sunday school: frame it

Welcome to the very first edition of Sunday School on Shutter Sisters!

So, I have a confession. I am one of those people who do not like to read manuals. In fact, I don't like reading anything non-fiction unless it's biographical/historical. It's not that I haven't TRIED to read the numerous manuals that accompanied my cameras and lenses and speedlights and filters and software. It's all mumbo-jumbo to me and goes in one brain cell and out another. Part of it is that I am an experiential learner. Fortunately for me, photography is very much a bend-the-rules kind of medium (at least it is to me), and there's so much you can learn by trial and error if you don't have the patience or learning style to read the instructions or take a formal class.

One of my favorite aspects of photography is framing the shot in an interesting way by using objects that are already in the environment. Sometimes, though, I feel a little lazy, and I'll bend that un-rule and actually grab something to help me make the photo a bit more fun. Recently, I found just the thing to function as an easy and cheap way to frame a shot uniquely: cardboard tubes. You can play around with different kinds and lengths--toilet paper, paper towel, all those empty Christmas wrapping paper tubes you haven't recycled yet. Heck, you could probably just roll up a piece of paper and create effects by trying different colors.

And THAT, Shutter Sisters, is my very technical (not!) tip for our very first Sunday School! I do love seeing "natural frames" in photos, and you can see some cool ones I've found in our Flickr pool by hashak, mrs. vigushin and skwirler.

Feel free to share links to your favoritely framed photos or your own tips on Framing The Shot.

P.S. We are now featuring a photo from our Flickr Pool EVERYDAY on The Daily Click!  We've got so many spectacular photos being added to the pool everyday that once a week just wouldn't have been enough. 

Comments

[Irene]

Sarah-Ji, I hate to read manuals too. my husband once tried to teach me about focal length, and I lost him at "you see those numbers?" (maybe that's why I love Polaroid so much :)

this is a stunning photo and a great idea! off to grab something and take photos now!

[Kate]

I love this shot! It's so ethereal. I don't take advantage of natural framing enough, but I did once, squashing my old point-and-shoot up against an inch-wide hole on the upper level of a playground, catching Justin and Evan below, at the bottom of the slide.

Here it is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetsalty/1605422382/in/set-72157594199059052/

Great post!

[FireMom]

I should probably work on this in the coming week. Thanks for giving me an idea!

[divrchk]

This is an old one but I still like it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/divrchk/504850007/in/set-72157600232123332/ Thanks for reminding me of a simple concept that I should still be thinking about when I take photos.

[Raven]

I have the same problem with manuals. I do much better hearing an explanation than reading it or just sitting down and playing with my settings. This is the best "natural" frame I have http://www.flickr.com/photos/justexpressive/2235544719/in/set-72157603834151192/

I'll definitely have to try some with cardboard tubes!

[tracey]

This is a gorgeous shot Sarah! I can't wait to try it.

[W. Lotus]

I learned about framing when I took an introductory photo course last autumn. Here is my favorite example of framing from my library of photos. It's funny that when I took the photo (Feb. 2007) I hadn't known anything about composition, let alone framing, but I instinctively knew this was a good image to capture!

http://images30.fotki.com/v43/photos/6/601003/4652574/IMG_0163-vi.jpg

[carolbrowne]

I took this photo last year, but it's still one of my favourites - http://www.flickr.com/photos/carolbrowne/428831482/

[Elaine]

This Sunday School image will stay in my memory. So creative. Thanks for this new-to-me tip about natural framing. I went out and practiced this morning in my back alley.

Here's the best of novice experimentation with my point-and-shoot -- shot very fast so the neighbours wouldn't think I was spying:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92348589@N00/2239820986/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92348589@N00/2239027033/

Which brings me to my next question: will we still get some more tips on mastering the "rinky-tink-tink"?

[Sharon]

I have always loved the framing on this picture.

http://flickr.com/photos/queenofsheba/2239825130/

[L.Sheridan]

I have always loved this shot!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lsheridanphotos/2239199707

[Jen]

Very,very cool, Sarah!

Here's a shot I took from on top my little boy's play fort, and the shadow of the slide is framing it to the left.:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterhotshots/2233001180/

[Kris]

This is great. I'm learning so much. Here are a couple of my favorite "framed" shots:
http://lkpage.blogspot.com/2008/02/start-of-it-all.html

http://lkpage.blogspot.com/2008/02/listening-for-song.html

[kristin]

this is always great fun at the playground...
i have 2...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2239340369/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2240132920/in/photostream/

[Thea]

I too find it very hard to sit and read a manual. I have a ton of fun just playing. This is a fabulous idea-using tubes. I will experiment with this for sure.

Your photograph is just lovely. The eye and the overall composition works so well.

This is a photo taken througha n old vintage camera. The trees sort of act as a frame as well.http://farm1.static.flickr.com/214/509731695_0e7f9eeaca.jpg

[Beer Momma]

I KNOW I took this "frame it" lesson too literally but I thought it was a cute shot of my little guy. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52656316@N00/2239750787/

Happy Sunday!

[simply]

http://bp3.blogger.com/_A1Xbjk4uEks/RsUB8b7XO5I/AAAAAAAAAGY/t5OPzqkaYcE/s1600-h/glasses.jpg

those who need them will understand this shot :o)

~simply~

[simply]

http://bp3.blogger.com/_A1Xbjk4uEks/RsUB8b7XO5I/AAAAAAAAAGY/t5OPzqkaYcE/s1600-h/glasses.jpg

Those who needs these will understand this photo :o)

~simply~

[simply]

sorry it went through 2x :o)

~simply~

[ginny]

An old favorite...

http://monkeymemories.blogspot.com/2008/02/framing.html

[Sarcomical]

i love experimenting with this, too. i often like to use the lines in the environment:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/484671708_26fd525978.jpg?v=0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarcomical/1466346456/in/set-72157601690181053/

...and sometimes i like to grab something to create the visual interest, as well:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarcomical/228990931/in/set-72157600178837689/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarcomical/325765569/in/set-72157594362153223/

[Christina]

I have the same problem with manuals! Does anyone like them?!

Here's a couple from about a month ago, the view from the top and the bottom of the slide.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christinator/2172050714/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christinator/2171258421/

[lysrian]

Since playground shots are so popular, I thought I would include mine. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lysrian/2232512461/

[Joanne]

That's such a wonderful photo & thank you for your first lesson - the power of framing!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joannerim/1679684306/

[lora]

I stumbled across this site recently and I can hardly keep up!!! I do LOVE it so much, though. What a great idea and great implementation.
Here are a couple of framed photos I took this summer.
Ahhh, the summer...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2242239432/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2241447843/

[bethgem]

Great site, found it through SouleMama.

Here's mine: http://bethgem.blogspot.com/2008/02/framed.html

[essaydoctor]

I never cleaned up this photo, but I do love it. My son loved playing with my grandmother's magnifying glass. Here, he combines that love with a passion for solving mysteries, courtesy of Scooby Doo.

http://flickr.com/photos/23335429@N08/2242557632/

[Kate C.]

Thanks for the inspiration. You've got me thinking! :)

[Calissa]

I feel like my mom is framed by the amazing sequoias.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marycalissa/2178310050