By When I first started out as a photographer (too long ago to mention here) I took great inspiration from other professionals, and although trying not to copy, I used elements from each one I studied to help carve out my own style and approach.
Eric Kim is a photographer and educator I would have followed if he had been around when I started! He has an Open Source Photography philosophy about photography, which basically means he wants to share his knowledge with the photographic community.
Eric has put together an extensive list of Top Photography Composition Tips which we think you will find useful if you are starting out as a photographer. Not every tip will be for you but it will give you plenty of food for thought as to how you can implement it into your own work.
1. Tilt your camera
2. Leading lines
3. Start with a black background
4. Add white space around the head of your subject
5. Use a flash to add contrast
6. Diagonal lines from the edges of your frame
7. Subtract from the frame
8. Minus- exposure compensation (-1, -2)
9. Eye contact/ no eye contact
10. Crouch down for ‘superman effect’
11. Shoot looking down
12. Focus on the edges of your frame
13. Clean background
14. Use an LCD screen for accurate framing
15. See the world in monochrome (high contrast b/w preview)
16. Make at least 10 photos of each scene (study contact sheets)
17. Look for curves
18. Put yourself in the photo (self-portrait)
19. Make triangle compositions
20. To create depth, focus on the background
21. Focus on one detail (hands)
22. Wide-angle lenses are more dynamic (28mm, 35mm)
23. Photos without emotion are boring
24. The simpler your composition, the better
25. Draw red lines on your photos after you shoot them
26. Photograph legs in a ‘V’ shape
27. Look for colourful things/scenes
28. Photograph textures
29. Strip away the superfluous
30. Photography is poetry without words
31. Center-eye composition
32. Practice composition on trees
33. Look for the frame in the frame
34. Shoot in ‘P’ (program) mode to focus on composition
35. Your eyes look at the brightest part of the photo
36. Look down and up
37. Practice composition on family members
38. Photograph hand-gestures
39. Monochrome is easier for composition
40. Look at your photos as small thumbnails
41. Follow your gut for composition (not brain)
42. Emotion is more important than composition
43. Shoot how you feel
44. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
To see more of Eric Kim’s work you can visit his site using the link below.
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