Nikon D3S, ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/2000, 28-300mm also used SU-800 Speedlight Commander to fire SB900 Speedlight off camera.  The RadioPopper PX System is used to be sure the signal for flashes works outside.

We have all seen photographs with too much “stuff” in them. Because the photographer does not attempt to select one subject, the image fails to communicate. It’s the visual equivalent of a run-on sentence.

A close-up of detail frequently reveals more of the subject than a picture of the whole issue. So many photographers want to shoot general views because they believe they offer “good composition” or capture beautiful light. The detailed photograph can have more impact and communicate more because the photographer is forced to be interpretive with the detail. The isolated part can tell more, be more emphatic, and be more quickly appreciated and understood. It tells the story in a compressed, sometimes dramatic, fashion by scaling down to point out a specific idea to the most significant effect.

In approaching a subject, decide how much to include in the camera’s viewfinder. Force yourself to look around the subject and at each of the corners and everything within the viewfinder’s frame. If anything detracts from the theme, move in closer to eliminate it; if there is not enough to tell the story, drive back to include more. The key to this process is to know what you want; the details will fall naturally into place, and “composition” is achieved.

I have found the following exercise effective with my students at Reinhardt College. First, shoot a large scene, then close in on it and cut it in half. Close in repeatedly until you finally isolate the most crucial subject and thus make a statement about the main thing in the scene. In this way, you learn that much of what you see in a picture may not be that important — and how to select the part or parts that are most meaningful.

Great photographers know that composition is a matter of feeling rather than of rules learned by rote. You will develop this feeling as you gain experience, but you will never really “know it all” because you will emphasize different things as you learn more about life. Composition, ultimately, is just another way of looking at life.