The Digital Photography Companion

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COMPOSITION WHAT TO THINK ABOUT WHILE LOOKING THROUGH THE VIEWFINDER

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e main thing to remember with close-up photography is that whenever you increase

lens magnification, you have to hold the camera extra-steady, as too much camera

movement during the exposure can make your picture look out of focus. For impor-

tant close-ups that you plan to print, you may even want to use a tripod to steady the

camera. e rule of thumb is this: increased magnification means camera shake is also

magnified.

Also, your depth of field is very shallow in close-up photography, so be sure to focus on

the element that is most important to you. If you have an aperture priority mode, you

can increase the depth of field a little by setting the aperture to f/11, f/16, or f/22. e

higher the f-stop setting, the more depth of field you’ll have.

Composition (What to ink About While Looking

rough the Viewfinder)

Whether you’re using the LCD monitor or the optical viewfinder, the composition of

your picture determines a large part of its success. Composition is the arrangement of

the elements in your photograph. e subject, the horizon line, and background ele-

ments all play a role in successful composition, and this is just as true with basic point-

and-shoot cameras as it is with a top-of-the-line Nikon DSLR.

e first step toward creating great photographs is to consider all ...