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Whitewater Photography Tutorial #7: Composition.

Composition is a tough subject to tackle. Some people have an inexplicable natural ability to see and capture a moment, but this skill can be developed, especially with the use of a few classic artistic guidelines.

I can't honestly tell you everything I know about composition because for me, a lot of it is subconscious but these tips might help speed up the learning process for whitewater composition. I know mine has improved a lot over the years and this is what I've noted.

- The best shot is never from your boat and rarely from river level. Getting a good angle requires hiking.

- You'll have some empty space in your photo, it's generally best to have the paddler moving into this space rather than leaving it. You're giving them the future to move into instead of dwelling on the past, it's obvious they already made it through that section, let's leave them guessing as to what might happen next.

- Don't tilt the lens to make a drop look steeper than it is, this is always obvious and looks tacky. If you just can't get the rapid framed right from your angle, switch angles!

- Maximizing the height of a drop. Shoot from downstream, but standing at the same height as the lip of the rapid/falls. This tends angle tends to be a little over used, but you can keep it creative by avoiding the cliche of cropping to the drop, aka zooming in to where the drop starts at the top of the frame and ends at the bottom. This ties into the next point.

- Don't be distracted by just the rapid. Take in some of the scenery too, the beauty of river canyons is what first attracted me to whitewater, and something that can be shared by all viewers. Here is a classic "crop to the drop" from the same height as the lip, making this look as large as possible.

Nikon D200, Sigma 18-200 @ 116mm 1/1000, F10, ISO 200

In the process I overlooked some of the best lighting and scenery I've ever seen at this spot on Fantasy Falls. I deeply regret not shooting this angle with a kayaker running the falls, it would be one of my favorite shots.

Nikon D200, Sigma 18-200 @ 18mm 1/320, F10, ISO 100

- The rule of thirds is one of the most well known. The eye naturally wants to rest on, not the center of an image, but a third in any direction. Don't put your subject (paddler) in the center of he image. It might be because that's where the best AF sensors or it generally seems natural, but almost never looks good. Sometimes it still takes a conscious decision for me to avoid this, especially in big water where there isn't much else but the paddler to pay attention to.

- The wider the lens, the more small adjustments in angle make a big difference. A good rule is to be as close to the paddler as possible. The first shot is from a standing position and also illustrates the need to make sure your empty space is action space ahead of the paddler, not dead space behind.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 20mm 2.8 @ 1/1250, F9, ISO 200

For this shot I took two steps upstream and crouched as low possible, vastly changing the perspective, and of course in this one the paddler is moving into active space.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 20mm 2.8 @ 1/1250, F9, ISO 200

- If you have the time shoot a lot. Try a different angle or zoom setting for every person that run's the rapid. You'll learn a lot about what works doing this, and walk away with a few gems after sorting through a lot of junk.

- As you repeat runs you can drop shooting a lot and switch to visualizing a shot. In the off season imagine angles and lighting. Plan to skip the shots you already have and spend some extra time hiking for a unique shot, or leave room in your camera bag for an uncommon lens. This takes experience with your equipment to know what an image will look like through a certain lens from an imagined angle, but it's worth the effort.

Upper Cherry 2009, I brought my rarely used Sigma 10-20 for this one shot. Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20mm @ 10mm 1/750, F8, ISO 200