Rules of Composition and Set-up

Lesson: 28-09-2015

Memory Check

Look at the slides and identify the composition rule?

• Rule of Thirds
• Cropped/blurred
• Viewpoint
• Leading Lines

What do we do to make the camera achieve focus?

• Hold the shutter button halfway down.

The ‘mode dial’ on our camera has the following four acronyms, what do they stand for and what do they control?

• 'A' = Aperture 
• 'S' = Shutter Speed
• 'P' = Program
• 'M' = Manual

At the start of this lesson, we looked at the rules of composition from a PowerPoint presentation. We learnt 9 rules of composition, which are as follows:

• Rule of Thirds

This rule states that a photograph tends to look its best when the subject of the shot is placed along imaginary lines  - either horizontally or vertically - that divide the overall image into thirds.

• Balancing Elements

In this rule, it is told that while using the rule of thirds makes for a more interesting photograph, the rest of the photo can look very empty. This is why it is important to include other objects that are of a lesser importance to fill the space and balance the elements.

• Leading Lines

Because our eyes are often drawn along lines to see what is at the end of them, using leading lines in composition, it can be very helpful for showing off the subject of the shot, as well as to 'pull' the viewer into the image. 

• Symmetry and Pattern

Much like leading lines, symmetry and patterns can be used to draw in the viewer so they are led to the subject of the photograph or image. Different patterns and symmetry can be found everywhere, whether they are noticed at first or not. Once used, they can make for very good way to catch someone's eye.

• Viewpoint

Rather than shooting from just straight on, it's good to think about lots of different angles and views that we could shoot from. These could be from above, below, the back or even the side. By changing the view and angle that something is shot from, it can change the message and impact that the image has. 

• Background

Finding a plain or quiet background to shoot something in front of can often be a big help. It is found that if a background is too busy or cluttered, that it will take away from the subject of your shot in the final piece. By using something that is less busy to look at, but is still nice to look at and goes with the subject of the shot, the final shot won't be affected by what is in the background.

• Depth

Being 2-D, photography can sometimes make it hard to convey the sense of depth that was present at the time of the photograph. By including more objects in the foreground or background, depth can be created in an image. 

• Framing

Sometimes, the ability to isolate the subject of the shot is created by putting fence panels or gate holes (or something else entirely) in the position to frame an image. This helps to keep the rest of the world out of the image that is being taken.

• Cropping

Sometimes, it is found that the subject of a shot can become cluttered among the other things that appear in a shot. By cropping out all of the things that aren't needed, the subject can be brought back into the main focus of the shot.

After this, we were taught how to set up the tripod, camera and redhead light. We were cautioned that we had to be careful with the redhead light, as if it was handled too harshly, that the filament in the light would break and have to be replaced. Then, we were shown how to make a simple backdrop using a sheet or two of plain white paper with no creases in it. This is so that when we want to take pictures of 

We were then put into groups in order to shoot our images or objects with the limited amount of resources we had.