Model Railroad Photography Clinic - Part 2 (WITH PHOTOS)

Part two of my clinic, to help you make better photographs instead of "snapshots".

Bob Boudreau

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ADVANCED – Composing Photos

If you’ve mastered your camera and its controls and are able to get results that are technically acceptable, the next step is to make better photographs. You can take pictures, but you have to make photographs. Many consider fine photographs as art – work that is created by the photographer, as opposed to a “snapshot” that almost anyone could take. Some people have an artistic ability, others can learn it.

There are widely accepted “rules” in photography that aren’t really rules – just conventions in composition that can help to make a photo pleasing to the eye. All photos do not have to be taken according to these rules, but they are a good way to learn to see and create a photograph.

(The following is adapted from the Kodak.com website – they can explain their business better than I can):

1. CHOOSING YOUR MAIN POINT OF INTEREST. Although you know what your subject is, it can be hard for a viewer to determine your intent if too many elements in your picture make it confusing. Eliminate all unimportant elements by moving closer, zooming in, or choosing a different shooting angle.

What is the subject in this photo? There are so many things it isn't obvious:


The same area, concentrating on the train itself:



2. ADJUST YOUR ANGLE OF VIEW. Alter your position - Change your position to emphasize or exaggerate how big or small your subject is. You can also move your camera right or left only a few feet to change the composition dramatically.

3. PLACING THE SUBJECT OFF-CENTER. Putting the subject off-center often makes the composition more dynamic and interesting. Even if your subject fills the frame, the most important part of the subject should not be dead center.

4. FOLLOW THE RULE OF THIRDS. An easy way to compose off-center pictures is to imagine a tick-tack-toe board over your viewfinder. Avoid placing your subject in that center square, and you have followed the rule of thirds. Try to place your subject along one of the imaginary lines that divides your frame.

Subject (the caboose) is placed in one of the areas:


5. WATCH THE HORIZON. Just as an off-center subject is usually best, so is an off-center—and straight—horizon line. Avoid cutting your picture in half by placing the horizon in the middle of the picture. To accent spaciousness, keep the horizon low in the picture. To suggest closeness, position the horizon high in your picture.

6. USING LEADING LINES - Select a camera angle where the natural lines of the scene lead the viewers' eyes into the picture and toward your main center of interest. You can find such a line in a road, a fence, even a shadow. Diagonal lines are dynamic; curved lines are flowing and graceful. You can often find the right line by moving around and choosing an appropriate angle.

See the tracks leading to the train:



7. INCLUDING OBJECTS IN THE FOREGROUND - When taking pictures of landscapes, include an object, such as a tree or boulder, in the foreground. Elements in the foreground add a sense of depth to the picture. A person in the foreground helps establish a sense of scale.


8. FRAMING THE SUBJECT. - Sometimes you can use the foreground elements to "frame" your subject. Overhanging tree branches, a doorway, or an arch can give a picture the depth it needs to make it more than just another snapshot.

This shot both includes subjects in the foreground and frames the photo:


9. SHOOTING VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL - Don't forget that you can turn your camera sideways to take a vertical picture. Try taking both horizontal and vertical pictures of the same subject to see the different effects. A subject that your might usually think of as horizontal can make a stunning vertical picture.

10. KEEP PEOPLE BUSY. The model figures in your scenes should be doing something.

11. FIND UNUSUAL VIEWPOINTS. All photos do not have to be taken from trackside, or from a “helicopter position”; shoot under trees, from tops of buildings or rolling stock, etc.

Here's one taken from a boat in the stream:


12. One of the MOST IMPORTANT TIPS is to practice, practice, and practice some more! Nothing beats a lot of experience, finding out what works and what does not. Golfing legend Arnold Palmer replied to someone who said he sure was lucky in golf by saying “Yes, the more I practice the more lucky I become”.

More to come later! [:D]