A big thanks for all of the feedback on my last piece of writing, it’s lovely to know that my thoughts around the subject of light before composition wasn’t too controversial. It’s not that composition isn’t important either, we cant simply photograph light alone without giving it a sense of purpose or a place to shine. So what makes for good composition then in a chaotic environment like the woods?
I’m often told on social media that my images bring a sense of calm which I find encouraging because ultimately that’s the aim of my photography, to capture the essence of what i’m feeling on that 3x2 sensor and translate it into something that can potentially bring a moments joy to someones day. The wood’s are undoubtedly a chaotic environment so what is it about trees that brings a sense of calm and how can we translate that feeling into an image? Ever wondered why most successful woodland images include a pathway winding it’s way into the distant atmosphere? Some would say that a pathway creates depth and I can’t argue with that but is it the key ingredient to what makes the image something beautiful? I’d argue that it’s a very small factor.
If we delve deep into an image with a pathway with any detail we can start to understand why they are so successful as composition, the very nature of a pathway creates a clearing through the wood’s allowing in light from the sparser canopy and a feeling of space running through the middle of the image, the trees on either side of the pathway create framing, texture, balance, repetition and colour. The space, light and atmosphere in the centre of the frame are very much the key ingredient to giving the image a sense of calm and importantly giving the viewers eye a place to rest from the chaos that’s happening all around it. I generally try to avoid photographing man made subjects, preferring my images to look natural but I apply all of the above principles to finding woodland composition, I just simply remove the pathway.
It’s very much the same thought process when photographing a gnarly old oak tree, it’s quite easy to just photograph the tree in isolation but how can we tell the story of where it lives, it’s relationships with it’s neighbor’s and the surrounding environment? I think it’s important here to consider light and space before we discuss any other compositional elements in detail, a gnarly old tree alone will not make for a good photograph if there’s no light or if it’s not in enough space to reveal it’s character, I’ve walked passed hundreds of gnarly old trees that simply didn’t work because other elements distracted or the light was wrong. No amount of atmosphere, fog or processing can suddenly make a bad subject to photograph good regardless of how appealing it may be, we need to first and foremost work with the available light and it’s surroundings. So we have a nice old oak tree bathed in soft light either from an opening in the canopy or some diffused soft light lifting the details of the tree, how do we go about composing an image then? Occasionally I will stumble across a scene that works perfectly from the moment I lay eyes upon it but that’s rarely the case, it’s important to walk around and away from the subject and look for complimentary trees, interactions, patterns, shapes and the potential to frame the tree with supporting elements to create depth and a sense of place. I’m a huge fan of placing my subject along with the light and space centrally in woodland composition, purposely to keep the viewers eye returning to the middle of the image, giving them a place to rest before exploring more of the chaos.
I could discuss my views on composition all day long but what I would say to anybody who wants to photograph woodland is to forget the general rules for composition, forget finding a subject and to enter the woods open to whatever catches your eye, be it space, light, colour, character, patterns, texture or shape, then try to build that into a composition focusing on balance, structure, separation and depth. It’s important to consider what to include or exclude in the composition but never be afraid to photograph something that’s imperfect, we are trying to calm the chaos not exclude it altogether.
Most importantly though just enjoy being there, experiment and stay curious. There really is no better way to spend a morning with the camera than under the cover of trees.
Cheers
Marc
