Composition - Horizon Lines

Horizon lines are an important part of composing a good image. First you need to be able to easily identify your horizon line. A horizon line is the point at which the sky separates land or water. Let’s take a closer look.

Each of the red arrows in the images below identify the horizon line.

When shooting images such a landscape without a primary subject, make the composition interesting by avoid having the horizon line in the center of the photograph. Try composing the image so that the horizon line is in upper third or the lower third of the image.

You can use this same technique in portrait images as well.

When shooting portraits, compose your subject so that their neckline or other major joints (such as elbows, hips and knees). The other major rule of how to use horizon lines with portraits is to avoid letting the horizon line “slice” through their head.

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Homework:

• Take one landscape photo and position the horizon line in the lower third of the frame.

• Take one portrait photo and properly frame the subject so that the horizon line isn’t intersecting any major body parts.

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Creating a consistent style with your images is an important aspect of branding yourself as a photographer. It gives your clients confidence that when they book you for a photo shoot, they know what to expect.  So how can you create consistency?

There are a lot of ways to create a consistent look to your images. One of the first things I suggest is creating a private gallery. Even if you don’t have a website you can create a secret Facebook album or even use something like Flickr. Put 50 of your best images that you feel are portfolio worthy. Then take a look at them all together and study your gallery.

What are your favorite images?

What about your least favorite?

Was is it about those that stand out to you?

Once you have evaluated your portfolio there are some other steps you can take to creating a consistent portfolio:

• Styling your clients

• How you use light in your images

• Your shooting environment

• Your editing process

How your clients dress for their photoshoot is a great place to start with created a crafted look to your portfolio. If you look at my images, you will notice most of my clients wear soft colors, long, flowy dresses or cardigans and always stay away from prints on clothing.  Don’t be afraid to assist your clients in selecting the right clothes for their sessions!

Your use of light when shooting is a key strategy in developing a consistent look. If you love golden hour and always shoot with bright glowing sun, keep doing that! Or maybe you prefer indirect light from shooting downtown or in parks with covered trees. Whatever your style is, try to keep your light the same throughout each session if possible. Of course, there are always going to be the unexpected cloudy days that may block that golden glow and that’s okay too! Those things happen from time to time.

Another key to consistency is your environment. For example: I love lifestyle photos with lots of white and bright! I tend to style my clients in soft neutrals (mostly white/ivory) and I always look for the lightest colored spots in their home. Sometimes that is up against kitchen cabinets or on the front porch of their home. I generally keep a white comforter or blanket in the trunk of my vehicle as well. Even if clients don’t have light colored comforters, I find several people have light colored sheets and we will take off the comforter all together for shots on the bed.

Lastly, your editing process is critical to a consistent style. This is a great benefit to using presets. You can push a button and keep all of your tones similar only requiring minor tweaks here and there to your white balance and color adjustments if necessary.

Keep in mind, these are aren’t hard and steadfast rules. They are just simply guidelines. Don’t overthink it if all your clients show up wearing something completely out of the norm or if the weather creates a light you aren’t used to. There is nothing wrong with variety at all! These are just tools to help you develop a pattern in your branding process.