Assignment: Composition Book

R. Friedman © 2009

READ ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT. For creating your Composition Book, you'll need a camera (or camera phone) to find at least one example of the following types of composition (see below). Be sure to include the whole photo images, do not cut out part of the photo or reshape it by cutting it. SHOOT TO FRAME (We'll talk about what this means). Use only real photographs, no digitally altered or animated collages. No photographs that are really images of paintings or drawings. Craftsmanship is an important part of your grade, so be neat and do label each photo with its composition type. The final product will be a 18 page spread (1 image per page) and should be SAVED IN THE CORRECT FOLDER.  This is a two part assignment, the first, is to create the 18 page document in Microsoft Word, the second is to POST this assignment with the title: Photography Composition. Spelling and grammar will count. You may view today's PowerPoint presentation from the G: drive if you missed anything during the class's lecture, it is titled Photo Composition.


1. The Pictures you need to take: You may shoot in class or in the hallway outside of class, as well as at home. Pictures should be shot by Wednesday so you can upload and put together document and post by Friday.

Leading Line – a line that leads you visually to an object or that leads into the distance creating depth. (1)
Rhythm – Objects repeating in a picture creating a feeling of depth or emphasis. (1)
Framing – shooting through something to get the main subject behind it. The subject is “framed” by something in the foreground. (1)
Horizontal – picture is wider than it is tall. (1)
Vertical – picture is taller than it is wide. (1)
Informal Balance – different things catch your eye, not just one. (multiple objects – tends to be asymmetrical.) (1)
Formal Balance – both sides of the picture are similar (symmetrical.) (1)
High Key – bright, intense, active. (1)
Low key – dark, less intense, inactive. (1)
Silhouette – The lighting comes from behind the subject in your picture. (1)
Angle – up, down, straight. Find one of each. (3)
Distance – close, medium, far. Find one of each. (3)
Focus – soft and sharp. Find one of each. (2) 

2. The Microsoft Word document you'll create:
1 image per page, centered (yes, you may edit in Photoshop quickly if needed)
1 definition, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, explaining what element the image represents
1 paragraph (3-5 sentences) explaining WHY this image works.

Example of a finished page:

SAVE AS: Last_First_BK #_CompositionBook in MAJOR folder on your H: Drive by Friday February 22, 2013

3. Part II: The POST. You must post you top 5 examples of your imagery in one post by Friday February 22, 2013

1. Title Post: Photography Composition
2. Insert 5 of your choice of  images
3. Caption each image with a title, artist name (you) and year (2013)
4. Include your definition and explanation (just copy what you wrote in Word). Spell everything correctly, points will be deducted.
5.PREVIEW your post, make sure it looks good, it's legible, and is aesthetically pleasing.
6. Publish your post. Many of you are creating posts and not publishing them, which is not finishing the assignment because it does not show up on your blog.