PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITIONS

Rule of ThirdsImagine that your image is divided into9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2horizontal lines. The rule of thirds saysthat you should position the mostimportant elements in your scene alongthese lines, or at the points where theyintersect.

Balance

Placing your main subject off-center, aswith the rule of thirds, creates a moreinteresting photo, but it can leave a void inthe scene which can make it feel empty. Youshould balance the "weight" of your subjectby including another object of lesserimportance to fill the space.

Leading Lines

When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn alonglines. By thinking about how you place lines in yourcomposition, you can affect the way we view the image, pullingus into the picture, towards the subject, or on a journey"through" the scene. There are many different types of line -straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial etc - and each can beused to enhance our photo's composition.

Symmetry and Patterns

We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both naturaland man-made., They can make for very eye-catchingcompositions, particularly in situations where they are notexpected. Another great way to use them is to break thesymmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and afocal point to the scene.

Viewpoint

Before photographing your subject, take time tothink about where you will shoot it from. Ourviewpoint has a massive impact on thecomposition of our photo, and as a result it cangreatly affect the message that the shot conveys.Rather than just shooting from eye level,consider photographing from high above, downat ground level, from the side, from the back,from a long way away, from very close up, and soon.

Background

How many times have you taken what you thoughtwould be a great shot, only to find that the final imagelacks impact because the subject blends into a busybackground? The human eye is excellent atdistinguishing between different elements in a scene,whereas a camera has a tendency to flatten theforeground and background, and this can often ruin anotherwise great photo. Thankfully this problem isusually easy to overcome at the time of shooting - lookaround for a plain and unobtrusive background andcompose your shot so that it doesn't distract or detractfrom the subject.

Don’t just concentrate on your subject –look at what’s happening in thebackground, too. This ties in withsimplifying the scene and filling the frame.You can’t usually exclude the backgroundcompletely, of course, but you can control it.

Depth

Because photography is a two-dimensional medium,we have to choose our composition carefully to conveysthe sense of depth that was present in the actualscene. You can create depth in a photo by includingobjects in the foreground, middle ground andbackground. Another useful composition technique isoverlapping, where you deliberately partially obscureone object with another. The human eye naturallyrecognises these layers and mentally separates themout, creating an image with more depth.

Framing

The world is full of objects which make perfectnatural frames, such as trees, archways andholes. By placing these around the edge of thecomposition you help to isolate the main subjectfrom the outside world. The result is a morefocused image which draws your eye naturally tothe main point of interest.

Cropping

Often a photo will lack impact because the mainsubject is so small it becomes lost among theclutter of its surroundings. By cropping tightaround the subject you eliminate thebackground "noise", ensuring the subject getsthe viewer's undivided attention.

Experimentation

With the dawn of the digital age in photographywe no longer have to worry about filmprocessing costs or running out of shots. As aresult, experimenting with our photos'composition has become a real possibility; wecan fire off tons of shots and delete theunwanted ones later at absolutely no extra cost.Take advantage of this fact and experiment withyour composition - you never know whether anidea will work until you try it.

Use diagonals

Horizontal lines lend a static, calm feel to apicture, while vertical ones often suggestpermanence and stability. To introduce afeeling of drama, movement or uncertainty,look for diagonal lines instead.

Simplify the scene

When you look at a scene with your naked eye, yourbrain quickly picks out subjects of interest. But thecamera doesn’t discriminate – it captures everythingin front of it, which can lead to a cluttered, messypicture with no clear focal point.

What you need to do is choose your subject, then selecta focal length or camera viewpoint that makes it thecentre of attention in the frame. You can’t always keepother objects out of the picture, so try to keep them inthe background or make them part of the story.

Silhouettes, textures and patterns are all devices thatwork quite well in simple compositions.

Portrait composition

01: Wide shot

• Wide shots throw up more variables than close-ups, offeringboth a challenge and an opportunity to capture your subjectin an environment that perhaps reflects their work orpersonality.

• As a rule, position subjects on a third. Use lines, shapes andframes to lead the eye around the image, and scan the edgesof the frame before you take your shot to check for anydistractions.

• Try out different angles and camera heights too: by crouchingdown or standing on a chair, for example, you can make yoursubject or the background look markedly different.

02: Top half

Cropping a subject at the waist or chest allowsfor a tighter composition that brings two of aportrait’s most important elements to the fore:eyes and hands.

With this approach there’s usually a 50/50 splitbetween subject and background.

Try to find an uncluttered background and use awide aperture to throw it out of focus. Whenpositioning the head in the frame, one of themost effective compositional skills you can learnis also one of the simplest: don’t place subjects inthe centre. Think about posing too: here thearms lead towards the subject’s eyes.

03: Head and shoulders

• Amateur portraits often suffer from ‘dead-spacesyndrome’, because the photographer hasn’t filled theframe by cropping in tight on the subject’s face.

• For a successful head and shoulders portrait, fill theframe with the face, and aim to place the eyes on thetop third.

• Don’t worry about including the top of the head,portraits often look stronger with a dynamic crop intothe forehead.

• Also use a long lens: facial features will becompressed and thus more flattering, the backgroundwill be thrown out of focus, and you won’t have tocrowd your subject.

04: Tight close-up

Extreme close-ups focus entirely on the face, so they’re ideal if you want to convey a mood or feeling. For great close-ups, crop in tight on the face (or even another body part) and exclude the background entirely.

Use hair to frame the face, and think about the position and look of the eyes in the image. You can go for a piercing stare or take a more subtle approach and ask your subject to look down.

Focusing also becomes more crucial: focus precisely on the eyes, and if necessary select the focusing point manually.

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