Digital Photography Composition 101

Darren writes "With the 'Rise of the Digital Camera' I suspect we will also see the 'Rise of the Dodgy Digital Photo'. As digital cameras get in the hands of more and more snap happy photographers there will be more and more average images cluttering the PC's of the world. Already there must be millions of self portraits taken at arms length (complete with double chins), countless pictures of Aunt Mildred (cut off at the knees) and just as many out of focus shots of everyday objects in the living rooms of new digital camera owners too lazy to move from the couch. Its time to learn how to take good digital images before its too late! Digital Photography Composition Tips aims to teach the world a few basic guidelines for improving digital photographer's skills everywhere."

Comments

Choosing the camera is important

[Joceyln Parfitt]

I found that buying a camera with a rotatable LCD screen helps immensely when you try to pictures from impossible angles. Also if you know next to nothing about photography or you just need to take pictures 'at the moment' without setting your camera up (like on a crowded japanese train), I suggest getting the Olympus 5060 which is really brilliant at adapting the settings to fit your picture (and it does it in < 50ms).


Props to the GNAA.

Re:Choosing the camera is important

[Glonoinha]

Want to have a picture portfolio that is almost as good as most professionals : there is only one rule.

Glonoinha's #1 Rule of Photography.
Throw away (delete) 9 out of every 10 pictures.

Want one good picture? Take 10 pictures and pick the best one. Professionals take several hundred pictures in several settings just to get half a dozen really great shots worth publishing in a magazine. Most of the time excellent photos aren't about being good, they are about getting lucky.

Let me pick the best picture out of 20 I take on my crappy 1 megapixel Kodak and I will put it up against any camera (even the really awesome expensive ones) if you only take one picture with that camera.

Re:85,000+ photos and going

[Alan]

I used to do this as well, but went to this: /yyyy-mm-dd some description/image description.jpg

I found that after I'd aquired a few thousand images it became pretty hard to find that picture of the leg of my couch with just looking through directories. At least with looking at a list with files like: /2004-05-05 cats, flowers, around work/flower 2.jpg
it's a bit easier to find. I'd love to use a tool like photoshop album (doesn't support the naming conventions I like), jasc paint shop album (no RAW support) or others (some too simple, some overly complex), but I just haven't found one that fits with everything I'm looking for.

Top tip

[91degrees]

Takes lots of photos. Throw out the ones that aren't very good. This will be the vast majority of them, even for a professional.

Actually, this was my technique with film as well. Digital has saved me a fortune.

Just...get...closer

[Drunken_Jackass]

These tips are great, but i think that everyone would see a big improvement in their picture quality if they followed the #1 of photography - fill the frame.

9 times out of 10, when you're shooting someone or something, you need to prioritize what the focus of the photo is supposed to be, and fill the frame with it. The rest of the composition usually falls into place.

It's the simplest way to get better composition without a lot of extra thinking. Either use your feet, or use your zoom and get closer to your subject.

Holding the camera is MOST important

[lcsjk]

The article leaves the "Hold the camera still" to near the bottom of the list. If you practice holding the camera still, braced against your face, a wall, frame or nearly anything, chances that your picture will have much better focus and that you will have at least a chance of a good picture. If you move the camera, it doesn't matter which brand you choose or how well you compose the picture. If you really have a problem with that, then consider a camera with automatic movement correction. (I have not tried them yet, but H Keppler gave it good marks.)(Pop-Photo)

Re:Holding the camera is MOST important

[dasmegabyte]

Well, there are a few other basic ones too:

Don't use the flash unless it is so dim, and the action is so fast, that you absolutely have to. Flash light is unnatural, causes skin to look shiny and brings blemishes out of nowhere. Not using a flash in low light means shots could be blurry with a 1/20 shutter or slower...but the colours will look so much more natural.

Fix your goddamn white balance! Don't use the same white balance indoors you use outdoors or people will look all purple. And don't use the same with your flash that you use without!

Another colour thing: most digitals have a really crummy ISO rating, so if you keep your camera on Auto Shutter, it'll adjust itself to use a really long exposure. So either put the camera down, put it on a tripod or if you can't, adjust the shutter to at least 1/20 if you're steady, 1/40 if you've been drinking, and 1/100 if the subject is moving at all. And keep your elbows tight against your sides, just like shooting a rifle.

Something some people don't understand is that modern cameras have two positions for the shutter. Press down a little, and the camera does all of its auto work (focusing, metering, adjustments, etc). Press it again and it takes the picture. If you push the shutter all the way down before these adjustments are done, some cameras will take your word for it...and take a shitty picture! So, press down, give it a second, and press again. Kodak cameras force you to do this with a red light in the viewfinder. Best of all, put it on full tilt manual, do your adjustments before your subjects know you're taking the picture, and you're ready to hammer away whenever you like.

Check out my digital photos to see how following these simple, stupid rules on colour and shutter speed can lead from SHITTY photos (like the ones I took in 2001) to PRETTY DAMNED GOOD ONES (like the ones I've taken this year).

Re:85,000+ photos and going

[TuringTest]

Try Photofinder, from the HCI Lab in the University of Maryland. It's experimental software, not commercial, but I've found that it have some very interesting ideas on storing and retrieving a big collection.

2 second timer = virtual tripod

[celltower]

One low light trick I use in low light conditions (I don't like flash in crowds and because it flattens the image): Set the 2-second timer. A lot of camera shaking comes from the act of pressing the shutter. That shaking is gone after 2-seconds. Doesn't work for action shots, but your shutter is open too long for decent action shots anyway. Bonus tip for arms-length self portraits. My Canon ELPH has a little silver logo-button on the front. When I see my reflection in the logo, I can compose the shot. Fun for vacations.