Training the eye to get the photo

To paraphrase a famous ex-president of the U.S.A., “the most important thing that goes into getting a great photograph is the photographer.” It’s important to find an interesting subject, such as a temple, an ajumma street vendor or maybe a flower. However, once you have your subject, there are some simple ways to quickly improve the shot you will get. Here I’m going to look at the three ways you can use, whether you are using a smart phone or a DSLR camera.

Rule of thirds

One of the simplest and most effective “rules” in photography, this practice is about where you place the horizon lines in a landscape, or where you place a person in a portrait photo. In landscape photos, in order to get a strong composition, it is generally best to place the horizon line, which is where land meets the sky, either in the bottom third of the photo or the top third. Then a main feature in the photo, such as a tree, should be placed off center, either to the left or the right.

Portraits are similar, in that they also use this compositional rule. You should place a person’s body or face off center and allow a little space to the side of your subject to allow the photo to “breathe”.

Subject isolation

Photography is the art of subtraction, and with this in mind, the purest photographs would surely be minimalist. A street photographer with a story to tell in their photo might slightly disagree with the sentiment here, but they would also surely know that part of the game is to tell the story without distracting the viewer with unnecessary elements. Now, when taking minimalism into account, you might need to pause a little before hitting the shutter button.

• Think about whether a branch in the foreground is helping the photo.
• Looking at the background, how are the shapes there affecting your main subject?
• Do you have anyone “lurking” behind your subject in a portrait photo? Perhaps change your angle or be patient and wait until the person in the background has gone.

Design elements

These are some simple ideas that can make your photo look visually appealing, and they are often very simple to apply. A few examples of design elements are framing, patterns, contrast, lines, shadows and harmony. If you are able to compose your shot according to the rule of thirds, isolate your subject and by using a design element in the photo, you are likely to have a good shot. Now let us take a brief look at where these design elements might be found.

• Framing – The most obvious example is a frame of a doorway, but you might also find a gap in some tree branches that create a natural frame.
• Lines – The world is full of lines, and they can be used to draw the eye to your main subject. A line of trees, a foot path or horizon lines can be used.
• Contrast – The most obvious form of contrast is black and white. Color also contrasts, so, blue/yellow or red/green are common examples. In a portrait, having your model dressed in red at the green tea fields of Boseong would create effective contrast.

In June’s issue the subject will be “No, it’s the camera…. Einstein”, we will look at the ways the camera you choose really can make a difference.

Simon Bond is a professional photographer living in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do. He has travelled throughout Asia, and his work has been published in many publications.

This article and other ones are available online at Simon’s website.