Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Spanish
Friday, February 6, 2009
Subject
Definition: an object, scene, incident, etc. chosen by an artist (photographer) as the point of focus in an image.
Makes sense, right? The first principle of photography is to clearly identify the subject before pressing the shutter release. With that said, how many times have you looked at a photograph and tried to figure out what is the intended subject? Let’s start by looking at the following image. What is the subject of this image?
It's difficult to tell what you should be looking for, as the subject could be several things. You need to clearly define the main subject of the photograph so your viewer doesn't get lost and miss the theme, or main idea you wanted conveyed in the image. Now, try to identify the subject in the next image.
Hopefully, the subject in the image is clear. The Japanese stone lantern is my intended subject. This can be done through subject placement, camera viewpoint, shapes, lines, patterns, selective focus and numerous other techniques which I'll try and tackle in future posts. But the easiest way to achieve subject definition in your images is to already have any idea of what the subject is before pressing the shutter. Give it a try!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Sometimes for myself, I enjoy placing the subject in a corner or off centered depending on the subjects surroundings or the actions taking place near or arround it. Any other opinions on subject placement?
Placement is another way to achieve proper or pleasing composition. The two principles of subject placement are the rule of thirds and dynamic symmetry. Both provide for a point of interest. By keeping your subject to a single point of interest will help to keep your photo simple.
Post a Comment