Compositional Elements

1. Center of Interest: The first thing the eye goes to. Make sure you move it around...avoid centering the subject

2. Rule of Thirds: Draw a grid over your picture. Your center of interest should be on the grid where the lines intersect. (circles are “power points”)

3. Distance: The distance between you (the photographer) and your subject can make the picture stronger. Most of the time the closer you get to the subject the less likely it is to have distractions in the background of your photo.

4. Depth: Adjusting your aperture (f-stop), you can increase or decrease the depth of field. A lower depth of field will make the subject pop out, the background is out of focus. A higher depth of field will make everything in focus. To see how to set your aperture on the D3400 go here

5. Angle: Worm's eye view, Bird's eye view, eye-level view. Don’t take all your photos from the same angle, bend down, climb something or just take it straight on. The angle of your photo can tell your viewer something about your subject.

6. Framing: Use what you have in the scene to frame your center of interest. Poles, doorways, lights, etc. can create a frame within your picture.

7. Leading Lines: When a series of parallel lines lead the viewer’s eye to the center of interest. Look for those lines when taking your photographs

8. Repetition of Patterns: Any pattern or object that is repeated creates a positive image. Usually it is a repetition of a texture or a detail of a larger picture

Your assignment:

Take 3 photos for each of the compositional elements #1,2,6,7,8

Take 3 sets for each of the compositional elements #3,4,5