Composition and Cameras - Photographic Rendering with V-Ray for SketchUp - page 264

Chapter 8. Composition and Cameras
Although we have already discussed the subject of composition a little in our intro-
ductory chapter, there is quite a bit more to the subject that we need to both under-
stand and apply to the photographic renders that we want to produce. For instance,
one thing that we haven't touched on up to this point is the fact that there are quite
a few technical considerations that will, to one extent or another, impact the way we
compose the shots that we will use for our final deliverables.
Defining our goals
Our goals for this chapter will be as follows:
• Finalize the technical requirements for the finished renders.
• By making use of our artistic sensibilities (generally, in conjunction with guid-
ance from the client in the form of their original brief), lockdown the type of
shot or shots that we are going to produce.
• And finally, using the controls offered by both the V-Ray physical camera and
SketchUp's own viewport, create final camera views for our scene that have a
strong and pleasing compositional element to them. This final step of course
will need to take into account the basic principles or guidelines of composition,
and apply them to our scene or camera views as we go further.
One thing to note here is that the material we will be covering in this chapter hasn't
really been arranged in any kind of specific progression that must be adhered to on
your particular project. Rather, it is in this order simply because I typically find that
getting the technical considerations (covered in the first part of the chapter) out of
the way before moving onto the more artistic aspects of shot composition, more often
than not provides the most efficient and problem-free approach to the process. This
is typically due to the fact that with technical details decided and settings dialed in,
we find ourselves free to focus entirely on getting the shot we want, confident in the
knowledge that the framing and aspect ratios we are using will not be altered later in
the production process.