COMPOSITION

 

C L O S E - U P S 

The world is full of tiny things that can draw a curious eye. Often seemingly insignificant details tell the story of a locale as well as broad views do. In a slide show, a close-up of a painted Chinese character is the perfect sequel to a Beijing street view.

The degree of closeness you can achieve will depend largely on your camera. Most point-and-shoot cameras have a minimum focusing distance of around 1 1/2 to 2 feet. Some zoom-lens-type point-and-shoots have a macro (close-up) mode that enables you to work much closer-often as close as a few inches (a feature worth considering if small subjects excite you). In either case, you'll know when you're trying to take a picture that's beyond the camera's close-focus capability, because the autofocus won't lock on. With most cameras the correct-focus indicator light will blink rapidly and the shutter release won't fire. All you can do is back off and recompose at a greater distance.

With an SLR camera, on the other hand, the degree of closeness is almost unlimited. A variety of accessories can be used to provide ever-increasing magnification. If you take close-ups only occasionally, a simple set of screw-on close-up filters will provide an inexpensive solution. For more serious work, a macro lens or a zoom with a macro feature offers superior quality.

Whatever camera equipment you have, using a fast (ISO 400) film is very important: The closer you get, the less depth of field there is (see Controlling Depth of Field) and the more camera shake is magnified. Fast films allow higher shutter speeds and smaller apertures, which help correct both problems.

 

T H E   R U L E   O F   T H I R D S 

Taking the time to find a pleasing and effective placement for your main subject is crucial to the success of your travel photographs. One method that artists have been using for centuries is the rule of thirds. It involves mentally dividing the viewfinder frame into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. The four lines and four intersections of these lines can then be used as invisible guidelines to help you find the most dynamic subject placements.

By locating a subject at one of the four intersections--as opposed to nailing it squarely in the center of the frame, for example--you give it added emphasis. The technique works well with all subjects but is particularly effective when you are photographing a relatively small subject surrounded by a large expanse of space or against a plain background. The visual weight of your subject balances the vast emptiness. A sailboat on a calm sea centered in the frame appears stagnant and overwhelmed by its surroundings, but if it is placed at a thirds intersection, its position fulfills our need for a dynamic visual tension.

You can also use thirds to help organize and support secondary subjects by setting them at diagonally opposite intersections--for example, placing a lone oak tree (the main subject) at the lower left juncture and the rising full moon (a secondary subject) diagonally opposite and above at the upper right intersection. Again, balance and dynamics.

Thirds divisions can also help you decide where to place the horizon. If you place it along one of the two frame divisions, you have a quick and effective shortcut for deciding how to arrange the composition. Imagine, for instance, that you're photographing a Caribbean beach scene that includes sand, sea, and sky. Placing the horizon at the upper line gives the sky one third of the frame and the foreground two thirds, accenting the beach and water. Conversely, placing it along the bottom division line accents the sky by giving it two thirds of the frame. You can use the same principle whether you're shooting horizontally or vertically.

 

F I L L I N G   T H E   F R A M E 

There's an old adage in photography that says if you want to improve your photographs 100 percent, move closer. It's true. The one sure way to keep from including too much extraneous information in a photograph is to fill the frame with your subject and nothing but your subject. Filling the frame from edge to edge leaves little doubt about what your intended target was. There are two ways to get closer: Use a telephoto lens (see Lenses) or put some more wear on your walking shoes.

The simple act of making your subject bigger in the frame involves the viewer at a much more intense level. A chin-to-forehead portrait of an interesting face, for example, immediately puts the viewer eye-to-eye with your subject. A very tight shot of a bear--even if you made it with a long lens at the zoo--creates breathless drama.

A common problem here is that we often think we're filling the frame when in fact we're not even close. If the guy at your local one-hour lab had a nickel for every time he's heard a customer say, "Gee, that waterfall seemed so close in person but it looks so far away in my pictures," he'd be the one doing all the exotic traveling. What's happening is that when you're standing in front of a scene, you're concentrating so intently on your subject that your brain is tricked into thinking your subject is closer than it actually is.

The solution? As soon as you think you're close enough to your subject, take a few steps forward (provided you're not on the rim of the Grand Canyon) and try again. Just before you snap the shutter, roll your eye around the frame and see if there's anything you can eliminate. When in doubt, take a few more steps closer.

 

C O L O R 

Colors, more than any other design element, determine the emotional content of a photograph. You can establish the entire mood of a shot by emphasizing a particular color scheme: Reds and oranges are hot and exciting, ready to burn at the touch. Blues and greens are cool and refreshing, the deep runnings of a mountain stream or the freshness of new-mown lawn. Yellows warm us, from the buttery glow of morning sunlight to the romantic amber of candlelight.

You can also use colors to create specific effects. With careful framing and camera angle, you can draw attention to a relatively small but brightly colored subject against a more subdued background--an Indian woman in a colorful sari walking down a dusty path, for example. The danger inherent in color is that unless you are careful in composing your images, bright patches of color may divert the eye to minor parts of a scene.

Vibrant contrasts, particularly among bright primary colors (reds, yellows, and blues), are especially effective in creating dynamic designs. Such contrasts excite the eye, making it jump from one color to the next. In the shot of buoys (see photograph), for example, the photographer has eliminated all extraneous information so the clash between colors is the predominant design element. Gentler combinations of pastels can create a lighthearted or romantic mood, while earthy tones offer a more natural or organic feel.

Whatever the use of color, weather, lighting, and exposure all influence how colors photograph. Bright, sunny days are good when you want to zap your images with Day-Glo brilliance, while overcast days produce subtle, more saturated color combinations. Exposure, too, affects colors. With color slide film, especially, you can intensify colors by underexposing a full stop below the suggested meter reading. Conversely, you can subdue colors by overexposing by a half to a full stop.

 

D R A M A T I C   A N G L E S 

Surprise is an important ingredient in a good travel photograph, and photographing your subjects from unexpected angles is a simple way to add the unexpected. Most of us tend to spot and snap potential subjects from an eye-level, straight-ahead point of view. We look down at tulips, out at the sea, and up at skyscrapers. By exploring your subjects beyond predictable first impressions, you can create new and startling compositions.

This requires a bit of visual detective work: You have to walk (or crawl or climb) around, over, and under your subject until its true personality surfaces. You may feel silly in getting to such vantage points, but your pictures will vindicate you.

High vantage points, for example, help organize complex scenes. At street level, faces and signs in a crowded marketplace dominate, making the scene chaotic. From a balcony or window above, however, crates of colorful fruits and vegetables form patterns, and streaming crowds weave inviting visual rhythms.

Low angles can exaggerate the height of tall subjects or reveal unseen aspects of low-lying ones, especially when combined with a very close viewpoint and the perspective-stretching effects of a wide-angle lens. A photograph of the Statue of Liberty from a normal viewpoint with a normal lens looks, well, normal. But move up next to the base with a 24 mm or wider lens and shoot straight up, and it becomes a soaring tower of converging angles.

A shift in lateral position or any extreme viewpoint can also produce dramatic angles. In her book Vineyard Summer, a portrait of life on Martha's Vineyard, photographer Alison Shaw has a thrilling shot of a ketch taken as she looked back at the bow from a precarious perch on the bowsprit. It perfectly captures the feeling of a boat surging through the sea.