Week 3: Composition

This week's assignment allowed for more creativity than the last weeks have, which was really fun. However, I find that I have more to criticize about my photos. It's so easy to think of things that I could have done to make the images stronger when I'm not just going for "technically correct."

ISO: 800
Shutter speed: 1/1000
f/8

I wish I would have remembered to check the ISO before taking this shot! I decided to use it anyway, because I believe it's a good example of a few different compositional elements.
Pattern, shape, lines, framing, rule of thirds.
If I could take this shot again, I would also move the camera a tiny bit to the left to get the edge of the building out of the shot. I think that would have made the building look longer, which would have been a cool effect.

ISO: 100
Shutter speed: 1/30
f/36

Here's the effect we get when shooting the sun at f/36! I decided to submit this photo because of the element of contrast.
Looking at the camera settings now, I realize that I definitely should have hiked up the ISO so I could get a faster shutter speed. I also wish I didn't have the power line and tree branches in the background.

ISO: 200
Shutter speed: 1/50
f/8

This is my favorite shot for the week. I think the thing that makes this picture strong is the fact that the whole image is split into thirds: sky, wagon, grass. I love the color of her bright red shirt, blue socks, and neon yellow shoes. We also have the elements of framing, shape, and lines.
The image would be stronger without the distraction of the trailer in the background, but I still think it's pretty strong. I probably should have taken the ISO up to 400 so I could get the shutter speed a little faster. Her face looks a little blurry to me, and I wonder if maybe a quicker shutter speed would have helped. Or, maybe I just wasn't focused on her face. : O)


I had such a hard time narrowing it down to 3 photos this week; I had so many that I loved! I wanted to post some extras that I really loved. I didn't submit these as my assignment because I felt they weren't quite as good examples of the compositional elements we were going for this week.

I can't decide whether or not the board behind her head counts as a merger...

The fence behind her would have made a great pattern if we could have gotten a good background.

I thought this was a beautiful background. However, of all the shots I took in this spot, I love this one the most, even though it really doesn't show much of the background.

I was so excited to find all of these cute little flowers sprouting from the same plant!

I didn't realize until after this shot that the temple was being framed so nicely by the bush and trees. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I took this photo or if my husband did...

The background here was really distracting (it's a parking lot with cars), but I was excited when I remembered that I know how to blur out the background. :)