David Noton Composition Tutorials Preview 1

8/13/2019 David Noton Composition Tutorials Preview 1

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David Noton

THE COMPOSITIONTUTORIALS

FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS


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David Noton: The Composition Tutorials 3

A DAVID NOTON PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK

David Noton Photography 2013

David Noton: The Composition Tutorialsby David Noton was first published in 2012and 2013 by David Noton Photography as a series in Chasing the LighteZine.First digital book edition published 2013.

David Noton has asserted his right to be identified as author of this work in

accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved. No par t of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by

any means, electronic or mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise,

without permission in writing from the publisher.

Layout of digital editions may vary depending on reader hardware

and display settings.

ISBN 13: 978-0-9576248-0-1

David Noton Photography, Clark House, Milborne Port,

Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 5EB, UK


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As we walked around the lake, my eye toyed with the visual elements in the

scene: the mountains, the water, the sky and the shore. As we reached the

head of the lake the view south revealed potential, even in the grey

unappealing light of an overcast day in the Rockies. The shape of Mount

Burgess itself from this aspect was of a jutting pyramidal peak, all that we

expect mountains to look like. With the sun due to set near enough due east

at that time of year (late September), the peak would be sidelit by the lastrays of the day. The wind-whipped water was grey and choppy, but I knew

how the glacial lake could live up to its name when flat, calm and reflective.

Indeed, the colour of the emerald water in such conditions needs to be seen

to be believed. With a calm evening I knew this scene had all the elements

required to produce a strong picture; all I needed was Mother Nature to

deliver the light, reflections and a few tantalizing clouds in the sky. However,

there was just one thing missing: foreground interest.

There is no law proclaiming that all pictures need foreground interest, but I

felt deep in my bones this was one picture that did. Why? Well, there was no

doubt that the mountain reflected in the lake would make a pleasing picture,

but thats about as far as it would go. I knew the composition needed

something more, so we continued scouting along the shore. There, half

submerged, was a shapely piece of driftwood sculpted by nature, leading the

eye in a graceful curve towards the conical mountain. The elements of thepicture snapped together like a jigsaw in my mind; the light was all wrong

then and I didnt even have a camera to hand, but the creative decisions on

the picture had already been made. The hardest bits of finding the location

and piecing together the composition had been done; all I had to do now was

to make sure I was in the right place at the right time for the Decisive

Moment of the evening light painting the landscape. I knew, given the right

conditions and with the strong simple shapes of my intended composition, the

shot would work.

4 David Noton: The Composition Tutorials

Emerald Lake at dusk with the peak of Mount Burgess beyond,

Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada >Canon 1Ds Mk III, 16-35mm lens at 24mm, 4 sec at f16, polarizing filter

Mother Natures own art in the form of the beautifully sculpted driftwood,

the stunning scenery, the colour of the water and the quality of the

evening light were the elements that made this picture, but to portray

such perfection I had to carefully craft the composition.

INTRODUCTION


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When a photographers eye beholds a composition slotting into place, it all just seems so natural it just looks right. In

such situations, the art of composition can seem effortless; in reality, it rarely is. The composition is the most important

single factor that will determine the success of a picture. How I arrange shapes and colour in the frame is largely an

intuitive, sub-conscious process, or was, until I started writing these composition tutorials. Then I was faced with the task

of deconstructing and analysing everything that Id done instinctively for 30 years, and what a voyage of discovery it has

been. I now know there are sound relevant theories of composition behind all we do within the confines of our frames.

Composition alone is an art, and delving deeply into that art has produced these tutorials. Its been a fascinating processthat has made me a better photographer. Im pretty sure it will do that for you, too.

6David Noton: The Composition Tutorials

Chateau St-Ulrich in the Vosges Mountains, Alsace, FranceThe use of space, the simplicity, the dynamics of the panoramic format, the rule

of thirds, the complementary colour, and the strong diagonal have all played a

part in making this composition work. There are so many interrelated factors that

together determine whether a composition will work.


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Man at Inle Lake, Shan State,

Myanmar (Burma)Canon 1Dx, 85mm lens,

1/440 sec at f1.2The art of composition is all about

knowing what to include and what

to exclude in the image area. Less

is more, often, but sometimes

more provides context and setting.

Confusing, isnt it? Nevertheless,generally speaking theres a lot to

be said for keeping compositions

as simple as possible.


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SELECTIVE FOCUS

Horse portraiture isnt something Im planning to specialize in. Id been

sent to Iceland to photograph in tandem with a writer a story on

the Snaefellsness Peninsula, a name that really rolls off the tongue.

One definite request imparted by the Art Director prior to departure

was the need for a shot of the distinctive breed of horses the region isknown for, so when we came across a herd in a suitably scenic and

evocative setting I approached them camera in hand and all hell let

loose. Never to work with animals or babies is good advice.

Horses near Heggstadir, Snaefellsness Peninsula, west Iceland >Canon 5D Mk II, 35mm lens, 1/1000 sec at f2.8, 0.6 ND grad filter

The ability to isolate

the subject from the

foreground and/or

background by the

use of accurate focus

combined with

minimal depth of

field is a powerful

compositional tool


TUTORIAL 13


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The horses, faced with the only break from the tedium of munching grass likely that day,

started jostling and nipping aggressively for attention. Trying to get a meaningful composition

was certainly challenging, but somehow I managed to walk away with one image that looked

as if one horse had serenely posed for me. In truth the shoot was chaos, but by using a

35mm lens open at f2.8 I dropped the background out enough to suggest the setting whilst

concentrating the viewers attention on my chosen pony. The strong shape of the horses

nose lay on a line of thirds, the sombre light and muted colours were suitably Icelandic, and I

was a happy photographer. The selective use of focus had proved its effectiveness again.

Looking back on all these composition tutorials so far, one theme stands out: the need to

railroad the viewers attention around the frame to maximize the impact. Weve looked at a

multitude of ways of doing that, using lead-in lines, vanishing points, diagonals, zigzags,

patterns, internal frames and symmetry. All of these compositional stratagems for route

marching our viewers attention to where we want it have been handed down by those with

brushes, pallets, oils or watercolours, smocks, berets, and sometimes an ear missing, yet there

is one technique open to us that is unique to photography: selective focus.

In Tutorial 3 and Tutorial 7 weve already seen just how effective selective focus can be.

Whether the subject be Vietnamese ladies in a verdant green rice paddy or a solitary poppy

in a field of barley, the ability to isolate the subject from the foreground and/or background

by the use of accurate focus combined with minimal depth of field is a powerful

compositional tool and a fundamental photographic skill to master. Of course, this is unlikely

to be news to any of you, but as is the case with all fundamentals, it pays to stop and

consider when, how and why the technique works best.


The blurry, out of focus

background is just as

important as the sharp

main subject


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Portrait photographers use selective focus virtually all the time to

separate the subject from the background. Even in a studio where no

clutter is allowed to intrude, using a medium long lens of around

100mm at a wide aperture is the preferred modus operandi. That

same technique transfers well into the Great Wide Open: for my travel

portraiture, the lens of choice is either my 85mm f1.2 prime or

70-200mm f2.8 telezoom used wide open. Distractions and clutter in

the background are dropped out by the use of selective focus, but

what becomes apparent after a while of working in the confines of a

temple in Burma is that the blurry, out of focus background is just as

important as the sharp main subject. The tones, shapes and colours of

the blurry background can contribute significantly to the impact of the

image and thats true for all subjects, not just portraits. In a nutshell,

when were using selective focus we need to pay just as much

attention to the blurry bokeh foreground and/or background as to the

sharp subject itself.


Detail of the statue of Leonardo da

Vinci in front of the Teatro alla

Scala opera house, Piazza Scala,

Milan, Lombardy, ItalyCanon 1Ds Mk II, 70-200mm lens at180mm, 1/320 sec at f2.8Deliberately chopping off Leonardos

head and shooting through out of

focus colour made for a somewhat

alternative approach to this subject,

but I had to do something to enliven

what would otherwise have been a

straight, boring shot of a statue.


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When shooting landscapes, we strive for clarity and sharpness right through

the frame from foreground to background virtually all the time. Theres

nothing worse than a poorly executed landscape with the detail of the

driftwood close to the lens, or the mountains in the distance, not quite as

sharp as they should be it just looks awful. The inappropriate selection of

focus point and aperture can easily result in insufficient depth of field, with

the result that neither distant or near objects are sharp. Its the nightmare

situation for landscape photographers that spells doom for a shoot; no image

with such failings would last longer than an ice cream in Saudi Arabia before

being despatched to oblivion by the delete button. Ensuring such woe

doesnt occur is a challenge with which we landscape photographers

constantly grapple, using hyperfocal distance calculators and depth of field

scales. For us, selective focus is to be avoided at all costs; we always need

everything sharp, right? Well, I question that. Whatever we are

photographing, we have various focus options:

Option 1:Front to back sharpness throughout the frame; everything appears

crisp in this classic landscape look. Around the fringes of all Rocky Mountain

lakes lie pieces of beautifully twisted, shaped and textured driftwood, just left

considerately by Mother Nature for us landscape photographers to use as

foreground interest. With the first golden rays of the day painting Pyramid

Mountain beyond, I used a small aperture of f20 with the 16-35mm lens at

25mm, focused at the hyperfocal distance of 1m, to achieve the desired

depth of field from 0.5m to infinite.

96David Noton The Composition Tutorials

Pyramid Lake and Mountain at dawn,

Jasper National Park, Alberta, CanadaCanon 1Ds Mk III, 16-35mm lens at 25mm,

20 sec at f20, 0.9 ND grad and 0.9 ND filtersFor classic landscape views such as this, absolute

pin sharpness is needed from foreground to

background. The merest trace of insufficient

depth of field would stand out horribly.


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There is just enough information to

suggest the novices behind, but the

subject in the foreground is firmly

separated from the bustle

Option 2: The foreground sharp with the background out of focus; the most

common solution for portraiture. At a full moon festival in Burma I came

across this novice monk with a par ticularly cheeky demeanour (I really must

stop shooting so many monks). Using my favoured super-fast 85mm f1.2

lens wide open, I focused on his eyes and let everything else behind him

become a bokeh blur. Bokeh refers to the aesthetic quality of the blur in out

of focus areas, and one big advantage of fast lenses such as this with wide

maximum apertures is that the bokeh looks fabulous. There is just enough

information to suggest the novices behind, but the subject in the foreground

is firmly separated from the bustle which, combined with the eye-to-eye

contact with the viewer, makes for an engaging portrait.


Novice monk at the Shwezigon Paya, Bagan,

Myanmar (Burma)Canon 1Dx, 85mm lens, 1/320 sec at f1.2With fast lenses such as this 85mm f1.2 used

wide open, focusing on the eyes is critical.


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Option 3:The background sharp with the foreground a blur; a less common

use of selective focus. Were back to a field of poppies in Umbria again; ithad to happen. Shooting through the profusion of colour in the foreground,

with my 24-70mm lens at 68mm wide open at f2.8 to concentrate on the

mist-clad hillside beyond, the scarlet poppies became big red blurry blobs.

With landscape work in particular its easy to go into automatic mental mode

and just assume front to back depth of field is required, but some subjects

such as Italian poppies sometimes look better as out of focus blurs. Generally

speaking for this kind of effect a medium to long lens is preferred, but a fastwide-angle optic will be able to achieve the same effect if the foreground

interest to be blurred is close enough. Getting muddy knees is usually a

necessity, and because wide open apertures mean fast shutter speeds, tripods

are rarely needed. Getting down and dirty experimenting with foreground blur

is always fun.


Dawn in a poppy field in the Valnerinanear Preci, Umbria, Italy

Canon 1Ds Mk III, 24-70mm lens at 68mm,1/320 sec at f2.8

Its rare to shoot landscapes at maximum

aperture, but I loved the big red blobs of the

out of focus poppies that selectively focusing

on the hills beyond allowed.

Generally speaking for

this kind of effect a

medium to long lens is

preferred, but a fast

wide-angle optic will beable to achieve the

same effect if the

foreground interest to be

blurred is close enough


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When the sole point of sharpness

within a frame harmonizes with therule of thirds, a strong composition

usually results

Option 4:Both the foreground and background a blur, with only the middle distance sharp.

This is a technique beloved by macro photographers, but can prove effective in all sorts of

situations, such as in the midst of the Semana Santa Fiesta in Andalucia. They do strange

things in Spain around Easter that I dont really get, such as dressing up and parading through

the streets, but it all makes for interesting photographic opportunities. As the bearers carrying

some sort of effigy edged towards me, one made eye contact with me through the lens and

that was my Decisive Moment. The picture is made due to the fact that all the faces in front

and behind are a blur, whilst the one looking at me with a whimsical expression as if to say

Yes, I know this is all madness, but its our culture, OK? is the only one in focus. Its no

accident that his one visible eye, which was my point of focus, is on an intersection of thirds.

When the sole point of sharpness within a frame harmonizes with the rule of thirds, a strong

composition usually results.


Effigy bearers in the Semana

Santa processions in Malaga,

Andalucia, SpainCanon 1Ds Mk III, 85mm lens,1/800 sec at f1.2The only bearer looking at the

camera is the one in focus.

It was a moment that passed

in a second.


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There are times when I just need to expose. I

suppose theres therapy available, but personally I

know that on a summers day all I need to do to

satisfy my need is to roll around in the grass amongst

the garden bushes with a long lens and an extension

tube; Wendy no longer bats an eyelid. Shooting

through some red jobbies in the foreground, I pick

out some seedy jobbies as the point of focus,

subconsciously placing them on an intersection of

thirds. Beyond, green fronds and jobbies make a

verdant out of focus bokeh blur. I shoot wide open

and my craving is sated. The image may never see

the light of day, but at least for now I feel like a

photographer once more. Moreover, selective focus

has yet again saved the day. Sometimes its a way of

making something visual out of seemingly nothing.

You cant beat a bit of bokeh blur.


Detail of an astilbe in a Somerset garden, England >Canon 1Ds Mk II, 70-200mm lens at 200mm with

14mm extension ring, 1/250 sec at f2.8The combination of a long lens with an extension ring

and a nearby colourful subject makes selective focus

a powerful tool for making arty, graphic shots while

rolling around under the bushes in the garden.

Selective focus has yet

again saved the day.

Sometimes its a way of

making something visual

out of seemingly nothing

Tea plucker in the hills above Ella, Central Highlands, Sri LankaCanon 5D Mk II, 35mm lens, 1/5000 sec at f1.4Using a moderate wide-angle lens for portraiture means getting

up close and personal, but the resulting out of focus background

lends an important sense of place that is just as important as the

sharp subject in the foreground.


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David Noton: The Composition Tutorials101


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GALLERY CHECKLIST

124 David Noton: The Composition Tutorials

As a quick reference, here is a checklist based on the content of these tutorials.

The frame

The vanishing point

Simple shapes

Empty space

Frames within a frame

Lines

Simplicity

Harmony

Breaking the rules

Reflections in symmetry

Rule of thirds

Patterns

Focus

The decisive moment

Perspective


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GALLERY CHECKLIST

Marina, a Quecha shepherd girl,

near Marras on Pampasmojo,

near Cusco, PeruCanon 1Ds Mk II,

24-70mm lens at 24mm,1/125 sec at f2.8

Composition is all about what to

leave out of the frame.

The frame


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


David is one of the worlds most renowned landscape photographers, and runs hisown highly successful freelance photography company. His passion for

photography, travel and the worlds most beautiful locations are the defining

influences that have shaped his life, work and creative approach to photography.

David was born in England in 1957 but spent much of his youth travelling with

his family between the UK, California and Canada; he took his first photographs on

a Kodak Instamatic he was given for his thirteenth birthday. After leaving school

David joined the Navy in search of further travels and adventures; it was whilst

sailing the seven seas in the Merchant Navy that his interest in photography grew.

After a few years at sea, David decided to pursue his passion and returned to

study photography in Gloucester, England in 1982; he has been captivated by the

subject ever since. After leaving college in 1985 he began to work as a freelance

photographer specializing in landscape and other travel subjects, which has taken

him to almost every corner of the globe over the last 25 years.

David is now established and recognized as one of the worlds leading landscape

and travel photographers. His images sell all over the globe both as fine art

photography and commercially in advertising and publishing and David has won

international awards for his work that include British Gas/ BBC Wildlife

Photographer of the Year Award in 1985, 1989 and 1990.

David is the author of two previous books, Waiting for the Lightand Full Frame;

the former was launched at an accompanying exhibition at the Oxo Gallery in

London that attracted over 27,000 visitors. He also writes regularly about travel

and photography for a range of photography magazines and websites, as well as

his own Chasing the LighteZine.


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