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Photographic Composition: 9 Basic Principles You Should Know
Derio Ilari tells you how to achieve stunning photos for a professional Instagram profile
Many people believe, to capture a great photo, you need great equipment and editing skills. However, you can be a master of post production and not get a single good photo if you don’t pay attention to the composition.
Derio Ilari (@derioi) is a product photographer who has worked with brands like Adidas, Audi, Volkswagen, Guaraná and, Stella Artois, among many more. His incredible catalog shows his talent and artistic sensibility. Photos have always been the medium he has best expressed himself with and the composition is the essence of each of his images. Here he shares what to consider when taking professional photos for Instagram.
The secret nobody tells: composition
Composition is an indispensable tool for transmitting a message, making sense of your image and planting an unconscious message for whoever sees your work. That’s why, to compose well, you need to have your intention clear before you start.
The 9 composition elements
Behind every photo, there is a complex process that helps convey the message, the language of the photography. For Derio, although there are certain theories of composition, it’s important to know there are no established rules: you’ve got to feel free to experiment with new elements to take powerful and attractive photos.
- The point: while often round, this could be any element that marks a point from which to start reading the image. This compositional element does not have to be the focal point.
- The line: creates visual markers to guide the perspective towards the subject. They can be straight or curved.
- Contours: are borders that direct and frame the subject or central message of your composition. They can be made from any kind of shape or even with light and shade.
- Tone: is the difference in color, light, and shade that separates the subject from the background to give the image depth.
- Direction: where the elements of the image flow to. It helps to communicate movement. Lines, subject, and tone help establish where the image goes to.
- Texture: creates a pattern that makes photos "visually tactile". It works well for landscapes and photos of animals and food.
- Scale: determines the size of a photo’s elements and can be used to contrast references, which helps the viewer work out the proportions each part of the composition.
- Space: can be positive or negative; there are elements of a photo that give volume, and others that give space. Both help to balance a composition.
- Colors: carry different psychological weight, you can use this to strengthen your message.
Color also has an aesthetic function, getting to know the chromatic wheel and the best color combinations will help you exploit this both when taking the photo or in post. The wheel shows you which colors best complement each other, through contrast or similarity, as shown in the graphs below:
If you want to know more about professional photography, try the Photo Composition and Editing for Instagram course in which Derio Ilari will guide you through the basic concepts and practical tips that will turn your social media into an attractive space filled with applied creativity. Follow him on Instagram and get to know his work.
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- Domestika Diaries: Joel Santana.
- Artistic Photomontage Tutorial: How to Create a Narrative.
- Photography Tutorial: How to Make a Pinhole Camera at Home.
1 comment
lily.bui
Thank you for sharing! I have the same topic of composition in my blog How To Photograph Real Estate. The below is what I shared! Let me know if you have any other sharing, please.
Space and lighting are two things to sell the properties. Composition refers to how elements of a frame are organized. The easiest way for the real estate photo shoot is to capture straightforwardly and focus on the features of the right aspects. However, it is not alluring enough to catch the attention of home buyers. So, how to photograph real estate properly and creatively enough to convey the unique beauty of the property. Let us walk you through the 4 legendary angles in shooting interior real estate photography.
Generally, a real estate photo gives buyers a better impression of the size of the rooms. So, once composing the interior real estate photography, the tip of using leading lines to create a depth of the image and lead the viewers’ eye through the shot & the room is particularly crucial.
The rule of third is another practical tip of almost all professional real estate photographers to capture a well-balanced and good proportion.
Besides two simple yet essential tips to compose a photo, you can also slightly heighten the tripod to include more foreground or background space if it features the highlight of your property.
Next, let’s try medium shots to highlight a specific area of the room. Finally, a detailed shot is particularly useful to show outstanding decorations of your room or at least tell a story about the owners’ characteristics through how they set up the house.