Digital Focus: Compose Great Photos
Isolate the focal point, fill the frame, learn the rule of thirds.Dave Johnson
Feature: Composition Rules for Better Digital Photos
A good picture requires a lot of elements, including an interesting subject, a steady hand, and a high-quality camera, to name a few. As important as the megapixel rating of your digital camera, though, is your own ability to apply the rules of composition to what you see on the LCD display before you press the shutter release.
What does it take to create a good composition? There are just a few rules, really, that define what most people perceive as a good photo. By following the advice in this week's newsletter, you can dramatically improve all of your photos--from vacation snapshots to family portraits to your artistic experiments.
Isolate the Focal Point
What is the subject of your picture? Always ask yourself that, since your picture, like a painting or a story, should usually be about something. It's up to you to decide what story the photo will tell; give ten people ten cameras and tell them to photograph the same flower, and you can end up with ten very different images that show many different aspects of the flower. But remember that a good photo will emphasize its subject and give it substantially more visual weight than the other elements in the picture.
Imagine a picturesque landscape, for instance. Don't just raise the camera to your eyes and press the button. Pick something in the viewfinder and focus on that. Remember that one sprawling landscape probably looks like every other sprawling landscape; if you don't pick a focal point, when you look at the image later, you'll wonder why you thought it was great.
Last, but not least, remember that the subject of your photo--the focal point--should be in razor-sharp focus. If your subject is even a little blurry, you've lost the photo. Digital "film" is cheap; try taking the photo again. And any portrait photographer will tell you that when photographing people or animals, it's the eyes that count. Make sure your camera's auto-focus control locks onto the eyes, not the nose or cheek.
Use the Rule of Thirds
Now that you're thinking about your photos in terms of a focal point, you need to decide where to put your subject in the picture. Rarely will planting the subject dead center in your viewfinder make for a successful photo. People tend to like seeing the focal point about a third of the way across the scene. To achieve this, you can mentally draw two horizontal lines and two vertical lines across the scene, dividing the picture into nine equal zones. The four points in the picture where the lines intersect are your sweet spots--put the subject in any of those places and your image will have a lot more appeal than if the focal point was in the center.
To get a feel for the rule of thirds, pay attention to films at the theater--you'll find that people are often placed a third of the way across the screen, not in the center.
Fill the Frame
Make the most of your frame by filling it as much as possible. If you're shooting a distant object, zoom in or walk closer. For example, you think your focal point is a dragonfly on a tree stump, but the bug is so small that no one can tell it's there. Guess what? It's not really your focal point. If you simply can't get close enough to your subject, shoot the picture in the camera's highest available resolution, zoomed all the way in with the camera's optical zoom (don't use the digital zoom), and snip away the wasted space afterwards in an image-editing program. You can probably make it a much better picture by cropping.
Use Lines as Guides
I love shooting railroad tracks, long roads that seem to sweep off to the end of the earth, and long stone walls. That's because I can use those kinds of elements to lead the viewer through the picture. Remember how I said that your photos tell a story? Lines like these are tools you can use to show the viewer where to look.
Break the Rules
Once you've learned the rules of composition and applied them to your own photos, be sure to break them once in a while. Sometimes it's a good idea to put the subject in the middle of the picture, to make the focal point blurry, or leave lots of wasted space in a photo. Photography is all about experimentation--so have fun ignoring the rules once in a while.
Dave's Favorites: Get Extra Power With PowerBank
Are you tired of losing shots because your digital camera's batteries couldn't keep up with you? I always carry a spare set when I'm shooting away from home, but even then, I've missed some amazing photos because I had to pause to change the batteries.
If you want to take lots of photos without worrying about the state of your camera's batteries, consider an external power source for your digital camera. Powerex's PowerBank is a compact case that houses a set of high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries. The system clips to your belt and plugs into the camera's AC power port.
The PowerBank comes with a lot of gadgets--the battery pack slips into a soft case, and there are a variety of power connectors for different cameras. For charging, the system comes with both an AC adapter and a car charger.
Since your camera is tethered to a battery pack on your waist, it takes a little getting used to--but the cable is coiled and plenty long enough not to be uncomfortable in regular use. Not only does the PowerBank offer about twice the power found in your camera's ordinary batteries, but it also provides a bank of lights on the top of its case that let you know how much power remains.
Q&A: Recording Digital Images Onto Videotape
Is it possible to record images from your digital camera via a VCR so that the images could be later viewed by folks who don't have access to a PC? If so, could you explain the procedure to hook it all up?
--Phil Spucci, Long Island, New York
It's a simple process with many digital cameras, Phil. A lot of cameras have a video output that allows you to connect the camera directly to a television or VCR using an ordinary composite video cable. If you've got such a cable, you just connect the video cable to your camera, then connect the other end to your VCR's Video-In connector. Most VCRs have at least two Video-In connections, so you probably won't have to disconnect anything to attach the camera. Then set your VCR to display the appropriate Video-In source instead of a TV channel, and start recording when you run the slide show from your digital camera.
If your camera does not have its own video output, then you'll have to get a little more creative. First, check your PC's graphics board. It's possible that you already have an S-Video output near the computer monitor's VGA connection. If you do, attach an S-Video cable to that port and run it to a Video-In connection on your VCR. Not all VCRs use S-Video, so you might have to go to an electronics store and buy an S-Video-to-Composite adapter cable.
If all else fails, get a video capture device for your PC. A card like the Dazzle Digital Video Creator has its own video output that lets you send video from your PC to a VCR. I've found Digital Video Creator for as little as $150 at the PCWorld.com Product Finder.
Hot Pic of the Week
Get published, get famous! Each week, we select our favorite reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality, and technique. Every month, the best of the weekly winners gets a prize valued at between $10 and $100.
A gentle reminder, folks: We disqualify some really wonderful pictures every week because the submissions don't follow the rules. Be sure to include everything we ask for in your e-mail message, including a description of your picture and your complete contact information, or your entry is wasted!
Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions will be immediately disqualified. If necessary, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of your image before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your photo along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before entering please read the full description of the contest rules and regs.
This week's Hot Pic: "Koi," by Dan Watkins, Fenton, Missouri
Dan says, "I took this picture with an Olympus e10 at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The koi were being fed by kids standing on a foot bridge. I leaned over the edge and zoomed in on the fish just below the water's surface. The colors of the fish turned out quite nicely and the distortion of being in water makes for a very nice affect. Since it was near noon, the sun wasn't in an ideal position for good landscape photos, but it allowed me to take this picture with almost no reflection in the water. Even though I don't usually have high expectations when shooting in the middle of the day, I've learned that sometimes you get lucky!"
We want your feedback! Send your comments, questions, and suggestions about the newsletter itself to comments@bydavejohnson.com. If you have a question that you'd like to see answered in the weekly Q&A, send it to question@bydavejohnson.com.
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