TELL A VISUAL STORY
- Choose a strong subject
- Let the viewer know the story
- Eliminate the extra
CHOOSE A STRONG SUBJECT
What is your subject? Isolate it. Let it be known that THIS is what you are shooting. Make it obvious to someone who was not there when the moment occurred. Notice the background. Does changing your angle, eliminate background clutter?
LET THE VIEWER KNOW THE STORY
Do the elements in your frame tell the viewer what the moment was about? Does it create emotion in you and the viewer? Think about action. Think about light. Think about the moment and where the action is occurring. Focus there.
ELIMINATE THE EXTRAS
Every single element in your image has a purpose. Do you know why you’ve left it there? Did you look around the image before you pressed the shutter? Know why you are including it in the frame to tell a stronger visual story. Not everything needs to be there. In Photographically Speaking, David duChemin says, "when you include it in the frame -- whatever it is -- you are saying it matters."ASSIGNMENT
Now go out and shoot with intention. Think of the three pieces of a visual story and create. The more you practice looking around your frame before you push the button, the faster and easier it will become!from This lesson taken from a series of photo classes
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After completing your own story and posting the photos to our class blog...
second part of the assignment:
Take a look at this photo. Grab a piece of paper and list everything that catches your attention about the photo. Don't read anything else until you've written at least 7 things (Click on it to see the larger image for even more detail.)
How many things did you list? Let's see if you noticed what I noticed.Rule of Thirds
Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid across the photo. The boys are on one line, the horizon on another. Visually the photo has appeal because of the strength of the rule of thirds. More on the rule of thirds.Leading Lines
Did you notice how your eye enters the photo and moves through the frame? Mine enters at the bottom of the frame and wanders down the road with the boys. The light color of the road draws our eye and the line helps us continue down the road.The Horizon
The horizon creates a strong point of interest in your photos. Notice how a little less than one third of the frame is dedicated to the blue sky. Including more sky would distract from the subject of the photo. Less would leave the photo feeling chopped off and incomplete. Think about placing the horizon on the top third line of that tic-tac-toe grid.Layers
Did you notice how the photo doesn't look flat? There is a clear foreground, midground, and background. Those layers allow the viewer to have more space to look into the photo. Shooting with a narrow aperture keeps the layers in nice focus throughout the frame.
Tonal Contrast
Light in a photo attracts. Dark recedes. Notice how your eye goes to the berry bucket in the little boy's hand? That is tonal contrast working. The white area draws our eye right to it. It almost jumps out of the frame when you look at it a second time.
Color Contrast
Did you notice any particular colors when you looked at the photo? Color contrast adds to our composition. Notice how the green, blue, and brown work together through contrast? Notice the pop of red?
Shoot With Intent
Thinking about your composition as you pick up your camera you will create more appealing images. Of course, you don't need to use everything listed for this photo, but consider what you are trying to achieve when you frame your image.
Writing assignment to be brought to class:
write your assessment of the photo above including three of the topics above.
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