Photography Foundations: Composition

A detailed exploration of the concepts of composition, from basics such as the rule of thirds and leading lines to more advanced topics such as entry and exit points.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Using this course
• What you need to know

1. Understanding Composition

• What is composition?
• All form, all the time

2. Seeing

• How your camera is not like your eye
• Looking vs. seeing
• Vision and attention
• Dynamic range
• Seeing exercises

3. Composition Fundamentals

• What all good compositions have
• Subject and background
• Balance
• Point of view
• Simplicity
• Finding and capturing a good photo
• Working the shot: Why one is never enough
• Practicing
• Why black and white?
• Exercise: Practicing the fundamentals with points

4. Geometry: Lines and Shapes

• Lines
• Analyzing lines
• Exploring a town
• The Franklin Hotel
• Shapes
• Repetition: Arranging the elements
• Rule of threes
• Perspective
• Symmetry
• Focal length, camera position, and depth
• Intersections
• Exercise: Practicing fundamentals with geometry

5. Shooting Best Practices

• Working a shot, revisited
• Understanding the photographic impulse
• Warming up
• Exercise: Get your feet moving

6. Balance Revisited

• Thirds: How rectangular frames are weighted
• Tonal balance
• Content balance
• Squares: Weighting the corners
• Composing people
• Composing landscapes
• Sometimes you can't get the shot
• Practicing thirds with points and geometry
• Practicing squares with points and geometry
• Image analysis: The work of Steve Simon

7. Light

• It's the light
• Direction of light
• Texture
• Shadows and negative space
• Exposure concerns
• Keeping one eye on post
• Light as subject

8. Workshop: Finding Light

• Introducing the workshop location and instructors
• Assignment: Finding light
• Shooting the light
• Critiquing the light assignment

9. Color

• The basics of color
• When to shoot color
• How to shoot color
• Practicing color composition
• Image analysis: The work of Paul Taggart

10. Guiding the Viewer

• Entry and exit
• Framing
• Examining the composition of this set
• Narrative
• When the scene doesn't fit in the frame
• Guiding the viewer's eye

11. Workshop: Foreground and Background

• Assignment: Foreground and background
• Shooting foreground and background relationships
• Critiquing the foreground and background assignment

12. Layers

• Planes
• Controlling depth
• Juxtaposition
• Fear
• Layers
• Image analysis: The work of Connie Imboden

13. Post-Production

• Choosing a photo editing tool
• Recomposing an image with the Crop tool
• Aspect ratio
• Tone
• Correcting perspective in Lightroom
• Vignette to drive attention
• AI and composition
• Content-aware fill and composition
• Depth of field and composition

14. Workshop Exhibition and Wrap-Up

• Workshop wrap-up and exhibition
• Workshop students' final thoughts

Conclusion

• Final thoughts