This class is for anybody who wants to create visually compelling photographs. You will learn photographic composition - a crucial element for great photos.  While this is a self-guided class, there are three homework assignments that I will provide personal feedback on.  Beginners welcome! 

What prior students have said about this class:

“"A Crash Course in Photographic Composition" was exactly what I expected and more. . . I'd gladly take another course from Frank" - B. Bradford

"I feel I learnt a lot in just three weeks - Excellent value!. . ." - S. Curado

“Frank is an exceptional teacher. His lectures are very informative, easy to follow and easy to understand. He takes time to give very detailed feedback and work submitted and goes out of his way to provide constructive criticisms that allow students to see alternative ways of shooting. I learned so much within the short amount of time. Thanks Frank!”  - S. Faye

“Perfect type of online class; concise topic, short time span, good content, and an excellent teacher. Frank provided many examples, and his comments, critiques and very personalized feedback was valuable and appreciated. Excellent value, I would do this again in a heartbeat.” - S. Axworthy

This class has three lectures that span over a 3-week period with feedback continuing through a 4th week.

First, we'll cover Composition. 

We'll focus on why certain images just "work" and discuss the importance of proportion in photographic composition, starting off with a discussion of the photographic frame, and then moving onto subject placement, and then going to more specific forms of proportion such as balance, the rule of thirds, golden ratio and its variants.

We will discuss various ways of executing these concepts including use of fore/mid/backgrounds. You will be given an assignment to apply what you've learned in the session to your project. 

Next We'll Cover... Geometry!

Building on what we've learned about proportion, we'll add geometry and lines to the equation, and will explore how the use of verticals, diagonals, and horizontal lines affect your images as well as how various shapes (circles, rectangles, triangles) can be utilized in isolation and in patterns. Again, you'll apply what you've learned to your project. 

Finally We'll Put It All Together

We will again build on the last two session and incorporate how to utilize shapes, color, contrast, to achieve the above compositions, as well as various ways of training your eye to see opportunities to make use of what we've learned so far (such as flattening / expanding perspective and use of abstraction). We will also discuss use of symmetry.  We will also tie everything from the first two classes together to see how images often rely on multiple concepts to succeed (i.e. "this image utilizes the rule of thirds but also employs a strong leading line and makes good use of contrast"). 

NOTE: This class will be fiercely analytical and teach you the above concepts and how you can use them effectively. There will be less discussion on exposure, gear and other technical aspects.