photography tip number one: composition

Composition is somthing that is very dear to my heart.  It's the thing that I look at first when I check out a photography blog, or any blog with photography for that matter.  I have found that what sets you apart in this huge world of blogging is your style.  If you can learn to shoot with some creative composition - and other things that we will talk about later - your photography will stand out. 

*The first few photos are shot in auto for the sake of an example.*

So, let's get started!  When you take a picture, you want to show the subject, make it look even more beautiful than it already is.  Your eyes see things, or they either just pass over it if you already know what it looks like.  It's your job to look at that subject with different eyes.  You could take a picture like this...

Half of the photo is covered with my shadow, and the other half is so blurry that it is hard to tell what it is.  One thing I try to remember when I'm shooting nature is eye level, eye level, eye level. 

This was taken at eye level.  You can see the flower.  You can actually tell that it's a flower! 

Here's a second example...

This is clover.  But, you cannot see the clover.  If you tell me this is a picture of a clover, I want to see the clover!  :)

Like this.  Once again, eye level!  When you shoot nature photos at eye level, it is going to usually look so much better.

The next things I want to talk about is where you position your subjects.   Sometimes, center is great!  However, you need some variety when doing protraiture.

I love this photo.^^  It shows her face, her body, and her pose.  You need to have some variety though.

Like this.  It's more posed, but the featues in her face are still first and foremost. When doing portraits, I believe that one of the most important things is variety.

The third thing is creativity.

Sometimes, it might be hard to photograph ordinary objects in a way that looks new.  It's how you make familiar objects like trees, grass, even siblings faces stand out that's important.

See the difference?  You can make an ordinary tree look different and new.

So, guys, have you learned something?  I hope you have, because I learned something as I was writing it.  Go out and practice now.  Take that camera and see what you can do.  If you post about what you are learning, leave me the link so I can read it!  :)

*This is the first of a few posts with photography tips.  I will be gone this entire week, so I have set you up with a few guestposters!  I will write more tips when I get back!*