Skip to Content
Nature Photography Photo Workshop
book

Nature Photography Photo Workshop

by Nat Coalson
May 2011
Beginner
304 pages
8h 23m
English
Wiley
Content preview from Nature Photography Photo Workshop

4.2. ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUES

When you design a photograph, whether by previsualizing or composing a picture on location, there are a few key points to remember. If you simply run through a mental checklist of these points you'll immediately start making better pictures. You need to deliberately use the frame, work effectively in two dimensions, and direct the eye through your creative choices.

4.2.1. USING THE FRAME

The most important aspect of the composition is the frame, a term that refers to the edges of the picture. Because you're using the four sides of the frame to isolate what you want to show and eliminate everything else, the frame is the first thing to pay attention to. By remaining aware of your selection process, you will learn to use the frame with great control.

Once a picture is made, the sides are rigid and inflexible. But the frame can be used with enormous power. Superimposing a rectangle on a tiny part of the world gives the contents of the frame importance. Depending on what's in the frame, the four straight sides of a picture can impose a strong effect on the composition or can be minimized so they don't draw attention.

When composing a picture on location (or cropping later on the computer), make sure to look all around the edges for distracting elements.

When arranging elements within the frame, you have two simple possibilities to consider: you can move ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

Photographing Nature: A photo workshop from Brooks Institute’s top nature photography instructor

Photographing Nature: A photo workshop from Brooks Institute’s top nature photography instructor

Ralph A. Clevenger
Wide-Angle Photography

Wide-Angle Photography

Chris Marquardt

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780470534915Purchase book