Framing Photography: Tips and Techniques

Hi everyone. I'm professional nature and travel photographer Ian Plant. When making photo compositions, I'm often on the lookout for opportunities to frame my subject with other elements of the scene. Framing is an effective tool for creating depth in a photograph, simplifying a composition, and focusing attention on important elements of the scene. Examples of commonly used frames include trees, natural arches, and old barn windows. Sometimes framing shots are best if the frame and the primary subject are in different light. For example, silhouetted trees framing a sunlit mountain peak. For this shot of mighty Mount Fitz Roy in the Patagonia region of Argentina I used a wide angle lens and framed the mountain with a stand of curvy trees. Then I waited for sunrise to light the peak in the sky. The contrast between light and shadow meant that the trees fell deeply in the silhouette making the overall visual design more striking. For this photo of a priest at one of Ethiopia's cliff top rock hewn churches, I decided to shoot from inside a small sandstone cave with the priest outside standing in front of the setting sun. The cave walls created an interesting frame around the priest enhancing the visual appeal of the photo. One of my favorite techniques when working with wildlife is to get close to a clump of colorful leaves with a telephoto lens, and then photograph my subject through a gap in the leaves. For this photo of a mountain gorilla in the Highlands of Rwanda, I was inches away from a screen of leaves. I shot wide open with my largest aperture to render the leaves as a blur of color framing the gorilla. I made this self portrait while visiting a series of sandstone caves along the shore of Lake Superior in winter. I hiked three miles over the open ice to reach an island with a lot of caves which had been transformed by the deep cold into cathedrals of ice. I set up my camera inside one of the caves looking out and then use my 10 second timer to ensure I had enough time to run out and pose for the shot. Even though I was rendered relatively small because I was standing farther back in the scene, being framed by the dramatic icicles puts all the visual attention on me. Finally, for this photo of an active lava lake in the Congo, I stepped back from the craters edge a few feet using the rocks on the edge of the crater to frame the molten lava below. This enhances visual interest and adds depth to the photo. So when the opportunity presents itself, look to take your compositions to the next level by using framing. I am Ian Plant and thanks for watching.