Composing a Photograph
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
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Visual communication is the essence of composition in Photography. Understanding abstracts in context is fundamental to having something to say as a photographer. In this video we'll use some examples from Karl Blossfeldt and Henri Cartier-Bresson as points of reference to understanding the visual language.
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On my channel you will find videos about photography, cinematography, post processing tutorials for Capture One, Lightroom and Photoshop, photo assignments that YOU can participate in, the Artist Series and more. The Artist Series is an ongoing set of videos I produce as documentaries on living photographers. I am extremely passionate about photography and video and my goal in making these videos is to share my passion and enthusiasm with you! Don’t forget to subscribe and make sure to hit the like button and share this video if you enjoyed it!
Ted Forbes
The Art of Photography
2830 S. Hulen, Studio 133
Fort Worth, TX 76109
US of A - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
"Opportunity is going to come along but only when you're prepared to meet it" really stood out to me.
Ready aim shoot .
"Success is where opportunity and preparation meet" - Bobby Unser
I literally just rewound the video so I could hear that quote again...that can be applied to so much in life.
As always Ted, I find your enthusiasm for photography to be so inspiring. Every time I listen to you talk about photographs, and photography it makes me want to grab my camera up and do something with it. Thank you for doing what you do so well. I follow many many photographers on here, but no one tells it like it is like you do, and no one else comes close to your passion.
I am a UX Designer working on apps and websites and whenever I am in a creative bind, I watch your videos and it helps me dish out some amazing designs.
Composition, perspective and personal style. The trifecta.
Facts 💯
I always tried to understand why that picture from Cartier-Bresson was so iconic. Thank you for bringing together so much knowledge about composition.
That "filling the time" between what you might call the good stuff is part of what teaches us to be better photographers. Those shots teach us how to do the photography mind-set... the seeing, planning, camera set up, all of those little decisions that go into "the shot" that we're hoping and looking for. Thank you for your videos. They push me to keep hanging on to my camera... and chasing those cool shots.
It’s a great feeling when you know you have the shot that has harmony
but they don’t come that often. Excellent video Ted.
I believe Mr. Bresson might have seen another person using the ladder on the ground to avoid the water before the man he shot. I guess he was lucky to have that lightning striking several times on that particular spot, but he masterfully registered it. I love your channel, Ted. It is absolutely priceless.
We need more people more channels to talk about this aspect of photography, where everyone is obsessed with gears. I am amateur photographer and I think we should focus more on this aspect of this art form rather focusing on the gears. just love the type of video you make really admire your work. I have a small TH-cam channel and I have recently made a video about how photography is art I mean its controversial for lot of peoples but I have shared my opinions through this video and this video has way less views than other reviews and other stuff, but this is really the type of video I want to make so I have made it and yeah I just wish people more to focus on this aspect of this art form rather focusing on the new lens new camera new gears all the time. Just love your work Ted, thanks for all the videos 🌿
one of the best explanation of art , abstraction, composition, photography and music i ever heard. This video desserve at least 500k likes. Thank you!
Celebrating the negative is a gem!
Boy, am I glad you quit the museum and started this channel. I only discovered the channel recently, but I've found much of your content informative for my journey. Much appreciated.
I've viewed this video a couple times now. It is always fresh. For me, it is putting in the work and the enthusiasm to prepare to be prepared. At first, you don't even know what you are preparing for. Then as you imagine more pictures you missed, you see how you could have been better prepared. Then you prepare to be prepared.
I keep going back over your composition videos, even some now 10 years or older I guess. This is a million times more useful than gear reviews, but I understand they just don't get as many clicks. Thanks for making them anyway.
A number of years ago here in Australia, Magnum had an exhibition of their founder's work. Bresson's wife was in attendance as well. The thing that struck me was looking at the proof sheet for this shot, that image is one of a roll of shots. Like yourself I had wondered about the serendipity of the capture, this frame just happened to be the best capture on the day. I like to think the title of the book should be 'Choosing The Decisive Moment' as can be seen with the number of shots of the nuns crossing the plaza, the cyclist at the bottom of the stairs etc. Being able to choose which image tells your story is the real art of photography. Thankyou for the work you put into these vids, you are a thought provoker of the best kind and give me hope that there are more like you in your country and not everyone is as we from other countries see on news casts and TH-cam.
As a photographer who has been painting, drawing and playing guitar since I was a kid, your video brought a smile to my face.
"Abstraction within context", powerful phrase... Excellent video (as always)...
You can talk and explain like no one else :) thanks for juxtaposing different art works and putting them into perspective.
dude you're awesome. i'm a model trying to discover a more in-depth comprehension of photography composition so that my photos can have a bit more meaning. your videos have been amazing so far. so thank you.
Although I’ve been a photographer since my first serious camera (a Nikon F2 w/1.4F 50mm lens) since 1974, I really enjoy your videos. I’ve recommended them to some of my friends interested in taking photographs of their vacations, family and friends.
I think I am getting addicted to your channel.
Thank you for drawing attention to the importance of composition. Over the years, I've admired your ability to compose your videos.
This video is BEAUTIFUL!! Well done Ted!
One of the best part of this kind of composition knowledge is that it really works in any other art platforms too
Thank you for your insight. We need more photography content like this.
More of this! Thanks for taking the time to dig into this, much appreciated
Ted! This one is terrific! Watched, rewatched- and will repeat. Thank you!🙏👏
I really enjoyed this. I didn't want you to stop. Thank YOU
This videos has become one of my inspirational videos from the moment i pushed the play button. Keep creating this deep and meaningfull content of yours!
Fellow musician turned camera man here! It's astounding how much applies from an editing standpoint. I'd have less than half the skill I have now for video editing if I never learned to edit music and understand composition of songs and editing timelines. This was a great watch I look forward to seeing more!
Once I heard a photographer named Steve McCurry said "I would rather die than regretting not getting a good picture" which motivates me a lot to push myself to talk to a person on the street who I want to photograph confidently
Last night I was watching again some of your old composition content... Really important stuff... Then in the morning this video is up... Wow... I really enjoy them!!!
You’re the everyones favorite teacher i never had. Fantastic!
There is actually an interview in french where Bresson explained that he didn't even saw the guy jumping.
He saw the scene bitween the fence, kinda frame it (With the fence half way on the picture and no possibility to see what he was doeing with the viewfinder) and shoot. The jump was pure luck / brilliant instinct.
The interviewer then said : "So it's pure luck" and Bresson respond : "Of course it's luck, it's always luck. You just have to be available, that's it".
10:50 Wow! I didn't see that until you pointed it out. Amazing shot.
That photo is also my one and only art photo that I have hanging on my wall, as well. My wife loves it, but didn’t know why, now she understands what makes this photo so outstanding, and what attracted it to me. You also have the same ideas and concepts of photography that I am striving to achieve. My wife saw a lot of my attitude towards photography, as you have described in yourself.
Fantastic analogy with music. Thank you.
Thanks for showing these dimensions of composition.
It reminds me to be aware of one's mindset and imagenary bounderies.
Love this, I've been photographing stand up. Comedy in clubs for 10 years and heavily borrow from My 20 years of photographing skateboarding, one quick and one almost still, the anticipation and the timing I got. From. Photographing skateboarding gives me a serious edge photographing comedy.
Thank you once again for a well-considered, well-prepared, concise presentation of a very useful idea. I always come away from your videos with more to think about.
Great video. I especially liked the part about the moment of decision. It's a crucial part of photography when thinking about what specifically is communicated at that specific time. Love your vids.
Absolutely love this type of videos.
I've always been mystified by composition, so videos like this are great to exercise my brain. Thanks. I hope to see more over time.
Great and spot-on! Let us learn from your humble wisdom and Cartier-Bressons genius.
There's a piece of deep philosopy there. Luck and good fortune = succes is making yourself accessible to it.
A lot could be said here.
Lots of food for thought. Thank you Ted
I love that photo. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insight !
Oh wow. No wonder I like your content. I found photography as another artistic expression and am an Audio Engineer and studio owner. You put composition in photography the very same way I would see music. Very well put.
Love the abstract analogies Ted and the comment be prepared to meet that photographic opportunity.
Great video Ted, and great point. Most of my favourite photos, whether they are ones that I took or another photographer, were photos taken at the right place and at the right time. I mean that is what makes a photo special. If anyone with a camera could go to where you took a photo and get the same exact picture then it’s just not as valuable. But the key is that in order to be at the right place at the right time you have to be at the right place at the wrong time a lot. Then eventually some guy walks across your frame and jumps off a ladder into a puddle of water and bam! No one will get that exact shot ever again.
This is such a profound video Ted. You have touched upon so many topics that are deeply thought provoking and inspirational. Thank you so much!!
Great vid. Thank you.
I'd love to see more videos in which you specifically go over the geometrical aspects of the picture and why certain things work, some others don't and why some work better than others.
I was thinking the same thing. More deep dives into famous photographs!
Brilliant and thought provoking as ever. Thanks Ted.
Such an excellent talk on composition! Wow, so much more than the rules of thirds. I've grown up with SEEING the world around me (through the lens) and this video is specially eye opening. Thank you!
Most inspiring and encouraging. Thanks so much. I needed this.
Thank you for the most honest and knowledgeable video.
Love this Ted. I was trying to select an EDC camera and I thinking a lot of the same things. Preparation meets opportunity was resounding. Thanks my friend. Thanks for your contribution.
Great video. Thanks! I love when you go through your photo books
I like the known to the unknown direction. The music beginning helped a lot. Thanks
Awesome Perspective.
Love your passion and teaching
AS always, thought provoking
Also, I notice how my eye moves around a composition, how it returns to where it began, and what I notice as I look longer, deeper. I see harmony, unison, resonance, dissonance of shape. I imagine the sources of light, it’s directions, reflections, it’s quality. There are proportions that may be obvious, and subtle in compositions. The Kodak rules do not apply! I love that HCB said that sharpness is a bourgeois concept, and how he was photographic without depending on the spectacle of technique, as much as I have always loved the textures and colors only photographs capture in the moment, that derive from the composition, not the material of the medium. I agree that HCB brought surrealism into photojournalism, as he took Atget’s documentary impulses, and with the intense attention and energy of a hunter, carried them completely beyond any of those genres.
Great video, I love to hear other peoples take on art work. My brain runs wild with certain images, paintings, architecture and quickly moves on from others, I'm never quite sure why one resonates with me, so its always intresting to hear another view on them.
Thanks very much, a great reminder to be prepared and ready for photography opportunities.
Excellent discussion as usual Ted.
This is so great. If it weren't for my subscription to your channel, with my busy work life, I would probably never touch my camera. Now I'm doing a project, for myself, that matters using composition that makes sense to me
Excellent video Ted! Thanks
I agree Ted. You mentioned the Photographer's eye. I believe it is not talked about enough. I'd been shooting for many years when I realised that I saw things differently to most people. When I talked to other photographers with many years of experience, I realised that this was my Photographer's eye. You only get it by practicing "seeing", which means you just have to get out there and shoot. There are no shortcuts - you have to put in the hours.
Enjoyed your analysis of that photo. I've seen that image a thousand times but saw a lot more in it during your discussion. Would be interested in more videos like this.
He done a fine jobs on gears videos but I just love it when he does video on photography, its so informative and well explained. Made me want to go out and take a snap (even while still under the lockdown 😷)
Awesome! I've learned so much from your videos, thank you. Also as a fellow musician who recently got into photography I really love the way you explain things. It makes a lot of sense to me. This video in particular, for obvious reasons. 😊👍
Thank you very much for your contribution, Ted! A great video on image composition and the perfect moment in photography. The photo example of HCB - by the way my favorite photographic icon - invites us to discover the numerous formal redundancies in the composition. An extremely grateful example of composition, which, with the references to Dali and Tanguy, would reflect on the common and contrasting between photography and painting. For the topic of visual communication in art lessons, this video - also with reference to music - is an ideal and soothing impulse. I would be curious to observe how the students react, even if I am really no longer a teacher myself.
Really enjoyed this
Your much to modest Ted. “Just analysing there work!” This is such a good vlog, seen it 3 times!
Your a storyteller. If you are, you a one of the better teachers out there. Trust me, i no.
You realy shoot give lecture on a academy of photography. So much to learn fron you. Thank you ever so much.
Love the discussion.. I think my Favorite Henri Cartier-Bresson photograph is the blurred bicyclist riding by the stairs, but the photo you're talking about is certainly iconic.
I'm a musician that has taken up photography as well, I played the trumpet, and I heard the very accomplished studio trumpet player Malcom McNab use that same phrase/analogy, "When preparedness meets opportunity." to playing a musical instrument and being successful at it. I guess the take away as far as photography goes is keep shooting/practicing.
I agree....it's light, shape, color, and perhaps even texture--all made sense of by the context of the composition. I still remember your Saul Leiter video and his use of red objects...always stuck with me. Red on its own is just a color swatch but with Saul it became something else entirely. It became remarkable. Composition is making abstract concepts mean something so that black and white, or red as a color aren't just colored squares somewhere but an idea, a feeling, a message, an emotion--because someone saw the thing that caught their eye, and composed the shot in such a way as to create meaning and message with their composition.
Another great one. That´s the way to go. Please, keep that route. Congrats.
..oh, and the cherry on the top is the example of HCB, my photographer of choice, simply the best of all times.
Thanks, that's full of really thought-provoking stuff.
In the turbulent flow of photo gear reviews we are exposed to it is soothing and relaxing to de-escalate and dive into the basic concepts. Take a fixed and go compose without distractions.
Great content Ted. You scared me a bit some time ago with a lot of content based on gear. This is the type of content that made me a subscriber quite a few years ago! Cheers!
I watched a lot of your videos (there all good) and that was extremely useful. Thank you very much.
I really enjoyed this video Ted. Thanks from Australia 🇦🇺
Excellent Ted talk. Excellent 👍🏻🇦🇺📷
Thanks for this! The music simile really resonated with me.
Brilliant and informative! Thanks for great content!
Illuminating synopsis. Thank you. 🤓
Terrific. Took a great deal from this video. Many thanks.
Love the lesson, thank you.
This is a good video, I found it helpful to focus mostly on the one image. Thx.
That's the content why i'm here. Thanks.
For Henri Cartier Bresson composition always came first. That's was his original background. When he was young he'd 'frame' his picture then shoot or wait for something or someone to 'complete' the picture and then shoot. Later on he didn't need to do that, he had an amazing eye and sense of composition that was second nature. I talked to some of his friends, who were not photographers, and they told me that they'd be walking together and while having a conversation all of a sudden he'd move a few steps away and shoot a few pictures within a few seconds and nobody would notice, then he went back to the conversation and they wondered what was to be photographed there. Then they saw the images and wondered how he managed to see it. In other words, I don't think this picture was staged, I think he saw an opportunity and waited for someone to walk in or something to happen and later he'd see such an opportunity from far while having a conversation and just captured it as soon as something or someone moved into the right direction. He saw everything and was always ready. Anyway thanks for another great video! Cheers!
Ted, this was excellent. You have expressed what I have been struggling to understand. There are too many photos out there that have absolutely no meaning. Too many photos that have not been thought thru before taking the image. Too many you tubers showing photos of nothing. Thanks.
Love it. More of that kind of content!!
Love it!
You're crazyness is so calming on me, thank You
Amazing episode
Ted on Top form 👌
I need to watch this again but it’s getting so
Close my own ideas 👍
Awesome Info. Thank you bud
Mikey
Awesome video ! Thank you very much !
Great work Ted, wish I had your artistic eyes.
You're a thoughtful guy!