Technique 03 - Patterns
April 19th 2006 03:01
Hello again!
Sorry for the delay in getting this post to you, but between family commitments and the Easter break I never got a chance to upload it. Still, I think it’s better to be late than to never arrive ..
I hope you’ve all had a chance to practice your Lines & Shapes observation, and thought about the Rule of Thirds.
<br>You can probably start to see that with just those 2wo techniques you can accomplish a great deal with a minimum of effort. I’m going to introduce you to another technique today that, while it is partially dependant on those previous concepts, it can stand on its own and produce awe inspiring shots. This one is simply called Patterns, and as the name implies it simply an image filled with a repetitive theme.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
Patterns are things that you’ll noticed everywhere, from the pattern of bricks in a wall to the ornate structure of tiles in a floor, and even things like identical street lights lining a dead straight street. In fact, if you look up at most large, commercial buildings you’ll see the same look for each floor, all the way up.
<br>Pretty simple huh? What’s even better about patterns is that they don’t have to confirm to the Rule of Thirds, because their repetitive nature removes a single focus point it also removes the need to frame them this way. All you need do is fill the frame the way you like it, and shoot. If you’re anything like me, once you start seeing this stuff you’ll take 20, 50, 100 pictures of various shapes and patterns, and become really proud of a few of them. But you may also noticed that while most of your shots look pretty good, they only look pretty good and not amazing. Patterns can be like that so don’t lose heart.<br>
Now while most patterns are certainly rigid in their repetitiveness, they don’t have to be so homogenous and are often made special by a simple ‘stand out’ feature. Have a look at this picture I have here on the left, it is a prime example of a building covered with patterns.
<br>You’ll also notice that there is a single distinguishing feature aside from the pattern, and it is this feature that gives this image a little more impact. I was lucky on this day that the window washer was not in the centre of the building, and the fact that it is off centre improves the overall appearance, don’t you think?
<br>I actually think this picture is pretty bland (and being your own worse critic will help you produce the best you can), but having that one element that doesn’t conform to overall feel of the image does add some impact, and I’m pretty sure your eyes will be drawn to it.
<br>Simple, but effective.
Now you have the basics of 3hree techniques that are the foundation of almost every single picture you will ever see. There are some exceptions, like portraits & photojournalism to name a few, but I guarantee you that you’ll be able to ‘see’ these techniques in 95% of the images you see in magazines, billboards, and exhibitions. Get out there and have a look, because viewing as many images as you can will only improve your photographic eye and that’s no bad thing. Digital Photo Forum has a really good collection of Abstract Images, and the Cityscape/Architecture collection has a few as well, so check it out. If you happen to join the DPF then let me know. I’m a regular on the website, and I love nothing more than to see new images from new photographers.
That’s it for this post. Practice your shooting, and compare your stuff with others. Next time we’ll start to look at exposure and aperture, and how it is affected by your ISO settings.
‘Til next time, just shoot me.
sog
Sorry for the delay in getting this post to you, but between family commitments and the Easter break I never got a chance to upload it. Still, I think it’s better to be late than to never arrive ..
Wall Patterns
Dendy floor pattern
Window Washer
<br>You’ll also notice that there is a single distinguishing feature aside from the pattern, and it is this feature that gives this image a little more impact. I was lucky on this day that the window washer was not in the centre of the building, and the fact that it is off centre improves the overall appearance, don’t you think?
<br>I actually think this picture is pretty bland (and being your own worse critic will help you produce the best you can), but having that one element that doesn’t conform to overall feel of the image does add some impact, and I’m pretty sure your eyes will be drawn to it.
<br>Simple, but effective.
Odd Brick Out
That’s it for this post. Practice your shooting, and compare your stuff with others. Next time we’ll start to look at exposure and aperture, and how it is affected by your ISO settings.
‘Til next time, just shoot me.
sog
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Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
what's up with your formatting? You've got all this stray HTML code everywhere...
Comment by sog
Why does the preview mode *always* look different to the posted mode? Why is the comments mode so much larger (and therefore better looking), then the blog mode?
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
if you're having problems, we can meet on campus and try a post from my computer...
Comment by sog
I work 5-6 days a week, doing 10 hours days, but I am willing to come and see you if it will help me post correctly. I'm a reasonably smart fellow, a Team Lead for a team of 5 developers building financial applications for the internet. Ordinarily I wouldn't use html tags in anything except a webpage, but I was unable to find *any* other way of getting it work .. and it was only *after* posting (like I said, the preview looked fine) did I realise that I couldn't add them.
Sorry Cibbuano, I hope this doesn't read badly .. I'm not trying to tick you off. All I want to do is apply formatting to an editor that doesn't support it.
sog