Before & After Composition Challenge

Composition Challenge

I took part in a composition and framing challenge set by my teacher. We were each given a certain theme to take pictures of and mine was spikey and soft. We were supposed to take pictures thinking about the composition, and to be more specific, certain techniques such as negative space and depths of field. Being a photography student, I had the upper hand as I knew exactly what these techniques are and how to use them effectively so I went out and took some photos. I started off by taking a picture of some pine cones because, although the spikiness of them is quite literal, I liked the idea of experimenting with a shallow depth of field. I then took a picture of the flowers using a shallow depth of field again. The flower looked soft and has mellow colours so was good to contrast the pinecones. I also used the rule of thirds by having the flower to one side which looks more pleasing and allows the shallow depth of field to show. The next picture I took was of the bike sprocket because the rusty spikes created a really effective look and the spokes of the wheel also linked in with the theme. The shallow depth of field puts more focus on the spikes and makes the spokes more obvious. I like the way the spokes branch out from the centre because it looks really interesting. Finally, my last picture was of a feather next to a row of flowers. It is really effective because you look at the feather and are then drawn diagonally across the shot because of the flowers. ~The colours are bright but soft which links to the theme and on the obvious side, the texture of the grass/feather is soft.

When I showed my pictures back to my teacher, she said they were all really good but that I should re take the pine cone picture because it has potential to be even better. I went back and took  more picture but this time I had my camera on the aperture setting and went in even closer. I capture the pinecones in more detail and it looks more effective but I think it could be even better if I had a macro lens.