Composition is probably the hardest thing to explain or "teach" in photography, but you did it brilliantly ;) I had a photography instructor who said something very similar to your second point about what to exclude, and he used an analogy that I like a lot: Photography is a bit like sculpting. The statue is already in the rock, the sculptor's job is to remove everything that's around it. Likewise in photography, the image is already out there, your job as a photographer is to remove everything around it.
Hi James, lots of great points here. I always have the rule of thirds grid set up on my camera, and phone as well. Comes in very handy for framing, and composition, nothing worse than a wonky horizon, ha.
James, nice to see ya smiling and that things are going well! I am reality new to photography and just wanted to add to the conversation two things that seem to work for me while shooting. This is an effort to simplify composition. First I alway shoot about a 10 to 20% larger photo so I can crop it back to just that perfect spot that will yield the best photo and reduce the distractions. I do not have to wait for the perfect shot, I just deal with most of the rule of thirds and such in post processing. Second, (and this is the biggest challenge) I try to get the subject as tack sharp as possible. This involves planning a bit ahead on what lens and settings will give me the desired effect. Last part involves getting the subject sharp! I do this by shooting A LOT of photos. I can never tell which one will work the best but if I look at 20 to 30 shots of the same thing, I am bound to capture something wonderful. I often can choose to do photo stacking and other things if I plan that ahead of time. Hope this helps, I am very thankful for the tips and the fun that is always on your channel. Your a great guy! Moonpie
I had an "ahhhhh that's it" moment when you explained the tip with giving subjects room to breathe when the composition is simple/clean and there are no distractions. I like to make my subject very clear in my photography, but I feel like this is something I was missing. Thanks!
My dear young man, you are a HOOT! Yes, your content is good, but your delivery is the best part! Now, about this video, I teach photography basics at a local community college. Mainly the class is full of 55+ individuals. I am likely to play parts of this video, as another way to think about composition. No one way of communicating is perfect (certainly not mine). Steller job! Oh, and, you are not alone on the cabin fever front, all it seems to do in Philadelphia, PA is rain, and rain, and rain some more.
Brill! A great introduction to a ridiculously difficult and probably infinite subject. And a great reminder to some of us old gits out there. Congratulations on the new book: If I wasn't so skint, I'd snap one up. Thanks, James.
I'm a beginner photographer and my first series isn't about story or subject, it's all focusing on light shapes and composition to train my eye. i'm a graphic designer so i have knowledge about composition and shapes and how much you leave in and what you leave out. When you start leaening graphic design you learn about the basic forms like shapes and lines and dots and how they work together, what do they mean and how do they feel, then you go on and learn color and so on, Step by step, means i think my approach in learning photography is the same, focus on the fundamentals to get a sense for it and go on to different generes and apply and experement from the basics. For example: buildings are great objects to start with, they have gemometric shapes and clear lines, so you just focus on their shapes and how the light hits them.
Thank you for your mostly clear English. That gives me (German) a chance follow up your explanations. I like your analogies and comparisons to the daily live to explain photography effects or rules. Greetings from the Ruhr region.
love your comment on other forms of art are about adding while photography is more about subtracting. point of view that I hadn't thought of before but its great to help beginners understand. keep um coming James!
I love the analogy of fine dining and photography...I still have cluttered photos at times, primarily due to poor (or lack of) lens choice (not that I would necessarily be better with lots of lenses-still learning). Nice video.
You offer some of the best photography instruction around! I love how you share concepts that help me build a framework of strategies for approaching a scene when I'm out shooting. This is so much more useful than watching someone shoot or edit without describing the thought process behind it all. Thank you!
you are an amazing photoshooter. i like the boat and mountain one, super powerful and it's making me feel tiny about the world. and the dog is also the right time to press that shutter. great works.
Very ...sort of concise video on a difficult subject, from your perspective it makes it easier to know what to exclude and include. The Elephant in the room joke tho....so corny it was funny.
@@JamesPopsysPhoto Im fairly new to photography...it would be xtra cool if you could maybe critique an image or 2 on my IG @robertjmedia...if not that's still cool with me 👍
Thanks, James. I woke up this morning and thought...I should look into composition more. What does the trusty RU-vid have to say. And what appears in my recommendations? Why your video of course. Thanks again.
@@JamesPopsysPhoto Ok, show me how you got the cat to pose on the wall outside your window towards the end of the video. I always thought training cats was difficult. Will your talents ever cease. ; )
Another really useful video James, at times i struggle with composition and find that when i get back home and look at my work on Lightroom, i often think i should have left this or that out etc. Thanks again.
Great video James :) Maybe I should stop procrastinating and do some revision for my exams next week... but I just wanted to tell you that for my GCSE Graphic art project you were one of my inspirations and I did some pages about you and your work in my sketchbook and I managed to get a grade 9 in the project! So thank you for being such an inspiration!! :)
Again, a great video 😃👍🏻 Any „lecture“ on composition might also be advocating the use of prime lenses or „zooming with your feet“. Many photographers (including myself) have used and do use the zooming capabilities of their lenses as an excuse to be a little bit lazy. That’s not to say zoom lenses have no place, because that would be a stupid thing to say. I wouldn’t want to get rid of any of my zoom lenses at all. But getting physically close is often better than zooming in because it can create a more „intimate“ impression, depending on the subject. As a bonus, walking around instead of zooming also might yield other, perhaps more interesting angles. Yes, that is not always practical or possible for one reason or another. That is where zoom lenses really shine. You point out (and rightly so) that anything you have in your shot should have a purpose. I would extend that to what goes on „off camera“ as well. You know, as in „why do I want to zoom in? Can I get closer physically without endangering myself or disturbing the composition? If so, why not do it?“
I was hoping you would be touching on the book. I look forward to that. Also, I wanted to ask you if you use your lenses full open sometimes. Seems like a lot of photographers say it will distort (for a better word) the edge of the picture. I have a G9 with an Olympus 12-40 lens f2.8. I use it at full open sometimes mostly inside shots, but maybe that's not good practice? Have you ever talked about your drone and what settings you shot with it? Some of those videos and shots of yours are amazing. Rlephant in the room jokes. Yup bad joke, but that's what brings everyone back to your videos. Keep making "bad" jokes.
Thanks so much for the support! I shoot wide open sometimes in bad light etc, but even in low light or when I want shallow DOF I try to stop down just a bit to help corner softness and vignetting 🙂
An easier way to use the golden ratio is to remember the proportion 3:5, so it's a bit beyond on the first line of the rule of thirds. It looks better to the human eye because it represents the Fibonacci sequence, which is extremely common in nature, that's why the human brain accept it better as a composition
Very helpful ta very much! Particularly about the Rule Of Thirds, because I think I've been getting it wrong. I've got the grid set up on my camera but I've still been putting the main subject right in the centre of the frame instead of experimenting a bit where it might look better. I'll now be able to try it out! LOL By the way, I can relate to the 'Cabin Fever' thing in a big way!
Hi im pretty new to your channel but I subbed becase your pretty entertaining and informative. I though this was a really helpfull video, thanks. I don't know if its something you would consiser but I'd really love to see something about how to find good images in an uninspiring location, or your own home town in which even the beauty spots lose appeal after a while.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping you'd make that elephant joke :) Good job on the video, it's well thought out and I will be using your advice in both landscape and as far as possible in portrait photography as well. Till the next one :)
I like to think of the rule of thirds and other photography rules more like a rule of thumb than a law. The same goes for that "You always want to keep your histogram right, not touching the left and not touching the right edges!" - Nope. If I want to shoot a silhoutette, I *want* that pitch black parts.
I kind of wish that camera manufacturers would enable the golden spiral as an option rather than just the rule of thirds grid to be visible in the EVF of the back LCD display. Not everyone wants to play tic-tac-toe.
I love negative space. It seems to be frowned upon by people that are sticklers for the rules. But it works. The dog photo is awesome, and that is great use of negative space. It gives room for the subject. I will continue to use negative space in my own work because that;s the way i like it (ah ha, ah ha) and I really don't care what others think of my work anyway as i shoot only for me. I would have bought a book but my car decided to eject £552 out of my wallet on a very expensive service. Now i'm broker than a very broke thing with broken broke bits.
James! Is your book available to buy digitally? This way you get money, AND you don't have to sign or mail me anything. Win/Win? Great channel, thank you for all your videos!
Your information is great. Your personality is great. Your video is almost great... Would be great if you're desk lamp wasn't shining right at the viewer.
