Exploring Iceland’s Composition Possibilities (Part One)

Sunset over icebergs in Iceland

20 Jan Exploring Iceland’s Composition Possibilities (Part One)

These days, Iceland seems to be the “hot spot” when it comes to travel destinations – and for good reasons: spectacular landscapes and seascapes, photogenic Icelandic horses, easy and direct access (via Icelandic Air) from several major U.S. cities, good food (and local beer), good English-speaking guides, world-famous lamb dogs, and a safe place to be.

Oh yeah, there’s another reason why Iceland is popular: great photo ops.

In this two-part series, I’ll share with you some of my favorite Iceland photographs along with some composition techniques: seven photos and tips in each blog post.

You can check out Part Two of Exploring Iceland’s Composition Possibilities here.

Here we go.

 1. Fill the Frame

Sunset over icebergs in Iceland

Photo by Rick Sammon

Rational: Without any “dead space” in the frame, the viewer can explore every inch of this glacier lagoon photograph. That said, there is something to be said for negative space.

When you think you are close, get closer.

This is an HDR image, which I enhanced with the Duplex filter in Nik Color Efex Pro.

Featured Adventure: Iceland Multisport Tour

2. Don’t Forget a Foreground Element

waterfall in Iceland by Rick Sammon

Photo by Rick Sammon

Rational: Subjects and objects in the foreground give the viewer a sense of “being there.” In this photograph, I want you to feel as though you are standing on the rocks in the foreground and looking at the beautiful waterfall.

To give the water a dreamy look, I used a Tiffen 2-8 stop ND filter. In waterfall photography, a sturdy tripod is a must.

Experiment with different slow shutter speeds to see which one works best for you.

Because you’ll be shooting at a slow shutter speed, you need to use your camera’s self-timer, cable release or another device to trip the shutter. If you press the shutter release button, you may get camera shake.

Featured Adventure: A Circumnavigation of Iceland

3. Shoot Through It

the view through an iceberg in Iceland by Rick Sammon

Photo by Rick Sammon

Rational: Framing a main subject with a surrounding subject/object gives the viewer a “window” through which to look. It took me a while to find this beautiful ice “window” on the beach.

When composing a photograph, have your Highlight Alert and Histogram activated. Expose for the highlights.

Very important: Check your depth of field to make sure you have the desired image area in focus.

Featured Adventure: Spitsbergen, Iceland & the European Arctic

4. Use Negative Space Nicely

Photo of an Iceberg in Iceland by Rick Sammon

Photo by Rick Sammon

Rational: Negative space opens up an image and gives the main subject some breathing room. I composed this iceberg photograph with room on the top of frame to add a sense of open space to the image.

The image you see here is a cropped version of a horizontal image. Cropping gives us a second chance at composition. Put composition and cropping together and you have . . . croposition!

I used a Tiffen polarizing filter to reduce the glare on the water in this photograph. Don’t leave home without a polarizing filter. Don’t over-polarize a scene. If you dial in too much of the polarizing effect (which can be tempting), you may get a large dark patch in the center of your frame – a patch that, because it gradually goes from light to dark, is almost impossible to remove even for skilled Photoshop experts.

Featured Adventure: Iceland Waking and Hiking Tour

5. Dead Center is Deadly

Iceland ice formation with the sun behind it by Rick Sammon

Photo by Rick Sammon

Rational: Placing a subject in the center of the frame forces the viewer’s eye to get suck on the subject. When the subject is off center, the viewer’s eye looks around the frame to see what else is in the image area.

The main subject here, the sunburst, is placed near the top of the frame. When shooting into the sun, remove all filters to avoid a ghost image of the sun in your image.

Also, use Live View to avoid eye damage.

6. Rule of Thirds

A beautiful waterfall in Iceland by Rick Sammon

Photo by Rick Sammon

Rational: Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid over a frame and place the subject or subjects where the lines intersect. This is just one way to create balance in a photograph.

Of course, you don’t need to be 100% accurate with your intersection lines. It’s just a starting point for good composition.

To give the water a dreamy look, I used a Tiffen 2-8 stop ND filter.

This is a Canon 5D Mark III in-camera HDR image. HDR can provide a pleasing effect when photographing moving water (and clouds), but HDR is not good for moving branches, leaves and people.

7. Perfect a Panorama

craggy plateau in iceland with a river in the foreground

Photo by Rick Sammon

Rational: Panoramas convey a sense of wide-open spaces.

Hold your camera vertically, set your camera on manual everything, expose for the highlights, move from left to right or vice versa, and overlap each photo by about 1/3. Important: leave room at the top and bottom of the frame when composing – because part of your final pano will be cropped out in image processing.

Process your pano in Photoshop’s Photomerge.

 

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Rick Sammon
Rick Sammon is our regular and intrepid photo columnist here on Adventure Collection. To see more of his work, and to learn about his photography workshops, check out his web site: www.ricksammon.com.
Rick Sammon

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