Take Better Photos now!

Another example for composition, especially when traveling. Remember to carve your viewfinder into imaginary thirds. I was actually in the Louvre Museum passing a window when I saw the Sacre Coeur. I placed the church in the lower right hand convergence of the lower horizontal and the right vertical thirds. Another tip I’d like to address here is the 1/3 - 2/3 rule for landscapes. Try to place the horizon of the land in either the lower horizontal or the upper horizontal. Thus, you’ll have either a lot of land or a lot of sky. Much more visually appealing than a horizon that splits the middle. So, in our photo here, we get the church and the surrounding buildings taking up the lower third and the sky taking up 2/3′rds of the rest of the frame. The church gives us a nice base for the image to rest on(visually). A much better composition than placing the buildings in the middle of the frame. Next time you look through your viewfinder think about the horizon.

Remember, we want our images to be dynamic to the viewer. Splitting the horizon is a quick way to put your viewers to sleep. We will re-visit this tip many times. Bonjour!

Take better photos Now! Is a call out to anyone who has a camera, but wants to be better at it. Not tomorrow, but now! I’ve traveled the world as a photojournalist, a wedding photographer and a photojournalism teacher. It’s time to give a little back. So, check here for mostly daily posts on digital photography tips to help you, take better photos Now!

This first photo was taken the summer before 9/11. It was my first trip to New York and I was on my way to photograph Ellis Island. On the way I was trying to frame the Statue of Liberty with the Twin Towers when this woman reached out as if to touch her.

Here’s my first photo tip.

The rule of thirds:

Carve up the viewfinder into thirds both horizontally and vertically. Where these lines meet are called the areas of convergence. The eye naturally goes to these areas. Place your main subjects in these areas and you will have a stronger photo than where most amatuers put there subject. Dead center. The eye has no where to go, so make an interesting composition and you will have stronger photos.

Cheers,

Mike

Visit http://pixelhandler.com/shoot-it to download and use this theme on your WordPress photo blog!