Let's look at the picture to the right. Is there anything in the photo that shouldn't be there? First, let's "read" the photo to see what is there and what does it tell us. The people tell us that they are ranchers. The truck tells us that they are modern ranchers and probably rely as much on their vehicles in their work as they do their horses. Do they have horses? The saddles in the back of the truck tells us that they have either just finished riding or that they will ride. The ice chest in the truck tells us that they have probably been out there all day or will be out their all day and need to eat and drink. The long shadows and glare on the window tell us that it is probably late in the afternoon. The position of the people and the way the photo is cropped shows us that the focus of their attention is off somewhere in the distance to the left. Everything in the photo tells some part of the story. The cropping is tight and gives us just enough information so that we the viewers, can understand what the photographer was trying to show. The title of this photo is "Work's Done". Did the photographer do his job? Does the photo stand up to the caption?
How do we do this? Simple, use the viewfinder before you start clicking the shutter. Look around the subject to see if there are things present that will distract from the subject such as tree or telephone pole sticking out of a person's head. If it doesn't look good in the viewfinder, it definitely isn't going to look good on the print. Reposition the subject if you have to, in order to remove the unsightly obstacles. Look really closely at the subject, is there anything that looks out of place? Is their tie crooked, or maybe lint on their jacket, or maybe a spot on their jeans? Reposition or rearrange the composition to crop these things out of the photo. Perhaps you are taking a beautiful picture of the Grand Canyon and you look through the viewfinder and spot a roadside garbage can right in plain sight. What do you do? Trust me, that garbage can will ruin your picture forever. Move around to different locations. Walk around and view the scene from different angles until the garbage can is out of the viewfinder.
The copyright of the article Composition: Part III - Page 3 in Photography is owned by Wendy Folse. Permission to republish Composition: Part III - Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
