Astronomy

52 ASTRONOMY • APRIL 2018

Perspective means considering how you
want a viewer to perceive your photograph.
Should it be from your point of view, from
that of a bug on the ground, or from the
vantage point of a bird soaring above?
Accentuating a point of interest is about
zeroing in on what you want the viewer to
clearly see and feel in your composition.
All strong photographs take the viewer
into the scene, sometimes in a very
straightforward way, while others can be a
bit more meandering. Techniques to help
you bring your viewer into your photo-
graph include the “rule of thirds,” “frame

within the frame,” “leading lines,” “fore-

ground and depth,” “center and symme-

try,” and “diagonals and triangles.” They

all are effective, but the first three are the

ones you’ll likely use most often.

Chances are you have heard about the

rule of thirds, which involves breaking a

composition up into a 3-by-3 grid. The

principle is that your image will be more

balanced and pleasing if you place your

main subject at one of the intersecting

points of a 3-by-3 grid. You can also use the

top third or bottom third horizontal line

for your horizons. The image at the bottom

left on page 53 is an example of both using

the bottom right third for the main subject

(the crack in the foreground rock) and

using the top third line for the horizon.

You might have tried the frame within

the frame technique. Often, photographers

will use foreground trees or overhanging

branches to create a frame around a more

distant subject. In the image above, I stood

inside a wedding pavilion to create a fram-

ing element for the main subject, the old

red barn. You’ll notice that the Milky Way

is by no means the hero of this shot, but it

adds a nice ambiance in the scene.

The images at the left and lower right

on page 54 are two examples of leading

lines. The one at the lower right has a dis-

tinct vertical leading line coming right out

To demonstrate the technique called frame within a frame, the author shot this red barn (and
the much more distant Milky Way) through a pavilion. (Nikon D810a, Zeiss 155 Distagon lens;
foreground: composite of two images [one lit and the other with just ambient lighting] at f/3.5,
ISO 1600, 30 and 120 seconds, respectively; sky: f/2.8, ISO 3200, six 15-second exposures combined)