Photography Tutorials — Composition

Ever wonder why sometimes, what you see in person and what your camera renders as an image are two entirely different things? If you’re like most of us, chances are that you’ve been frustrated a time or two by the sheer difficulty of recreating a scene with the camera.

No one wants to be stuck in a creative rut, but unfortunately, it happens even to the best of us. Sometimes the best way to get out of a creative slump is to push yourself to try new things that produce amazing results.

If you’re looking to take your landscape photography to new levels, you’re in luck. You don’t need to run out and purchase expensive new gear in order to create amazing landscapes; one of the best ways to create visually stunning landscapes, is by mastering the art of composition.

In today’s visually-saturated world, the simplistic style of minimalist photography offers visually-soothing results – with plenty of breathing room. Minimalism provides a refreshing visual break from the constant flood of information, and visual noise that we face every day.

For better or worse, the background can have a major impact on the composition of a photo. Photos with distracting backgrounds tend to look cluttered and amateur, while intentional backgrounds instantly improve the entire composition, and add meaning and depth to a photo.

Composition in nature photography comes easy to some, but many new photographers struggle to find their balance. This is especially true where wildlife is concerned.

A California woman has earned herself quite a following after taking a series of photographs of her young child. Taking a unique approach to baby photography, she created incredibly ingenious portraits of her son doing a variety of activities, including interviewing the President of the United States, charming snakes, and playing the part of a nutcracker.

As a photographer, depth and perspective should have a prominent role in your work. While photography is a two-dimensional platform, adding a sense of depth and perspective to a shot can help the viewers to interpret the image better.

The Sony World Photography Awards is an annual photo competition organised by the World Photography Organisation. This year's judges had more than 140,000 entries from 166 countries to choose from. Behold the short listed photos, they really are something else.

Before you write off the cheap lens that came bundled with your DSLR, take a look at the following video clip. Kai takes the humorous approach to explaining why kit lenses are worth a shot for new camera owners. He also shows some surprising comparisons with more expensive L-series lenses: