Instructor's Tip

Every week, Russ Burden, one of my favorite photography instructors, shares shooting tips with his former students. Russ is one of the instructors participating in Panasonic Lumix's Digital Photo Academy. I have taken two of his classes and intend on taking several of his nature photography tours offered at his site, Russ Burden Photography . Because Russ has continued to be so helpful to me, I thought I would pass his expertise along to you, too.

Diversity in Your Composition (Following commentary and photos in this post were taken by Russ Burden)





"I’m a firm believer in the school of making a connection with my
subject to be able to create better images. The stronger the
connection, the more a photographer will be willing to remain with
the subject. The stronger the connection, the more a photographer
will be willing to work the subject and augment the light. The
stronger the connection, the more a photographer will be willing to
play with the composition, try different lenses and try different
angles. The nonchalant photographer can get lucky now and then and
nail a good shot but not as consistently as the involved one.

When I lead my photo tours, I tell my participants to “Exhaust All
Possibilities” before leaving a subject. Whether the subject is a
close up of a flower or a grand scenic, this means not leaving it
until all the options are covered. After an initial photo is taken,
this could mean looking at it with a different focal length lens. If
it was shot wide, use a longer lens to isolate details. If it was
shot close, try a wide setting to see if the subject can be a part of
the overall scene. If possible, walk to the opposite side of the
subject to see how the composition and light change. Get on your
belly to see how the perspective changes."

-Russ Burden

At the beginning of each month Russ shares his Photoshop techniques at Take Great Pictures. Find March's topic about "Complete Cloning" here.