Last week we started talking about the elements of design with light. We have already discussed lines thoroughly so we are half way there! Here are a couple of examples from our #juxtschoolhouse tag that are fantastic.
“GO BIG” was shot in Half Moon Bay, CA.
I sat on the edge Hwy 1 watching and taking pictures of a group of surfers fighting for a small set of waves for about 30 minutes when this one lone huge wave came rolling in on the scene. I immediately poised my lens as the surfer paddled into the wave. Popping up to his feet, he instantly switched back into the break and caught air off the monster as my camera lens clicked shut. -Brent, @sleekmaus
August 15: Everything looks better when you’re on vacation. I had been playing around with Foxy and Pistil (my Hipstacombo-of-the-moment) a lot this week on the Big Island of Hawai’i—it seemed to make the sand and water quietly glow. That being said, this photograph of my son’s gothic sand fortress required little editing after processing in Hipstamatic. (Nine times out of ten, I’ll remove the frame off of a Hipstamatic image; I did that here.) And while I can’t give you specific levels of each editing tool that I used in Snapseed, I CAN tell you that this is my go-to app for most post-process adjustments. Undoubtedly, I added a tiny bit of drama and contrast in this image, as well as brightened up the blue where my son is guarding the castle just offshore.. – Suzanne, @_suzanne_
This week we are going back to kindergarten talking about shapes. (If your like me, your hoping for a snack and nap time too!) Basic drawing 101 tells us that everything can be broken down into a series of shapes, and photographs are no different. What I want to call your attention to though is that the entire picture plane comes into play not just the objects.
Offset Spiral
You can use your entire photo to echo shapes and create a more dynamic composition using shapes to create a composition. Look at your key elements. Do these elements create a triangle or square? It’s sort of like a game of connect the dots. You have three objects in your photo, arrange them or move until they create a triangle. The entire picture plane can also be divided into two equal triangles like we talked about with lines. Leading lines often divide picture planes into smaller sets of triangles.
The most obvious way to find or shoot rectangles is by using the horizon line. Off setting the horizon line can have an immediate effect on your composition. It is then divided into two unequal rectangles. You can also echo the unequal rectangles by photographing another smaller rectangular object.
Overall, using repeative shapes within your composition can make for a pleasing photo. There are of course many things to take into account while shooting, and shapes are only one thing to consider.
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