5 Advanced Composition Techniques Used by Pro Photographers

[Music] in this video I want to share with you five secrets of composition that professional photographers use every day to increase the impact of their images you can use them too and I want to share them with you now to help improve your [Music] photography hi my name is Shan Gallagher I'm a professional photograph rer and filmmaker if you're new to my channel welcome for the past 20 years I've been taking images with Publications including National Geographic the guardian and the piter center here on my Channel I want to share with you my experiences as a professional photographer to help you improve your photography and take your images to the next level in this video I want to share with you five secrets of composition that professional photographers use every day to increase the impact of their images once you know them you can also use these techniques to improve your own photographs okay let's go on to composition technique number [Music] one one thing I see with many beginner or amateur photographers images is that they tend to focus on just one thing within the frame so the first professional technique that you can use is to instead of focusing on just one one thing within your frame is to bring another element into the frame somewhere to make your composition more interesting and more impactful let's have a look at a few examples to show you what I mean in this image you can see that there are two clear points of interest on the right the young man scratching his eye and on the left the effluent pipe spewing out sewage in this image taken in India you can see the same two points of interest the Tree on the left with the cow and on the right the lone figure of a farmer walking towards the tree your viewer's attention is drawn between the two you can experiment different scenes with this technique such as this image of a girl sleeping next to the Hat of her father on the Tibetan Plateau then you can get even more creative like in this image I took in Jakarta Indonesia where we have two points of interest press one the boy in the foreground and two the second boy walking in a different direction so you have two points of interest and dynamic action so next time you're out taking pictures try not to focus your attention too much on just one thing try to experiment with bringing other elements into the frame to make your compositions more interesting once you have mastered using two points of interest in your photographs then you can move on to composition technique number two the next professional photography composition technique is to focus on multiple points of interest often there isn't one Central Point with this technique more you're drawing your viewers attention around the frame around the image and this makes it much more interesting and impactful in this image you can see that we're moving beyond just two points of interest in the foreground we have the bird then in the Middle Ground we have the man on the boat but we also have the two elements of the tree on the left and the pole on the right with Its Reflection here we have four elements within the frame all working together in this image taken in China you can see that the four different people in the foreground give us four different elements to look at we also have the face of the Garfield on the wall in the background giving us a Fifth Element within the frame in this Frame we're moving on even further to have six points of interest giving our viewer multiple things to look at this is quite an advanced composition technique and it will require a bit of practicing before you start to master it try to find busier scenes especially with a lot of people because these tend to lend themselves better to using this type of composition technique [Music] a frame in a frame is one of my favorite composition techniques essentially involves looking for frames within the world that you can actually frame within the viewfinder of your camera so by this I mean looking for doors windows anything that forms a square or in circles something within your frame you can use that to shoot through to then create create really interesting compositions let's look at a few examples which I think will make this very clear in this image I was standing inside an abandoned building and this window frame with no window provided a perfect opportunity for a frame within a frame here's a similar image where I'm using the window frame to draw attention to the main subject matter which is the boy stood on the boat in the center of the frame in this image I try to go one step further by using the frame of the window in the wall but then also breaking it in two and then framing both of the cows on either side of the pole running down the frame this technique doesn't have to just be used with Windows and Doors you can also get creative like in this image that I took of fish in a market in China next time you're out taking pictures look out for frames where wherever you are and try to incorporate them into your photographs find the frame set your composition and then be patient and wait for something to fall within that frame whether it's a person a animal an inanimate object anything passing within that second frame when you capture that image you will make a really interesting and compelling composition for your viewer by using a good reflection you can add interest and Intrigue to your photographs you can play with your viewer's perception of reality by using the reflection to refract and change the scene in front of you my favorite place to look out for Reflections are whenever I'm near water or passing by glass or mirrors have a look at these images to show you how you could also use ref Reflections in this way in this image you can see how the clear and distinct reflection of this young girl in the display of a museum really creates an interesting and intriguing composition sometimes simply turning your camera towards a puddle and focusing your attention on the reflections can yield really interesting results in this image taken in China I used the reflection in the background to give interest in depth to the photograph pay attention to what is actually in the reflection like in this image that I took in a mosque in Beijing the man was inside a building and I was photographing through the glass but it created this really interesting effect get creative with these compositions look for the Reflections in mirrors like in this image that I took I found my position found the reflection and just waited for a motorbike to pass to take the picture Reflections are all around us so next time you're out taking photos make sure that you're paying attention and looking out for them when you see them make sure to set yourself up perfectly so that you're able to use the reflection to its full impact to create an interesting image okay we've got one more composition technique that I know is going to help take your images to a new [Music] level the final technique that I want to share with you is shooting past another object now this technique involves framing your image in a way that you are including something within the frame but your main subject matter is actually deeper in the photograph or further on in the photograph by using other things in the foreground you create interest you create layers and complexity to your composition that actually draws interest and draws your viewers attention to the main subject of your photograph let's have a look at a few examples to show you how this technique Works in this image taken in Cambodia I decided to shoot through the fire to try to create an interesting scene and composition of this young boy sat next to a campfire outside his home vegetation is really good to use with this technique try to put the vegetation in the foreground and focus your viewer's attention on something in the background here's another image taken in Cambodia and you can see that I'm shooting through the trees and focusing my viewers attention on the Man's eyes so look out for things that you can photograph through whether it's fire vegetation or even a gate shooting through things like glass can add the reflection ele element also into your images combining your different composition techniques if you're trying to elevate your compositions I really highly recommend this technique so look out for objects and things that you can incorporate into your frame next time you're out taking photographs try layering your images and drawing attention to something further on deeper within your frame to create these more interesting compositions for your viewers by using these five Advanced professional composition techniques I know that they're going to help you improve your images I suggest taking one at a time and really focusing in on that technique mastering it and then moving on to the next one if you've made it this far in the video I'd like to invite you to join my communities I have one on WhatsApp and one on WeChat and in these communities members share their images I give feedback and it's a safe and encouraging space where you can get feedback on your photography with the goal of helping you improve your images thanks for watching today's video if you liked it don't forget to like And subscribe to my channel and I'll see you in the next video

Channel: Sean Gallagher - Pro Photographer

Views: 128,054

Keywords: photography, photojournalism, national geographic, national geographic photographer, photography tips, portrait photography, landscape photography, professional photographer, photo editing, photography for beginners, photography course, photography ideas photography composition, photography 101, photography tutorials, photojournalist, photography lighting, how to edit photos, professional photography tips

Id: hfvPR-VMVAY

Length: 11min 17sec (677 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 29 2024