Understanding exposure

Aperture

Shutter speed

ISO

Understanding your camera settings

Metering modes

8
8

Histograms

11

Shooting Modes

13

Depth of Field

15

White balance

17

Focal length

18

Crop factor

19

Polarising filter

20

Lens choice

21

Sharp images

22

Rules of Composition

24

The Rule of Thirds

24

Visual weight

26

Triangles

28

Leading lines

30

Balance

33

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Cameras can be pretty tricky to work out when youre a newbie. You want to start capturing
some amazing shots, but you dont quite know how to get the most out of your equipment.
Were hoping to cut through some of the confusion with this beginners guide to photography
Over the coming weeks, we will cover everything you need to know from composition, to
editing, to taking gorgeous photos on holiday.
This week were starting with understanding exposure what exactly does it mean and how can
you use it to create a better photo? Lets get started

Understanding exposure
To expose a photograph correctly means in simple terms to create an image that looks how you
want it to look, either on screen or in print. It means taking a photograph that people can
recognise, understand and enjoy.
A photographs exposure affects how it looks; its shape, form, texture, and colour. All vital parts of
taking an image that people can appreciate, without saying, Its lovely. But what is it?.
Like many elements of photography, exposure is a matter of personal taste and of opinion. And
there can be more than one way to expose an image correctly. Your role, as a photographer, is to
decide what works best for you.
Get your exposure completely wrong and your photograph wont work at all it will either be too
light, or too dark. Get it right, and youll create a beautiful image with a finish you can be proud of.
Over-exposure means that your image will be too light and washed out and your subject wont
be visible for white glare.

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Under-exposure means your image will be too dark and your subject will be hidden away and
invisible in the shadows.

So, what is this mystical thing called correct exposure and how can you create it for yourself?
Correct exposure relies on three key elements and on the vital connection between them. One
of the principles of photography is that you cant change one of these elements, without it
affecting the other two.

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Aperture
The aperture of your camera is within the lens you use, rather than inside the camera body. Its the
opening inside the lens that can expand and contract to let more or less light inside. It works like
the iris of your eye.
Aperture settings tell your lens how much or how little light you want to let inside your camera to
hit, and register on, your cameras image sensor.
The different levels of aperture opening and closing are marked in steps called f/stops. F/stops are
written as a series of numbers that represent the size of the opening.

Tip: The f in f-stop stands for focal length which is the length of your lens (18mm, 50mm,
100mm, 300mm, etc.)

The higher f/stops (f/8, f/11, f/16) give less exposure because they represent smaller apertures.
These settings allow less light into your camera and give greater depth of field so more on your
image will be in focus.
Suitable for: group or team shots of people, landscapes and scenery where detail is required
from the front to the back of the shot.

The lower f/stops (f/1.4, f/2, f/4) give more exposure because they represent the larger apertures.
These settings allow light to flood into your camera and give a shallow depth of field, so less of
your image behind the main subject will be in focus.

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Suitable for: portraits, close ups, abstract images.

The chart below explains how the size of the aperture in your lens affects the depth of field you
can achieve. Changing the aperture in your lens gives you an incredible amount of control over the
image you take and lets you decide what you want your viewer to focus on.

Below you can see a wide aperture means that more of the image is in focus and we see the image
as more of a whole. In the second frame, you can see that the soft focus behind the subject of the
photograph with a small aperture means that our attention is on the foreground of the image.

Shutter speed
The shutter speed setting on your camera controls how long light is allowed in through your lens
and onto your image sensor.
The settings are measured in seconds and fractions of seconds. The faster the shutter speed, the
shorter the time the image sensor is exposed to light. The slower the shutter speed, the longer the
time the image sensor is exposed to light.
If youre photographing in low light, youll need a slower shutter speed to allow more light in to
your camera. If its a bright sunny day, youll need a fast shutter speed to avoid too much light
hitting the image sensor and over-exposing your image.

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Tip
If youre photographing a subject that is in motion, youll get different effects at different shutter
speeds. Changing your shutter speed will allow you to freeze or blur motion, a trick thats
especially useful for sports days, assemblies or dance events.

Shorter the time the shutter stays open:

Less light enters on to the image sensor
Motion is frozen
Less image noise/grain
Longer the time the shutter stays open:
More light enters on to image sensor
Motion is slowed or blurred
More image noise/grain

ISO
Inside your camera is an image sensor. It works in much the same way as the roll of film in a camera
did, back in the days before digital photography. The image sensor is where light is captured and
your photograph is made.
The levels of a films sensitivity were measured in numbers that started at 50 and then doubled,
so: 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and so on. The higher the number, the faster the speed and the
greater the sensitivity or responsiveness to light.
These same numbers are used to represent digital ISO today.
The beauty of digital photography is that you can change your ISO with each shot you take. So,
even if you were to go from a brightly- lit beach, where you were capturing pin sharp images at
ISO 50, then later in the day you wanted to capture the dancing inside a darkened tavern, you
could change your ISO settings to 800 or perhaps 1600 and know that you werent missing any of
the action.

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NOISE
One thing that happens when you increase the ISO of your camera to increase the sensors
sensitivity to light is noise. This looks like tiny dots or pixels on your image and can make images
look blurry when theyre blown up in size.
Happily this noise can be used to your advantage and create the impression of a grain that would
have occurred on traditional film.
Try increasing your ISO the next time you want to shoot a black and white image and youll see
what we mean. Its a great effect especially in print.
Tip
Imagine a piece of pale-blue coloured tracing paper in the midday sun and think about how quickly
the sun would bleach out its colour. The tissue paper is like sensitive film. Something in the region
of an 800 1600 speed.
Then imagine a sheet of deep-blue coloured card lying next to the tracing paper. The colour in the
card would take much longer to fade and would be less sensitive to the sunlight, so more like a 100
200-speed film.

The lower the number on the film, the lower its sensitivity. So, if you were taking photographs
inside on Christmas Day, when the light outside would have disappeared by around 4pm and you
were relying on electric lighting, you would need a film that was very sensitive to light like a 400
or even an 800 speed. If you were jetting off to Greece in August, where there is plenty of bright
sunlight, you could work with a 100 or even a 50-speed film.

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Understanding your camera settings

Metering modes
Digital cameras hold a wealth of technology that supports you as a photographer. One of the key
things your camera can do is attempt to work out whats important to you in the scene you want to
capture and which part of that scene you want to be exposed to best effect.
Your digital camera does this by measuring the brightness of your subject with a series of
metering modes that look like this on your display:

Learning which metering mode to use to perfect your image will give you greater control over
your photography.

SPOT METERING
Spot metering does what it says on the tin and takes one reading from a tiny section or spot of the
image you see through your viewfinder. With spot metering, this is usually a space occupying 1 to
5 percent of the total scene. Your camera then sets the image exposure based upon that reading.

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Spot metering gives excellent creative control over your image and is most useful for shooting
high-contrast scenes or back-lit subjects, where your subject may otherwise fall into shadow or be
washed out by very bright highlights.
Use this mode when you have a very specific area of the image that you wish your exposure to be
based upon, like a single face for a portrait shot or an image thats very much in the foreground of
your shot.

PARTIAL METERING
With partial metering the intensity of light is measured over a larger circular area than in spot
mode. The measured space thats metered can be up to 15 percent of your scene and spreads out
partially beyond the centre circle of your viewfinder.
Use partial metering for portraits of two or three people whose faces are similar distances away
from your lens.

EVALUATIVE OR MATRIX METERING

Evaluative or matrix metering is the default setting on most cameras, as its the most versatile
metering mode. The camera automatically sets the metering to suit the scene and entire subject of
the photograph. The whole frame within the cameras viewfinder is used to assess the appropriate
metering.

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This is the mode to use when youre not sure which mode the scene will require, and when you
have elements that you want to capture that are at different distances away from your lens.

CENTRE-WEIGHTED METERING
Centre-weighted metering gives priority to the centre portion of the photograph, but it also takes
the surrounding portions of the shot into consideration. Centre-weighted metering is somewhere
in between evaluative or matrix and partial metering.
Use this setting when your subject is in the centre of your photograph, so that the exposure of
your subject is not affected by the exposure of the background.

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Histograms
One of the biggest joys of digital photography is that you can check the exposure of the images
you take in your cameras LCD screen.

This means theres no agonising wait at the chemists counter to see how your holiday snaps came
out or didnt, as the case may be.
As useful as the LCD screen is to keep a check on your progress and ensure that your exposures
are good, there is a better way to make sure youre hitting the spot and thats by checking your
images histogram.
A histogram is a graph that represents the digital data from your camera. Each of your images has
one and they show the range of brightness in the image and plot the levels of light from jet black
on the left, to pure white on the right.

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The height of the peaks represents the number of pixels in the tone of each particular colour.
A perfect histogram rises gently from the left to the middle peaks and drops on the right,
indicating a full range of tones but no loss of detail in shadows or highlights.

If shots are too bright, the graph will look bunched up at the right, suggesting burnt-out highlights.
However, if the shot is underexposed, the graph will be stacked to the left.
When you see a histogram that doesnt quite fit the perfect pattern, simply adjust your aperture,
shutter speed or ISO to change the settings of your shot and try again.
Underexposed?
Try widening your aperture, decreasing your shutter speed or increasing your ISO.
Overexposed?
Try narrowing your aperture, increasing your shutter speed or decreasing your ISO.

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Shooting Modes
Digital cameras are equipped with a number of different shooting modes that you can use to take
advantage of your cameras inbuilt technology. Camera manufacturers call these modes by slightly
different names but their functions are the same.

In addition, your camera will have a number of preset modes with icons that include a mountain
to represent the cameras preset landscape mode, a face for its preset portrait mode, and no
flash for images taken without the addition of flashlight.
These presets are useful if youre just getting used to your camera, as theyre a valuable way to see
how the different settings affect your images.
As were discussing how to understand your camera, well be looking at the four main modes
described above in what we can term the creative half of the dial. Thats the half where youre
making the decisions and youre in control.

PROGRAM AUTO EXPOSURE

In program mode you set the ISO and the camera sets the shutter speed and aperture, according
to the reading from its built-in exposure meter. This mode is the next step up from the full AUTO
mode on the less creative side of your cameras dial and is a great place to start experimenting
with a more hands-on style of photography.

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APERTURE PRIORITY
Aperture priority puts you in control of two of the three exposure triangle controls: ISO and
aperture. It leaves the camera to select the appropriate shutter speed to give you the correct
exposure for your chosen shot.
Aperture priority enables you to focus on depth of field and is a great way to fully understand
what your lens is doing as you change your aperture settings.

SHUTTER PRIORITY
Shutter priority puts you in control of two of the three exposure triangle controls: ISO and shutter
speed. It leaves the camera to select the appropriate aperture to give you the correct exposure for
your chosen shot.

TO FREEZE MOVEMENT
Set a fast shutter speed like 1/2000 to freeze motion. This will freeze the motion of athletes in
mid-leap or when running. A fast shutter speed is great for capturing those precious first steps,
the finishing line shot on sports day or a first bike ride.

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TO BLUR MOVEMENT
To blur any movement within your chosen scene, set your shutter speed to below 1/30 and use a
tripod to keep the camera still while the image is taken. A slow shutter speed gives your images a
creative edge and allows you to blur your subject or the background behind it to great effect.

Tip
Using shutter speeds of below 1/60 requires either a very steady hand or a tripod or beanbag
support.

MANUAL MODE
Manual mode puts you in the drivers seat. It gives you full control of the exposure triangle: the
ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Because it takes a while to understand how these three key
elements affect each other when one of them is changed, we suggest you experiment with your
aperture priority, shutter priority and program modes first.

Depth of Field
The term depth of field refers to what is in and out of focus as you look at an image. When you look
at something that is close to your face these words in front of you for instance your eyes bring
the text into sharp focus and the things that are around you move into softer focus. Youre seeing
in depth of field.

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By adjusting the aperture of your camera, your photography can do the same thing and capture a
foreground, a mid-ground and background. You can control which of these areas is in focus. Simply
put, the larger the f-stop number, the more will be in focus. The smaller the f-stop number, the less
will be in focus. The more of your image you want to capture in focus, the bigger the f/stop you
need.

A deep depth of field (foreground & background are both in focus):

A shallow depth of field (only the foreground is in focus):

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Tip 1
When shooting a portrait, especially if you are photographing a child, its best to use a lower f-stop
like f/1.2 f/2.8. This creates a shallow depth of field and draws the viewers attention to your
subjects face.

Tip 2
When shooting a group of between 2 to 5 people choose an aperture around f/8. This slightly
deeper depth of field will guarantee that everyone in the group is in focus.

Tip 3
To capture the foreground, mid-ground and background of a landscape shot use an f/stop above f/
10 to capture details from the very front to the very back of your scene.

White balance
White balance, also known as colour temperature, allows you to control the appearance of the
colours in your photographs. Your white balance setting tells your camera what the ambient light
is like where youre photographing. It covers conditions including fluorescent light (which has
green undertones), natural daylight (which changes according to the time of day, cloud cover and
where you are in the world) and electric or tungsten light (which is yellow or even orange in tone).
White balance as a concept is difficult to understand at first. This is because our eyes are
extremely efficient at filtering light whatever temperature it is and making everything look
normal under almost any lighting conditions. To us, sunlight looks like white light and we dont
notice the blue or yellow tones that are there and that change throughout the course of the day.
Your camera has a number of different white balance settings.

AWB (Auto White Balance): Your camera will analyse the light in the scene youre shooting, and
automatically select a setting for you.
Daylight: This setting is for bright sunny days with cloudless skies. Your camera compensates for
any overly white light by adding warm tones to your image.

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Shade: Choose this setting when youre taking a picture in the shade without any direct sun, and
when the sky is clear and blue. The blue-sky colour contaminates your images and so the shade
setting counteracts this effect and warms up your shot to counteract the blue light.
Cloudy: This setting is for when youre shooting under a white sky with cloud coverage. There is
no blue sky coming through and the sunlight is very neutral, negating the need to counteract any
blue light contamination.
Tungsten: This light is the standard for household light bulbs or studio hot lights. It has yellow
tones, so with this setting your camera adds cool tones to counteract an overly yellow or gold hue
on your images.
Fluorescent: This lighting is generally found in commercial spaces like offices or shops and
sometimes in sports halls or swimming pools. Fluorescent lighting has a broad array of different
colours and temperatures, and gives images a strong green hue. This setting counteracts that
effect and adds a bright magenta red colour to balance the shot.
Flash: Flash lighting emulates daylight so this setting is usually the same as that for full sun. If your
camera has a pop-up flash it might change to this setting automatically.
Custom: This option allows you to create a custom setting for your scene by photographing a
white card (or a grey card) and letting the camera analyse the light on that card, before it sets your
camera to the new custom colour temperature number.

Focal length
Focal length refers to your cameras lens, not your camera body. Knowing what focal length means
is very helpful when it comes to buying lenses for your camera as different lenses create different
effects and do different jobs.
The definition of focal length is the distance between the convergence point in your lens (where
the two lines in the diagram cross) and the image sensor in your camera.

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Focal length determines how zoomed in your photos will look the higher focal length, the more
zoomed your image will be, so a 300mm lens will give you an image like you might see at the end
of a pair of binoculars, while a 50mm lens will look more like what youd see with your normal
eyesight.

SIZE
When you see the physical difference in the length of different lenses its easy to understand how
the effects they achieve differ so greatly.

Crop factor
Digital cameras have an image sensor, which acts like film to capture your image. In a traditional
film camera, the standard size of film is 35mm. In digital photography, the traditional 35mm size,
when applied to an image sensor, is referred to as a full frame sensor. These full frame sensors are
typically found in professional level DSLR cameras.

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By comparison, image sensors in standard digital cameras reduce from the full frame 35mm to a
range of smaller sizes. This size reduction affects the images that you shoot and creates what is
known as the crop factor in your photographs.
With the crop factor, any full frame lenses that you put onto a standard sensor body will have a
cropping effect, effectively zooming in on your image and trimming the widest parts of the scene
youre shooting.
You will notice a reduction in the physical area of the scene youre capturing when you take a
photograph with a camera that has a crop sensor when compared to a camera with a full frame
(35mm) sensor. Different cameras with different sized image sensors will capture an image in
different ways.

Black Full Frame sensor

Blue 1.3x Crop Factor
Yellow 1.5x Crop Factor
Green 1.6x Crop Factor

Polarising filter
Placing a polarising filter in front of your camera lens is a simple way to create a number of eyecatching effects in your images increased colour saturation, darkened skies, dramatic reflections
and suppressed glare from water surfaces.

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The filter itself is dark and works by cutting out some aspects of light in a similar way to a pair of
polarised sunglasses. Try photographing a rainbow with a polarising filter on your camera lens and
youll see how the filters make the rainbow disappear.

Tip
Any filter also acts a barrier to protect the glass of your lens, so is a useful and inexpensive
investment.

The different effects of the polarising filter can be achieved by turning it manually on the end of
your lens. As you do this youll see the colours and reflections in your viewfinder change too.
For the most noticeable effect when using a polariser, keep the sun on your side at 90, rather than
at your back. Then, simply choose the effect you want and press the shutter.

Lens choice
The type of lens you buy depends on the type of photographs you want to take. From close-ups
and portraits to landscapes and wide angles, theres a wealth of choice on the market to suit all
tastes and budgets.
An excellent starting point when choosing your first lens is a general-purpose zoom in the
18-50mm range. This versatile lens will give you the ability to go wide and shoot subjects that are
close to you like babies and young children and also go long and capture things that are
further away like older children and animals with relative ease. Its a good choice for when
youre out and about too, as you can successfully use it to respond to most photographic
opportunities.
The next addition to your camera bag could be a prime lens like the 50mm f/1.8. Prime lenses have
a fixed focal length so instead of being able to zoom, you have to physically move closer to your
image to capture the details you want. The 50mm is an inexpensive lens and will give you beautiful
close up photographs of subjects like babies, children, flowers and scenery. Its like holding a
postcard-sized frame to your eye and being able to capture what you see,

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A third and versatile addition would be a telephoto zoom lens with a range of 70-200mm. This lens
will create a very shallow depth of field and brings excellent focus and clarity to your subjects. It
also allows you to use fast shutter speeds, so that you can capture movement like running or
dancing with ease.
The telephoto zoom also makes an excellent portrait lens. Not only does it minimise any distortion
and narrow the angle of view filling your frame with your subject it allows you to capture very
natural and candid shots as you can shoot your subjects from a distance. Essential when faced
with shy toddlers or nervous teens.

Different lenses give different viewpoints of the same scene.

Sharp images
Sometimes a blurred effect on an image is intentional, for example if youre shooting a photograph
of a runners legs to show speed or the spin of a bikes wheels to show movement. However,
sometimes your images can blur, when you wanted them to be sharp.
That unintentional blur can be caused by a number of different factors.
1. Hand movement: Try using an image stabilising (IS) lens, a tripod or simply taking a deep breath
and holding it while you press the button to take your photograph. Another solution could be to
use the self-timer on your camera so theres no additional movement to the camera body as the
image is taken.
2. Dirty equipment: Just as dirty windows can dull the view outside, so dirt on your lens or your
image sensor can create spots and blemishes that will tarnish your images.
3. Image focus: Digital cameras are sensitive and slight shifts can cause your image to fall out-offocus. Make sure youre focusing upon your chosen part of the image and take the time to check
before you set up your shoot.

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4. Aperture setting: Check that your aperture is set to give you the effect you want. A shallow
depth of field, or a low f/stop, will create more blur either behind or in front of your subject. A
large depth of field, or a high f/stop, will put everything in your frame in focus.
5. Incorrect ISO: Check that your ISO is correct for the ambient light. Too little light can lead to
dull images where any shadows lack detail or texture.
6. Incorrect shutter speed: Check the focal length of your lens and ensure that youre using the
correct shutter speed to capture a sharp image. Too fast, and you may create an image thats too
dark to see properly. Too bright, and the edges of your subject may wash out and be blurred.

Tip
Hand help shots are usually possible at shutter speeds up to 1/60, any slower than that and you
may need to use a tripod.

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Rules of Composition
Its important to understand exposure and your camera settings, but without a good
understanding composition, its difficult to take a truly beautiful photo whether that be of your
children or family pet, or a scenic view youve stumbled upon.

The Rule of Thirds

Classical artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard understood that placing
the main elements of their compositions at points one-third of the way from the edges of their
paintings, made their work more dynamic and appealing to the human eye.

This placement, known as The Rule of Thirds, divides your frame into three sections, first
horizontally and then vertically. The four points where the lines intersect give you points where
objects of interest can sit within your image.

THE RULE OF THIRDS IN PORTRAITURE

A portrait is a study of a person. That persons face can either fill your entire frame or you can
create an environmental portrait and include background elements of their life or location to tell a
part of their story. Whichever style you choose, a good portrait will depict some of that persons
character, personality or spirit.
The most important element of a persons face in photography is their eyes and where those eyes
look as you capture them has a powerful effect on your image. Straight to camera and your viewer
is compelled to engage with your subject. If they look away from the camera there is more to the
story, a more wistful and thoughtful style that can engage us in a different way.

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When photographing portraits, try placing the line of your subjects eyes in the top third of your
frame. This means that your viewers eyes will go straight to the eyes of your subject, which will
engage them in your image.

THE RULE OF THIRDS IN LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

When shooting landscapes use The Rule of Thirds as a guide to position either your framing of the
scenery or to capture moving elements like people or wildlife within in.
Positioning the key points of interest in your landscape photograph on the intersecting point
between the imaginary third points in your image will help to give your image balance and
capture your viewers attention.

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Visual weight
Visual weight refers to the fact that some elements in your photograph will draw your viewers eye
more than others. Elements like faces, human figures no matter how small strong colours and
contrasting light, all attract our attention and engage our eye. As a photographer its your job to
ensure that the visual weight of your images is balanced and that one element doesnt outweigh
the others to their detriment.
If you follow the rule of thirds and place your most visually heavy element somewhere about a
third into your scene, the visual weighting of your image will almost always work well. Thats
because it creates an automatic visual balance.

The visual weight of the human figures in this image is balanced by the intricate decoration on the
buildings, the skyline and leading lines that go into the distance. The people in the photograph are
small in scale, yet our eye goes straight to them. The inclusion of the human figures helps to give
the scene scale, and emphasises the size of the ornate buildings.
Bright, saturated colours draw the human eye. And its worth remembering that not all colours are
equal warm hues like pinks and oranges have more visual weight than cool ones, while red is the
strongest colour of all.

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Here, the visual weight of the red flowers is balanced by the dark abstract shapes and the bright
colour of the wall. The small splash of red pulls our eye very strongly.

In portraiture, visual weight comes into play with your choice of backgrounds. An obvious example
of this would be a portrait taken against a strongly blurred background, like this picture of a baby.
The visual weight of the background is reduced because the hand holding the baby, and the rest of
the babys body, is not sharp. This softness serves to emphasise the childs face and places the
visual weight of the image with the childs face.

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Triangles
Using triangles in your photography works to group together points of interest in a way that is
both evocative and pleasing to the human eye. Triangles can be used to frame your subject, and
help your viewer to see what you want them to focus upon.

The imagined triangle in this composition draws our eye to the faces of the family each face is
given the same visual weight which initially leads you to look at each subject for the same amount
of time, before going back to the face that interested you the most.

An imagined triangle frames these two children, giving the photograph a clean, structural feel with
a clear focus on the childrens faces.

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The triangular relationship between three objects that can balance each other out is pleasing to
the human eye. This is because it creates a constant path through the scene.
Just as The Rule of Thirds applies an imagined grid of lines to your photographic composition, so
there is a rule for the use of triangles. The Golden Triangle is a strong compositional guideline to
use when your photograph contains strong diagonal elements.
The Golden Triangle splits the frame of your image into three triangles, each containing the same
angles, to give a composition that is pleasing to the eye.

One right-angled triangle runs diagonally from corner to corner, while the other two triangles are
created by drawing a line that goes from one of the other corners to meet the diagonal line at a
right angle.

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The Golden Triangle gives you one large triangle and two smaller ones. Fill any one of these three
triangles when framing your image and youll create a visually pleasing photograph.

Leading lines
Leading lines work like the beginning and the ending of a story. Theyre the Once upon a time and
the Happy ever after of photography and carry our eye through the photograph.
They can be used to:
Tell a story

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To show emphasis

To connect two objects

The natural world is filled with leading lines that you can use to connect the foreground of your
image to the background of the scene. Leading lines help to create depth and dimension and draw
your viewer into your image.

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Elements like roads, rivers, pathways, shorelines, rocks, trees and tall grasses even the suns rays
provide an easy path for the human eye to follow through the different elements of your image.

Starting at the bottom of the frame and guiding the eye upwards and in, from the foreground of
the image to the background, leading lines typically draw the viewer in towards the main subject.
Dont be afraid to move and change the position youre shooting from if it means you can uncover
a stronger leading line to enhance your composition. Once you start to identify leading lines, youll
be able to use them to take your viewer on a visual journey to your point of interest.

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Balance
A photograph is said to balance when the elements within it carry equal visual weight. When a
photograph doesnt achieve this balance it has areas that feel flat, empty, unresolved or that simply
jar the viewers understanding of what the image aimed to portray.

There are a number of ways you can achieve balance in your images.

LIGHT AND CONTRAST

Try to pair a small area of stark and distinct contrast with a wider space of a paler or more neutral
colour. This gives both elements space to breathe within your frame.

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COLOUR
As with deep contrast, deep colours can be balanced within your photograph when paired with
more neutral shades and tones. This will draw your viewers eye to the deep colour in your image
and make it the natural focal point of interest.

RADIAL BALANCE
Elements of your image can radiate from a central hub to create a balanced photograph. Think
about the petals of a flower, the spiral of a shell or the spokes of a bicycle wheel.

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SHAPES
Informal triangles give balance to your images and can be used to give visual support to the main
object of interest, where a single object might look lost or out of place without smaller objects to
cushion it within the space of your frame.

TEXTURES
Areas with a lot of texture or highly contrasting surfaces that might feel overwhelming on their
own can be balanced by offsetting them against smoother, simpler surfaces. The difference
between the two will give the viewers eye space to appreciate each of them in their place within
the frame.

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BALANCE IN ACTION
You can alter the balance of your photography in a number of ways that extend beyond the theory
of placement and spacing. Changing your position before you take your photograph can help you
to achieve a better balance. Remember, too, that its okay to move an element of your photograph
or to ask your subject to change their pose if you think it will work more effectively in a different
way.

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