Photography

There are several techniques used in photography and photojournalism in terms of composition that can be implemented in other mediums of visual art.  First, there are three rules for the arrangement of objects or points of interest within the frame, creating an interest and making the viewer's eyes move around the image:

Golden Triangle:

Golden Spiral:

Rule of Thirds:

As you can see from just the example images, the compositional strategies give the viewer an interesting viewpoint of a place or object that allows for an expression of emotion and employs a deep understanding of elements and principles of design.  In addition to these, there are four photojournalism techniques that also create an interesting perspective of a subject that allows for deeper thought and understanding.  They are:

Disturbance:  Cutting off surrounding objects with the edges of the photograph to frame the point of emphasis; a frame within a frame.  In this image, I cut off my stepdad and edges of the couch to frame my baby girl, Chloe, also using the Golden Triangle composition technique.

Proximity:  Getting up close and personal with the subject of your image, analyzing the intimate details while keeping the focus away from the center.  Here, I captured one of my knitting projects on top of one of my favorite blankets, highlighting my source of stress relief as a busy college student.  I implemented the Golden Triangle technique in this image.

Vantage Point:  Observing a subject from a new stance or angle, anywhere other than eye level.  This image captured an intimate moment between my boyfriend and I on a beautiful day during one of our adventures.  This image also implements the Golden Triangle technique.

Place:  Using clues in the fore- and background to capture the essence of a particular location.  The elk and edges of mountain ridges provide the clues to my favorite getaway spot in Maggie Valley, NC.  This image implements the Golden Spiral technique.

Although these techniques are used in photography, as shown here, they can also be used to create interesting compositions in drawings, paintings, and graphic design.  But to learn these techniques, I would have students use either cameras from the school collection, or their phones if the school has limited resources, to capture what they feel is the essence of their school.  This gives them the opportunity to think about what their school has to offer and use these techniques to capture what they see every day in a new way.  It also keeps the students on campus and under supervision while taking their various images.

In teaching students these techniques, I would encourage them to visit photography and/or photojournalism websites for inspiration.  For example:

photography.nationalgeographic.com

jillgreenberg.com

brentstirton.com