appropriate snapshot level of “good” and “needs work”.  Good: I’m at his eye level (more interesting); I’ve told the story (he’s playing in the pool); and the image is sharp (I used appropriate camera settings).  Improvement needed: The pickets are distracting (I should try to change my position; there are steps to the right of the pool); framing (I probably don’t need the entire pool to tell the story; I should have only used half of the pool or, at least, not cut the middle of the right leg); his expression is kind of bland.  Done? Now, let it go.  This one won’t win the Pulitzer, but you learned something while you took a snapshot that his parents can cherish.

Work on telling a story with your photographs.  Why did you take it?  Is it showing something humorous?  A moment of success?  A time for reflection on our mortality?  Ideally, the viewer should know what is going on in your photograph. Generally, if your viewer understands your image, they will appreciate it more.  The story may be simple or complex, but it should be present.

Do you understand your camera mechanics?  You’ve practiced so that the buttonology doesn’t slow you down?   Can your viewer understand the story of your photograph? This might be a good time to go back and review your images again.  What seems to be your favorite segment of people photography?  Hint: you probably have more of this type of people photos in your files.  This is probably a good place to start working harder at the details and jump into learning some of the more subtle skills to make your photographs stand out.  You shouldn’t stop photographing all the other areas you enjoy, but, if you can decipher what you like the most, you’ll probably learn faster in that segment.  By the way, most of the skills you learn will overlap other varieties of photographing people (and even other subjects).

The goal is simple: you want to improve your photography.  As you grow more skilled, you’ll be able to create a planned session; with the right camera settings; without distracting elements in the scene.  A posed shot that everyone else thinks you just happened upon.

To quote one of my favorite people, “This ain’t rocket surgery.”

These images have been processed using the Adobe Lightroom 4 Beta and the noise reduction algorithm really is an improvement.  Even though I had jacked the ISO up to 640—pretty much the maximum usable value for the D300, I could still see a lot of noise.  It was more evident due to the calm water.One of the other features of the new version is just the overall processing algorithm, it was visibly faster and made the colors appear just like that early morning.  

We had a really relaxing weekend with some good food, some nice wine and a view from our room which captured the magic of the Chesapeake Bay.  …plus I got to take some photos.