essential skills: digital photography in available light
Composition
Composing subject matter is more than an aesthetic consideration. It controls the way we read an
image and the effectiveness of the photographer’s communication.
Format and horizon line
The most powerful design elements landscape photographers have to work with are choice of
format and positioning of the horizon line. Most landscape images are horizontal or landscape
format. The use of this format emulates the way we typically view the landscape. To further
emulate the human vision we can crop to a wider image to reduce the viewer’s sensation of
viewing a truncated image. Many photographers make the mistake of over using the vertical or
portrait format when faced with tall subject matter. The placement of the horizon line within the
frame is also critical to the fi nal design. A central horizon line dividing the frame into two halves
is usually best avoided. The photographer should consider whether the sky or foreground is the
more interesting element and construct a composition according to visual weight and balance.
Open or closed landscape
By removing the horizon line from the image (through vantage point or camera angle) the
photographer creates a closed landscape. In a closed landscape a sense of depth or scale may
be diffi cult for the viewer to establish.
ACTIVITY 4
Create two photographs in a location with tall buildings or trees using both formats.
Create a closed and open landscape at one location.
Discuss the different ways we read the resulting images.Mark Galer