Basic Photography Tips

When I was just starting to dabble in photography I basically dove into it blind with no sense of guide whatsoever.  The sadder thing is that I bought a high end camera not knowing that it only had so much clicks before the shutter is degraded.  So here's 4 basic rules in composition that will help you pick your shots.

PATTERN is everywhere.  But you need to be sensitive to see it like looking for words in a crossword puzzle.  Once you see it, it's just a matter of highlighting it to make a dramatic shot.  Highlighting can either be by putting emphasis on the pattern or by breaking the pattern in such a way that catches the eye.  In painting, Andy Warhol made an ordinary stacked up Campbell Soup cans into a work of art.

SYMMETRY is a fickle subject but when you get the hang of it can give you much dividends.  Bottom line is that you need to have a strong point of interest to come out with a dramatic composition.  Symmetrical composition involves a balance of two sides; hence, it would often be in deviation from the Rule of Thirds with the main subject of interest right smack in the middle.

TEXTURE.  More than just being a two dimensional picture, texture can make an image alive and pop up as if it is three dimensional.  Texture is created when light hits the subject at certain angles to provide depth.  Photographers have identified the best part of the day to do a shoot which they refer to as the "Golden Hours", which is usually depicted as the time in and around dawn and dusk.  During this time, the light is warm and "golden" and emanating from a low angle that makes it even with the subject's face.  However, there are also opportunities during mid-day shoots that can provide texture specific to vertical surfaces.  Of course, the source of light are not necessarily natural.  Artificial lighting can also provide for texture.

DEPTH OF FIELD is my favorite.  This is where a photographer employs "bokeh" (derived from the Japanese word "boke" which means blur or haze and "boke-aji" which means blur quality) where the subject is the only one in focus with the rest of the background are blurred.  In this technique, you are able to isolate the foreground from the background to create more dramatic effect.  Bokeh is typically used for portraiture where a photographer would want a shallow depth of field to make the subject stand out sharply against a blurred background.

With today's SLRs bokeh is made easy by simply putting it on "portrait mode".  In the early days of photography, manual adjustments are needed to get this desired effect.

Photography is an art; hence, composition is very important.  What differentiates a simple picture from an artistic one all boils down to composition.