Sergio Larrain: one of the greatest composition masters in photography.
LEARN FROM THE MASTERS OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Find infinite inspiration in street photography from the masters:
HAPTIC INDUSTRIES: Creative Tools to Empower You
1. Shoot like a child
“A good image is created by a state of grace. Grace expresses itself when it has been freed from conventions, free like a child in his early discovery of the reality. The game is then to organize the rectangle.” – Sergio Larrain
Organize your rectangle (frame), and like a Zen Buddhist, shoot without rules and conventions. Shoot like a child, when you are making your early discoveries in photography.
2. Depth
The reason I think this photo is great: the depth (girl in foreground in red, and girl further away in yellow). Also note all the compositional elements, arranged in a vertical (portrait) orientation.
Also the drama of the girl in yellow about to descend. The dynamic tension of the girl about to descend.
3. Shoot head-on, focus on the background
Don’t just focus on who is closest to you on the Frame. Put a subject in the foreground (man in red), shoot head-on, and focus on the subjects and scene in the background. This adds depth, and is more dynamic.
4. Triangle composition
You can see the great triangle composition here, with the three subjects in the frame.
5. Leading lines
See how Sergio Larrain made leading lines of the guard rail, pointing to the lady in yellow with the umbrella:
6. Segmentation of frame
One of my favorite pictures by Sergio Larrain — the beautiful framing segmentation of the sail in the top left corner, the little sailboat in the top right of the frame, and the happy couple in the bottom right corner, and the barrel in the bottom left of the frame:
7. Low angle perspective
Embrace a low angle perspective, by putting your camera closer to the ground, or crouching very low — shoot from the perspective of a child or even an ant.
Photographs taken in the Valparaíso Region, on the Pacific Coast, inside and around the house of the Chilean poet Pablo NERUDA.
8. Photograph the street itself
The pavement is beautiful:
9. Dutch angle
Dutch angle— Larrain shoot from edgy angles, tilting his frame to make more dynamic compositions.
10. Silhouettes
Silhouettes, chiaroscuro, or the play between dark and light. This adds more drama and mystery in the photos, and a rhythm between the dark and lights:
Learn more about Sergio Larrain >
More inspirational photography composition lessons
Free Introduction to composition PDF visualization
Henri Cartier-Bresson Composition
For more inspirational free resources, join ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER and be the first to get exclusive content, access to books, presets, and new upcoming workshops.
HAPTIC INDUSTRIES: Creative Tools to Empower You