Digital Photographer - USA (2019-07)

Useyourscouting trips to identify a multitude of

framingpossibilities for you to employ

Discover potential

compositions

Compositionislikelythe foremost ingredient

onaphotographer’smind when location

scouting,whetherthe intention is to capture

apre-plannedframe,or to seek out effective

imagesatanunfamiliar site. The question

weshouldaskourselves before heading out

tofindalocationiswhether our choice of

compositionwillaffect our selection of site,

oriftheinverseistrue and we are willing to

adaptourframingdecisions, based on the

pictureopportunitiesprovided by the location.

Thiscanhelpusform a structured plan

ofwhattolookfor,what we hope to achieve

inthefinalresultsand therefore the lengths

wearewillingtogoto capture these target

images.Morechallenging locations often

provideimageopportunities with a higher

perceivedworthbyviewers, but demand

greatereffortonthepart of the photographer

whenitcomestotravel time, physical exertion,

shootingtimeinvested and risk to personal

safetyandthatofthecamera gear.

Themainthingstolook out for when

scoutingforprospective compositions are the

opportunitiesavailableforcreativity.Whileany

coastal spot may offer ‘nice’ views, those that

enable the photographer to employ artistic

compositional strategies, such as leading

lines, unconventional horizon placement

and variable camera heights should stand

out as the most promising choices. Also of

importance is how ‘workable’ the scene will

be – is the location conducive to multiple

perspectives, enabling the photographer to

change composition by physically moving

to many positions around the location?

Where this is not possible, you may decide

that although the frame you will be able to

capture is on your wishlist, it would be a better

investment to visit another place, which offers

multiple photo possibilities.

This varying of angle is critical when

assessing location suitability. By observing

the scene from multiple points of view, either

on site or using Google Maps, you will be

able to foresee how you can control context,

arranging your frame to isolate parts of the

environment. It will help you to plan how

to hide distractions or elements that make

imagestoocontext-specific,suchassignage.

1

WorkwithoutatripodWhileyoumayuse

camerasupportonyourfinalshoot,

workinghandheldwhentestingpossible

compositionsallowsyougreaterfreedomto

trycreativeframingoptions.Amorerapid

re-framingprocedureenablesafarmore

efficientvisit.

2

VarythefocallengthOnceyouhave

securedsomestandard,‘safe’

compositions,trychanginglensesto

experimentwithframingoptionsatother

focallengthextremes.A70-200mmlensis

aneffectivetoolforisolatingsmallerlocation

detailsorlightlycompressingperspective.

3

Shootbothorientationsswitch to an

alternative framing arrangement to see

what effect this has on your images’ context.

A portrait frame will emphasise foreground

and scene depth. For every frame consider

rotating the camera to maximise image

possibilities in future shoots.

Improvescouting technique

Getmorefromyour initial visits to a location and be better prepared to capture effective images

Left

Check the entire image

When arranging compositions remember

to consider all areas of the scene including

the fore , middle and background to

calculate the best way to align a location’s

strongest characteristics

Leftabove

Composeforanyoccasion

Findingthebestanglefrom which to

studyasubjectenablesthe photographer

theconfidencetobecreative under any

weatherorlightingcondition and to search

foruniqueelements

Techniques