Tom Clark - Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Ill River St.

Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana All photos Copyright 2011 by Tom Clark, unless otherwise indicated. Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http: / / www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Tom Clark is a successful commercial photographer in Miami. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Photography, he moved to Miami and began his career by assisting local photographers on fashion, editorial, and portrait assignments. Tom also assisted some of the city's top architectural and interior photographers and worked on set with many of the top photographers in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe for fashion, editorial, and celebrity portraiture. With the combination of his experience on set and his education, Tom successfully made the move from photo assistant to photographer. Today he shoots for a number of local and international publications on a freelance basis, and he provides commercial advertising services to clients of all sizes.

What aren't discussed in Tom's commercial success but are possibly the root of his inspiration are the long trips into the wilderness, up mountains, and to the seas where getting the perfect shot is an exploration and nights are filled with campfires, starry skies, and long exposures. To check out Tom's work and see his Photo of the Week (which highlights his most interesting recent captures), visit his Web site at www. tomclarkphoto. com.

Dedication For my dad.

Thank you to Traci Cumbay for working so closely on this project and helping to keep the work consistent with the For Dummies style. It was great to have someone to share ideas with. More thanks to Project Editor Sarah Faulkner and Copy Editor Jessica Smith for keeping the flow and organization of this book in check.

I am delighted that Erin Calligan Mooney contacted me for this project and presented such a great opportunity to me. Thank you Stacy Kennedy for managing this project, and thank you Craig Denis for contributing architectural and interior photographs that worked so well to validate my points on the topic.

The models I would like to thank for appearing in this book include the following: Fania Castro, Gillian Richardson, Alejandro Nunez, Omar Bain, Niurka Zamora, Amy Larue, Autumn Suna, Emily Jo Burton, Joe Kydd, Diego Alberto, Clarissa Hempel, Josh Noe, Eduard Kotysh, Lauren Koenig, Ivonne Padilla, Melissa Gil, Greg Norman, Jr, Francisco Stanzione, Oleg Dankovtsev, and Alejandra Pinzon.

Last but not least, thank you Emily Noe for assisting with the production of the photos for this book and for being a wonderful muse.

Publisher's Acknowledgments

We're proud of this book; please send us your comments at http: / /dummies. custhelp. com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Composition Services

Development Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery

Project Editor: Sarah Faulkner ^^ and Graphics. Carl Byers

Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy Carrie A. Cesavice, Samantha K. Cherolis

Copy Editor: Jessica Smith Proofreaders: Laura Albert, John Greenough,

Assistant Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney Nancy L Reinhardt

Senior Editorial Assistant: David Lutton Indexer: Sharon Shock

Technical Editor: Susan B. Fleck SPecial HelP Traci Cumbay, Christine Pingleton

Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck

Editorial Assistants: Jennette EINaggar, Rachelle S. Amick

Cover Photos: Tom Clark

Cartoons: Rich Tennant

(www.the5thwave.com)

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Introduction........ 1

Part 1: The Basics of Composition....7

Chapter 1: Photographic Composition: The Overview.......9

Chapter 2: Developing an Eye for Composition.......21

Chapter 3: Getting to Know Your Equipment........33

Part 11: Elements of Photographic Design...()9

Chapter 4: Introducing the Elements of Photographic Design....51

Chapter 5: Arranging Visual Elements in a Frame According to the "Rules"...67

Chapter 6: Paying Attention to Color in Composition......85

Part HI: Arranqinq the Keif Elements to

Compose a Successful Shot..... 101

Chapter 7: Using Focal Points to Tell a Story.......103

Chapter 8: Finding Your Perspective..........117

Chapter 9: Backgrounds: As Important as the Subject.....135

Chapter 10: Using Light to Tell Your Story.........153

Chapter 11: Adding Interest through Framing and Formatting.....179

Chapter 12: Exploring Other Compositional Ideas......193

Part IV: Composition in Action....213

Chapter 13: Showing People in Their Best Light.......215

Chapter 14: In Nature: Landscapes and Wildlife........231

Chapter 15: Shooting Still-Life Photography........247

Chapter 16: Capturing (Or Stopping) Motion through Photography....263

Chapter 17: Artsy Photos: Fine Art, Composite Pictures, and Abstracts...279

Chapter 18: Improving Composition through Postproduction Editing..293

Part V: The Part of Tens.....309

Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Improve Composition........311

Chapter 20: Ten Tips for Finding Photographic Inspiration....317

Chapter 21: Viewing Ten Compositions of One Scene......325

Index........335