Photography isn’t something that I just picked up easily. It’s been something I’ve learned over time and have slowly gotten better at. I did go to art school though and I think it helped so much because they drilled the basics of composition into my brain and what makes a viewer more interested in an image. That being said, there were still a few things I learned along the way that also helped me be a much better photographer. Here are a few things that really helped me and can also help you level up your photography game!

Framing.

Framing can help so much with the composition. You can isolate a subject, bring the viewers eyes to it, create depth. When you are shooting an image, pay close attention to what’s in the background or surrounding you. Can you use anything to frame you or the point of interest? I use everything from trees to buildings, lamp posts, color blocking, texture changes. Here are a few examples of how I was framed in my images.

Leading Lines

As humans our eyes like to follow leading lines. Strategically placing and using lines in your images to lead the viewers eyes to where you want them to go always works! You can use fences, roads, sidewalks. Anything that makes a line. Here are a few examples of how I have used leading lines.

Mind your background

Make sure your background is not taking away from what you are trying to show. Is there anything growing out of your head? A pole? A tree? That can be very distracting unless you mean for it to do so. It’s a leading line that is leading you to nothing. Particular blocks of color or overexposed areas in the background can also be distracting. Never forget to pay close attention to the backdrop.

Create Depth

Playing with depth can also help draw the viewers eye through the image. Think of foreground, middle and background.  Having all three is the magic number. Figure out what part of the image you want in focus and what you don’t want in focus.  The Aperature setting (or F STOP) on your camera will help you be able to make a backdrop blurry or super sharp. As a general idea, a wider aperture (f 1.4) will make the background blur more and keep the focus on your subject. A smaller aperture (f 4.0) for instance will create more depth of field so more of the image (including the backdrop) will be in focus.

Hope this helps! If you have any questions feel free to email me , Dm me on Instagram or drop it here.

xx Francesca