Simplify for successful photographic composition
What you leave out is almost more important than what you include in the frame. Studio photographers start with an empty frame and only add things that will contribute positively to the overall composition; everything earns its place in the shot. “Real world” photographers don’t have this luxury and have to develop the skill of paying proper attention to what is in the frame and deciding whether to move for a more successful composition.
A “blank canvas” in landscape photography can’t be filled up with mountains, castles or waterfalls at the photographer’s direction. You can’t behave like studio photographers. You have to be more like a street photographer and be ready to move around a lot until everything in the frame has earned its place.
A “blank canvas” landscape is not something you can fill with detail as if you are in a studio.
When you are next out photographing you can try three simple techniques to simplify your composition and create a more compelling image:
1. Simplify the background
Is your background providing useful context and supporting the subject or is it distracting?
This image of traditional donkey rides in the north east of England loses the subject in the background buildings.
The first way you can simplify your photograph is to make sure the viewer can easily see what the subject is. Take out the clutter in the background even if you have to follow the donkeys all the way down the beach and move around them until the background is cleaner. You don’t necessarily want a blank canvas background but do your best to balance context against clutter:
2. Simplify the distractions
Move the distractions out of the shot either by picking them up and moving them, or by moving your viewpoint so they are no longer in the frame. Things like litter, people, reflections and anything red will always draw the viewer’s eye away from the subject and reduce the impact of the photograph. If your ethics permit it (or the rules of the competition you are about to enter) by all means use the clone tool to post-process the litter out of your photograph:
Before cloning
After cloning out the distractions in the foreground
3. Simplify your idea
Try having just one idea that you are trying to convey with your image.
“This is a shot of a waterfall.”
“This shows how much I am annoyed by litter.”
“This is the view from my hotel room.”
This may seem over simplistic but it really does help your brain focus on what are the critical parts of your image and what can safely be excluded.
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