the art of composition

Composition starts when you situate your camera in space in relation to the object. For me, photography is the exploration in reality of the rhythm of surfaces, lines, or values; the eye carves out its subject, and the camera has only to do its work. That work is simply to print the eye’s decision on film. - Henri Cartier-Bresson

For quite some time I've been conjuring up and creating content for my soon-coming class "The Art of Composition"; recalling all the lessons I learned in past art classes, observing my process of compsosing shots, examining my images and those of others and taking a lot of notes on all of it.

All up in my own head, I've been eager to learn more about what some of the photographers of the past have said on the topic of creating and composing their images.

I stumbled upon a collection of Henri Cartier-Bresson's quotes and I read page after page of his thoughts on photography; so many of which deeply inspired me as I nodded my head along with his words, yes, yes.

But, the more I read the more I would find a line or two; a comment or belief where I wasn't so sure. Do I agree with that? Does that ring true for me?

And then I did the same for a number of other world renowned, well-respected photographers. Reading, contemplating, agreeing and also disagreeing. Of course that's the case. It would be highly unlikely and very unnatural to agree with everything another photographer thought about photography. But, it was so illuminating.

The fact is, our photography is ours. How we approach it should be unique to who we are.  How we live our photographic bliss is totally up to us. There will be so many things we will agree on. Our passion for photography for one thing. But not everything. And that is totally how it should be.

What is photography for you? Share your thoughts or better yet, share a photograph. Something that shows us YOUR photography.

Comments

[leaca]

I think about this a lot. What is my style? My signature on photography. I am still looking but I love low contrast and I really like taking pictures of misc objects....I have many pictures of my moleskine journals.

http://simplyblogged.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-break-aug-10.html

[Lucent Imagery]

Photography for me is my exploration of the world around me so that I can share my perspective with others and appreciate what I have. Given that I am legally blind it makes the gift of photography so precious and it shows me something I might not have seen with my naked eye. I love your thoughts here.

[Caryn]

Lovely shot and post. Photography is, for me, a form of visual poetry...a way of noticing and illuminating the small things and fleeting moments that might otherwise go unnoticed.
http://instamaticgratification.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/373/

[Marcie]

I think - oftentimes - the rules of classical composition are over-rated. I like to simply go with my gut..and what feels right.

Typically - I prefer my subject to be off-center:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/8/10/beady-eyes.html
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/8/8/attention-to-detail.html

But every now and again - dead on center works:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/8/7/hello.html

And then there are times when there is no particular focus..but that the scene itself makes the frame:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/8/9/the-hills-are-alive.html

[Naimah]

hhmm....photography for me is often catching the beauty in the mundane, alot of my passion goes into the editing, I would say I'm a bit more creative with that atm rather than the photography itself, but I'm working on it :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capturingthebeauty/6031240064/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capturingthebeauty/5485670406/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capturingthebeauty/6030870520/in/photostream

[rakusribut]

thanks for these words, Tracey....and for the question
for me photography is about lifting a veil
showing the complexity and interconnectedness of what i see around me and hoping other people can see it too
the shapes and colors, the lines, the light and shadows, giving them new meaning by the way i 'expose' them
in a way i am lifting my own veil too

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61760618@N08/sets/72157627283616175/detail/

btw i just signed up for your class :-)))

[Jen]

Photography is the way for me to preserve the here and here - capturing moments from today that I will look back on many years from no, helping me remember the beautiful days my family has been blessed with.

In this photo, I wanted to capture the sweet relationship between our golden retriever and 15-month old daughter:
http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2011/08/i-heart-faces-friendships.html

[deea]

I wish I felt confident enough in my photography to come up with an answer for that. Right now with the demands of being a portrait photographer and having to please a client, I am really wanting to just shoot whatever touches my heart, captures my imagination, or stuns me into silence.

[Gotta Run]

Your picture is so simple, yet full and beautiful - I love it. I am still trying to find my style, but I notice I often take pictures of unusual objects with lots of vivid color. And I love taking pictures of my family. I don't want to take a single day for granted. Like the post above, I want to capture a moment and freeze it, and have memories flood back when I look back at them years from now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gottarun2009/6027715026/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gottarun2009/5533655856/in/pool-343665@N23/

[olivia]

I didn't want to tell the tree or weed what it was.  I wanted it to tell me something and through me express its meaning in nature.  ~Wynn Bullock

this quote sums it up for me! great post by the way, an interesting question to ask! i don't want to be boxed up into a style! like me, my photos represent my free spirit... i just take pictures of what is beautiful to me!! http://lovelifeandpictures.blogspot.com

[Anna]

Photography gives me another medium in which to study the world. Designing/composing within the frame is an exciting challenge!

http://vandemarkdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/08/classic-cars.html

[hi kooky]

Composition is my favorite thing about photography. I wrote a short post (with photo) about what photography means to me here: http://hikooky.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-photography-for-me.html

[Debi]

I like to show just enough to tell the story. I hadn't realized it until you asked and I went back and looked. Thanks for opening my eyes.

http://www.emmatree.com/2011/08/august-break-6-he-always-said-my-legs.html

http://www.emmatree.com/2011/08/august-break-3-tomatoes-and-toes.html

http://www.emmatree.com/2011/02/light-of-yesterday-afternoon.html

[Rebecca Weaver]

For me, photography's very much about sharing feelings. I'm more interested in conveying an emotion or atmosphere than in simply documenting what I 'saw' with my eyes - I want to share what my heart saw. Sometimes this means utter simplicity, almost straight out of camera:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trebecca84/6022658893/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trebecca84/5982860587/
Other times it involves some serious post-processing, to convey the right mood.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trebecca84/5878597070/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trebecca84/5758335613/

[Linda]

I think lately my photography has become more creative and more artistic. I like to say the photo is the canvas and I add things to make my vision.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29505679@N04/5927756148/in/photostream

[michelle]

photography for me is capturing the way i love to see the world. I like to see beauty & love, mostly in the simple things of everyday & in nature.

http://magnetisedbylife.blogspot.com/2011/08/everyday-stuff.html

http://magnetisedbylife.blogspot.com/2011/07/little-walk.html

[Sandee]

Photography, for me, is about sharing my unique perspective. Here are a couple of examples:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34977978@N05/6006783571/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34977978@N05/6031299006/

[Brenda]

Photography has given me the gift of mindfulness. With camera in hand, I see the world in a different way. The previously ignored, unseen, mundane details become beautiful.

Who knew that the fractured glass of a window could shine with golden light and diamond facets?

http://flic.kr/p/abv54Y

[georgia]

tracey... great post!

first of all, i love cartier-bresson's work and could kick myself for missing the exhibition of his work at the art institute museum in chicago last year! next time...

secondly, you touched on something i think about a lot... what makes good {or great} photography. actually, your post is about what makes our photography ours, but it made me think about what makes a photo or body of work "good". i think about it a lot, because i find myself always comparing my photography to others... where their photos are good or great, i feel mine fall short. i start to think of excuses... "well, if i could afford better equipment, i'd have better photos too." or "if i had more time to practice...." but i know both of those are not good reasons to judge my own work that way. so i have to bring myself back to why i take pictures, no matter what my skill level is... and that is "to see things". it's why i named my blog what i did.

and it is why the first two quotes about photography on my blog are...

"to me, photography is an art of observation. it's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... i've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."
~ elliott erwitt

and

"creating a vision is the most important thing an artist and photographer can have. anyone can learn how to share information with f/stops and shutter speeds, but it’s the perspective of a person’s vision that i find the most interesting, challenging, diverse and beautiful."
~ jamie of from me to you

{i, too, love to read what well-known and professional photographers have said about photography... and like you, i don't always agree. but when i do, i like to put the quote in the side bar of my blog!} anyway, i try to shoot with those two quotes in mind. i couldn't really say what it is that makes my photography mine. i almost feel like i have to ask others that about my photos to get an answer.

i could go on and on, but i won't make this too long {or longer}. =)

but i love what you wrote today. very thought-provoking. oh, and is your composition class going to be an online course?... i assume so. i would very much love to take it! this is an area where i really want to grow, because i feel like it will improve my photography in ways that no high-end equipment ever will. i get stuck in ruts when it comes to composition.

[autumn sun]

“Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment - this very moment - to stay.” - Sam Abell

http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/sets/72157626120028177/

[Chelsea C]

Love this Tracey. I used to think "oh it is a famous well known quote, that means it has to be the truth!" But like you, I realized that quotes are just opinions, all wonderful and illuminating in their own way, but won't always reflect our personal views or opinions.

For me, photography is way to really see the world. Before finding photography, I feel I missed so much of what was around me. I love the way ordinary everyday things can be transformed into art. I love finding beauty in something which others would see as unsightly or simply ordinary. It is also a visual form of documentation. I can look back at a photo from years ago and remember exactly when and where it was taken and often how I was feeling when I took it. Photography is simply....amazing!

[beth]

i think my photography is all about seeing the beauty, when others don't or when they haven't taken the time to pay attention.....
http://moredoors.blogspot.com

people tell me all the time "oh i knew you took that photo".....so obviously they see something they call my style....but between me and you, i'm still looking for "my look"
http://beyourselfphotography.blogspot.com

i will say that lately, black and white has been winning my heart over more then anything else.....
http://simplyexposed.blogspot.com

[Sherralee]

Photography has taught me to value every moment as a rare and fleeting occurrence. Making photographs is a sacred meditation on life for me. Sharing photographs is a joyous celebration of life.

[JAKKI]

photography for me has, is and will always be my little way of stoping time. capturing the moment, rather it be happy or sad, just for the sole purpose of showing someone what I see....

[kristal]

As others have shared, photography is a way of really "seeing" the world around me in a whole new way. Photography helps me to be present to my life. Photography and editing are like mediatation to me. Photography makes me feel creative, calm, expansive.

[Bonnie]

To me photography, like any art, is about connection ... connection with the subject, connection with the people the art is shared with, connection with yourself, connection with the world.

[Julie]

Photography for me is capturing little details, connections and moments and making them into art!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26365955@N04/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26365955@N04/5821334410/in/photostream

[LeAnne thomas]

I think the title of the Shutter Sisters' book sums up my approach to photography as succinctly as anything. That is, my photography is expressive of who I am, what I value, what I find beautiful in the world. As I discover textures and learn more about the capabilities of Photoshop for creating art out of my photographs, I tend towards dreamy, vintage, and sentimental interpretations. As a result, my photography has brought a certain magical quality to my day to day life as I find myself looking at the world around me, gauzy with super saturated colors and sensuous textures.

Here's one of my favorites taken just last weekend when I was on a personal retreat. Butterflies are a favorite subject and I jazzed it up with a little KK texturing....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leanne8790/6047303152/

[swissgear backpack]

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