Composition

Composition. The absolute requirement of every image. In a match between a terrible out of focus dull looking image and an image with horrible uninteresting composition the terrible out of focus dull looking image would win. Master composition and you’ve mastered photography. Yes moving a few steps to the left or the right is that important.

In an article about composition professional photographer Alain Briot said:

No amount of technology can make up for a lack of inspiration

- Cameras and other gear are technical

- Inspiration is artistic

- The two things exist on different planes

- Achieving a personal style in fine art means working as an artist not just as a technician

A few years with a crappy camera and a person who is dedicated to learning composition WILL produce better photography than the enthusiast who buys fancy equipment, expects good pictures to come, and then does little to achieve this goal. The crappy camera will produce crappy pictures, but the photographer will know how to compose his pictures better. with enough work his/her pictures could be worthy of fine art galleries, while the person who does nothing but take a few pictures with expensive equipment will have little more than some high resolution snapshots to stick in a family album.

If you still don’t believe me, let me tell you that I personally have experienced this. Not one of my pictures were taken with an SLR camera, yet I have a few pictures, not as many as I might otherwise have, but I have some really nice looking images.

In another article Alain Briot also said:

“Composing a good photograph is not easy. Teaching others how to create interesting compositions is even harder. In fact, composition is one of the most difficult areas of photography or of any visual art for that matter, so much so that my teacher, Scott McLeay, refused to teach composition. His only guidance in this matter was brief and succinct. He would simply explain that, in regard to composing a photograph, each part of the image is equally important.”

Although it is impossible for me to lay down rules on composing an image. This is something that differs for each photo and must be learned by experience. I can, however, give you a few suggestions on the types of things to look for when taking an image.

know your subject

What is the subject(s) of the picture you are about to take? all the other elements of the picture should be helping the subject(s) stand out. A plain colored backround definitely helps the subject stand out. Movement in objects towards the picture’s is another great way to compose a subject. A vignette will draw attention to the center. There are an endless amount of ways in which different parts of the picture can help make your subject stand out, it doesn’t matter how it happens, just make sure elements of a picture complement and enhance your subject instead of distracting and in the end ruining your picture. This is probably the single most repeated mistake I see. In trying to avoid distracting the viewer from the subject I often hear sayings like “less is more” or “keep it simple stupid”, these sayings stem from the fact that having a distracting elements in your picture will completely ruin the composition.

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is not an actual rule, it’s a guideline that you should be aware of, and then ignore. The rule of thirds dictates where the most interesting points in an image are, but this is far from being correct. On a blank canvas the most interesting pieces would be at the intersections created by dividing a picture in thirds, but in a picture there are many elements that nudge those points of interest in one way or another. Any of the other composition guidelines mentioned below will have a far bigger impact on your photo than this rule. When taking a picture compose the picture in the way you think would work out best, not at the intersections created by the rule of thirds. Images with a simple composition are the exception, these images can sometimes benefit from this “rule”

Golden Ratio and Phi Spiral

Same as the rule of thirds (see above point), but uses different intersecting lines to create points of interest. See this article for more info on how these rules work.

Off-centering the subject

Where to put the subject of an image is up to your own judgement, but try to avoid putting the subject in the center. If the subject is close to a point created by the rule of thirds, you could try to see if aligning the image this way produces a better composition. But try out other ways of aligning the image. If there are distracting elements on the edge of an image make sure they get cropped out, unless you plan on photoshopping them out later. When composing an image keep in mind any leading lines and eyelines(the invisible line created from a person looking in some direction). Eyelines are the biggest thing I keep in mind when cropping an image, they are a bit more difficult to think about when taking the picture if people are moving around in the image, but if you have someone modelling for you take their eyeline into account when taking the image.

centering the subject

I just said not to do this, but now I am saying to do this. You’ll often here that you should never center your subject, but this is not true. Most of the time it is true, but there are a few times when you should do this, mainly when you have a large amount of power or symmetry in an image. It is also often desirable to have a square crop with this type of picture. A square crop puts a lot of emphasis on the center, and keeps out parts of the image that don’t have as much power.

A great example of breaking the rule of thirds is the below image I took of some light trails. When this picture is aligned by the rule of thirds it looks terrible, but when aligned along the center it looks much better.

A comparison with and without the rule of thirds

The centered picture is much better than the picture that follows the rule of thirds

Make sure you understand that I’m not telling you to go shoot a bunch of pictures with the subject in the center. Rather I want you to know that there are times when a subject should be aligned in the center.

leading lines

See if you can align objects in a picture to create leading lines towards the subject. Leading lines will emphasize and add an interest to all the objects involved. An image with a leading line will cause the viewer’s eyes to move along the line looking at everything in the line’s path. An image with multiple leading lines will cause the viewer’s eyes to lock in to the spot where the lines intersect. This can be a very strong way of focusing the viewer’s attention on the subject.

Let me also mention a very strong type of leading line; the eye-line created from a person looking in some direction. This is probably the strongest type of leading line.

Lines

The same principle as leading lines apply to lines created at the edge of an object. These lines are stronger then leading lines, and as a result, care should be taken that they are straight with an edge of the image or are pointing towards the subject, or are in some way helping the composition of the image. These lines can be the subject too. This is often seen with an image that has a road going down the middle of it.The road and the lines associated with it are the subject.

winding lines

A winding line creates a sense of movement and can be useful in trying to convey a sense of motion. Leading lines can also be curved, this is usually done by having a series of straight edges that form a curve.

framing

An image can be framed by doorways, arches, branches, etc. Framing an image helps create a sense of depth. When using objects to frame an image, make sure the frame is simple, and doesn’t overpower the image. Unless you want the frame to be the main focus of the image, in which case make sure the objects inside the frame doesn’t overpower the frame.

hue/value/saturation

Many people think that the hue/value/saturation should be change to be as close as possible to the way your eyes perceived the scene you took a picture of. I am of a different opinion, and I believe most professional photographers would agree that these should be changed to create the desired mood that you want an image to have. If you want an image to have a cozier feel go ahead and shift the image to a hue that’s warmer than what your eyes saw when you took the picture.

hue/value/saturation can also be modified locally(to selective parts of an image) in post-processing. This is an excellent way of drawing the attention of the viewer to the subject of your picture. When done subtly, the effect is unnoticeable to the casual viewer, but they may notice how they are drawn to some part of the picture. When done more extremely some people may cry out that the picture has been over processed, while other people will absolutely love the picture.

Depth of Field

Obviously keeping something in sharp focus is going to make it stand out from everything else. Be careful about out of focus areas in the foreground as they can often be distracting. Sometimes the out of focus area can be a main part of the picture. This is can happen if you want to shroud part of the picture in mystery.

edges

In the beginning of the article when I quoted Alain Briot he mentioned that his teacher Scott McLeay would say that each part of the image is equally important. Don’t forget the edges of a picture they are just as important as the rest of the picture.

cut Off people’s Limbs at appendages

If you must crop out a body part, remember that the missing body part will distract the viewer more if you don’t crop at an appendage.

simplicity

This guideline is often seen. It is actually comes from a higher overarching guideline that I talk about in my first point ‘know your subject’.

keep horizon straight

It doesn’t have to be kept straight to the edge of the picture, but it does need to be kept straight to some point of interest. Don’t leave the horizon slanted a few degrees. You can make big tilts to the horizon, if that is the affect you want to create(DO NOT do this to landscapes).

Frame Tight

Getting closer to the subject will put an emphasis on the subject but at the same time…

negative space can be interesting

…Having a lot of negative space adds serenity to the picture’s mood.

eyes are important

When placing a person in a photograph, align their eye’s with a focal point within the picture.

bottom right corner

Of the four corners in an image this is the most interesting corner. This only applies to those of us who read top to bottom, left to right.

Lighting

This is very important. very very important. I won’t say much about lighting as that is a topic for a different article, but don’t forget to pay attention to your lighting.

Mood, Message

Remember when creating a composition, there is no single right way. It all depends on the mood and the message that you are trying to portray. There are many wrong ways to compose an image, and It takes skill to spot a correct way. Try to stay away from composing an image in the same way as everyone else. Be new. Be creative.

Viewpoint, positioning yourself

Move around and find a way of composing an image that you like. Try taking a picture from down low, up high, far away, in close, from the left, from the right, etc.

Symmetry and Patterns

Symmetry and patterns stand out when introduced unexpectedly in a scene. This work best when there is a sleight difference in every pattern in a scene, allowing the viewer to compare and contrast the repetitious objects.

Lenses

Use a wide angle lens to increase depth, and focus attention away from the edges. Increase it even more with a fish eye.

Use a normal sized lens for a natural feel.

Use a telephoto to compress the depth, and to give the edges more of an emphasis.

Or fake the lens-distortion in post-processing.

Depth

Use the appropriate type of lens for the feeling of depth that you want to create. Depth can also be created, or taken away, by a foreground-background realtionship. Make sure there is some kind of relationship when you add a foreground and a background element to a picture.