Picture Your World

This last weekend Krystin and I went to a beginners photography course at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. It was called Picture Your World, hosted by Green Spaces Alliance of South Texas. I would like to share with you what I learned. It was more like reinforcement for Krystin.

We learned four of the basic rules of photography;

1. The Rule of thirds
2. Framing
3. Lighting
4. Leading lines 

First let's talk about the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds are four imaginary lines that cut your photograph into nine sections.  Then you place your subject in one of the four intersections. This makes the photograph more balanced and pleasing to the eye.

In the photo below the rose is in one of the intersections, thus making the photograph more interesting and pleasing to the eye.

Now, that being said, you don't always have to use the rule of third for all photos, some photos look better without the rule of thirds.  The only way you can know this is by trying it both ways.  That is the beauty of digital photography, you don't have to pay for film!

Next we are going to talk about framing, Framing is where a certain part of your photograph "frames" your subject. In the photo below the Cabin and front porch are framed nicely by the trees, grass and pond. Now if only I can find a magic cure for the people enjoying the view from the other side of the pond. :) Notice, that the cabin is also in one of the intersections of our rule of thirds.

Now we are going to talk about lighting. Light is essentially the photographers medium, the camera is just his tool. A photograph would not exist without light, light can be a photographers best friend and worst enemy. One of the things to look for in a photograph, is where light falls.  If the photograph is  dark, the subject will appear grainy, or even worse, won't appear at all. But the image has too much light it will be washed out and the colors will appear dull. Once the photographer can learn to use light and shadows to their advantage, it can result in beautiful photos. This duck was so kind as to let me take his picture as he lay in the beautiful light.   

Then he became a ham and started to pose, SO CUTE!!!!

     

Shadows can also make great abstract photos.

                                    

The last thing we are going to talk about are leading lines. Leading lines are lines in photos that your eye naturally follows. These lines can work to your advantage, or be a distracting disadvantage.

The photo below has great leading lines, your eye naturally follows the path as the path leads you further into the picture.

There is also such a thing as implied leading lines. These are lines that aren't necessarily visible, but your eye follows them anyway. Take the photo of the duck as an example. The implied leading lines in the photo below are where the duck is looking.  This photo's leading lines are to it's disadvantage since it leads you off of the photo. 

This class gave me alot to think about and to work on while taking pictures.  I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to attend.  Now I know this seems like a lot to take in all at once, but it really isn't all that hard once you get started, so get out there and start snapping.