M3: Apply Different Compositional Techniques to Photos Taken

In this post, I will be explaining what composition techniques I have used in my photos, how effective they are and how I have expressed my creativity. For my project, I decided to do cinematic photography. My photos look like they have been taken straight from a movie scene. I have focused on many genres: Horror, Romance and Action for my photos.

                                              Romance

I decided to choose romance as one of my genres. You can see I have shown both spectrums of love: old, familiar love and young, new love. I wanted to focus on these two themes to show my audience that love is everlasting and is present in different forms, not just young love that is mostly portrayed in the media. This genre will let me experiment more with lighting and the brightness of photos.

Here you can see the couple are walking down a path with trees lining it. I decided to choose this environment since romantic walks are a convention of romance movies. I took these photos in the woodland area of the Rose Hill Cemetary in Cantley.

 

This is a photography technique called leading lines. This draws our attention to the couple holding hands since they are the main subject in the middle. This photo does break the rule of thirds however this is done correctly since the leading lines are used instead. Rule of thirds refers to creating invisible guidlines on an image to create the most appealing photos. The colourful coats the couple are wearing in these photos contrasts the lush green and brown natural colours in the forest environment. The viewer's eyes are drawn to the colours straight away. I chose to take a full body shot of the couple and a standard POV styled camera angle. This makes us feel like we are seeing this happen from our own eyes. The full body shot mens that the audience can see the couple holding hands and walking, making the photo more interesting.

 

I am going to edit this photo. I will be using selective colour. I will use this editing technique to colour select the coats and make the rest of the photo black and white. This will further draw attention to the couple. You could infer that the couple light up each others lives using this technique. Furthermore, this photograph will stand out from the rest of my photos.

This photograph perfectly uses the rule of thirds, the couple are on the left of the photo. They look very happy in each other's company. I have also demonstrated control of the foreground and background in this photo. I have used a high aperture (measured in F-stops) to blur the forest background while making sure the couple are in focus in the foreground. This technique is very effective and fits the genre conventions of romance movies that may use this technique to stop the background distracting the audience from the characters and their conversation/actions. The yellow flowers in the background don't overwhelm the photo too much but add a nice addition of colour. The trees combined with the sun have created amazing shadows on the couple, making this photo look more cinematic which is the main purpose of my style of photography. I decided to use a medium camera shot to focus on the facial expressions of the couple.

 

I will edit this photo. I think I need to make the photograph look brighter so you can see the couple more and to fit with the light hearted romance theme. I may add a sort of haze effect to the image to make my photo look more romantic.

Once again, I have used leading lines. However, instead of the leading lines being in the center of my photo, they are more diagonal. This is a unique photographic viewpoint; the couple are on the left of the photo (following the rule of thirds compositional technique) at the start of the diagonal path. This is very pleasing to our eyes. The couple are more present in the foreground of the photo and the path is the second point of interest.

 

 To edit this photo, I may only need to adjust the brightness to make my image brighter. 

 

 

 

 

In these two photographs, I am showing the dating stage of romance that a lot of movies prefer to focus on. You can infer that this couple is on a date in a really fancy restaurant. I decided I wanted to use some flowers as a prop for this photograph. Flowers are a symbol of love and romance, they are usually bought as a gift for an S.O to show how they appreciate their partner. The couple are both wearing elegant clothing to reflect on the dating scenario. I took these photos in The Earl of Doncaster hotel. 

 I have used a medium camera shot for this photo to focus on the couple and their actions. They are both looking into each other's eyes which signifies trust and respect in the relationship. The couple fill most of the photograph.

 

This rule of thirds states that the middle of the photo is not the best place to have your subjects. However, I decided to break this rule since I am wanting the audience to see the couple straight away, the environment is just for the background and creates a relaxing ambience. The couple look happy as they pose and look straight at the viewers. This shows the audience how comfortable the couple are together. Again, I have used a medium camera shot, these are typically used in portrait photography which this photo is an example of.

To edit both of these photos, I want to accentuate the lighting aspect. This will help create more of a romantic, cinematic feel while also lighting up the couple in the process. I will create warm lighting. I may also try to remove the glare on the bar from the widows opposite the couple which you can see in the second photo.

                                                Horror

I wanted to include horror in my cinematic photography project. This genre is known for using little lighting in images to create a meaningful impact. In these photos I wanted to show how lighting, camera angles and compisition can change the entire photo. Horror is also a fun genre to take photos for because most things can be interpreted as scary in one form or another. 

 

In this photo, I have used a low angle camera shot. I took this photo in the Rose Hill Cemetry in Cantley. To create a darker photo, I lowered the ISO of the camera slightly. The rule of thirds is used here as you can see the gravestone (the subject of the photo) on the left. I decided to include a gravestone since death and graveyards in general are conventional locations of the horror genre. Personally when I think of horror, the undead and graves are my first thought. 

 

I have used an element of white space in this photo. You can see the clear blue sky through the cross gravestone. I have also used aperture to create a blurred background behind the gravestone. The tree is not in focus, it is in the background. This actually makes the tree look more creepy, plus the branches of the tree are twisted.

 To edit this, I will make the sky darker, more grey and sinister. I wil make the tree more shadowy. This will help the photo look more creepier and cinematic.

Conventionally, horror movies are set in the dark. This is why I decided I would like to take an image in the dark to follow this convention. In this photo, the subject looks lost and scared as they stand alone under a street light. I decided to use a dutch angle because this shows the panic and fear the subject is feeling, something is wrong. This was taken just outside Sandall Park to make sure we were safe while taking the photographs. You can see the composition has made the fence and street light in the background diagonal. 

 

To begin with, we decided to try and take photos in the dark with just the light from the streetlight. However, I had to increae my ISO really high so the photos were really grainy and the light wasn't distributed to my liking. We decided to use a light (Ambiful fl80RGB) on the left to make sure the subject is clear to see. This lighting created a chiaroscuro shodow across the subject's face which creates a sense of unease.

To edit this photo, I will try to remove the little grain you may be able to see in the background. I may also add a white or red mask over the image to make the photo look more cinematic, fit the horror genre but also make the photo feel more alarming to the viewers a well as adding some more colour to the photo.

                                               Action

I decided to include action as one of my chosen genres. I did this because action is well known for fight scenes and fast paced video/photos. I can take photos of some motion blurred images as well as experiment with lighting for this genre.

   

 My photographic take on the action genre is to take photos of people training for some kind of fight. This is fun to see for the audience and it also fits the conventions as some action movies include training montages.

 

 This is a low angle, medium camera shot. This image does break the rule of thirds since both subjects take up most of the screen. The subjects look like they are about to punch each other. The background looks like a training facility you would see in the movies.

 

In this photo, I have used leading lines with the lighting and the walls lined with punching bags.

 For both photos have also created motion blur by slightly reducing the shutter speed of the camera. This makes the photos look more dramatic.

To edit these photographs, I will make the background slightly darker and make the brightness lighter for the subjects. This is the type of lighting you would see when watching a boxing match so I will match the ambience.

 

 

To conclude, I have explained the different compositional techniques I have used while taking my cinematic photos. I have explained how my images meet the conventions of each genre for my cinematic photography.