Composition: P3 (a)

Whilst taking out the Canon 7D Cameras during our task, we were instructed to take into consideration the composition of the photograph. After studying hand outs and various information available to us, students had enough knowledge of composition to complete the practical task. We had to take into consideration photographic techniques such as rule of thirds, balancing elements, symmetry and framing.

For this section I have used a variety of images taken in our classes and photographs from other locations. 

For this image I chose to use a 85mm fixed lens with a Canon 7D. This is because I wanted to achieve a reasonably cropped photograph but still fit subjects in (Rugby Posts & Cricket Nets) 

The top of the image has been framed with the leaves, this contrasts against the white, cloudy sky. This image does fit in with the rule of thirds, both vertically and horizontally. The grass fits with the bottom third, then the trees are in the middle, and lastly the white sky and leaves fit in the top third. 

I took this photograph in Tanzania, Africa. I have deliberately broken the rule of thirds here. I wanted the subject (three Tanzanian children) to be in the centre of the image so all attention is drawn to them when you first see the image. However the rule of thirds does work, if you divided it into thirds both sides of the children, leaving with you with what could have been a symmetrical image, however the symmetry has been broken by the bushes on the left hand side. Causing the picture to be more interesting and enticing. The bush also helps to frame the image naturally. A leading line as been created by the longer grass behind the children. 

This image was also taken during my trip in Tanzania, Africa. The rule of thirds can been seen well here, the women carrying water are in the centre third, children plying football in the right third, and the three children in the left third. This image is almost symmetrical, as the women are just offset to the left of the centre, and there is a line of children across the whole image. However a bad left by one of the Tanzanian children has broken the symmetry, which fortunately for me, made the image more interesting as there was a contrast to this rural African landscape with this canvas bag. The image has a full depth of field, as everything is in focus, this is because everything in the image is relevant. 

For this image, the main factor I took into consideration was the depth, I wanted to achieve an image showing the books on the right looking sharp and in focus, and the flat books on the left out of focus. I achieved this when focusing my lens...I managed to get a shallow depth of field with the image, but also the subject, (the books on the right) are in focus and fit into the rule of thirds, having the subject offset to the right of the image to add to the interest and uniqueness. 

P3A - Moving & Static Images

For this task, we set out in pairs to capture some moving and static images. For the moving images, we aimed to get a blur affect to the shot by using a slow shutter speed e.g 1/60 and below. We captured the subject running across a still landscape to emphasise the affect we aimed to achieve. For the static images, we had to increase the shutter speed to 1/60 or above, this gave a much sharper image. The results are shown below;

To achieve a blurred image, we had to use a very slow shutter speed, however when changing the speed, other settings such as aperture and ISO have to be taken into consideration. By setting the camera shutter speed at 1/10, I adjusted the aperture to f/22, allowing enough light to hit the sensor to achieve a good exposure for this grey/foggy day. The ISO was set relatively low as it was bright outside, meaning light sensitivity wasn't too high. Resulting in the image above.

This image was again taken at a 1/10 shutter speed, and f/22 aperture. However the as we had moved areas, light intensity was slightly higher, so I changed the ISO from 250 to 100, allowing a blurred image again for the focus, but a focused, reasonably well exposed image.