Composition pt1 - What is composition?

What is composition?
- The 'selection and arrangement of appropriate elements within the picture space'

What can good composition achieve?

- Clarify/bring focus to the artists idea

- Create a sense of atmosphere, a certain tone or mood

- 'give the viewer a satisfied sense of order and beauty' 

- 'establish a define focal point' 

What are the four main elements of composition?

- Area, depth, line and value

What is the first thing to do when thinking about composition?

- Plan the image

- What is your idea/mood you want in the picture - what do you want to be the focal point. 

I found both the session and set task really valuable. When making pictures I think I must have always had a consideration for composition, but I have never really thought consciously about what makes a good one and how to layout the components of an image to best achieve this. In creating the roughs I tried to think about line of sight, dividing the image into foreground, mid ground and background, as well as achieving a sense of depth through interesting perspectives. Then in the final image I thought about using different values/tones bring some depth to the image and bring attention to the focal point of my image - the diver. I also tried to achieve this through using different colours - blues in the background, then red, pinks and blacks on the diver. Overall I feel like I have been successful in creating an interesting composition with a clear focal point, it isn't perfect but I think I have managed to exercise what I have learnt through the session effectively. On the other hand I focused too much on the composition and less on the content of the image. I have created something quite representational and less illustrative - I need to learn how to apply these skills to a more imaginative image.