Composition Assignment #2

In this assignment, we learned about five more elements in compositional photography. Those elements were color, space, balance, framing, and perspective. Our objective was to take a picture for each element to display the different elements.

For my space picture, I photographed half of a set of headphones against a white wall. For my color photo I took an angled picture of the bottles in the vending machine, I accentuated the color of the riptide bottle in photoshop. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do for my framing picture, but when I stepped outside onto my deck I noticed that my trampoline was in the center of two poles from the railing on the deck. I liked the way it focused in on the trampoline. For perspective, I got down on the ground and took an upwards photo of the balcony in the school building. The sky seemed to have a beautiful balance of darks and lights. The darks are represented in the horizon line and the lights are in the sky. I really liked this picture for balance.

The main thing I learned from this assignment was how to take different perspectives of images. I took a ton of photos for that element and had a hard time picking from them the one I liked best. Changes in perspective make a photo more interesting. Even the most ordinary object can look extraordinary with a different view. I really want to incorporate more perspectives into my own photography because it helps to keep the viewers attention and is more pleasing to the eye. I now also know five more elements to use in my own photos. A variety helps to keep your own photos fresh and interesting.

Composition Assignment #1

This assignment we were told to take pictures of people or objects that met certain criteria. The criteria was that we had to have a total of six pictures each representing either pattern, rule of thirds, texture, line, symmetry, and depth of field.

In my photos I tried to find interesting items to be the focus of my picture. My pattern picture is of a brick walkway in my backyard. For rule of thirds I went out to the flag pole on the school grounds and took a picture of the American Flag. For texture, I got an up close picture of a rock. For lines, I took an angled picture of part of the school building. I thought the school commons was a good example for symmetry with light fixtures on either sides of the walls. For depth of field I wanted something interesting so I took and up close picture of a criss-crossed pattern on the bottom of the deck at my house.

From this composition assignment I learned how to take a good picture. I know that if you move your subject to the side (rule of thirds) it makes a more interesting picture. I also learned what to look for to take pictures of. I have six new ideas to look around and photograph. Depth of field, pattern, line, symmetry, rule of thirds, and texture are examples of things I will try to take in my photos from now on.