At night fall, the iconic Maryland State House dome in Annapolis makes an interesting location to show a technique called motion blur. 

Do you see how the cars are speeding by me toward the state capitol? You do because of the long streaks of red tail lights. Without those streaks, the cars would look very static, almost parked.

Streaking red tail lights create motion blur at The Maryland State House in Annapolis.

Motion blur is a technique used to show your viewer that your subject is moving. 

Create motion blur my manipulating how slowly your shutter opens and closes. When you take a photo, anything that moves while the shutter is open looks like a blur or a smear. The elements that do not move remain sharply in focus. Use longer shutter speeds to create the blurring effect.

You're probably wondering "what's a good shutter speed to show motion blur?" It depends on a few things:

• The speed your subject is moving. A segway rider won't show the same blur as a NASCAR racecar at full speed. Naturally the faster your subject moves, the more dramatic the blur you can create.
• The direction your subject is moving. If your subject is moving across the frame, the motion will be different than if the subject is moving toward or away from you.
• The focal length of your lens. The more you zoom in, the more sensitive your camera will be to motion or movement.
• The amount of available light. It's easier to make dramatic motion blur shots in low light scenarios. Slow shutter speeds in the height of the day can lead to overexposed images.

To create dramatic motion blur images, try this:

• Use a lower ISO. An ISO rating between 100 to 200 will force longer shutter speeds.
• Shoot in shutter priority mode. Using the "S" mode on Nikons or "Tv" mode on Canons will allow you to directly control and slow down your camera shutter.
• Steady yourself. The slow shutter speed that shows motion can also potentially create camera shake. Steady yourself for the slower speeds.
• Use a tripod. For best results at very slow shutter speeds, you might need to use a tripod to keep the camera absolutely steady.

The Challenge

Create an image where you use motion blur to communicate that your subject is moving. It doesn't have to be a night shot, just any image where we clearly see motion or movement.

Share your images with us

Once you have a great hero photo, post it in the comments here or tag it #composition21 when you post it on Twitter of Flickr.

Join the Composition Challenge

Sign up to join the 21-Week Composition Challenge. Every week, I'll deliver a photo challenge by email for you to shoot and share. Learn more about it or sign up below.

Here's a bit of trivia: The Maryland State House in Annapolis is topped by the largest wooden dome built without nails in the country. :-)

I was breezing by the World War II Memorial one rainy afternoon when I was drawn to the texture and rain drops on the base of this flag pole.

Like many flag poles near the National Monuments, this one carries the names of the five branches of military service -- Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

Capturing the entire base of the flag pole felt boring, so I used a technique called breaking the frame.

I didn't particularly care to show the names of all five Services; I wanted this photo to highlight the Army. Even so, there was no need to show the entire word "Army" for you to understand what it said.

Breaking the frame means you get so close to your subject that part of it extends beyond the edge of your image.

This technique is often used when a scene is very busy, and you need to simplify the number of objects in the photo.

For instance, when you travel these days, it seems most destinations are swarming with tourists, and it is tough to get a shot that doesn't include clusters of people you don't know or care to remember.

Breaking the frame allows you to do three things:

• Cut the distracting clutter around your subject.
• Make your viewers feel so close, there is an intimate experience.
• Create a sense of intrigue as your viewers fill in the blanks with the missing part of the image.

I clipped parts of the first and last letters of the word "Army," but I'm sure you immediately knew what it said. When I included the entire word, it didn't have the same artistic effect.

The Challenge

Photograph a subject where you break the frame. Crop into the subject enough that we still recognize it, yet have to fill in some of the blanks mentally. See how it helps you simplify the scene and add an artistic element.

Share your images with us

Once you have a great hero photo, post it in the comments here or tag it #composition21 when you post it on Twitter of Flickr.

Join the Composition Challenge

Sign up to join the 21-Week Composition Challenge. Every week, I'll deliver a photo challenge by email for you to shoot and share. Learn more about it or sign up below.

On a rainy afternoon at the Albert Einstein Memorial, my students were practicing travel photography tips, but I was distracted by something else -- color.

Pink and green are complementary colors found in nature.

Right behind us, a bed of pink flowers contrasted nicely with the grass below. I grabbed this shot to illustrate the impact of complementary colors.

Color is a compositional element that can be used to direct the eye, evoke an emotion or make a statement. It can be a powerful tool if you understand how to use it effectively.

The color circle helps us understand color relationships.You can't discuss the impact of color without taking a spin around the color circle, also known as the color wheel. The color circle gives us a good idea of color relationships. Most color circles are made of three primary colors - red, yellow and blue; and three secondary colors, green, orange, and violet. The circle also includes another level where primary and secondary are mixed, creating three tertiary colors. 

Colors opposite each other on the wheel are known as complementary colors and adjacent colors create a harmony of similar colors. 

What does this mean for photographers? If you understand color relationships, you can make photos that use colors creatively for maximum impact.

Complementary colors

You can find complementary colors on across from each other on the color circle. For instance, pink and green are almost polar opposites and create a pleasing contrast in my photo. Blues and yellows are also opposites that appear in nature. Have you ever seen a photo of a sunflower framed by a deep blue sky? Those are complementary colors at work. 

Similar colors

Colors next to each other on the wheel form a harmony of similarities. While that might not be as dramatic as contrasts on opposite sides of the wheel, it can be just as pleasing. Greens and blues are neighbors on the color wheel, as they are often found in nature with blue skies and green foliage. What we know as earth tones -- reds, browns, and yellows are also examples of similar colors that are grouped in the color wheel.

The combination of earth tones work as a harmony of similar colors.

Shades of the same color

Another approach uses shades of the same color for pleasing effect. We're all familiar with the cliche'd shades of gray, but often images of old decayed buildings showcase shades of rust or brown. Desert scenes often layer shades of white or cream.

Group shades of the same color for effect.

In every one of those scenarios, color is used as a dominant characteristic of the photo. It is as important as a strong focal point or selective focus. Color can make the photo, and paired with the right secondary color, they both can make your picture shine.

Whether you use colors to embellish or amplify, be deliberate about understanding their potential effect. 

The Challenge

Take a photo where color is a dominant compositional element. Use either complementary colors, similar colors, or shades of the same color to create your image.

Share your images with us

Once you have a great hero photo, post it in the comments here or tag it #composition21 when you post it on Twitter of Flickr.

Join the Composition Challenge

Sign up to join the 21-Week Composition Challenge. Every week, I'll deliver a photo challenge by email for you to shoot and share. Learn more about it or sign up below.

Perfection is not when there is no more to add, but no more to take away.

~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery, pioneer of international postal flight and author of Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)

The New York City skyline framed with negative space
The New York City skyline looks incredibly large and imposing unless you contrast it   with -- nothing. Who expects the Big Apple skyscrapers to be dwarfed? But that's exactly what happens when you use a technique called negative space.

This week we will master the art of using nothing, or negative space, as a compositional tool.

It can help to think of your photograph as art that consists of three elements -- a frame, positive space (your subjects), and negative space (the blank or empty part of the image).

Often photographers find the need to fill every available space of the image. The result? We have a frame crammed with stuff. Here's the problem with that situation. Too many elements in a frame can overwhelm the viewer, while negative space can provide some relief.

We explored this concept with the hero image, but now we take it to a different level.

Using negative space can help draw the eye to the subject. It can add interest because the contrast creates a strong emphasis. Also, empty space can also be used to help balance the elements in the frame.

In the New York City skyline, negative space helps to create a faraway look and feel most viewers might not associate with that iconic view.

Negative space is used to draw the eye to the subject. Model credit: Tricia Homer

In the portrait of Tricia, negative space helps draw the eye back to her face. Without the extreme shallow depth of field, the trees in the background would have been distracting.

Negative space is used to focus our viewer exclusively on the subject.

The Challenge

Take a photo using negative space to help define or contrast your subject.
Your photo will work best when you simplify. Use one strong subject - remember the hero? The rest of the photo should be empty or free of distraction. The contrast will also make your images stand out.

Share your images with us

Once you have a great hero photo, post it in the comments here or tag it #composition21 when you post it on Twitter of Flickr.

Join the Composition Challenge

Sign up to join the 21-Week Composition Challenge. Every week, I'll deliver a photo challenge by email for you to shoot and share. Learn more about it.

This is not your average barber, not from this perspective anyway. I captured this image on a photo walk through New York City's Chinatown.

I used an extreme angle to create a hero effect with this barber in New York City's Chinatown.The barber was standing outside his shop with a friendly smile, but I thought it might be fun to play with some extreme angles.

Changing your perspective is an easy way to create dramatic images with your camera.

This week, we'll explore three different perspectives for our challenge.

Most of us view the world from somewhere between 5 feet to 6 feet, give or take. In that range, we call photographs eye level.  When you take a photo from eye level, it looks like your viewer might remember the scene or imagine it.

Eye level is one of the most common viewpoints, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful. When photographing a person, we keep the camera close to eye level to create an intimate connection between subject and viewer.

But for really dramatic effects, you want to move your camera away from eye level and try either the bird's eye view or the worm's eye view.

Bird's Eye View

Photographing from a bird's viewpoint is probably the most challenging logistically. In that case, you are usually standing on something like a ladder, chair or table. I use the higher viewpoint when I am photographing a group of people. The bird's vantage point can also work in some landscape situations.

One caution, if you are standing and pointing the camera down toward a flower at ground level, that's not a bird's eye view. You are still shooting from eye level. To make that image work, you should try our next approach. 

Worm's Eye View

For the photograph of the barber in Chinatown, I went for a very low angle, generally known as the worm's eye view. When you use this approach for people, you can create a hero effect. Executives use this for their 'captains of industry' poses. The Washington Post used it last weekend to signal the bright future for Robert Griffin III. 

Use the bird's eye or worm's eye perspective to create more dramatic and memorable photographs.

The Challenge

For this week's challenge, let's take a photo from a different perspective, either very low or very high. Try to make it as extreme as you can. No timid angles. What kind of effect can you create?

Share your images with us

Once you have a great hero photo, post it in the comments here or tag it #composition21 when you post it on Twitter of Flickr.

Join the Composition Challenge

Sign up to join the 21-Week Composition Challenge. Every week, I'll deliver a photo challenge by email for you to shoot and share. Learn more about it or sign up below.

Like many boys, I was always attracted to the idea of heroes and villains. From Superman to Spiderman, I loved stories where we all knew that no matter what happened, all eyes would eventually turn to the hero, who would save the day.

As I was thinking about composition, I was again drawn to the hero concept. In every photo, you ought to be thinking about how you can create the hero of your shot.

In simple composition terms, every photo needs a hero. There should be one point in the picture that you decide is most important and where you direct all eyes. 

In a hero story, there is always a villain -- it's the person that the hero must vanquish. The villain looks like he might steal the thunder, but the hero always wins in the end.

In your photo, anything that draws attention away from your hero is a potential villain. All eyes go to your hero, and anything in the frame that seeks to distract your viewer must be vanquished. You can do that using tools like selective focus, changing your angle, or cropping out the offending parts. As photographer, you vanquish the villain, so your hero gets the credit.

Hero at the Vietnam Wall

Photo by Alex Wong.I love the way Alex Wong created a hero in this shot. Alex is a member of our Photo Mentoring Club and submitted this photo for an assignment. 

If you've ever tried to take a photo down at the Vietnam Veterans Wall, you know that your biggest enemy is usually the swarms of people. It's hard to create a hero shot when so many people vie for your attention. For instance check out the first photo in my post Why my picture sucks.

Alex did the opposite. He found a single person and used cropping and selective focus to make her shine. It doesn't hurt that he captured incredible light as well. Everything in the frame works to drive us straight to her and wonder about her story. She's our hero.

The Challenge

We can't begin any composition exercise without a discussion about having a clear subject. If you don't have a clear, unmistakable subject, it really won't matter what other compositional technique you use.

For our first challenge, let's use the hero analogy to work on having clear unmistakable subjects. Take a photo where you create a hero, literally or figuratively. Your hero can be a person, place or thing. Your hero must be unmistakable. Your photo must be free of any villainous distractions.

A few tips

One is the magic number. You can have a secondary or complementary subject, but it ought to be clear which one is most important.

The easiest way to make your hero shine is to fill the frame. Get close. Make your hero take up most of your real estate.

Use the rule of thirds to take your hero out of the center of the frame. Put the hero where the Tic Tac Toe lines intersect. 

The point of this exercise is to make your hero dramatic. The fewer things you have in the frame, the more impact your photo will create.

Share your images with us

Once you have a great hero photo, post it in the comments here or tag it #composition21 when you post it on Twitter of Flickr.

I'm anxious to see what you create.

Join the Composition Challenge

Sign up to join the 21-Week Composition Challenge. Every week, I'll deliver a photo challenge by email for you to shoot and share. Learn more about it or sign up below.