Look through the Foreground

Shooting through something was probably one of the greatest things I was ever told. When composing a photograph, we are looking for a subject. We want our subject to be sharp and in focus. We may use the rule of thirds to place the subject. But, we still might not have that thing that gives our photo interest.

I have found that shooting through the fore ground really gives a lot of interest to a lot of photos. Weather it’s shooting through the leaves of a tree. Or, shooting out a doorway into a street. It gives the viewer a reference point. It gives me a feeling of being there. The photo of the tractor and bailer is taken looking through a fence. The post in the upper right corner is not large enough to distract or take away from the tractor. And the out of focus barbed wire gives me a sense of standing at the edge of the field. It gives a feeling that the farmer might be just out of view and walking over to say hello.

Reflections

Reflections are made of light bouncing off the surface of something. For me the smoother the surface the better the reflection. The light bounces back at the same angle as the light that is shining on it, giving me what is called a mirrored reflection. Some of the types of reflective surfaces to look for are polished metal, glass, smooth water and of course a mirror. When I am looking at a reflection I always try to move around to see where the light is coming from and where the light adds the most interest.

Water is truly my favorite reflective surface, because it gives a symmetry that balances an image. The roots of the cypress trees in the image above are on their own interesting to me, but add the reflection of the trees and the green foliage in the water gives more interest. The trees are in the world of reality and the reflection leads me into an alternate dream world.