Landscape Composition Rules

[Scottes]

I happened to be looking for some info and books on landscape composition since New England foliage is coming up. I stumbled upon this page on Landscape Composition Rules (http://www.currys.com/knowledge/landscape.asp) which was done for painters, but is of course applicable to photographers.

Granted, those painting people have a bit more artistic license, so not everything is applicable - but better than 90% of this makes sense for photography. It's a good article.


NOTE: Above link is broken. Try this one, which is the same content (as far as I can remember 4+ years ago)
http://photoinf.com/General/Johannes_Vloothuis/landscape_composition_rules.html

[sdommin]

Thanks for that link, Scottes. There are some very good tips there, and I've bookmarked it. I think it might be a good exercise to look at our past photos and study why a particular photo "works" (or why it doesn't). These tips will help.

(Now, let's wait and watch for the inevitable flood of "rules are meant to be broken" posts.)

[Jon]

(Now, let's wait and watch for the inevitable flood of "rules are meant to be broken" posts.)

In a (no doubt vain) attempt to delay that wondrous moment - you have to understand why the rules are there before you can safely break them . . .

[nosquare2003]

The site looks great and I'll read it later.

I cannot draw simple things but I bought some books regarding painting. It's interesting to know how they draw. And it's fun to learn to appreciate them even if it'd not help photo taking.

[ssim]

Great link Scott.

So does this indicate your shift to another subject matter for awhile??

[Scottes]

:)

Actually, yes. I got the camera with ideas to do landscapes. You haven't seen one from me yet, have you? ROFL. So fall foliage is coming up, I've got the first week of October off, and the colors should inspire me. I hope. I'm going to do my best to spend a week shooting anything other than birds.

[sdommin]

Only slight off-topic, but if you really want to get inspired about landscapes, go to an art museum that has a lot of them (and I'm referring to paintings, not photographs). I just got back from Washington DC, where I visited the National Gallery of Art - a great place to spend a few hours.

[Scottes]

That's actually a good idea... Though I might try the library for some books - getting to see a painting museum for me is a 5-hour commitment. And I'd rather be shooting.

[PacAce]

:)

Actually, yes. I got the camera with ideas to do landscapes. You haven't seen one from me yet, have you? ROFL. So fall foliage is coming up, I've got the first week of October off, and the colors should inspire me. I hope. I'm going to do my best to spend a week shooting anything other than birds.

Scott, just don't get too carried away when you become one with the color-changing foliage. You might meld so much with the foliage that you might permanently become one with the foliage. You'll then become the landscape instead of taking it. :shock:

:mrgreen: :lol: :mrgreen:

[Scottes]

I have been practicing my chameleon techniques. And if I lie down I do make a good impression of a hill... :D

[cmM]

dammit scottes have you been hacking into my brain? :P

I, as well, am waiting for fall to go photograph the cool browns, reds, and yellows in the arboretum

[Scottes]

Hacking into your brain? I probably could from here - I'm the third mound of dirt on your left... (Chameleon power rocks!)

:D


Seriously though, I simply love the fall colors here in New England. I've been looking at them for 40 years (oops, I mean 29) but I never, ever took a single picture. I went crazy looking for stuff last year but the colors were a bust and I didn't know what I was doing. And I got the 10D on 10/22, so I was using film...

Arboretum... Heh... I never thought of going to one for fall colors... I will now.

[Jesper]

Thanks for the link! Very interesting. Composition for paintings is just as relevant for photography. I have two books about photographic composition:

Photographic Composition (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0817454276/qid=1093977747/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-6467272-0332753) by Tom Grill and Mark Scanlon
Learning to See Creatively (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817441816/ref=pd_sim_books_2/104-6467272-0332753?v=glance&s=books) by Bryan Peterson

In those books, similar things are discussed: shapes, lines, patterns, focus, colours, contrast etc.

[Scottes]

I have those two and a couple more, and it's usually the same things repeated - but luckily in a different way. And I'm not knocking these books - both are fantastic.

But the "Rules" above has a lot of other things not discussed in those books. Things we photographers might not think about because we can't "control" the situation like a painter can. But if you pay attention, maybe you can control some things. Or if you wait. And so on.

I know that I got some great points in a completely different way than I'm used to.

[Olegis]

Learning to See Creatively (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817441816/ref=pd_sim_books_2/104-6467272-0332753?v=glance&s=books) by Bryan Peterson

I have this one and it's great, helped me to open up towards new ideas and principles. I also recommend the "Photography and the art of seeing" by Freeman Patterson - this guy is simply brilliant in his (very different and even strange) approach to photography.
In his book Freeman Patterson recommends to visit as many art exhibitions and museums as possible in order to develop visual observing skills and get inspired with new ideas. After all, photography is also a visual art - only we produce it differently from painters ...

[Roger_Cavanagh]

On this topic, I have an article on my site (by a guest author) that you may be interested to read:

http://www.pixelpixel.org/helpinfo/43_comp-1.stm or
http://www.rogercavanagh.com/helpinfo/43_comp.htm

Regards,

[Scottes]

Great stuff Roger.

OK, so there's 5 things the article lists:

Kill the clutter
Think graphic design
Dark on light and light on dark
Be mindful of relationships
Shoot not objects, but rather appearances

This got me thinking that it would be very nice to carry around a short list containing such points and then go over the list before clicking the shutter. Mainly this would be a way for me to slow down and think, since I have no patience. I don't know if others might do this, but I'd love to have a Top 10 Things to Think About Before Clicking The Shutter. Slowing down would probably help me a lot.


So what other short and sweet thoughts do you have about landscape composition? Would would your Top Ten things be?

[Scottes]

I found a motherlode of articles on composition. Much of this is great great stuff.

http://photoinf.com/

[MediaMagic]

Fantastic link there Scott. definately worth reading carefully, regardless of the type of photography you enjoy.

[SidW]

As a beginner I'm absolutely amazed at the amount of information I'm getting from this site.
Thanks to all you wonderful people out there.
Sid

[nosquare2003]

Kill the clutter
Think graphic design
Dark on light and light on dark
Be mindful of relationships
Shoot not objects, but rather appearances

So what other short and sweet thoughts do you have about landscape composition?

Yes, thanks Roger for showing us the list. But the list is not only for landscape composition, right? Can I say portrait:

- kill the clutter: aren't we in love of small depth of field portrait photos?
- Be mindful of relationships: can we use smaller aperture and wider angle lens if the background says something to the subject?
- Think graphic design: The shape of face/body is a graphic design
- Shoot not objects, but rather appearances: (It's the funny part. I've seen some photos playing with the body shapes and it depends on the endless imagination...)
- Dark on light and light on dark: Perhaps not. Sometimes dark on dark or light on light. Check the Glamour & Nude section.

[kenyc]

That's a great landscape tutorial and I love the illustrations!
KAC

[LazyPhotographer]

:)

Actually, yes. I got the camera with ideas to do landscapes. You haven't seen one from me yet, have you? ROFL. So fall foliage is coming up, I've got the first week of October off, and the colors should inspire me. I hope. I'm going to do my best to spend a week shooting anything other than birds.

How funny! I got mine to do landscapes too..and we all know how *that* turned out.

Landscapes & macros used to really interest me and I have no idea how this bird thing took over. I think a good landscape image is much harder to make than a wildlife one. It may be easier to find the landscape than the wildlife, but it's definately much harder to capture the grandeur, colours, and depth.

[Scottes]

Landscapes & macros used to really interest me and I have no idea how this bird thing took over.
For me, it's because landscapes are tough!

I think a good landscape image is much harder to make than a wildlife one. It may be easier to find the landscape than the wildlife, but it's definately much harder to capture the grandeur, colours, and depth.
Yep, exactly!

Compared to birds, I do find it fairly easy to sneak up on a tree or lake, though.
:-)

[kenyc]

That's only because you've never tried to photograph "Runaway Lake" in the Weminuche Wilderness Area.

KAC
P.S. I totally made up the name, don't go looking for it. :)

[Shekinah]

I happened to be looking for some info and books on landscape composition since New England foliage is coming up. I stumbled upon this page on Landscape Composition Rules (http://www.currys.com/knowledge/landscape.asp) which was done for painters, but is of course applicable to photographers.

Granted, those painting people have a bit more artistic license, so not everything is applicable - but better than 90% of this makes sense for photography. It's a good article.

Wow!! Thanks for that I had a look at the Landscape Compostition Rules, that was great stuff. I really enjoyed that article.

[Shekinah]

Great link Scott.

So does this indicate your shift to another subject matter for awhile??

I can see why you won the contest, you have some fantastic photos. I love the racoon so cute. A friend is getting married in December 2005 and I am doing some photos for her, I have never done weddings before and I just want to run away and hide, in fear of stuffing things up. Do you have any suggestions that could help me please?? She is wanting basic traditional photos. I will only have the 50mm 1.4 lens and a 200mm 1.8 can I work with those 2 lenses??

[ItsMike]

I happened to be looking for some info and books on landscape composition since New England foliage is coming up. I stumbled upon this page on Landscape Composition Rules (http://www.currys.com/knowledge/landscape.asp) which was done for painters, but is of course applicable to photographers.

Granted, those painting people have a bit more artistic license, so not everything is applicable - but better than 90% of this makes sense for photography. It's a good article.


Link is Dead!

[xpsentity]

Link is Dead!

Thread is 2004!

[ItsMike]

Thread is 2004!

Knowledge never expires....

[Dan Roeder]

Found this via Google. Don't know if it's the same as the original.

http://photoinf.com/General/Johannes_Vloothuis/landscape_composition_rules.html

[Picture North Carolina]

Link is Dead!

Me too. Gone. Capput! Any other source for the info in the link? /Dan

[WaltA]

Knowledge never expires....

But web sites do, apparently. ;)