When we’re beginning to learn photography, one of our biggest opportunities to learn is when we make pictures we don’t like.
For example, today I worked with a photographer during the Master Composition With Your Smartphone and when I asked them to critique their work, they said they didn’t like it.
When I asked them to get specific about why, and they did, I encouraged them to go back and remake the picture based on their critique.
They did, and they felt the picture was a lot better.
I agreed.
When we pay attention to what we’re doing or what we did in terms of the elements of composition while we’re composing our work, we can create thoughtful, unique, engaging photographs.
If we’re new to photography, sometimes we’re so caught up in the camera operation that we don’t pay attention to all the elements of composition beyond the ones related to camera operation.
And if we’re in a position to remake the picture, we can
If that’s the case, after
critiquing our work, we could always go back and do it again, while bringing our attention to the elements of composition that are either working or not working for us.
That’s how we learn.
No matter what kind of camera we use, we all do the same thing when it comes to elements of composition.
The difference between a phone and a more
complex camera, like a DSLR or mirrorless camera, is that we have more compositional elements to consider with the more complex cameras.
And when we have more elements of composition to work with, we deepen the depth of our compositions,
which deepens the visual interests of our work.
Don’t get me wrong, we can make really good pictures with the camera on our phone
In fact, the photographer I was talking about earlier was using the camera on her phone
Composition is composition, regardless of the camera we use.
The camera we use affects the depth of our composition.
The cameras on our phones are simple
She did the best she could with the camera she had, making an engaging photograph and combining compositional elements to create a picture she could be proud of.
And if we understand photography and know what we’re doing, in terms of camera operation, composition, and light, we could all do
that.
That’s what I’m here to help you with.
There's still space in the March Photography Basics/Introduction to Photography classes, and there’s more classes below, including Private Lessons.