I have a lot of people ask me about composition a lot of you guys get in
touch and sound pretty good with my tech stuff I understand my camera my lenses
and all the rest of it but a little bit stuck when it comes to finding
compositions or putting them together well it's a lovely evening here on the
PIPA Kazi which is the little lake of pfaffikon on where I run my master class
in Switzerland so I thought well why don't we come down here and spend a bit
of time and see if we can find some compositions and I'll just kind of go
through them with you now if you're coming out to photograph I would suggest
bring your Kindle as I have because I don't know how I'm going to have to wait
for some light to change we might have quite a nice sunset I don't know but
either way I thought I'd talk you through some compositions see what we
can find now I'm not filming with a camera person at the moment so I'm going
to have to manage it all myself and what will you guys about as we switch the
camera on and off now we may or may not get the big sunset shots the big
landscape thing but before I attack my Kindles and sit in - wait here's a
little shot that I quite like I've taken it before so I do know this shot but let
me just talk you through the composition and what it is look on the wall behind
me right there right this is museum pfaffikersee this
is on the wall the lake is over there now I think there's quite a nice little
graphic shot to be had here I quite like graphic line shots so we taught you
through the shot that I'm going to show you the composition of it the shot I'm
thinking of really consists of this shutter here or a part of it followed by
a little bit of this shutter here with the name and the plain wall the reason
I'm drawn to it and like it is the fact that these shutters are not the same
height they are unequal so the two are kind of on different
heights and that kind of to me makes it a little bit more interesting so let's
have a little look and I'll see if I can show you how I might shut a set up the
shot first of all let's get my trusty camera rolling now then let's
stick it onto video so you can kind of see what I'm looking at now here we go
that's not terribly interesting is it but look as we sort of move to the side
we're beginning to get things square the windows are not so interesting I'm not
so sure like this little is a grey line at the bottom what happens if we get a
little closer look you see it's getting a bit more interesting
now maybe we could zoom in a little bit something like that you see now if I
raise the camera up I can start to get these shutters looking square on so
let's just move back a little bit you see these are little tiny movements of
me to get composition right this is in the camera setting camera settings don't
really they help you they kind of get you in the right place but let's get our
composition right now I'd say that's not a bad little composition maybe give it a
bit more space just something like that there we go
now then let's just stop the video let's go back and take the photo shall we so
what I've got to do is copy what I just did so I just got to zoom in a little
tiny bit with my lens very carefully line up my shot the edges I want to be
the sort of center bars on the shutter either size because I think they frame
it up nicely they give a nice edge to the sides of the photo so I just got to
find the place I need to stand to make that happen
let's come back a tiny bit we're nearly there
forward a bit I want the camera to be sort of perpendicular to the wall I want
it to be straight on then we go back and eat see a bit more eats a bit more there
we go somewhere there I think that's looking
nice and straight there's our composition and all I've got
to do is take the photo and there you go it's a very simple
graphics composition and all it involves is a bit of moving around on your behalf
of thinking through what it is you want to achieve and seeing the shot that of
course is the big deal that's the first thing you've got to do is to be able to
notice something and then in your head here and your brilliant brain in your
first block of photography you need to kind of imagine a frame around it
imagine how that shot could look then you work backwards from the shot to get
your composition what sort of focal length will you need will you need a bit
of zoom you saw that we did for this and where to stand where to hold the camera
which angle to tilt it to whether it's up or down whether you need to raise the
camera or get yourself lower and all that kind of stuff so here we go we got
one little shot let's go see if we can find another one while we're waiting to
see if we get the big landscape
composition is about using your eyes it's about looking to see what's going
on around you so when we're walking down the path instead of like fiddling around
looking in the back of the camera reading menu settings wondering about
other stuff it's about walking around and looking around as you go okay you've
got to use your eyes you've got to become aware of things and start
imagining that picture frame in your head and imagine that frame going around
things something you could do is cut out a little oblong frame you know out of
some cardboard and just start looking through it you know you might feel a bit
of a numpty doing it but this is a great way to start training yourself to get
your photo radar going to get yourself noticing compositions now I was just
walking down this little path here and I just kind of couldn't help but notice
these grasses and I know I'm a bit darkness because the camera is
struggling to make an exposure for both that bright sky and for me but we're
looking straight into the Sun on the water beyond we've got some sparkles and
though you can't see it in a video camera to somebody in a boat just
sitting out beyond these reeds looks like he's fishing actually now the shot
I'm thinking of is let's put some stuff into the corners let's make the corners
a bit more busy because look we've got high reeds here we've got reeds reeds
reason they dip a bit here then over here we've got this tree going on now
can use that to frame with a little dip going on in the middle we've got the Sun
in the sky so we're going to shoot straight into the Sun let me again get
my camera rocking and roll in and show you what I mean
now then put it onto video because it'll work better for you now then let's just
see video right this is quite hard so I'm going to shade my eyes now look
straight away there's the Sun and I think you can see the little guy in the
boat now did you know you can move the Sun around you can move that light path
that's sparkling on the water now finally this way I can kind of move that
light path across you see how the boat is starting to come onto the edge of
that but it's not really what I want the side on it up here by the edge of the
tree so we're going to move the boat to the right let's see where we can go now
there's a nice little dip a little hollow going on here in front of me sort
of in there we can put the Sun into that little sort of a V that looks kind of
nice the corners are nicely filled we've got
that tree there and that tree there and that's kind of creating our composition
I think the thing I'm likely to like the most though is again by moving to the
left I can put the Sun behind these reeds here I think that looked much more
interesting so we have to do is try it look what it is is a little bit of a
move to the left and there we go I kind of like that I don't know why I
like putting the Sun right behind things so let's take our photo
let's just stop that video stick it into photo mode and take our shot we're
already in the right place all I'm going to do is to line up the shot make sure
the horizon straight use the camera up and down until I get it behind those
reeds tilt the camera up a bit and there's one shot now let's try the one I
said about putting the Sun into that dip between the reeds let's just kind of let
me see if I can just video this for you so we've got the Sun behind the reeds
like that now let's move it into that dip over here here we go let's just
raise the I'm up a bit that puts the Sun higher
let's bring the camera down a bit that puts the Sun lower
there we go that's looking pretty good there I think so stop the video pop it
into photo mode and let have a little go at that shots a shame because we're
losing our boatman a bit I don't think I like it quite so much but there's our
shot now if we had a really lovely blue sky as opposed to that bit of haze and
those vapour trails because we're quite near to an airport
I think it'll been a much more interesting shot but nonetheless it
still has merit it still has value and it's great composition practice it's a
way for you to try things out have a go at different things have a play with it
so there we go you've kind of seen a couple of compositions I'm going to walk
on down the path a little bit further and just kind of see if we can find one
of the little wooden docks that look second to the water problem unlike the
faces this can be covered with fishermen who finished work it's a lovely evening
and they want to go catch a place all so let's go see if we can find the next one
okay look at this we've got some nice evening light you can see it on my face
that is because over there we've got some sunset going on let me see if I can
show you hang on there we go fire up the old camera now look over here we have
got some sunset so why aren't we shooting the sunset why aren't you doing
that brown well to be exciting is it and even if I try and shoot along the dock a
bit look you see the dock is lining up from here it's going over there but the
Sun is setting over there and that's not quite so interesting or it is causing is
some amazing light you can see it on my face and it's happening if you can see
behind me there's a dock behind it post little monitors if I'm pointed out for
you now look we've got this dock going on here there's a couple of fishermen on
the end of it and we've got some mountains going on beyond the sky isn't
terribly exciting but you can just see from these posts here that the light is
superb that's the other thing not only if you've got to master your composition
you also have to look at light and understand when it looks great
so my we could possibly use some of this
greenery that's going on here we've got the fishermen on the other dock and
let's see if we get a picture of them because we've got some fabulous light
right I'm going to move quick because I don't wanna lose that light now if I
come over here it's just fire at the video so you can see what I'm thinking
here we go here's the dock I like a bit of negative space you could frame it out
like this so we're using the trees and the reflection you could kind of frame
it up more so there's more mountain I think I prefer it going this way
unfortunately some people have just walked out into that dock so it's not
just fishermen we zoom in just a tad we could have a shot something along those
lines now that's okay but it isn't terribly exciting is it we need
something here something in this area to lead us into the shot now watch
competition is not a camera function it's a u function if I start to walk
backwards I stop coming back towards you guys look what's starting to appear in
the bottom of the frame yeah the end of this dock and that's making it a bit
more interesting now this gap here where is it there
that's quite a wide gap I want to make this gap here smaller how do you do that
it's not hard look composition is a function of arms and legs and hands and
knees let's just bend the knees and look this little gap where is it
and I go there that gap there it's going to decrease look you see that looks so
much better and we got the little bits of timber either side so that would be
my composition I really rather like that let's just shoot the photo look at that
now is Uma the end somehow match what we had in the video take it out of it here
we go focal length or zoom and composition our
best mates there we go get it straight lovely light make sure I don't click the
ends of the dot and take the picture that is PG dandy so if you were paying
really close attention throughout this video you may have noticed something a
little odd something different to most of the videos that I do you may notice
that I took all those pictures with my trusty old phone
as opposed to my neck on on my Fuji why would I do that why why am I being such
an idiot why would I do that it's because composition is not a camera
function it is a u function if you something you have to manage yourself
there are no settings there and I use my phone because I can't put settings on it
many of you guys are very addicted to what settings did you use settings are
of no real value to you because the settings that I might use or
you might use in a given situation will only work in that situation you take the
same shot a few moments later with a slightly different composition you may
need totally different settings that's why I've just done this
composition thing using a phone there's another reason too and that is you
nearly always got a phone in your pocket that means there's no excuse for you not
to practice composition at any time wherever you are I know a lot of people
think well why would I practice photography but of course you've got to
practice it's like anything you want to practice driving the car and now you
make it look incredibly easy even though you're doing some life dependent things
every time you get into it yet you're not even thinking about it you are
thinking about going on holiday or where you're going to have dinner or what
you're going to do tomorrow or something that happened at work earlier sometimes
you'll drive home and thing I don't remember going through there now it
sounds pretty dangerous and it probably is but nonetheless is something that
human beings do so practice these things if you found this video useful please
click in a couple of lights you can subscribe to the YouTube channel or sign
up to my newsletter on my website at photography courses beers /video
whenever we post a new video I will you'll be one of the very first to know
so you get to see it so I hope that it was of value to you I hope you had a
great time with it if you're beginning with your photography you're struggling
with your composition you know what to do until next time take care see you
soon