Sherman
05-15-2005, 09:22 PM
I’ve actually started this discussion several different times over the last month. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is simply too broad a topic to say “take pictures this way.” There are so many factors in what makes a certain photograph layout look good. I’ll try to focus on general theories, but I feel obligated to remind you that photography seems to be one the best areas to use the cliché “Rules are meant to be broken.” In light of all the trouble I’ve had with organizing this topic, I’ve decided to share concepts and practices in what has seem to become a rather disorganized manner.
A core concept of composition is to draw attention to the subject of the photo. In our cases, this can mean a single coral or fish. It can mean a close-up of something abnormal, like ich spots or some abrasion. It can mean full tank shots, and it can even mean full room with tank shots. Whichever the subject, it is important that it is displayed appropriately. It should be the “center of attention.” Where is your eye drawn? What catches your attention? This is achieved in many ways. Focus and depth of field, framing, color, brightness, or any other sort of differentiation from the rest of the photograph are all very workable ways to set your subject apart.
Depth of Field
Depth of field is actually a fairly simple concept that many people try to over analyze. Basically, depth of field refers to the distance between the closest thing and the farthest thing in the photograph that are still in focus. Imagine shooting a photo of a long line of people, with the line going away from the camera. One can presume the first person in line would be in focus, as would the first few. But the people would become more and more out of focus as they were further away from the camera. This is depth of field (DOF) in practice, and is an extremely effective way of setting a subject apart from the rest of the photo. To be most effective with DOF, try to maximize the distance between the subject and the background. In the case of a reef tank, this would mean moving corals, and this simply isn’t possible. Therefore, you need to move in as close as possible, while still maintaining sharp focus on the subject.
Depth of field is also controlled with your aperture setting (f/stop). The larger the aperture (the small the f/number) the shallower the DOF. Additionally, the closer to the camera the subject is, the shallower the DOF. Here are examples. Imagine shooting a scenic photo where you were standing on a riverbank, trying to capture a tree on the opposite bank. Immediately in front of you is the river (as the foreground) and a mountain range off in the distance as the background. If you were to focus on the tree, all the way across the river, you should expect that the entire river, as well as the mountains would all be in focus. However, if you were close in and focus on a river rock poking out from the water right in front of your feet (while still keeping the tree and mountains in the background), the tree might be in focus, but you could lower the aperture enough to make the mountains blurry. The effect in the end photograph would be your eye being drawn in close to the river and rock, and away from the mountains. In this case, DOF has been successfully used to draw attention to the river rock.
Rule of Thirds
The only real way I know to explain the Rule of Thirds is to show it. Basically, you need to draw an imaginary “Tic-Tac-Toe” grid over your photo, as displayed below. The natural tendency of any viewer is to see the top left intersection first, then eventually settle in and focus on the bottom right. These two points would be the secondary and primary points of interest, respectively. Remember, this is art. Regardless of the name, this isn’t a “rule.” It’s a guideline, something to start with. See the examples below and notice which elements are at or near the intersection. Car numbers, points of interest. I thought I’d throw in some variety and share an example with something besides corals. However, I added in the BiColor Blenny shot also. Notice the blenny takes up the entire middle third, vertically. Idealistically, I’d prefer the blenny not be centered, but be lowered just a little bit, so his body was resting across the bottom divider line. I’d prefer this over the top line for two reasons. It helps the image not be top-heavy, and it also helps establish the blenny as being beneath something (the ocean surface), in addition to the blenny not having a swim bladder, so he sinks anyway.
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adv.jpg
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adw.jpg
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adu.jpg
Contrast
Contrast is a great tool for setting apart a subject, as well. Contrast can be achieved with brightness (white/black) contrast, saturation (greys and high saturation), color (one green coral in the middle of a bunch of purples), and so on. The following Montipora Digitata photo shows contrast in both color, and brightness with the purple and black.
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adz.jpg[/url]
Simplicity
The previous photo also shows us another tool, simplicity. The image is not cluttered. There are no distractions from the obvious subject. In this particular photo, it may actually be too simple, but the theory is communicated. Look at the following two photos to see the differences in noise, extra “stuff” and general distractions. They are two shots of the exact same colony of palythoa.
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/aea.jpg
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/aeb.jpg
Patterns and Repetition
The previous close-up shows us a fine example of filling the frame with a pattern. Pattern alone is one of the main things I like about zoanthids. Or giraffes or leopards. Or the [url="http://www.oregonreef.com/images/photos/p_032_l.jpg"]flame boxfish (http://www.cvreefers.org/./gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core:DownloadItem&g2_itemId=7959&g2_serialNumber=1). Patterns are a strong element of composition and are able to carry a lot of attention all on their own.
Leading Lines
Make your photo move! Watch for lines in the composition to help move the eye around. Look at the photo below of the train tracks. Where do you find yourself looking? Not the grass! This particular type of photo has some of the strongest leading lines around. How about the frogspawn close-up? The leading lines aren’t necessarily as obvious. I’ve drawn them in to show how so many of those rows of nematocysts are all drawing lines toward the center cluster, which also happens to be the brightest point in the photo, for even further emphasis.
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/ady.jpg
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adx.jpg
As I’ve stated in the other lessons, I’ve only skimmed over all these ideas for the sake of sharing and promoting experimentation. I’m trying to be real careful with that fine line between boring you with details and shooting right past something important. I appreciate feedback to let me know what I may be assuming and skipping, or how I might help all of us take better pictures of our tanks.
Heck, we’re all using digital cameras now, there’s no cost involved with taking memory sticks full of photos just to see what happens. Play around, see what happens!
A core concept of composition is to draw attention to the subject of the photo. In our cases, this can mean a single coral or fish. It can mean a close-up of something abnormal, like ich spots or some abrasion. It can mean full tank shots, and it can even mean full room with tank shots. Whichever the subject, it is important that it is displayed appropriately. It should be the “center of attention.” Where is your eye drawn? What catches your attention? This is achieved in many ways. Focus and depth of field, framing, color, brightness, or any other sort of differentiation from the rest of the photograph are all very workable ways to set your subject apart.
Depth of Field
Depth of field is actually a fairly simple concept that many people try to over analyze. Basically, depth of field refers to the distance between the closest thing and the farthest thing in the photograph that are still in focus. Imagine shooting a photo of a long line of people, with the line going away from the camera. One can presume the first person in line would be in focus, as would the first few. But the people would become more and more out of focus as they were further away from the camera. This is depth of field (DOF) in practice, and is an extremely effective way of setting a subject apart from the rest of the photo. To be most effective with DOF, try to maximize the distance between the subject and the background. In the case of a reef tank, this would mean moving corals, and this simply isn’t possible. Therefore, you need to move in as close as possible, while still maintaining sharp focus on the subject.
Depth of field is also controlled with your aperture setting (f/stop). The larger the aperture (the small the f/number) the shallower the DOF. Additionally, the closer to the camera the subject is, the shallower the DOF. Here are examples. Imagine shooting a scenic photo where you were standing on a riverbank, trying to capture a tree on the opposite bank. Immediately in front of you is the river (as the foreground) and a mountain range off in the distance as the background. If you were to focus on the tree, all the way across the river, you should expect that the entire river, as well as the mountains would all be in focus. However, if you were close in and focus on a river rock poking out from the water right in front of your feet (while still keeping the tree and mountains in the background), the tree might be in focus, but you could lower the aperture enough to make the mountains blurry. The effect in the end photograph would be your eye being drawn in close to the river and rock, and away from the mountains. In this case, DOF has been successfully used to draw attention to the river rock.
Rule of Thirds
The only real way I know to explain the Rule of Thirds is to show it. Basically, you need to draw an imaginary “Tic-Tac-Toe” grid over your photo, as displayed below. The natural tendency of any viewer is to see the top left intersection first, then eventually settle in and focus on the bottom right. These two points would be the secondary and primary points of interest, respectively. Remember, this is art. Regardless of the name, this isn’t a “rule.” It’s a guideline, something to start with. See the examples below and notice which elements are at or near the intersection. Car numbers, points of interest. I thought I’d throw in some variety and share an example with something besides corals. However, I added in the BiColor Blenny shot also. Notice the blenny takes up the entire middle third, vertically. Idealistically, I’d prefer the blenny not be centered, but be lowered just a little bit, so his body was resting across the bottom divider line. I’d prefer this over the top line for two reasons. It helps the image not be top-heavy, and it also helps establish the blenny as being beneath something (the ocean surface), in addition to the blenny not having a swim bladder, so he sinks anyway.
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adv.jpg
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adw.jpg
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adu.jpg
Contrast
Contrast is a great tool for setting apart a subject, as well. Contrast can be achieved with brightness (white/black) contrast, saturation (greys and high saturation), color (one green coral in the middle of a bunch of purples), and so on. The following Montipora Digitata photo shows contrast in both color, and brightness with the purple and black.
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adz.jpg[/url]
Simplicity
The previous photo also shows us another tool, simplicity. The image is not cluttered. There are no distractions from the obvious subject. In this particular photo, it may actually be too simple, but the theory is communicated. Look at the following two photos to see the differences in noise, extra “stuff” and general distractions. They are two shots of the exact same colony of palythoa.
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/aea.jpg
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/aeb.jpg
Patterns and Repetition
The previous close-up shows us a fine example of filling the frame with a pattern. Pattern alone is one of the main things I like about zoanthids. Or giraffes or leopards. Or the [url="http://www.oregonreef.com/images/photos/p_032_l.jpg"]flame boxfish (http://www.cvreefers.org/./gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core:DownloadItem&g2_itemId=7959&g2_serialNumber=1). Patterns are a strong element of composition and are able to carry a lot of attention all on their own.
Leading Lines
Make your photo move! Watch for lines in the composition to help move the eye around. Look at the photo below of the train tracks. Where do you find yourself looking? Not the grass! This particular type of photo has some of the strongest leading lines around. How about the frogspawn close-up? The leading lines aren’t necessarily as obvious. I’ve drawn them in to show how so many of those rows of nematocysts are all drawing lines toward the center cluster, which also happens to be the brightest point in the photo, for even further emphasis.
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/ady.jpg
http://www.whodah.com/albums/HostForOthers/adx.jpg
As I’ve stated in the other lessons, I’ve only skimmed over all these ideas for the sake of sharing and promoting experimentation. I’m trying to be real careful with that fine line between boring you with details and shooting right past something important. I appreciate feedback to let me know what I may be assuming and skipping, or how I might help all of us take better pictures of our tanks.
Heck, we’re all using digital cameras now, there’s no cost involved with taking memory sticks full of photos just to see what happens. Play around, see what happens!