Bridges

Bridges are great places to take pictures. A bridge will force you to look at your scene differently than you normally would and will influence the way you compose your shot. Sometimes your composition will hide from the viewer the fact that your subject is even on a bridge.

Both of these portraits were made on the bridge at the frisbee golf course mentioned in the previous post.  

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Tilt YOUR Head

There's no rule that says you need to hold your camera straight. Turning it ever so slightly can add a little curiosity to the photo. Try it...you'll be surprised with the results.

Not sure? Go ahead and shoot it straight on...and then CROP the angle in post-production. I do that a lot because I never know what size print I'm going to be asked to make. That's where aspect ratios come into play. I think I already blogged about that...So crop it with an angle and if it doesn't work, just undo the crop.

Think of it like this...look at the way you see the world, and then try to see it a little differently. We take for granted what we see, and rarely take the time to study it. Art is all around us and sometimes you need to tilt your head slightly to notice it. 

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Prominence

Does a portrait of a person need to give prominence to that person?

If they are holding an object, in this case a caterpillar, why not compose the picture around the caterpillar instead of the girl? The girl is still there, just out of focus. But it's still a picture of the girl.

If you're photographing a child holding a ball, try a few shots of the ball with the child's hands on it. If it's a toy, try the same thing. There's no rule that says you need to focus more on the person than the activity they're engaged in.

You can also show prominence to a part of the body other than the face. Hands and feet are common, as are gestures:

I've posted this pic before. It's a pretty good example of giving prominence to part of a person that's not their face. These girl scouts were on an outing and were obviously getting tired and a little bored. I tried to capture that part of them in this shot. In doing so, I purposely chopped off their heads so I could focus on their crossed arms. Without their faces, it paints a more detailed picture of their mood.

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