What you’ll learn:

• A brief overview of how our minds process visu­al infor­ma­tion (and why this hin­ders com­po­si­tions)
• Tech­niques for iden­ti­fy­ing and defin­ing your sub­ject
• The impor­tance of per­spec­tive, focal length, and expo­sure in con­trol­ling sub­ject scale and promi­nence
• For­mat, frame dynam­ics, and crop­ping
• Sub­ject place­ment for more strik­ing pic­tures
• How to visu­al­ize and design bet­ter pho­tographs
• Easy short­cuts for imme­di­ate­ly improv­ing almost any pho­to

In-depth

Com­po­si­tion is one of the essen­tial fac­tors in cre­at­ing a com­pelling pho­to­graph. A good com­po­si­tion starts with under­stand­ing your sub­ject and scene and effec­tive­ly assem­bling those visu­al ele­ments into a cohe­sive whole using a cam­era and lens. 

New pho­tog­ra­phers often have trou­ble with both parts of this process because how our minds process visu­al infor­ma­tion is incom­pat­i­ble with the pho­to­graph­ic medi­um. 

This work­shop intro­duces you to sev­er­al rule-free tech­niques to over­come the psy­cho­log­i­cal bar­ri­ers to ide­al pho­to­graph­ic com­po­si­tions. You will learn about effec­tive meth­ods for iden­ti­fy­ing your sub­ject and giv­ing them scale and promi­nence with the help of your cam­era place­ment and lens. You will dis­cov­er how cam­era for­mat and sub­ject place­ment can change frame dynam­ics and sub­se­quent crop­ping. You will learn about using your mind’s eye to visu­al­ize bet­ter pho­tos before tak­ing them. And you’ll be intro­duced to sev­er­al easy tech­niques for improv­ing almost any pic­ture in short order, even after tak­ing it. 

Important Details

Rec­om­mend­ed pre­req­ui­site:

• Intro to Pho­tog­ra­phy for Begin­ners 4‑course pack­age

201: Com­po­si­tion in Pho­tog­ra­phy is also avail­able as a pri­vate pho­tog­ra­phy course for 1–2 peo­ple.

Meeting Locations:

One of two loca­tions depend­ing on the time of year and weath­er.

April – Novem­ber: In front of The Roy­al Con­ser­va­to­ry of Music:

Decem­ber – March: The Allen Lam­bert Gal­le­ria inside Brook­field Place, just by the RBC Domin­ion Secu­ri­ties facade:

Accepted cameras:

• We accept all cam­eras capa­ble of man­u­al mode.
• We accept all brands of dig­i­tal cam­eras.
• Con­tact us if you’re unsure about your camera’s suit­abil­i­ty for this course.

What to bring:

• Cam­era and lens
• Bat­tery (ful­ly charged)¹If you’re par­tic­i­pat­ing in more than one work­shop, please bring either your bat­tery charg­er or a sec­ond bat­tery to ensure you can oper­ate your cam­era through­out the day.
• Mem­o­ry card (emp­tied)
• Cam­era man­u­al
• Note­book and pen
• Ques­tions and thirst for knowl­edge!