Any Photo course specifically on Practical advanced composition techniques

[DrSpock]

I've attended numerous photography courses from basic to proficiency to landscape but my biggest weakness is on advanced composition techniques. My photos are always so-so in composition and I know diff angles will make a hugh diff to the outcome of what you want to portray in a photo.

Just wondering anyone can offer a course targeted at specifically solely on composition, practical part not too much on theory?

 

[Kit]

You don't need courses to learn to compose. Just spend some time at Kino and PageOne and look at the wonderful range of books available.

 

[DrSpock]

Yeah, I do read up lots on this subject, all the Rules, techniques and even got the Video on Composition by Tim Cooper but when i'm on the field somehow I get overwhelmed by the scene & cannot really seems to know where to stand or do what so just clicking away aimlessly sometimes and end up just documenting the scene not telling a story. Maybe need more practice?:dunno:

 

[Kit]

Through the reading, you have to identify what you like or what worked for you. Then when you are at the location, try to replicate what you have seen in the books for the beginning stages.

The reason why you end up shooting aimlessly is because you haven't spent enough time on location to study it thoroughly. Without knowing the location well, it would be difficult for you to generate a proposition for your photos. People can spend up to days or even weeks and months working on a single photo, from familiarising the location, selecting the viewpoint, studying the light, waiting for the light, etc. Think twice, think trice before you take a photo.

Analyse your photos and be critical. Compare them with the shots which you think worked for you. Post your photos for critique. That's a good way to understand your photos better and improve on them. You definitely need more practical experience, everyone needs that but how you benefit from these experiences is just as critical.

 

[peterpan]

Photography is like fine Art but tru Len you are a artist.

in photography there many field


Portraits
Wedding
sports
Macro close-up
and many other more

best to go into a field you prefer, you will not feel lost.
don't give up keep shooting

 

[Jed]

I've conducted courses and talks on composition, but it's not something that you can easily teach. It is obviously possible to learn to an extent but ultimately it's something that comes more easily to some people than others.

You can give yourself the best chance of success through looking at lots of good images, and arguably subconsciously asking yourself why they work. I generally don't consciously ask myself why I like an image, but I do appraise most work I see. The more good work you expose yourself to the better your chances of being able to spot good pictures - in the world around you.

A good exercise is to spend a good amount of time - maybe five minutes maybe thirty but not 30s - at any location you're intending to photograph, without actually taking any pictures, and without lifting the camera to your eye. Take the opportunity to look and see (really look and see), walk around, think with your eye as your camera.

There are lots of other things to consider. For example you need to learn to visualise in 3d; photography might be a 2d medium but it's usually (not always) about your skill in translating 3d to 2d. You need a good grasp of light, how to capture it, and sometimes how to use it. In addition to looking at more good images, you need to shoot more too. Nothing teaches quite as well as experience.

 

[Jed]

Meh Kit's already said most of what I just said while I was typing :embrass:

 

[nightwolf75]

if you need people to offer critique, try getting in touch with some working pro and get them to mentor you? i know Objectifs offer such a programme inside their course listings. i believe this half of the year, there is an option to work with rueyloon (he's also a CSer), among others. i wanted to sign up for the class but my working schedule doesn't permit. :embrass:

 

[Reportage]

composition is basically the story you are trying to tell or a point you want to make usually.

the best way to get better at it is to shoot more and develop an instinct to see if the photo works.

 

[wildcat]

Composition is also my weakest point. I read a lot of books. My biggest critique so far has been my gf; that has taken me from level 1 to level 2 (she has better eyes for compo than me). I studied a lot of photos from CS members like microcosm and night86mare; sometimes I get good feedback, sometimes I'm left wondering where I might have gone wrong. But sometimes I get pointers on which direction to go, and then I read some more, and then some points may just "jump" back at you coz of something someone said (e.g. for me now is how to use foreground interest for landscape photography, which I found in a magazine called The Essential Guide To Landscape Photography).

I'm still a noob in many things but I am taking things one step at a time. No point trying to run before learning how to walk.. no one became a good photographer overnight and some of these guys have been taking photos for many years.

 

[DrSpock]

Wow, thanks to all for the good pointers & will take into advise.:thumbsup:

I guess end of day I just need to go out there & explore more. Just that often than not when on a holiday travel, i don't have the luxury to spend too much time to think how to compose a shot without my family shooing me along until I get angry;(

Hence I make it a point to wake up as early as possible or go out late in the night to shoot by myself when all are sleeping:bsmilie:

 

[DrSpock]

Through the reading, you have to identify what you like or what worked for you. Then when you are at the location, try to replicate what you have seen in the books for the beginning stages.

The reason why you end up shooting aimlessly is because you haven't spent enough time on location to study it thoroughly. Without knowing the location well, it would be difficult for you to generate a proposition for your photos. People can spend up to days or even weeks and months working on a single photo, from familiarising the location, selecting the viewpoint, studying the light, waiting for the light, etc. Think twice, think trice before you take a photo.

Analyse your photos and be critical. Compare them with the shots which you think worked for you. Post your photos for critique. That's a good way to understand your photos better and improve on them. You definitely need more practical experience, everyone needs that but how you benefit from these experiences is just as critical.

This is a solid point. I'v actually save lots of photos I like from the web and print them into a thumbnail page full so i can bring on the field & if I see similar I'd replicate as much as possible. Cheers

 

[night86mare]

my advice is to not rush to take the picture.

stop and think, look through the lens, move up, move down, left, right. think what you want to portray, think if what you see through the lens is different, is special, that moves you to want to capture it.. instead of just wanting to bring some trophy home to show that you were there.

thinking is what helps you improve. the conceptualisation of whether something looks good, learning to recognise it and differentiate it from the mundane and commonplace - that is what is going to help you achieve what you want to see.

blindly replicating is a start, but at the same time i urge you to think when you look at good pictures - why did the author choose to do it this way? when you are in a similar place, these thoughts will recur, and you will realise the difference that it made just by taking a step to the left, by raising yourself instead of going low.... and in time to come, you will gain valuable insights on how to go about doing it, instead of looking and copying like a parrot.

 

[night86mare]

I guess end of day I just need to go out there & explore more. Just that often than not when on a holiday travel, i don't have the luxury to spend too much time to think how to compose a shot without my family shooing me along until I get angry;(

Hence I make it a point to wake up as early as possible or go out late in the night to shoot by myself when all are sleeping:bsmilie:

i tend to differentiate trips by the company. if i'm travelling with like-minded people, then it doesn't matter. with family, yes, the mentality is different. maybe you can explain to them that you need certain timings to yourself, that time. my family generally just moves along until the sunrise/sunset timing.

 

[Jeremy1]

Sometimes, I feel that using prime lens does help one mind to think more about how to composite a good photo. Due to it's fixed focal length, you will need to really move around to get your photo out properly.

Maybe it's just me.

 

[DrSpock]

Sometimes, I feel that using prime lens does help one mind to think more about how to composite a good photo. Due to it's fixed focal length, you will need to really move around to get your photo out properly.

Maybe it's just me.

Hmm...:think: good point here cos I generally use mostly zoom lenses & rarely I'd bring out the prime. Maybe I shd do that nx outing to use my legs as the zoom:sweatsm: Tks bro

 

[DrSpock]

i tend to differentiate trips by the company. if i'm travelling with like-minded people, then it doesn't matter. with family, yes, the mentality is different. maybe you can explain to them that you need certain timings to yourself, that time. my family generally just moves along until the sunrise/sunset timing.

Yeah, would love to travel by myself to HCM, siem Riep or Guilin if can for at least 3-4 days per trip but kena:kok: from the MHA when i show her the booking...:sweat: