Composition/ Portland Family Pictures

So we've talked about light and focus, now it's time to look at composition. I really think all three need to be there in order to have a picture that doesn't look like a snapshot. Here are some quick tips, followed by some examples, that will help you take a different look at the composition of your pictures.

-Rule of Thirds. If you've ever done any reading about taking better pictures or graphic design in general, you've probably heard of the "Rule of Thirds". This is probably the most fundamental "rule" out there. In a nutshell it says to think of your picture as being divided into 9 equal parts (see below). Then, try to place the main focus of your picture onto those lines, or the intersection of those lines. So, when photographing a person, their body should roughly be placed on one of the vertical lines with their eyes at an intersection. Now, do you have to follow this exactly? Of course not, but it is a good way to avoid having your subject fall in the middle of the frame which is usually less appealing to the eye. You can see in the picture below that her eyes don't exactly fall on the intersection of the two lines, but her lips do, and her eyes are fairly close, still taking advantage of the rule.

-Don't ALWAYS follow the rule of thirds. It's a great guideline, but sometimes centering can make for a more dramatic picture. When I choose to center a subject, it's typically because there is some sort of symmetry surrounding them, or their "pose" is symmetrical. Take a look at the picture below. The subject (cute little Livy) is facing the camera squarely and her hands and feet are more or less symmetrical, so having her in the center of the frame works.

-Pay attention to your background. Whenever I look for a location I'm usually looking for backgrounds. Whatever is behind your subject is your canvas. The more that's on it, the less focus will be on the person in your picture. This doesn't mean you need to shoot in front of grey walls, but try to avoid major distractions in the background. This also means avoiding telephone polls coming out of heads! Take a look at the picture below. The door is a great background with interesting lines and texture, but had I been paying attention, I would have moved the family so that the vertical metal pieces were not right behind the dad's head. It just throws the whole picture a bit off balance since it essentially divides the picture down the middle.

-Change your perspective. I'm always surprised at how sore I am after a two hour session. But there's a good reason for it. If you watch most professional photographers, at least those that shoot children, you'll see them on the ground or kneeling a LOT. You'll never see me show up for a session in good clothes because I always know whatever I'm wearing will get filthy from laying on the muddy grass or kneeling on wet pavement. Hopefully I'll have some "behind the scenes" videos posted soon, but in the meantime just take my word for it-get on the ground when you take pictures of your kids! It really will make a difference in giving your pictures that little extra polish. Look closely at the picture below and you'll see the my camera (and I) was surely on the ground...the OOF (out of focus) grass in the foreground is a dead giveaway.

-Have your subject moving "into" the frame. Most of you probably know this one already too. If you have a picture of a person looking off in a particular direction, it's usually more visually appealing to have them looking into the rest of the picture rather than looking out of it. Doesn't the top picture look a little better than the bottom one?

-Don't cut off limbs at the joint. Sometimes you can't avoid cropping a leg, hand, or arm out of a picture, and sometimes it even makes a picture better, but try to avoid cropping right at a joint-it just looks off.

-Have some style! I'm not a fashionista, in fact I have pretty poor fashion sense, but I do love a little style in pictures. If you ever book a session with me, you'll hear my speech about what to wear. Personally I love pictures that are timeless, which means I usually like to leave Sponge Bob shirts in the drawer and opt for bright colors, bold stripes, or just a pretty sundress. Urban shoots usually scream "bright" to me, while shoots in a vineyard, orchard, or field are often best in paler shades. Wherever you are, just think about what your subject is wearing and whether or not it will distract from the picture. It certainly doesn't mean they have to wear "jeans and a solid shirt." Experiment with textures, layers, and the favorite of almost every photographer...hats!

-Don't be afraid to crop. While cropping in camera is usually best (less pixels thrown away), I often find myself cropping in post-processng to get the right composition. This also will give you a little more room should you ever want to get a gallery wrapped canvas or other product that needs a little space around the edges. You can see in the picture below that what came straight out of the camera isn't the most appealing composition. The boy (cutie pie Gavin) is centered while the rest of the picture is quite asymmetrical. No problem with a little cropping though. The final picture on the bottom follows the rule of thirds pretty well and is a lot more appealing.

So there you are, hopefully these tips will help the next time you decide to take your camera out!