The Power of Diagonals

 

Getting a LINE on Photographic Composition
 
This week’s blog is a quick reminder of one of the simplest, yet most effective compositional tools for your photography, the diagonal.Artists are always looking for paths to good composition. Given all the available guidelines, the search can become very confusing. Some, such as the Rule of Thirds and the Golden Rule, can seem quite strict, but many can be distilled to simple guidelines. Don't put your subject in the middle of the frame, avoid distracting elements, watch your background and keep the horizon straight. I was deeply entranced by photography long before I had learned anything about compositional rules and I am still governed more by how the image feels in my eye than by what element happens to fall upon any arbitrary line. Excessive attention to rules can distract from the innate power of the subject, but taking advantage of some simple compositional elements can add energy and direction to your images. One of the simplest of such elements is the diagonal line.

Peaceful Horizontals

Power of the Diagonal
It’s not complicated. Diagonal lines can add energy, direction and movement to an image. The lines may run from bottom to top, clear across the image, dividing it into segments, or they may be isolated to one section of the image. Diagonals are most powerful when they point to something of significance. I have previously discussed the use of diagonals to draw the eye to the subject of the image. It is always important to consider where the lines are pointing, but diagonals can also stand on their own as

Diagonal Energy

dominant elements. Multiple Diagonal lines can interact or intersect in interesting ways that can become the primary subject of the composition. Sadly there are also rules that can be applied to intersecting diagonals. In the future I may discuss the "Diagonal Method", but first I better understand it better. 

Add caption

 

 Pick Your Elements
Diagonals may be created by an infinite variety of linear and nonlinear elements. trees, rocks, flowers, shore lines, hills, clouds, shadows, or even people can all work beautifully. Some photographers enjoy creating diagonals by leaning the frame off plumb, but, being a fanatic for straight horizons, I tend to look for other element within the frame to achieve the effect. Of course if the horizon is not visible you can usually go crazy. 

Telling a Story

Embellishing the Story

Let the Eye Guide
Far beyond the slavish adherence to any didactic compositional theory, the best way to appreciate the effect of diagonals is to look at some images. Pictures with lines running parallel to the frame tend to have a more relaxed mood which can be perfectly appropriate for some subjects, but to my eye, diagonally constructed images show a clear advantage in energy and cohesiveness. 

Static Prom Photo

Will He Eat the Lily?

 


For now I would suggest looking for diagonals to add some energy to your images. It is simple, effective and gluten free!


 

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

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Cropping, In Photography, Less is Often More

A Few Thoughts on Cropping
One of the most important attributes that separates a fine art image from a snap shot is its composition. A photograph of even a mediocre setting can achieve a level of strength and immediacy when composed with balance and a flow which draws the eye to the subject without distraction or clutter. There are many compositional rules can be of help in arranging a powerful composition, including the rule of thirds, use of diagonals and head room, but one of the simplest and most effective methods to add power and focus to an image is with cropping. Cropping may be performed in the camera or in post-processing.  I tend to crop aggressively, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind about the benefits and risks of the cut and slashing.  An important concern is to avoid cutting too far.



In Camera
One of the most obvious signs of a snap-shot is when the subject is


Move in and Arrange Head Room

only a small portion of the image, usually dead center and surrounded by distracting and superfluous material. It is often helpful to start with a broad image which establishes the location, but from then on the mantra should be "move in, move in". Whether you move in with your feet or with your zoom lens the goal is to fill the image with your subject. As you zoom what you are actually doing is cropping out extraneous stuff that only distracts from the focus of the image. 

Audrey's Trail




 The primary advantage of cropping and composing within the camera is that you are using all the pixels available on your sensor and getting the maximal resolution for your subject, but it is important to remember that the "subject" is seldom just the "subject'. The "subject" of an image of a beautiful tree may include a stream, rolling hills or perhaps a mountain in the background all arranged to complement and draw the eye to the stately Maple. The art comes from recognizing how your subject best fits within its surroundings and to avoid moving in so close as to eliminate important framing elements. It is appropriate to emphasize the advantages of zooming in, but it is also important to remember that the camera frame places restrictions on the picture's proportions that may limit options during the fine tuning of the composition in post-processing. 




The Tyranny of the Viewfinder
The camera viewfinder and sensor imposes a fixed frame around your composition. As you move in you can explore various arrangements of the important elements within that rectangle, but the problem comes when the best composition doesn’t match the dimensions of the frame. Although precise sizes are quite variable, most digital sensors are about half again as wide as they are tall, that is, most hover around an aspect ratio of 3:2 or 4:3. Specific dimensions vary, but the standard full size digital sensor is 37x24 mm or at a ratio of 3:2 (1.5). Nikon’s APS-H sensor can be 28.7x19mm (1.5), Canon’sAPS-C sensor is 23.6 x 15.7 (~1.6), and the smaller Micro 4/3rds sensors are 17.3x13 (1.33). Tightly composing within my full frame camera works well if the final image is intended to conform to a 3x2 aspect ratio. It will fit perfectly in a 12 x 18" or 4" x 6" print, but an 8" x 10" print has a ratio of 1.25 meaning that at least 17% of the pixels will need to be cropped away from one or both of the sides of the image to fit a landscape oriented 8x10 print. Important parts of the image may be lost if the composition is too tightly framed in the camera. The point is that overly aggressive cropping in the camera can limit final composition options when the image is adjusted in post-processing to fit specific output dimensions. 






It is great to move in to your subject to get the best use of your expensive pixels, but today's camera’s have resolution to spare and we can afford to allow a little buffer to assure that everything of importance will be preserved after the final crop. By all means, crop in the camera, but do it carefully and with an eye toward the options for the final composition. 

Photoshop can add a Rule of Thirds grid while Cropping

Post-Processing Crop
The capability to crop an image is basic in any photo editing software. As is true in the camera, post-processing cropping is done to fine tune the composition and to eliminate distracting elements along the borders.  It is also used to resize the picture for particular output dimensions. It is unusual to find a raw image that can't be strengthened by careful cropping, but before discussing post-processing cropping, I must mention one important basic rule.  Again it has to do with preserving your options.

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Before All Else, Do No Harm
Before I start cutting and slashing, I always save a full size version

Rethinking the camera Crop

of the image. Sizing, sharpening and cropping are usually the last things I do when editing an image. They are done to specifically tailor the image for its intended output, whether it is for a 12x16 print, a massive poster or a small web image. I do as much editing on the full size image as possible and then save that file as my baseline source from which all other images are derived. Since any editing that I perform after resizing will need to be repeated on all other output versions, saving a full size, edited version can save a lot of time. Actually, before I reach the point of cropping, sharpening and sizing, I save two versions of my full size image, one as the original raw file directly from the camera and the second including all my basic edits in DNG format. 




Cut and Slash, Why Do We Crop?
Stated most simply, cropping is the process of controlling what the viewer will see and just as importantly, what he won't see.


Improving Composition Probably the most important reason to crop an image is to arrange the elements within the frame to highlight and draw attention to the subject. This includes positioning the subject within the frame. Guides such as the Rule of Thirds can help, but often the best guide is your own eye. The use of diagonals and other leading lines can draw the eye to the subject and their strength can be enhance by how they relate to the frame. Cropping can adjust for proper headroom for the subject and move horizon lines away from dead center. At the same time elements which pull the eye away from the subject can be eliminated. 

Removing Edge Distractions
A basic step in editing an image is to scan the edges of the frame

Newfane Courthouse, Clonning Needed

for distractions. Distractions can include a stray rocks or tree branch, but may merely be a splash of unusual light or dark which pulls the eye. Cropping can often removes these peripheral blemishes, but when the cropping required affects the overall balance of the composition cloning may be a better solution. Finding distractions can often be complicated by our own focus on the detail of what we know to be the main subject. Before I finish editing, I will often sit back and squint to blur the image detail. It is surprising how often distractions can be revealed when the image is reduce to abstract patterns of color and light. 





Sizing
Final cropping is usually designed to size the image for the

Not all leading lines are straight

specific output requirements. This often includes adjustments to fit a printed version or web sizing. Changes in image size and resolution can affect sharpness. A final sharpening may be needed before the image is ready to be released to the world.

Cropping is perhaps the most basic tool for creating powerful compositions. It can be painful to cut away our precious pixels, but, in photography, it is important to understand that less is often very much more.

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Photographic Composition, Drawing the Eye

Pointing the Way

Sometimes drawing the eye can be quite literal, St Vitus Church, Prague

One of the essentials of good photographic composition is the use of techniques to draw attention to the subject of the image. We refer to this as "drawing the eye to the subject", but whatever it is called, it is a key part of adding coherence and impact to your images. There are many ways to effectively draw the eye, but as I searched through my images for good example, it became clear that the best approach is often a combination of more than one. Here are a just a few of my favorite eye magnets. 

Eye Magnets

 

Positioning, Rule of Thirds
The positioning of your subject can have a strong effect on the focus

Rule of Thirds

of attention. Years ago when I was getting more serious about my photography, a gentleman approached to compliment my images. He particularly liked my eye for composition and my "effective use of the Rule of Thirds". I thanked him and then rush home to look up "Rule of Thirds". All I knew was that I had a sense that a subject looked better when it wasn't placed in the middle of the image. Who knew I was applying a "rule"? The Rule of Thirds is merely a graphic representation of the observation that subjects are more visually pleasing when they are placed away from the center and near the intersections of lines drawn to divide the image into nine equal rectangles. It seems to be based on connections deep within our visual cortex. These rules are all made to be broken, but the point is that the eye tends to be drawn to these points on the image. It works. Look it up. I did! 

Thinking of Home

Leading Lines

Marshal Point Light

Leading lines refers to the the use of lines running through an image to
point to the center of interest. Diagonals are especially powerful, not only to focus attention but also as elements that add a dynamic sense of movement and life to an image. The lines don't have to be actual straight "lines". Curves or aligned elements in the scene, such as trees, rocks or even people can point to the center of interest.

Leading Fence

Pemaquid Light

Jenne Farm, Serpentine Leading Line

Selective focus
Landscape photographers often work to capture sharp focus from

Deep DOF

foreground to distant subjects. For me, ridiculously broad depth of field has been a persistent obsession. Wide angle lens, small apertures and image stacking are all useful to reach the goal of razor sharp DOF. Old habits are tough to break, but increasingly I have been using shallow, selective focus as another technique when I want to simplify an image and highlight the key features. A couple of weeks ago I was shooting the corn stalks in the fog
around Walpole, New Hampshire. I found one ear of corn which was trapped by

Selective Focus

encircling vines. After my usual focus stack to get full DOF, I opened up the aperture to selectively focus on the lonesome ear. I felt that the dried corn stood out best against the soft background. These days my approach to landscape focus is to first capture the images I need for full depth of field, but then finish with a few wide aperture shots to give me the option of isolating the key element(s) with selective focus.

Selective Focus

 

Selective Focus

Color

Color and Leading Lines

The use of bright color can also make a subject stand out. The key is to watch the background for contrasting, noncompetitive color. The background colors can also be desaturated in post-processing. I try not to overdo this type of manipulation, but it is all a matter of taste and some photographers choose to completely desaturate the background for maximal, but artificial, effect. In black and white images, similar effects can be achieved with contrasts of texture and light. 



Spotlighting

Cow in Shaddow

Lighting can be used to highlight important regions of an image. It is great when I can get natural light to spotlight a subject, and occasionally a splash of properly color balanced flash can be effective. I have previously discussed the use of masks in post-processing to spotlight subjects and to add a sense of depth. I will often use this spotlighting technique to add a splash of

Spotlighted & Rule of Thirds

brightness and diminished contrast at the distant end of a receding dirt road or trail. The same approach can be used to draw attention to faces or other important elements. It often takes just a touch of brightening to make a surprising difference. The key is to avoid making the effect so strong that it becomes obvious. 

Roads End Farm

 

All these approaches can work wonders on your compositions adding coherence and balance, but as I mentioned the best results often come from a combination of these techniques. The decision about which to use will be dictated by the scene. Just keep focusing on drawing the eye.



Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines and Spotlight

Lonesome Road, Spofford, NH

As important as it is to draw the eye to your subject. it is equally critical to avoid elements that might divert the eye from the path you have created.  Next week's blog is about avoiding and removing the distractions that can weaken your compositions.





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