Digital SLR Handbook. John Freeman

      • Are there any features in the foreground that can be used to enhance the overall composition?

      • Is the background interesting? Does it overpower the main subject?

      • Am I seeing the most attractive features of the subject?

      • Have I chosen the right focal length of lens or adjusted my zoom?

      • Would the shot look better if I took it from a lower or higher viewpoint?

      • Can I be bothered to walk around the subject to see if there is a better angle from which to take the shot?

      I was attracted to this terrace of houses, particularly the one with wisteria growing over its walls. I took my shot but realized that I’d done so from the worst possible viewpoint: there is too much uninteresting foreground, half of which is in deep shadow, the wisteria is hardly visible and the 24mm lens has made the shot too wide-angled.

      I then moved around the building and chose another viewpoint. Although this focused more on the house with the wisteria, the background was still in deep shadow, as were the steps. In addition, the wall on the left was uninteresting and, even though I had reduced the focal length to 35mm, there was still too much unwanted material in the shot.

      Professional tips

      • Explore all the conceivable angles. Moving just a few paces away from your chosen viewpoint can often make all the difference to the final composition.

      • If you are using a zoom lens, altering the focal length could improve your shot enormously, even from the same viewpoint.

      • Think about the light. You may have established the best viewpoint but the shot could be enhanced taken at a different time of day.

      • Instead of taking your shot from a standing position, try crouching down and using a low viewpoint. It could improve the perspective considerably.

      • Always be on the lookout for foreground interest. Including it might be a simple case of pointing the camera downwards slightly from your chosen viewpoint.

      For many people this would seem an intimidating list of questions and one not really worth bothering with. However, the fact that you have chosen to use a DSLR camera indicates that you are a cut above the average photographer and that you want your shots to look special. After all, if you bought a Ferrari, would you use it only for the weekly shop? No, you would want to explore its full potential.

      Once you get into the habit of asking yourself these questions, you will be amazed at how differently you view your subjects – this is possibly the most important part of developing a ‘photographic eye’.

      For this shot, I moved round to the right so that I was facing the house more ‘full on’. This cropped the oppressive background out of the frame, as well as the uninteresting wall on the left. However, the small wall in the foreground didn’t add anything to the composition and the power lines in the sky irritated me.

      For the final shot, I moved a little more to the right. The house was now at the correct angle and the wisteria shown to best effect and in a good light. A higher viewpoint meant that I could disguise the power lines with the branches of the trees, and by stepping back slightly, I could include the bluebells in the foreground.

      > Canon EOS 1DS, 24mm lens, 1/100 sec, f/11.

Foregrounds

      Invariably, it is the foreground 0f a shot that first attracts attention. It’s therefore important that you give whatever occupies this part of the frame due consideration.

      Creating interest

      Placing an item of interest in the foreground of your overall composition will help to give it balance, as well as being a tool to lead the eye into the picture. However, it’s important not to place an item in the same part of the frame, such as the bottom right-hand corner, in all your shots, otherwise they will take on a familiarity that will become monotonous to the viewer, especially if your shots are presented in a folio or album.

      Not all shots need to be taken with a wide-angle lens to emphasize foreground interest. I used a telephoto lens and a small aperture to get maximum depth of field for this picture. The monk in the foreground is the focus of interest, while the one in the middle distance helps lead the eye into the rest of the shot.

      > Canon EOS 1DS, 100mm lens, 1/15 sec, f/22.

      Professional tips

      • Wide-angle lenses give more depth of field, so you can keep both the foreground and background sharp.

      • Telephoto lenses appear to alter the perspective between foreground and background.

      • If it’s difficult matching the exposure of the foreground with the background, ask yourself if it would be better to take the shot at a different time of day.