The Story Behind The Picture

Not only does a picture tell a story, but there is almost always a story behind the picture. Every week, a picture from the site is featured and its background explained, along with the techniques and technical aspects examined.

This week: Cutty Sark 1

Technical Data: Nikon D100/ Nikon 17-35 f2.8(@20mm) AFD/ 1/320s @ f18

Background:

Composition is all in photography.

This photograph demonstrates that the old “rule of thirds” can work for you in many different ways. This rule, the photographic equivalent of Newton’s Second Law, says that in simple terms a photograph should be divided into three areas of interest, preferably giving foreground, middleground and background - this giving depth to the image.

In this example. the bowsprit of the ship bisects the diagonal and commands the foreground, It provides a natural sweep back into the picture to the rigging in the middle ground all of which is set against a dramatic and foreboding sky.

When taking this I had to contort my shoulders and neck in the most bizarre fashion to get the composition as I wanted it.  After I had taken it I noticed the strange looks from tourists passing by. As a photographer you get used to this. Sometimes you have to get into the most precarious, uncomfortable or downright weird positions to get the shot you want.

Oh, and on the subject of tourists. I noticed a group asking a passerby to take a picture of their small family group. Taking the point and shoot camera the person then framed the group - and I thought had the picture right when she was standing about six feet away. This would have framed the group nicely and still got a good section of the ship in. She then backed up a further twenty feet.

You see this a lot in holiday snaps. Point and shoot cameras of that type have a very wide angle lens with a 35mm equivalent of around 19mm.  The resultant photograph in this case, will have a picture of the ship with a tiny little group of specks somewhere in there that even the Hubble space telescope would have difficulty identifying as people.

This sounds mean, but it contributes to the reason most people end up throwing away 75% of their pictures because there is nothing there. The solution? Frame the shot yourself asking the volunteer to take the picture from where you position the camera. When you do it, ask yourself the question “what do I want from this picture?”. If it’s a picture of you and your family, make sure you dominate the picture area. Or if you are taking the shot to say “we were here” move away from the attraction so that it is in the background and make sure that it can be seen with you prominently in the main area of interest.

Taking the time to think about composition can mean the difference between a photograph and a piece of expensive, glossy scrap paper.

(This picture can be found in the Images 2 gallery)