“To seek the advice of the principles of composition earlier than taking {a photograph} is like consulting the principles of gravity earlier than going for a stroll”
“To seek the advice of the principles of composition earlier than taking {a photograph} is like consulting the principles of gravity earlier than going for a stroll”
Benedict Mind is a UK-based photographer, journalist and artist. He’s an Affiliate of the Royal Photographic Society and sits on the society’s Distinctions Advisory Panel. He is additionally a previous editor of Digital Digicam Journal, and the writer of You Will likely be In a position to Take Nice Images by The Finish of This Ebook.
Composition fascinates me. In my workshops, talks, articles and books, I usually use the well-known quote by Edward Weston that goes alongside the strains of: “To seek the advice of the principles of composition earlier than taking {a photograph} is like consulting the principles of gravity earlier than going for a stroll”. Naturally, the purpose is that he didn’t take into consideration any of the ‘guidelines’ or ‘guides’ when composing his images; in different phrases, he merely relied on instinct and intuition.
I sense that is additionally the case with many different photographers. Not that I might put myself in the identical league as Edward Weston however I by no means consciously reference any of the ‘accepted guidelines’ when making {a photograph}. Nonetheless, I believe it’s true that some folks are merely extra ‘aesthetically’ inclined and in tune with a way of visible steadiness, concord and order, whereas others should work just a little tougher.
No matter the place you sit on the spectrum, being conscious of the ‘guidelines’ can assist and for some folks, particularly these in the beginning of their photographic journey, spending just a little time turning into conversant in the ‘guidelines’ is an efficient factor, albeit taken with a pinch of salt.
That mentioned, I used to be not too long ago appalled to see my son’s images GCSE coursework on composition, the place his class has been delving deep into the complexities of composition concept and overlaying harmonic armatures and different such gadgets onto images to analyse their compositional construction.
Whereas I don’t need to be that annoying, interfering mum or dad, I discover it a disgrace – a tragedy, even – because it’s lacking the purpose, massively overcomplicating issues and sucking the enjoyment and creativity out of images. I’ve seen comparable attitudes with some old-school digital camera membership ‘judges’ getting their knickers in a twist over photos that don’t strictly adhere to the ‘rule of thirds’ or different such ‘guidelines’. Open any ebook on the historical past of images and you will note myriad examples by the world’s most interesting photographers who disregard the principles with wonderful abandon.
This picture was made in a Samoan fish market. I labored the scene just a little to get the composition and took half a dozen or so photographs earlier than deciding on this one. I modified my angle and perspective barely between every picture, being conscious of the shapes, colour and light-weight and the way they had been organized relative to 1 one other within the body. Nonetheless, I by no means consciously considered harmonic armatures, the golden imply or the rule of thirds.
