1 Module # 1 Component # 6 Essential Elements of a Good Photograph In the last Component, we looked at preparing your equipment for the field. In this section, we look at preparing yourself to take a good photograph in the field. Introduction "There are no rules in Photography". I have heard that quoted so many times in recent years that I am almost starting to believe the lie. And it is a lie. In the early days, an iconic photographer named Ansell Adams famously said "There are no rules for great photographs, there are just great photographs". What he was really getting at is that the rules that apply in one situation are not necessarily the best in the next one, and if you study Ansell's work, you will see that he was very much a man of rules like the great masters of art before him. Over the years, his quote has been twisted to the extent that its meaning has been reversed. T S Elliot makes the point better when he said: "It is unwise to break the rules until you understand why they are there in the first place". I think that the Elliot quote is both accurate and helpful to our purposes at the moment. Because this section is largely about giving you rules. You need rules, otherwise you don't know if a photo is good or not. But remember that the rules cannot make you a great photographer, even though the great photographers know the rules. In this Component, we are covering a few "good rules". The idea is to provide you with some good advice which you can apply when you are in the field.
2 Rule 1: Get the Light on Your Side There is a saying in photography: "Amateurs discuss equipment, professionals discuss prices and masters discuss light". That pretty much summarises things light is the most important ingredient in good photography. Masters understand light and how to use it to their advantage. When you start to view the world in terms of quality of light, your photography starts to improve. Lighting conditions have a far greater impact on your photographs than many people imagine. If you see an elephant in the wild, your eyes automatically adjust to the lighting conditions of the day and compensate as necessary you get a clear view of the elephant if the day is sunny, or if it is cloudy. Cameras do not compensate in the same way midday sun is harsh and its shadows are deep black; overcast weather gives flat photographs, with very little tonal gradation. Both conditions can make great photos, of course, but you need to use the conditions appropriately, and to your advantage. In wildlife photography, we tend to photograph in the early morning and late afternoon. Not only are most animals active at this time, the light is "sweet" and suits photography well. Shadows are long, giving the photo good texture, and the shadows themselves retain detail at this time of day, as the light is more diffused. Oblique light also has a "golden" colour to it, which conveys warmth and life. It usually complements wildlife photographs. So, the best way to "get the light right" is to be out in the right light, ready for something to happen.
3 Compare the two photographs (Below) of near-identical scenes for a good example of how great lighting can transform your photographs into something special. On its own, the top photograph has many good technical qualities, but notice how good lighting makes the lower photograph so much more appealing. Everything looks good in the magical light of early-morning direct sunlight the blacks take on a rich depth, while their detail is enhanced. At the same time, whites sparkle, and show more detail without appearing overdone or blown-out. Overall, the light gives the picture an ethereal glow, emphasising the details in the beak, eye and feet. It is not hard to see why so many photographers regard this lighting to be the "ideal".
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5 Rule 2: Use Colour Effectively Colour is closely associated with light, but whereas we strive for the best lighting for our photograph, it is colour which often determines what we photograph. Although we are surrounded by colour, we always visualise it in context, which diminishes its visual impact. The photographer has the ability to isolate patches of colour and draw attention to them in a way that is impossible in real life. Using colour effectively in a photograph is an immensely powerful tool. When you are in the field, remember to think in terms of colour but, colour as viewed by a camera, not a human. I have chosen a few photographs to illustrate the importance of colour each one shows its impact in a different way. In this photograph, colour is closely associated with camouflage. At first glance, this is a branch with leaves on it. Closer inspection reveals some of the leaves to be green pigeons. Viewers find pictures like this absorbing and intriguing. Although the impact of this photograph is entirely based on colour, notice the importance of lighting in showing that colour properly. Here, we have "colour by association" the yellow on the bird is an exact match to the yellow flowers in its habitat. This is instantly noticeable by the observer, and appeals to their sense of curiosity.
6 The effectiveness of this photograph is also based on colour, although the message is not as obvious as in the photos above. All of the colours in this picture work together to create a very pleasing sense of harmony. Here we use contrasting colours for impact. The spectacularly bright colours of this strongly-coloured kingfisher match its regal pose. The strong green in the background adds further contrast.
7 Rule 3: Composition Composition is the art of positioning the important elements of an image in a pleasing arrangement. Artists are well-trained in the techniques of composition, while photographers particularly wildlife photographers do not have the same control over the elements. Nevertheless, knowing what "works" and what doesn't, makes a big difference to the way that you take photos. There should always be a reason that you took the photograph and that reason should be evident to the viewer. Photos of animals in the game park, centrally positioned in the frame, but too small, simply do not work. Here are some things that work: The "rule of thirds" teaches us that the centre of the image is not a good place to position the subject place it closer to one side than the other, and have the subject "looking into" the photo, not out of it. Placing the subject about a third of the way in from any of the four edges puts it in a powerful position. These "imaginary lines" are only approximate, and deviating either side of the third is okay, within limits. The four points where the imaginary lines meet are particularly strong points of the photo, so use them. In practice, try and do this sort of thing: You have a side view of a lion, looking into a distant valley and you want to take a photograph of it. Position it one third in from the edge of the viewfinder, looking into the photo. If you can see the lion's eyes, emphasise them by placing them at the intersection of vertical and horizontal thirds. Try and position the distant horizon two-thirds up from the bottom, giving dominance to the valley, where the lion is looking. Bend at the knees to get a lower viewpoint and get part of the lion's head against the sky as background. That gives the lion prominence. If the lion is dark compared to the background, your picture will automatically have depth, as dark foregrounds against light backgrounds have natural depth. But, if the lion is the same tone and colour as the background (often the case with camouflaged animals) then select an appropriately large aperture to get the lion pin sharp and blur the background. As a bonus, I would look for something in the distance a dam or a tree that might give compositional balance to the lion. I would also consider moving to an alternative position for better lighting.
8 Lines on the photo will direct the eyes of the viewer, so use them to good effect. The line of the horizon will guide a viewer's eye, as will the edge of a cloud or the edge of a hill. If you can get all three of these secondary compositional elements to intersect at the point where your main subject is positioned, you will make it very clear to your viewer what they should be looking at. Viewers appreciate this, and will have a positive impression as a result. Developing an eye for composition is important, but you should note that it applies to static subjects, where you can plan. When photographing action, keep the action in the middle of your camera, on the centre focus spot. Later on, in the processing phase, crop your image to put the subject in a visually pleasing position of the picture. This picture shows the elements of classic composition and should be what you strive for it is a variation of the "rule of thirds". If there had been only one bird, placing it on the line of thirds would have been prefect. With two birds, we could have placed each on a third, and that would have been a good choice here if the birds had been facing each other. Instead, I chose to view the two birds together as a single "mass" and to place that mass on the line of thirds. Together, they look into the picture. Because both birds are looking into the space on the left, the space is given purpose and provides an air of freedom to the picture. The cradle-shape of the gnarled old branch frames the picture well overall.
9 In a photograph like this one, it is hard to apply the rule of thirds, because the subject is looking at us, and not "in to the picture". Opening up space on either the left, or the right of the photo, simply to put the subject on a third, would force the rule and render it ineffective the extra space would not give the picture depth, it would be pointless. Such space is termed "dead" space. If there had been a complete reflection in this photo, I could have placed the bird in the upper third of the picture, and the reflection in the lower third, but this would only work well if the reflection was complete, which it is not. Instead, I chose a tight crop here, placing the bird centrally in the frame, creating a "squeezed-in" impression. That impression suits this particular picture and is enhanced by the squeezed in posture of the bird, with its upswept wings.
10 Rule 4: Think in terms of Depth, Scale and Perspective Photographs are two dimensional. To prevent them from appearing dull and flat, the photographer looks for ways of creating an impression of depth, or scale. It is easy to lose depth in wildlife photography, since long lenses compress perspective and therefore hide depth. The easiest way to restore depth, or scale, is to include a frame of reference in the picture. As soon as we include a well-known object, like a person, or a dog, or a tree, the viewer gets an idea of how large the subject is. Something dark and dominant in the foreground always gives a photo some depth. "Framing" your photo, by looking through a "hole" in dark foliage, or standing under the branch of a tree with the trunk to one side also works well. Parallel lines, converging into the distance give a vanishing viewpoint and depth. Such lines are prolific in nature waves on water, stratification in rocks and lines of trees. Here is a photograph where the photographer has used depth (in this case, the lack of it) to good effect. Insects are frequently ignored as photographic subjects, purely because of their small size. By removing depth, and any reference to other objects, size is hard to determine. This frees the imagination of the viewer to scale the image to any size that they wish. By choosing an unusually coloured background (it is a pond of water) the viewer is kept guessing.
11 In this photograph, depth has been used well to portray the size of the giraffe. By including many well-known reference objects in the picture, the photographer provides scale to the picture. The subliminal message here is; "The giraffe is taller than the trees, but not as tall as the mountain". Notice also, the good use of depth-of-field. The background is sufficiently out of focus as to not compete with the subject, but sufficiently in focus to provide the sense of scale. Look at this photograph by comparison and notice its strong, subliminal message: "I am a baby giraffe I am barely taller than the grass at the moment, but not as tall as a tree yet."
12 Rule 5: Illusion of Space Throughout the ages, art has been subject to fashions colours, style, and subjects. Photography is no different. At the moment, the tightly-cropped "in-your-face" wildlife photos are popular probably because they were so difficult to achieve with early-generation equipment. But they can easily become overbearing. "Environmental" or "habitat" photographs, showing an animal in its surroundings are less impressive initially, but far easier to live with in the long run. These photographs need space around the subject, and they tend to have a relaxed and comfortable feel to them very conducive to outdoor images. Here is a good example of a "habitat picture", which shows an animal in its environment. The animal is large enough to see clearly, while conveying a good sense of the surroundings.
13 Rule 6: Watch The Human Factor With few exceptions, man-made objects appear out of place in wildlife photos. Avoid them as far as possible. Photograph a bird perched on a branch rather than on a fence, or overhead wire. In real life, we "accept" man-made artefacts as part of the landscape, but in photographs, they become obvious, usually in an unpleasant way. Besides the bird, everything else in this picture is man-made, giving an un-natural and amateurish look to the overall scene.
14 Rule 7: Crop When You Need To While an illusion of space is a good thing avoid excessive clutter in a picture. Anything that distracts the viewer's eye from your intentions is clutter. If you cannot throw it out of focus at the time of capture, consider cropping it out of the picture altogether. Monkeys loitering around rubbish bins can make interesting pictures, but this one did not. However, the interesting face, expression and detailed lighting made the picture worth saving as a portrait