Welcome to Week 20 of 2025!
In today's e-mail, you'll get:
INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK: Who Cares About Art?
TIP OF THE WEEK: Case Study: Composition Tips That Actually Work
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Emphasizing Chaotic Beauty
RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Photo Studio Meetup on May 27!
INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK
Who Cares About Art?
Think about this.
You come across a subject that suddenly strikes a deep feeling within you. As a response, you take a photo of it.
Next, if you share that photo, and someone else sees it and experiences the same feeling you had: that is art.
You just created a connection.
A deep knowing.
A shared experience with your viewer.
That kind of art can change the world.
It’s very powerful.
Let that sink in.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Case Study: Photography Composition
It's time for a case study! Let's look at a photo together and I'll show you what makes it so interesting.
Look at the photo on the left. What do you see first? What does your eye go to second?
The human eye is naturally drawn to people and movement, so you probably looked at the people on the ground first (red triangle). The eye is also drawn to bright sources of light so you likely looked at the sunlight next (yellow circle).
In order to create a strong composition, I made sure to include a large area for the primary subject (red triangle area). Knowing the bright sun was a secondary subject, I made sure to include enough breathing room around it. Notice I did not crop the photo right to the edge of the sunlight area (yellow circle). I left room around it to establish it in a comfortable amount of space for your eye to look at it.
Next, your eye probably went to the Nuburger logo (green circle). Again, I left a bit of breathing room around it, knowing your eye would eventually bounce over to it and want to take it in.
Another way the composition is strong is by including a symmetrical placement of leading lines (pink arrows). This helps to comfortably draw the eye in to the sunlight. I also balanced the pendant lights (blue rectangle on the left) with the same amount of information on the right (the balcony window openings, blue rectangle on right).
By balancing the information all around the main subjects, it helps to bring harmony to the image as a whole.
Notice I did not add more to this and neither did I crop in too close. This composition was very strategic, and it helps to create a final photo that is pleasing to the eye.
Next time you take a photo, think about what you're including in the frame and what you're omitting. It can make the difference between a photo that is comfortable for viewers to look at and a photo that is visually cluttered and tiresome for people to look at.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Throwing Composition Out the Window?
I know I just talked about composition in great detail. But did you know you can throw all compositional rules out the window when you take photos of crowded subjects together?
That's what I did at the garden store this week. No main subject, I just filled the frame with as many succulents as I could.
This is called "filling the frame" or "pattern and repetition".
It creates a sense of abundance and repetition and is good for emphasizing uniformity or chaotic beauty.
RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Meetup in Winnipeg!
If you want to meet up with like-minded phone photographers and get a chance to practice taking portraits inside a professional photography studio, come join me and 'Segun as we host our next meetup on May 27th in Winnipeg!
No experience needed, just bring your phone and we'll show you how to create pro-looking portraits with just a phone camera and natural window light.
Don't want to take photos but would like to volunteer as a model? There's room for that too. Click below for more info or to register. (spots are limited)