This is the newsletter I recently put out for all of my subscribers. I've had some nice response to it so I thought it might be nice to share it with you here in our blog.
Roush Photo Online Newsletter 02
August 07, 2008
http://www.roushphotoonline.com/Introduction -
Welcome to our second newsletter from Roush Photo Online. This newsletter is to provide you with some new and useful information about photography. I hope to help you reach some of your own photographic goals and raise your skill level to the next plateau. Each of these newsletters will cover different information and techniques that should help you improve your photographs.
Each of us ultimately has the same goal; when people view our photographs we want them to say "wow!"
Roush Photo Online News-News from the the Roush Photo Online course program is awesome. There have been some "graduating" students since the last newsletter and the emails I'm receiving from them is all good! Occasionally I'll get an image that someone has shot after graduation, and it pleases me to see so many doing really great work. One student just sold their first "picture package" from a portrait (they were paid to shoot) and made enough money to buy a new wide angle lens. Needless to say, he was thrilled! And, of course, so was I. There is no better reward for a teacher than to see students making a success of their education.If you thought of enrolling in any of the new courses I offer on the web site now is the time to do it. One round of students is finishing this week so there are openings right now for new folks to join. Remember that I limit enrollment so that I can give all enrolled students the proper attention and time needed for the courses, so don't wait too long. Drop me an email if you want to enroll but need a week or so to sign up - I'll happily hold a registration spot for you.A couple of you attended the workshop this past weekend at my studio. I have to say that all that attended created some outstanding images as we studied the whole "fine art figure" & portraiture arena. We studied applications of studio and available lighting along with posing and compositions. I'm getting some of the finished images this week and will share any of them with you if you are interested in this type of photographic work and possibly attending one of the these types of workshops in the future.
Photography Tips -In the last newsletter we discussed the photographic formula that I use when I'm approaching a new photo project. I was thrilled to get the emails from those of you that wrote and told me of your own successes. Students who applied this new technique to their "mind-set" of shooting have found their images improving dramatically simply by using these few steps in their photography.
In this publication we're going to study a couple of the basic rules of composition. When we see a photograph that moves us, inspires us, or causes an emotional response we are experiencing a photograph that has been created artistically; using the components of composition successfully. The elements of composition are an area of education that a lot of photographers generally don’t study in great depth. We seem to think "we have it" or "we don’t".
I tend to differ. In fact, I feel quite the opposite. Composition is something we can see and learn. A successful work of art, whether it’s a photograph or a sculpture, can be dissected into visual categories and fundamentals that we can see, understand, learn, and duplicate. We are going to explore a couple of rules that make great composition in digital imagery. Learning composition is a never-ending artistic process as are most creative thinking situations so we can hardly cover all of it in the forum. However, there are a few things we can cover and learn now that will assist all of us in creating better images.
Composition is something that any photographic artist can use regardless of the camera equipment they presently own, being it is not related to anything technical we use. It is truly our ability to make the photograph look great aesthetically. Someone who completely understands composition and how to apply it to a photographic creation can shoot their images with a point-and-shoot camera and get great results creatively, even with the limitations of such a camera system.
A simple and easy to use and understand compositional rule is the "Rule Of Thirds". The image below demonstrates how the rule of thirds is used and applied to our photography.
When we are viewing an scene / image that we plan to shoot through our viewfinders dissect the image with lines as shown above on this boat photograph. The vertical lines are dividing the scene into thirds vertically and the horizontal lines are dividing the scene into thirds horizontally - thus, the name "rule of thirds". The places were these vertical and horizontal lines intersect is the place that you want to place the most important subject matter of your photograph. Doing this creates impact in the image that would not be there if it were simply centered and/or bigger.Also, in the above sample there is another rule of composition that it easy to understand and apply. This other rule is called the "Rule of Motion". Motion in a piece of art does not mean "moving subject matter", it means artistic motion as it relates to the subject space and the other space in the artwork. In this sample there is more room in front of the boat than behind, leaving room for this subject to visually "move" to the open space. This off balance feel gives the artwork a natural tendency of movement as it is viewed
"The Golden Rule" is also a compositional technique that is present in this particular photograph. This rules applies to the sizes of the subject matter and the size of the other space around it. In simple terms to use this rule properly one needs to think of these two elements and size them properly. The "subject matter / other space" relationship size-wise should be something close to 1/3 vs 2/3 of the total area. In this particular image the boat, although it's the smaller, is the 1/3 and the lake and sky is the 2/3. This careful balance of these two unequal halves creates a more aesthetically pleasing arrangement of the image content to the viewer.
These three rules of composition are something you can do now as you take photographs. They require no special equipment or gear, and work with ALL cameras. You'll find that if you try to learn these and implement these concepts in to your own photographic work you'll find your images improving easily.
Student Showcase -
Over the past month or so I've been amazed with the assignments people are turning in. I've specifically included a couple of images that are from the "composition" portion of the photography course. I plan on using this newsletter to showcase some student work for two reasons. One is, they deserve to be in the spotlight for doing such great work. Two, seeing what students are doing in any educational program is good for all, including those only along for the ride.
These are students that have excelled in the application of photographic techniques and deserve a "pat on the back." from me as their teacher, and from you as their audience. Students come to my program with different skill levels; each starting at a different spot in the curriculum. However, everyone eventually goes through the same process of learning.
Applying photographic principles and techniques like "depth of field" control and "composition" can be a tedious learning process as it involves nearly all of the knowledge of cameras/camera operation/settings/lens choice and so on. I'd like to share a few of these outstanding images.
A lot of time is spent in my course on the "artistic" elements and applications in photography. Many of us can expose images properly, buy learning to control all of the components in design with the equipment and then using it to your advantage to create impact, message, and beauty is a tough goal. These students accomplished this beautifully with these three excellent images. Congrats to you both- you now have some new excellent imagery to add to your portfolios.
Until next time, I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. Any comments or suggestions are encouraged and welcomed. I'd also like to invite all of you to visit my commercial web site. There is where my online portfolio resides. You can view it at
http://www.roushstudios.com/Thanks for reading -
Jeff Roush - photography instructor
jeff@roushphotoonline.comhttp://www.roushphotoonline.com/
