An Introduction to Composition 2

Jose Ruiz begins the second of his two video tutorials on composition with a discussion of DIRECTION. Where do the elements in our picture lead the viewer's attention? Do they go somewhere interesting, or do they lead out of the frame, losing the attention of our audience.

The triangle is an effective way to keep attention inside the frame. Using animated examples we see, for example, the different effects engendered by triangles with pointing up or pointing down.

Ruiz maintains that,  "COLOUR is not important for 'survival', it's important for emotions. It is the last compositional element to be added." First we should know what message we want to communicate. Second we need know how to place the various elements in the image.  Only then should we add colour. Despite this, colour is covered by in detail Ruiz and he ends his discussion with the interesting an unusual property of the colour yellow.

TEXTURE has a strong visual effect that gives rise to a tactile sensation. You feel it in your fingers. Texture also imparts rhythm to an image. It can be uniform texture across the whole frame or it be broken with a single element that then becomes a focal point.

Painters know what SCALE is. When they want to make a landscape look big they place small, black human figures in it to demonstrate, by contrast, the hugeness of the surrounding space. We can do this, Ruiz observes, by using any familiar object in an otherwise unclear picture.

Painters talk about DIMENSION, also known as atmospheric or aerial perspective. Objects in the distance display less contrast than foreground objects and tonal values become lighter as objects get further away. In general things get bluer in the distance, though of course in the twilight the tones are warmer. The position of the horizon is also significant. The higher it is the more foreground there is and the greater the sense of distance.

José B. Ruiz (born 1966) is an acclaimed Spanish nature photographer and passionate conservationist. He has worked all over the world but is mainly active in Spain, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Examples of his photography can be seen here and on his homepage. The list of his accomplishments, publications and activities as a photographer, a naturalist and a teacher is, to say the least, very impressive.