Composition Photo Workshop E-Book

Blue Fier

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Serie: Photo Workshop
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 280

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

The hands-on instruction that digital photographers need to compose great shots Introducing readers to the basic elements of design, this full-color guide shows photographers step by step how to frame great compositions before they take the shot. Instructions, advice, examples, and assignments cover all types of photography.

Leseprobe

Composition Photo Workshop

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Understanding Composition

Approaches to Composition

How You See

The Origins of Composition

Understanding Linear Perspective

Composition and Photography

Chapter 2: The Elements of Design

Understanding the Elements of Design

Arranging Design Elements in the Frame

The Rule of Thirds

The Golden Rectangle

Chapter 3: Depth of Field Decisions

The Plane of Critical Focus

Understanding Aperture

Selecting Lenses

Previewing and Predicting Depth of Field

Using the Hyperfocal Distance to Deepen Depth of Field

Chapter 4: Slicing Time: Designingwith Shutter Speeds

Shutter Speed and Depth of Field: A Delicate Balance

Freeze or Blur: How Shutter Speed Affects a Shot

Using a Motor Drive

Panning

Chapter 5: Capturing Light

The Quality of Light

The Direction of Light

The Intensity of Light

Harnessing Sunlight

Chapter 6: Working with Color

Color Theory

Color Temperature

The Color of Sunlight

Controlling Colors by Using Filters

Chapter 7: Thinking in Black and White

The Zone System

Metering and Exposing for Black and White

Working with Contrast Filters

Chapter 8: Arranging Appealing Portraits

A Little History

Framing Your Photo

Lighting the Scene

Color Versus Black and White

Metering the Scene

Posing

Photographing Kids

Chapter 9: Travel and Scenic Photography

Packing Your Camera bag

Scoping Out Your Location

Photographing People on Location

Chapter 10: Still-Life and Close-Up Photography

Photographing Still-Life Images

Macro and Close-Up photography

Chapter 11: Improving Your Images

Understanding File Formats

Cropping or Resizing an Image

Adjusting an Image’s Contrast and Color

Correcting Imperfections

Fixing the Lighting

Applying Special Effects

Backing Up and Archiving Your Image Files

Taking the Next Step

Glossary

Composition Photo Workshop

Blue Fier

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River StreetHoboken, N.J. 07030www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2007 by Blue Fier

All photographs © Blue Fier 2007

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-07894-5

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

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About the Author

Blue Fier studied art extensively while in college, receiving a Bachelors of Arts degree in Art from Occidental College; a Masters of Art degree in Art from California State University, Northridge; and a Masters of Fine Art degree in Art from the University of California, Los Angeles. Before committing himself to photography on a full-time basis more than 20 years ago, working with clients in the travel, real-estate, sports, and environmental industries, Fier was an exhibiting artist for nearly two decades. In addition to working as a professional photographer, Fier has taught photography for 15 years.

© Photo by David Paul Bayles, 2007

Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Kim Spilker

Senior Project Editor

Cricket Krengel

Project Editor

Kelly Maish

Development Editor

Kelly Dobbs Henthorne

Technical Editor

Larry D. Sweazy

Editorial Manager

Robyn Siesky

Vice President & Group Executive Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President & Publisher

Barry Pruett

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Book Designers

LeAndra HosierTina Hovanessian

Project Coordinator

Adrienne Martinez

Graphics and Production Specialists

Joni BurnsBrooke GraczykJennifer MayberryBarbara MooreShelley NorrisAmanda Spagnuolo

Quality Control Technician

Todd Lothery

Cover Design

Larry VigonDaniela Richardson

Proofreading and Indexing

Broccoli Information ManagementSossity R. Smith

Wiley Bicentennial Logo

Richard J. Pacifico

Acknowledgments

Many extremely talented people collaborated on this book. My utmost gratitude and appreciation goes to Kate Shoup Welsh, my personal editor, who clarified my thoughts, organized my ideas, and researched topics above and beyond my expectations. I’d also like to acknowledge all the editors and staff at Wiley for allowing me the opportunity to work with them. Next up, thanks to the many students I have taught at Santa Monica College, who have been the testing ground and inspiration for my ideas; also, thanks to my clients, who have trusted me to bring back images of beauty out of seeming chaos. My wife, Kim, and sons, Zack and Easton, have enthusiastically supported me in undertaking this lengthy project in lieu of other events. I am grateful for the ideas and suggestions offered by my close friend, David Paul Bayles, in addition to his excellent portrait of me. Special thanks go to Robert Farber for suggesting I get involved in this series. I would like to thank Christian Erhardt of Leica USA for loaning me the latest Leica digital cameras and the Lifepixel Company for converting my Canon digital camera to an infrared one. In creating this book, it helped immeasurably to be a part of Ian Summers’ Heartstorming group, which encouraged me to pursue my vision.

To all those who follow their hearts.

Foreword

After 10 years of helping photographers hone their skills on photoworkshop.com, I’m thrilled to present this new line of books in partnership with Wiley Publishing.

I believe that photography is for everyone, and books are a new extension of the site’s commitment to providing an education in photography, where the quest for knowledge is fueled by inspiration. To take great images is a matter of learning some basic techniques and “finding your eye.” I hope this book teaches you the basic skills you need to explore the kind of photography that excites you.

You may notice another unique approach we’ve taken with the Photo Workshop series: The learning experience does not stop with the books. I hope you complete the assignments at the end of each chapter and upload your best photos to pwsbooks.com to share with others and receive feedback. By participating, you can help build a new community of beginning photographers who inspire each other, share techniques, and foster innovation and creativity.

Robert Farber

© Photo by Jay Maisel

Introduction

Every waking moment of every single day, you face choices. Toast or bagel? Decaf or regular? Paper or plastic? The list is endless. Some of these choices, like those listed here, are of little importance. That is, choosing one or another option might improve your day, but probably won’t change your life. Other choices, however, can have a tremendous impact: where to live, whom (if anyone) to live with, and what type of work to do.

Like life, photography — indeed, any art form — is about choices. What type of camera should you use? Should you orient the image vertically or horizontally? Should the image be in color or in black and white? What settings — ISO, aperture, and shutter speed — would work best? How should your subject be arranged? How should the scene be lit? Should you use a tripod, filters, or special lenses? Where should you position yourself relative to your subject when clicking the shutter button?

Each of these choices factors into your photograph’s composition — that is, how your picture looks or, more precisely, the information or idea that your photograph conveys. A well-composed picture communicates its message clearly and effectively, inviting the viewer both to further examine the work and to appreciate it.

Just how do you create a well-composed picture? That’s where this book comes in. In its pages, you can discover the tools necessary to compose photographs that urge the viewer to look more closely. Specifically, you explore the following:

• The elements of design that represent the building blocks of any photograph

• How depth of field can factor into your composition

• The compositional effects of using different shutter speeds

• The various ways you can use light in your images

• How shooting in color versus black and white (or vice versa) can articulate your photograph’s message

Armed with this information, you then investigate how best to compose images of various kinds, including portraits, landscapes, and other scenic shots, still-life pictures, and macro photographs. You then survey how to use image-editing software to enhance your photograph’s composition. Along the way, you complete assignments designed to illustrate the principles of composition explored in each chapter and apply what you’ve learned.

However, this book is intended to do more than teach you a bunch of compositional rules. Its true goal is to help you develop your own unique compositional style. Using what you learn in this book, you can discover the ways in which to make your photographs, well, yours. If you’re ready to change the way you take pictures, to choose between creating images that viewers pass by with barely a glance to ones that stop them in their tracks, then read on.

For comments and up-to-date information regarding this book, as well as future workshops, podcasts, or to purchase prints by Blue Fier, please visit compositionphotoworkshop.com and bluefier.com, or e-mail me at [email protected]. Many images in this book are available through www.gettyimages.com or www.panoramicimages.com.

May good light follow you wherever you go.

~Blue Fier

Chapter 1: Understanding Composition

Approaches to Composition

How You See

The Origins of Composition

Understanding Linear Perspective

Composition and Photography

Have you ever studied a snapshot and wondered why it looked amateurish compared to a photograph taken by a more experienced photographer? Even when the subject matter is the same — say, for example, that both photographs depict a shoreline — the difference between them is clear. The master’s image is more captivating, more vital, more powerful than the snapshot. But why? What is it about the more skilled photographer’s image that makes it so compelling? What is it about the skilled photographer’s photograph that promotes it from a snapshot to a work of art?

Many factors can affect a photographic image. Lighting, for one, can greatly influence the outcome of a photographic shoot. So, too, can the camera’s settings — the f-stop, shutter speed, and ISO. The quality of the camera’s lenses can be a factor, as can the use of additional equipment such as a tripod and filters. But more than these is the photo’s composition, that is, the arrangement of the elements within the image. Indeed, composition is the unifying element behind all visual art, from painting to photography and beyond.