>>4398006
Yeah. Start with the basics. You could also post some photos to get critiqued.

Primefagging does this unless you wanna wade through shit and get in faces. Primefags have low keeper rates even when they’re good at it, and any that have high keeper rates are posting 99% backs of heads and corners of buildings.

Buy a zoom. If you suck with a zoom… well. Look at paintings for inspo? Lol

>>4398006
Don't blame your gear for your failures.

>>4398008
Good point. Daily a normal zoom. Image quality is a meme and almost anything can be fixed in post these days.

>>4398006

flickr is good for this, you can look through the groups and see what an average human will get for composition.
In summary, composition is really overrated, almost no photos have amazing composition and you will see for yourself, interesting subject trumps composition and its way easier/more likely to find interesting subject matter, than find a real life scenario with objects just randomly happening to be aligned in perfectly ordered compositions.

In summary, just aim for good enough composition and put your energy into getting better subject matter to shoot.

>>4398006
Buy high MP camera
Stick wide angle lens on it and crop everything in post
Wallah perfect compositions every time

>>4398006
Don't listen to these retards >>4398008 >>4398017
Zoom for a beginner who struggles with composition is - without proper advice - a trap that can lead to you zooming when you should change perspective instead.
You should consider what FoV is best for your subject, zoom to that FoV, and then get closer / further to frame it. Not just twist lens until subject is inside the frame.
If you struggle with this, you should exercise by restricting yourself to given FoV to improve your intuition about what any given FoV is good for.

>>4398006
Exercise. Choose an interesting inanimate subject outdoors in good light and take a lot of different photos of it taking your time composing each one. At home, find the best of the bunch and study why it is better than the each of the rest. If the best one also sucks (which is likely), figure out why and how it might be better.
Also keep on it. I'm rather poor in following my own advice and find it is too easy to lose any progress with lack of practice.

>>4398008
>>4398017
These guys are legally blind and/or have a crayon up their nose.

A prime lens will force you to think more creatively make you consider your composition and what you'd like to achieve. Carry two, one each either side of 50mm and you're basically set for life. Standard zooms are for boomers taking travel snapshits and paid photogs that need that 24-120mm f/2.8 so they never miss a shot. Futhermore, relying on post processing exclusively to fix your mistakes that come OOC is just going to keep you being a shit photographer.

>Walk around and take the time to practice different positions on static subjects first, then start practicing with moving subjects. Making sure to consider the perspective differences from being close, being far, being to the side, being low down etc.
>Minor cropping (esp. using a prime lens) is passable, just be aware that the more you crop the more of your sensor you're discarding and the more obvious you're making your noise and optical imperfections (this is also why APS-C is a meme).
>Read a few photograhpy books. Some authors actually go into some useful detail as to why or how they acomplished a certain look; this is basically reverse engineering

>>4398158
>crayon up their nose.
Immediately made me discount your opinion (in addition to the reddit spacing).
Crayons are for eating, glue is for sniffing.

>>4398165
Gearfag.

>>4398158
>A prime lens will force you to think more creatively make you consider your composition and what you'd like to achieve.
A prime lens will make you realize the ideal composition requires walking somewhere inconvenient or inappropriate or just generally being an ass in public. This is what actually happens. Dont forget the shit experience of swapping lenses on the go.
>relying on post processing exclusively to fix your mistakes that come OOC is just going to keep you being a shit photographer.
Relying on SOOC to indicate your "skill" falls in with all the "I SHOOT MANUAL SO IM GOOD, PLEB!" dicklets and midwit building corner shooters. Capturing something on camera with a vision that involves post processing is far more skilled than spamming snapshits with your fujinont 35mm f1.4 and picking the ones that don't need edited.

>>4398167
BTW: I mostly use a prime lens and it's a fucking pain in the ass but no one makes a compact 35-85 f2.8 zoom so here we are

No it is not more creative. It is more scampery and you have fewer options for perspective control. Scamper over here, scamper over there, scamper back, forth, is that a tree branch/street sign corner, move forward, now to the left, wow I feel creative right now! Oh is that something I can only be close to? Damn I have the wrong perspective maybe I should reach in to my FUCKING LENS PURSE?

>>4398006
Get a single prime, anything between 24 and 50mm
Go on a photography focused trip with that as your only lens. Aim to get an interesting composition without plans to crop later

Restriction breeds creativity, so you are bound to grow your ability to see things better
>>4398168
skill issue

>>4398190
cope issue.
>real photography is using period correct gear!

>>4398168
this man is correct. primes do not make you more creative. they force you to move, often inconveniently, and take shots on another day or carry a faggot purse full of lenses for jamal to snatch to manage perspective/subject distance issues. they do not meaningfully restrain your creativity, unless you'd rather not lie in mud, stand in the street, and wade into swamps to take pictures and just give up - and buy a zoom.

creativity happens in a step called PRE-VISUALIZATION. buying a lens will NEVER, EVER, FUCKING EVER MAKE YOU MORE CREATIVE.
>Bro just buy your creativity
>Creativity flows from the gear
>I bought a voigtlander mf lens now i am going to become creative. The LIMITATIONS are supercharging my abstract thought!
NEVER HAS BEEN HOW IT WORKS. NEVER WILL BE. YOU CAN NOT BUY SOMETHING TO BECOME MORE CREATIVE. YOU ARE BORN WITH IT, OR YOU ARE NOT, AND YOU WILL NEVER HAVE IT.

Creativity occurs in pre-visualization. Creativity occurs in thought. Your lens is just a paintbrush, and your skill at managing shitty period correct dollar store brush is irrelevant to your skill as a creative artist.

>>4398205

I have a full prime set AND 2.8 zoom set, this anon is 100 percent correct. Zooms are inherently better and it's not 1980 anymore where zooms sucked, my 70-200 VR2 will give most of my prime lenses a run for their money, and these days they cost as much as a used prime lens.

I only use primes when I need super low light or want a lightweight carry, the thing is you have to have the vision BEFOREHANDS.

>creativity happens in a step called PRE-VISUALIZATION. buying a lens will NEVER, EVER, FUCKING EVER MAKE YOU MORE CREATIVE.

like this here. You have to go in trying to get something, a lens will not make you magically better, only in very rare circumstances will a better lens get you a shot over average consoomer glass and that's only autism shit like astro or if you have a super old camera that has shit high ISO qualities, it's not 2005 anymore where you have to stay below 800 ISO.

Some of my best work was done on 20 dollar pawn shop glass, pic related, you either have it or you don't. Gear will not make you better.

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>>4398006
Sorry that idiots came in to your thread to tell you how their gear opinions are correct and everyone else is a gearfag, but I think >>4398007 is right. Post some photos and that will show if you're lacking creativity or if your subjects are just boring or whatever. Are you going out to shoot with a specific intent of a subject or are you just bringing your camera with you places and shooting what you see? Both are valid and can produce good photos but if you're only doing one trying the other might help get you out of your rut.

>>4398006
Don't overthink it. Composition is just how you arrange elements within the frame. Forget about lenses, you should be composing with your eyes. The lens then just determines the framing of your composition.

Find a tree you like, and just look at it from all different perspectives. Look from higher, from lower, from each side, see how the different branches align, or don't. See how the tree fits within the background, or is framed by the foreground. If something doesn't add to the image, try to leave it out.

It's like a reverse puzzle, you have all the pieces, and are just trying to arrange them in a way that is pleasing to the eye. Composition made easy:
>pick your subject(s)
>pick your other elements that enhance the subject (based on contrast, balance, flow, a/symmetry, context, etc), and consider removing elements that don't enhance the picture
>find your perspective by moving to arrange 1 & 2 in a way you like
>use a focal length that gives you the framing you want for that perspective

Basically, just look at stuff from lots of different angles and distances and figure out what looks best
If you aren't moving to see how something would look different, you aren't practicing composition
Try to consider foreground elements, a lot of beginner photos are like subject-background, and that's it

>>4398235
Primes are gearfag lenses is p. true. All gearfags go for primes and think some special prime awakens their creativity or makes their snapshits more artistic by merit of using some specific shitty lens.

To zoom is anti-gearfag. Fuck mtf charts. Fuck accumulating photo funkos. Fuck attributing your very creativity to what gear you can buy.

>>4398241
>OP asks about composition
>FUCK PRIMES YOU GOTTA USE ZOOMS
This would be very helpful advice for mr. OP if the only thing that determined composition was your gear.

>>4398241
I can't get zooms for my view camera. :(

>>4398242
Gear does determine composition. With a 28mm lens you can not skill your way around wanting to take the photo you see in your mind, if the photo you see in your mind is not taken with a 28mm’s perspective distortion or the added shit that reality placed in the frame. It is physical reality. Crop if you want but most of us dont have fucking $3000 50mp cameras and super sharp $1000 lenses so for us crop = look like phone.

I know it hurts your ego to know that photography isnt as real and pure of an art as painting or drawing and mechanical things have a major influence, but they do. The good news is manufacturing has gotten so good everyone can have enough equipment to take any photo with very little money. Its actually those who spend the most who get the least (snoy a9iii+gm f0.7 leica noctiluxotron), and those who spend the least who get the most (apsc+kitlens). That’s why gearfags are always the worst photographers. They pass up on all the good photos and settle for the mediocre majority because their prime bag was insufficient, so they hit up ebay and all the review sites again for the prime that will fix their problem… again.

>>4398245
Sorry that a prime lens killed your mom or whatever. Anyway I just take my camera with me and take pictures when I see something interesting, and if it's too close or too far I just walk towards it or away from it.

>>4398248
So primes dont make you more creative they make you scurry around and kneel in the middle of the sidewalk to get the shot, gotcha

Sorry OP it seems you will get no composition advice beyond "but the right kind of lens"
>>4398249
I guess you won whatever the argument was against whoever you were talking to in your head, congrats.

>>4398250
Composition is innate. You either got it or you don’t. The only issue you can possibly have if you have a chance at ever being good is sone archaic gearfag scam (pay walling perspective effects) holding you back.

If he already has a zoom the only thing he can do is study the history of painting to see if it stirs something up otherwise he is very well fucked

>>4398008
>>4398167
>>4398168
>>4398205
>>4398245
>>4398253
>Scurrying around!
>Prime bags!
>All those missed shots!
We get it, you felt awkward walking around with your one extra lens in a bag (probably got winded crossing the street too) and you couldn't take any good photos so you cashed out of the hobby and blame it on everything but the camera operator. No need to so loudly announce it.

>>4398258
>he carries a bag at all
lmao
primefags are always so... gross
>oh you see mlady switching lenses to zoom makes me a creative artiste
>*lays in mud*
>i bet you are too unfit to do this i am definitely better than other people
>i am also definitely wealthier than other people for spending more money on this middlebrow art yes, i have a deserved ego
>*building corner.jpg x10000*
every primefag ever
meanwhile kit lens micro four THADS just take amazing photos

>>4398253
based and true. you literally can not learn composition. you can awaken it by exposing yourself to art, but creativity and artistry is a born trait not a learned one or a bought one.

>>4398259
Being so insecure with yourself that you let imagined opinions of what others think rule your life must be pretty sad my man. No one gives a shit except you if someone changes a lens or kneels for a shot.

>>4398262
He never said he didnt want to be a scampery primefag because of others, but because being a kit zoom CHAD is more comfortable and convenient.

>>4398160
>Splits a wall of text into paragraphs
>"Reddit spacing"
? Are you a moron?

>>4398309
gb2 sniffing crayons or whatever it is you call it reddit spacer kek

>>4398309
>wall of text
Bro is in for a wild surprise if he ever opens a (non-picture) book

Thread tldr:
Primes are either a scam or a travel cope
You can’t be taught to compose a photo. There are no hard and fast rules of composition. It’s 100% intuitive and a naturally occurring skill.

>>4398328
true thread tl;dr:
>gearfags bring up their boogeyman unprompted
>no one bothers to post photos to critique
>no one bothers to point out that composition is a skill that must be practiced just like any other

>>4398330
I did, but no one listened.

>>4398331
Same, >>4398240

So I've won a few international photography awards and many competitive placings over the years.
Now rightfully this should mean fuck all to you, reading this in an anonymous Tibetan Yeti sighting community notice board.

But from my experience and as well as teaching, the best way to broadly approach composition is your ability to convey a story in your image.

Yeah it sounds generic boomer faggotry, and yes I've made stacks of money off it, because it's easy to misinterpret it if you're lazy (i.e boomers) so you have an album of mid family photos that is "meaningful" to you but doesn't resonate with a wider audience until it's found itself in a true crime documentary.

But if you really took it to heart youll appreciate the weight it has on your creative process. Yes, a lot is pre-visualisation is *essential* but to be able to put yourself into an scenario where you're there taking the picture is also an important part of it. Access passes, Behind the scenes, in the front row and into the thick of it in far away places.
You haven't even touched the camera yet.

Some exercises for you.
Exactly where you are now, as you read this post. Youre the protagonist, you can float around your space and take a snapshot.
>Where would you take the image from?
>what would it convey? Isolation? Pensiveness? Life of the party?
>what would you focus on? Your face illuminated by the phone screen in a dimly lit room? Perhaps a wide shot sitting in a public space?

Repeat this exercise with a singular subject. Say a busy bartender or Cafe Barista. How can you convey their haste? Are they happy with a spring in their step? How do you communicate this in ONE picture.

Then, you start getting into the technicals, like what focal length, what the light is doing, what key item/feature you want to highlight, how would you take it? Do you ask? Or do you wait until something happens?

All this you can do mentally. It's a good exercise to have you thinking ahead of your camera.

>>4398518
>I've won a few international photography awards
Such as?
Can we see an example photo of yours showing good composition?

>>4398518
>AI slop
>reddit spacing
fuck off

>>4398006
there are books and countless youtube vids where you can learn about composition

>>4398518
Sure you have nophoto

>>4398167
>A prime lens will make you realize the ideal composition requires walking somewhere inconvenient or inappropriate or just generally being an ass in public.
i.e It will stop you from being a snapshitter.

>>4398529
>reddit spacing
Those are paragraphs you retarded newfag. plebbit spacing is where they do every fucking poorly structured sentence.

>>4398529
>>4399106
>Those are paragraphs you retarded newfag
This. Paragraphs on 4chan have been around since the start, before redditspacing was a thing. Nobody should complain about it unless they know the difference.

Also, if you discover a redditor, tell him "You have to go back", or send a meme with the message

>>4398524
Not about to dox myself, friendo.
...what for? anonymous validation?

Like I said, it shouldn't mean shit to you, and I mean it sincerely.
Either you consider the advice or call it fake and gay then move on.
Also, winning competitions is doing the research on what appeals to the judge's idea of aesthetics. Especially at a community/regional level. Good way to pick up gear and small prize money.
It changes a bit at National/international level, especially with nuances on rules of entry, but that's a different kettle of fish to explain in this post.
There's a reason why one-hit-wonder first entrants rarely/never win a major prize. You haven't got skin in the game and a reputation to lose if you're caught cheating, plagiarising or skirting the rules, it makes the orgnaisers look like fools. On the opposite coin the judges keep tabs on you too, if they like your work even if you fell short.
Unironically /p/ has a decent pool of talent, I really enjoy the recent photo threads and the occasional instagram thread.

As for an example on composition, If you can stomach the subject. I'd point you to the work of the Filipino Drug War Photographers, some have interesting baroque influences.

>>4399344
Are you afraid the notorious hacker 4chan is going to get you? Kill yourself

>>4398205
To be tbf, if you solely use one prile focal length for an extended period of time, you'll get used to pre-visualizing at that focal length.
It's not about getting as many shots as possible, but understanding which shots you can get with your setup and why. Maybe the answer is you had the wrong focal length for the shot. Maybe you just needed to move two steps forward or backward. Maybe it's just that the light wasn't good that day.
Though, at the same time, pre-visualizing only makes for creative shots when you pre-visualize creatively. If every shot you think of is the exact fucking same as the ones you've already taken, maybe you need to switch things up and use a zoom instead of a prime, or a prime of a different focal length or whatever.

Basically, you're half right. You can't get good at photography until you UNDERSTAND your equipment and what you can achieve with it. The right equipment is dependent on that alone.

t. shoots almost exclusively with an 85mm and 135mm prime on APS-C because they get me the shots I want 98% of the time.

>>4398213
Sugar owns lots of cameras and lenses

>>4399348
>135mm prime on crop
Interesting. What photos are you taking that need a 200mm FL FoV?

>>4399351
Colour abstracts.

>>4399344
Nice larping.
If your advice is good on it's own, you don't need to cite yourself as an authority, you can just give the advice.
If you want to credentialize yourself as an authority, you should be willing to demonstrate your credentials.
The fact that you are unwilling mean you are either an actual larping nophoto, or more likely, grossly exaggerating your competency. You're the one that brought up your expertise, so don't be surprised when someone asked for some evidence.

I sometimes allude to my pro work too, but I also post images from it often, and never had any issues from posting here. Cope all you want nophoto.

>>4399348
Only working in one just turns you into boring modern art slop with no soul whatsoever
>omg i shot my entire career on 28mm its so *consistent*, the absolute CONSISTENCY!
>the content: absolutely fucking nothing. nada. NONE. a poem would be more impactful. and they often have to write one to explain the photo.
Or, why photography is barely even considered art and the entire world, academia and the top 0.02th percentile included, considers cinema the only form of photography that consistently qualifies.

Seriously, photography is barely considered art. It's borderline not art. To many, including most genius level intellects, it is not art and never has been, unless it is transformed into cinema.

>>4399353
Lol

>>4399413
Sad but true. The more serious a photographer is about le art the dumber they are. Its really not art. Its pictures of other peoples art.

>>4399344
I agree, I've won thousands of international photography competitions, but I'm not posting proof for some racist incel chud validation
Just trust me bro

>>4399432
That's it? My dad one tens of thousands of international photography competitions, and then he taught me everything I know, and now I have won over one hundred thousand international photography competitions. I started off young so I had a bit of a head start. :D

Before you ask I don't share my photos online. I'm sure you've seen them before. Frankly, I am prolific.

>>4399413
I should know better than to engage with the cinema take. So I won't.

>>4399428
>Its [sic] pictures of other peoples [sic] art.
What?

Either way, my point still stands. Art or not, using one focal length for a period of time will help you know what FOV that focal length covers, so you can appropriately choose the focal length(s) that suit(s) you thereafter.
Maybe it's just one. Maybe it's three. Maybe it's all the ones between 70mm and 200mm. I'd argue that starting off with all the focal length at your disposal hinders creativity because you can just get the shot without thinking too hard about it, so your shots would end up all the same. Someone else might say the opposite is true, and that's fine if they have a good reason for it and it works for them.

I took out my 28mm prime today and it inspired me to take some boring ass building corner pictures

>>4399917
28mm is great for creating drama through distortion and size distances.

>>4398006
Just keep shooting, notice which photos work for you and which don't and learn from that.
In the end progress is gradual and almost invisible; but it is there.
I look back at photos I took after my first year of photography that I thought were great at the time and they now just feel average, same with photos from even just a year ago.
I will also advise you to get a decent old point and shoot that you can keep with you all the time, if you're always practicing photography you'll get better faster.

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