Composing pictures with foreground interest: simple ways to draw in the eye

jmeyer | Landscape | Photography Tips | 30/10/2012 12:08pm

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Set up your camera to create depth

Switch to Manual
For total exposure control, don’t rely on your DSLR’s auto modes – switch to Manual mode. You’re going to need an artful combination of slow shutter speed to create the milky water effect and a small aperture (f/22) to create a deep depth of field.

Try hyperfocal focusing
Use the basic principles of hyperfocal distance focusing to get a shot that’s sharp from foreground to background. You’ll need to make calculations, but as a rough rule of thumb set your lens to MF (or M) and focus on a point roughly one third into the scene.

How low can you go…
For maximum image quality, you want to keep light sensitivity (ISO) to the lowest possible setting to reduce noise. Typically this is ISO 100. Low ISO might mean slow exposures, which is ideal for a shot like the one on the left – but you will need a stable tripod.

PAGE 1: What is foreground interest?
PAGE 2: Set up your camera to create depth
PAGE 3: Final tips for composing pictures with foreground interest

Posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 at 12:08 pm under Landscape, Photography Tips.