Now you are better equipped than ever!

Let’s investigate. Gorgeous colors

Let’s study how this weapon works more closely.

I took these pictures in a village a few days ago. Unfortunately, in my first picture, you can’t see the flowers very well and there are pesky intruders spoiling the landscape.

So I took a few steps forward and I took another picture.

1. 1. Which elements disappeared from the picture? List as many of them as you can!
2. 2. In the first picture, where are the elements that you listed? Point to each of them with your finger.

1. The elements that have disappeared are the car, the green door with the little red box, the stone pillar, some of the windows, the roof of the house, part of the road, and the piece of paper that was lying on the ground.

2. The things that have disappeared are all around the edges of the first picture: on the left and right, at the top, and at the bottom.

Deductions. Good-bye to the mess all around!

So getting closer to the subject (or zooming in, if your camera will do that) is not just useful for getting rid of an element that is on one side of the picture, but it can help you get rid of intrusive or unimportant things on all sides. Pretty good, right?!

When I move forward, I eliminate everything that is in the grayed-out band all around the edges of the picture. This way, I can keep just what is in the center of the picture: what I think is the nicest to look at.

Further investigation. In the kitchen

Now we know what happens to the elements that are all around the outer edges of the picture (hehehe, adios amigos!). And what about the subject, then? Here are some new pieces of evidence.

My subject is the pile of colorful bowls in the middle of the frame.

So what happens to the subject as I get closer and closer to it?

The subject becomes larger and larger in the picture the closer I get to it!

The secret weapon. Your legs are a secret weapon!

Moving your whole body allows you to change your frame and can also make your subject look larger!

So you can get closer (see the orange arrow), but that’s not all—backing up (see the purple arrow) can also help you make your picture better!

But be careful and remember to look where you’re walking when you back up!

Get closer to your subject (or zoom in with your camera):

• – to make your subject larger in the picture; or
• – to get rid of intruders that are all around the outer edges of the photo.

Move away from your subject (or zoom out with your camera):

• – to make your subject smaller in the picture; or
• – to bring new subjects into the picture from all sides.

So this is all strategic! Moving forward or backing up is very useful for choosing:

• – the size of your subject in the picture; and
• – whether or not you want to show what is all around it.

Considering the evidence. Whoops!

There is a mistake below. One of the “go forward” or “back up” arrows is wrong. Can you find the one that’s wrong?

The arrow between photos C1 and C2 is wrong. The photographer moved forward, not back, before taking the second picture.

Here are ideas for pictures I want to take. Do I need to move forward or back up to:

1. A. take a picture of a dog in the city without showing all the stuff around it?
2. B. make a sunflower look smaller in the picture?
3. C. take a picture of almost my whole back yard?
4. D. take a closeup of my friend’s eyes?

The answers are: A. move forward; B. back up; C. back up; and D. move forward.

Picture quest. Abracadabra!

Here is your new assignment. Are you ready to experiment with the magic of secret weapon no. 3? All right, go on out and enlarge and shrink your subjects all you want!

Choose your starring subject and then say, “Abracadabra, make yourself bigger!” while you walk forward three steps. Take the picture!

Now choose a new subject and say the magic words, “Abracadabra, shrink yourself!” while carefully taking seven steps backward. Take a picture of your mini subject!