In this B&H Event Space seminar, David Brommer covers the basic concepts of composition as established by the masters of the Renaissance. Commencing with the classic rule of thirds and leaping into theories of color and balance, David touches upon a range of topics, including image construction, positive and negative space, as well as other advanced composition.

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Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.

Category: Video - Photography
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Distortions of the same image explore aspect ratio expressively

The proportion of an image’s frame is a fundamental part of its statement.

Unlike many documentary photographers who keep the proportion of their image frames constant to reduce their presence and suggest that their images haven’t been altered, I do the opposite for precisely the opposite reason, to more clearly highlight that my images have been altered by me. The question of whether an image has or has not been altered is a misleading question. Every image, whether documentary or artistic, has been altered, but to different degrees, in different ways, and for different reasons. Questions of method, extent, and intent are more revealing and interesting.

I use the proportion of the frame expressively. Because different proportions each add something different, I don’t standardize, I customize the proportions of my images. I distort the frame, crop the frame, and/or extend the frame through compositing and sometimes retouching, before settling on a final solution that creates the strongest statement.

How do you use aspect ratio in your images?

Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.

Category: Composition
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Discover Huntington’s favorite quotes here.

Read Huntington’s short Q&A here.

Read our extended conversation here.

Find out more about Huntington Witherill here.

Category: Video - Photographers
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Huntington Witherill and I discuss the importance and uses of composition.

Discover Huntington’s favorite quotes here.

Read Huntington’s short Q&A here.

Read our extended conversation here.

Find out more about Huntington Witherill here.

Category: Photographers On Photography, Photographers Video Conversation
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Defocus

December 8, 2010 | 2 Comments

It’s easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees.

We’re capable of seeing a lot of detail. Sometimes detail is distracting. Eliminating it can help us see fundamentals more clearly.

Here’s a quick way to make sure the foundations of your compositions are strong.

1    Frame an image.

2    Defocus the camera. Defocus enough to lose sight
of the details (line and texture) but not the broader com- position (light and dark, color, shape).

3    Refine the composition. Move the camera or zoom.

4 Refocus.

5 Expose.

Images that contain well-rendered detail without a solid compositional structure often appear cluttered and confusing. Develop the habit of slowing down and taking the time to make sure your compositions are as strong as they can be.

Find more online resources here.

Learn more in my digital photography workshops.

Category: Creativity
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“How do you define something? One classic strategy is to let the dictionary define it for you. The Oxford English Dictionary defines composition in the following ways …

… the act of combining; forming relationships (between things); synthesis; reasoning from the universal to the particular; combining arithmetical factors, ratios, forces, elements to produce a compound; chemical combination; combining words and sentences to produce a literary work; combining sounds to produce a musical work; settling differences or an agreement; arrangement; constitution of mind and/or body or both; a creation shared by individual parts; union; aggregate; mixture; structure; design …

This paraphrases a more than one page definition. Reproducing the full version would be tedious. But I recommend you take a glance at the full definition to get a sense of how wide ranging the many definitions contained in this one entry are, which are used by many disciplines yet still related.

For the visual artist we could settle on a working definition, a simple statement that could be useful. Composition is the act of combining graphic elements to create a visual structure or it’s the product generated by this act. That suffices. That’s useful. But, while it’s useful to settle this, it would also be useful not to settle this issue definitively. The tension set up by continuing to consider all of the ambiguities, contradictions, connections, and unanswered questions will lead to some marvelous insights. For this very reason, I recommend you settle on your own working definition. And then continue to refine it. Because, rather than settling it definitively, by continuing to work with the question you’ll benefit even more …”

“You can see the fundamental structures present and visual dynamics at work in your images by reducing the wealth of information found in photographs. You can use Photoshop to do this in countless ways. Here are a few …”

Read more on Luminous Landscape. Click here.

Learn more about composition in my field workshops.

6/12-15 – Along the Waterline

8/9-15 – Iceland

10/16-19 – Fall Foliage

Category: Composition, Magazine
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