Composition
Lesson 3: SCUFI
Shoot Close Up For Impact
sHOOT CLOSE UP FOR IMPACT: scufi
If you think you are too close to your subject, get closer.
SCUFI
There are very few subject that do not benefit from shooting close up. Whether shooting, wildlife, portraits, sports or shots of your latest food creation, shooting close up draws your audience in and makes us care about the subject.
Again, when a photographer is new to the game, the tendency is to avoid getting too close to the subject for fear of inadvertently cutting off of a head or something important to the photo. As experience increases, you will find that the real skill comes with being able to shoot close in the camera and avoid having to crop much after the fact.
One of the benefits of Shooting Close Up is that distracting backgrounds are eliminated or minimized.
Pro Tip:
Shooting Close up, means, moving your camera closer, zooming the lens closer, driving the car to get closer...really anything that gets you closer is a good thing
Fill the frame
Here are some examples of images that I feel exemplify the idea of SCUFI.
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EXERCISE: Shoot some still life shots of a mug or a figurine. Shoot Close Up so that the item fills the viewfinder and we can no longer see the back ground.
EXERCISE: Find a model, a family member, a pet or maybe its soccer ball. Move your camera and zoom to have the subject filling the frame.
Pro Tip:
Be careful when shooting small stuff. All lenses have a minimum focus distance. If you are too close and get inside this minimum focus distance the camera won't focus and it won't shoot. You will physically need to move the camera back until it is able to focus.
EXERCISE: Using a subject on your desk like a coffee cup or pop bottle, focus and then move a bit closer. Focus again. Move closer. Keep going until the camera is no longer able to focus. This will give you an idea of the distance of the minimum focus for your lens.
