Dexter Yarbrough - Visualizing for Better Photos

By Dexter Yarbrough. Taking great photos that have appeal and impact will depend upon your ability to see the potential in a subject and to interpret it in your own way. This hub will focus (no pun intended) on the importance of selecting the viewpoint that will show your subject in the most effective way.

Since we want our photos to standout, they need to communicate to a broad audience because of the revealing way the subject has been treated or the way in which the elements are composed to convey mood.

Framing the Image

To create a unified effect, you have to decide how to best arrange the elements that make up the image. You have to decide what should be included (or omitted), at which angle to shoot the image and how to show the relationship between one subject element and others.
Similar to a painter, you as the photographer must use the viewfinder as the creative space within which to build a pleasing composition. In order to emphasize the main subject of a picture, you can show it surrounded and balanced by another/other element(s).

Selecting Viewpoint

The viewpoint from which you photograph a subject helps determine the relationship between all the objects included in the frame and of those objects to their surroundings. The accurate way to determine the effectiveness of a viewpoint is by checking its appearance in the viewfinder. Looking at the scene with the naked eye makes you aware of all the peripheral information surrounding the area of interest. Looking at the scene through the viewfinder shows it with clear-cut edges as it will appear in the finished photo.

Always try to look for unusual ways to present the subject. Try stooping down so that you are lower than the subject; or stand on a ladder so that you look down on it. By moving to one side can show elements in a different way.

Depth and Perspective

Perspective is a way of using spatial elements to indicate depth and distance in a photograph, providing you with the impression of looking at a three-dimensional scene. By placing one object behind another, you can indicate that it is farther away from the camera. Objects of the same size appear to look smaller the more distant they are from the camera.

Balance and Proportion

Most photographs consist of a number of different subject elements. You (and I) as the photographer, should aim to compose shots so that there is balance between all of them. The concept of balance and proportion doesn't mean that a good photo must be perfectly symmetrical or the main focal point positioned in the center of the frame. This makes for static, formal images which can add up to BORING! A much better way is to divide the photograph into thirds - horizontally and vertically - and to place the subject one-third across and one -third up or down the picture. If you have been reading my photography hubs, you will recall that this is called the Rule of Thirds!

http://www.dexteryarbroughphotography.com/

http://www.djyphotography.com/

http://dexter-yarbrough.hubpages.com/hub/Dexter-Yarbrough-on-Hubpages

http://dexter-yarbrough.hubpages.com/

http://dexter-yarbrough.hubpages.com/hub/The-Art-of-Black-and-White-Photography-dexter-yarbrough

http://dexter-yarbrough.hubpages.com/hub/Creative-Photos-with-HDR-Photography-dexter-yarbrough

http://dexter-yarbrough.hubpages.com/hub/Great-Photos-with-HDR-Photography

http://dexter-yarbrough.hubpages.com/hub/Focus-on-the-Eyes-for-Great-Portraits

By utilizing these methods, you are on your way to seeing better photos! Have fun doing it! - By Dexter Yarbrough