Let’s talk about How to use Natural Framing for Better Composition natural framing natural framing is probably more inspiring than any other composition can be as the name states this naturally occurs so often in everyday life and once you understand it like the back of your hand you can’t unsee the world with its natural frames today i’m going to provide you with four principles to keep in mind when you use natural framing as a composition for your photography when used correctly this will provide better concentration for your viewers a common problem that i see in some other people’s photography is that there’s too much business there’s too many things competing for the viewer’s attention one solution to this problem is to use a longer focal length with a tighter field of view with like an 85 millimeter or up to kind of like hone in on the subject or one can simply step closer to the subject to kind of eliminate the environment.
That’s serving as a distraction however one could make a more interesting photograph by using that busy environment to bring better concentration to the subject natural framing can come in so many shapes and forms it could be a closed loop of the same object like a literal frame within a frame like a door or a mirror or you can use natural framing through any concave shape whether that’s two angles coming together or two objects that are like upright goal posts the point is to create a visual funnel for reviewer which leads me into my second point should you use it in the foreground or the background i think using natural framing in the foreground or from the subject has a bigger impact on the viewer but it could get really old really fast.
So use it sparingly and the reason why i say this is that in art we’re trying to communicate from the artist to the viewer and it’s like a visual conversation if you’re talking to me right now i don’t think you want so many things in between us and so many things in front of me to make you more concentrate on me yeah i could have a nice effect for a couple seconds or maybe like a few pictures but you wouldn’t want to have that communication always through a window through a doorway through a mirror and then through something else right so use it sparingly i think using in the background does have less impact but it’s more subtle using a wide open aperture like a f 1.4 can even blur out that framing to make it even more subtle and less pronounced but having that nice little effect or nice little cherry on top could be very nice to aid your viewers and your audience to enjoy the photo and the subject more.
So what are some things that you can use out there in the wild to better compose your photo this is where you can get very creative organic versus man-made things this is where your photography can get very creative there’s tons of opportunities to snag this composition in man-made structures and objects arches are awesome doorways are dope mirrors are mint and windows are wumbo those things are very common and can give you a great jump start in your implementation of natural framing in your repertoire but using organic stuff is where the fun begins you can always take your time setting up with a man-made structure but using live moving things is where the fun is using people animals lighting etc are all very time-based things some of them you have to have really fast reaction to use them and other times you have to just be there at the right place on the right time shadows are a great option.
It’s a soft border but provides great natural framing but using people in a crowd or a sudden movement that cranes into a concave shape is phenomenal and requires super quick reflexes and skill to do there’s nothing wrong with you think you think there’s nothing wrong with you you think there’s nothing wrong with using bridges and doorways but using other people is a nice cherry on top too so you can try to challenge yourself to switch it up from the bridges and doorways to heads in a crowd or palms going up in a frame the last tip that i’m can provide for you guys today is to not mess it up and i think that goes without saying in a lot of things in life let alone photography but i think using this composition technique and for example leading lines if done improperly you can actually distract your viewer away from what you intended when using a frame don’t have too much going on outside the new frame lines.
For example if i want you to concentrate on my face right now and i have like these c stands and this gear closet over here and these neon lights on this side i feel like even though it might be naturally framing me there’s just too many points of interest competing for your eyes an example that i would use in the dating world is like the wingman and his friend the wingman is supposed to make the friend look much better in front of the guy or girl at the bar or restaurant by talking him up talking her up or whatever but if the wingman starts to talk about him or herself so often you’re pretty much distracting from the actual point of interest.
So when using these composition techniques make sure that their accessories these objects that you’re using or accessories and that they don’t pull away from the attention or else you’ll have the business problem again when using natural framing don’t have the borders cut through your subject no hard lines or horizons should be cutting through your subject it just does not look good it’s a bad technique and lastly don’t make it too obvious that you’re using this all the time subtlety is nice there’s nothing wrong with taking a picture of a subject in the middle of an open field there’s nothing wrong with that at all using natural framing is just a technique to make the photo more interesting you don’t always have to shoot through low grass or a door frame or a mirror these are just techniques that you can use be subtle with it don’t overuse it.
And that’s all i have for you guys in this video make sure you like this post subscribe and comment down below what you thought about natural framing and if you already use it or you plan to implement it into your compositions or in your portfolio now i would love to hear about it hopefully you guys learned a thing or two in this very densely packed informational video i love teaching about these things and join below in the discord down below because we talk about a lot of techniques that we can use also business ideas and so on and so forth so join the gang uh we are i think 2000 members strong now so it’s super awesome and i’m still giving monthly showcase challenges and people are still showing up for those so i would love for any new audience members or if you’re discovering me for the first time to join in those monthly showcases i would love to see your work and i’m pretty sure other people would too all right now that’s all i have for you guys for today i will see you guys and girls in the next post peace.
