27 Jan Exploring Iceland’s Composition Possibilities (Part Two)
Check out Part One of Exploring Iceland’s Composition Possibilities here.
In this second part of my two-part series, I’ll share with you some of my favorite photographs from my adventures in Iceland, along with seven composition techniques not covered in the previous installment.
1. Golden Spirals Are Cool
Photo by Rick Sammon.
Rational: Like “Composing in Thirds,” the “Golden Spiral” concept forces the viewer’s eye to move around, spiral if you will, around the frame to an area or areas of interest in a frame.
Even if you don’t have a perfect Golden Spiral, compose a photograph so the viewer’s eye moves around the image, as it does when looking at this waterfall photograph.
Featured Adventure: A Circumnavigation of Iceland
2. Love Those Leading Lines/Elements
Photo by Rick Sammon.
Rational: Lines and staggered foreground elements (the pieces of ice in this image) lead us toward the main subject in a frame.
As in virtually all the images in this app, everything in this scene is in focus, achieved by using a wide-angle lens, small aperture and focusing 1/3 into the scene.
Featured Adventure: Iceland Multisport Tour
3. Triangulate Your Photos
Photo by Rick Sammon.
Rational: When we divide a photograph into triangles and we place the main subject or subjects in those triangles, the photograph has balance.
You don’t need to divide a photograph into perfect triangles; it’s just a starting point for creative composition.
Featured Adventure: Spitsbergen, Iceland & the European Arctic
4. Shoot for Shapes
Photo by Rick Sammon
Rational: Simply put, shapes (as well as contours and patterns) make for attractive photographs. The shapes of these lenticular clouds blew me away, so I had to make a photograph – cropping out most of the foreground.
When it comes to shapes and patterns, try converting an image to black-and-white. Here I used Nik Silver Efex Pro.
When converting a color file to black-and-white, keep in mind that contrast becomes very important. Boost it a bit for an image with more impact.
Get It All in Focus
Photo by Rick Sammon.
Rational: When I take a landscape photograph, I want it to look as the scene looks to my eyes: everything in the scene in focus.
To get the maximum depth-of-field: use a wide-angle lens, small aperture and focus 1/3 into the scene.
Get Creative with Color
Photo by Rick Sammon
Rational: Pictures with strong colors can have strong impact. As photographers, we need to decide if we want true color or accurate color. As a travel photographer, I often prefer my own color, which is a bit warmer (richer in red, orange and yellow tones) than true color.
To enhance the color of the rainbow in this scene, I “painted” over it with the saturation brush in Photoshop. To give the water a dreamy look, I used a Tiffen 2-8 stop ND filter.
Create a Sense of Depth
Photo by Rick Sammon
Rational: We see the world in three dimensions: height, width and depth. Our cameras see only two: height and width. Try to convey a sense of depth in your photographs whenever possible. One technique: shoot at an angle.
Shadows also convey a sense of depth in a photograph.
Latest posts by Rick Sammon (see all)
- Perfecting Panoramas - April 25, 2015
- Making Images With Impact: Part 3 - March 23, 2015
- Making Images With Impact: Part Two - February 25, 2015
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