Learn Composition http://www.johnharveyphoto.

com/LearnComposition/

Learn Photo Composition

Rules are meant to be broken

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No composition rule is universal. No rule will work for every JohnHarveyPhoto.com
case. Some clever people have noticed trends in photos that
can be summarized as rules and I'll try to summarize some of Visit
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those rules. for a wide
selection of photo
frames
"Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity
before going for a walk."
- Edward Weston

"The so-called rules of photographic composition are, in my opinion, invalid, irrelevant and
immaterial"
- Ansel Adams

2D Composition Rules:

You can look at photos in two ways - either as a 2 dimensional

plane with color, or as a three dimensional scene that has been
flattened into a 2 dimensional photo. Some types of photos
(macro, long focal lengths or shallow depth of field) tend
toward 2 dimensional interpretations and the 2D Composition
rules seem to work well. Other photos (mostly wide angle,
deep depth of field) seem to require the strong three
dimensional sense to really pop out to the user. Of course no
rule is hard - almost the opposite, simply following the rules
often leads to just acceptable images.

Rules of Thirds: The rule of thirds is by far the best known

composition rule. If you divide the photo into thirds, place
objects where the thirds cross. Align horizons and edges to
join the third lines.

The opposite way of saying this rules is don't put the neat stuff
in the center of the frame.

Disappearing Lines into Corners: If there are strong lines in

the scene, try to get them to disappear into the corner. If the
lines break into the center or the edge, it tends to divide the
photo, but disappearing into a corner seems to make
composition stronger.

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This effect is often easily done with paths and railings. It

invites the viewer to walk into the photo or gives them a safe
feeling.
Use "S" Curves
Apparently, they eye enjoys following "S" curves. This rules
seems to apply mostly to water, roads and the silhouettes of
people. It doesn't strictly need to be an "S" either - reverse it
or even just a strong zig-zag can be enough.

This can be combined with the disappearing lines into the

corner piece above to stronger effect.
Monotonous Content:
Some images would make killer jigsaw puzzles - they contain
many examples of the same object but with deep detail allows
the brain to dwell on and discover arbitrary parts of the photo.

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Anti Left Right Symmetry:

The eye seems to enjoy a little surprise. Left right symmetry is
the rule in this world - many things have symmetry. If you can
find examples where there is symmetry (where it isn't expect)
or symmetry is missing when it should be there, your eye will
dwell to reconcile the situation.

The first is a surprising example of symmetry - your eye goes

to explore the exceptions. The second is broken symmetry - if
water is spaying up, why is one side of the background dark
and the other bright?

Movement into the Majority of the Frame

If you have motion, try to place the object that is moving into
the larger part of the frame (more space in front of the vehicle
than behind). If the moving thing approaches an edge, it may
seem it's about to "fall off", which is discomforting to the
viewer. If you want to be edgy, go right to the edges.

3D Composition Rules:
For landscape and environment photos, there are additional

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Learn Composition http://www.johnharveyphoto.com/LearnComposition/

strategies you can use to make your photos stand out. These
seem to tap into the brain's ability to perceive or reconstruct
spacial relationships.

Using Layers of {Textures | Lighting} One of the easiest

ways to recover three dimensions from a two dimensional
rendering is to use layers of lighting or textures. They eye can
easily trace outlines and assign a depth sorting priority to the
various pieces in the frame.

Using Silhouettes
Another aid to the eye seems to be the use of silhouettes.
Silhouettes allow you to form a stronger sense of scene depth
because there is a colour becomes a function of depth. Dark
Silhouettes at dusk are the easiest form of silhouette to form -
just over expose the frame in a high contrast scene.

The second type of silhouette is a blend to ambient (often

white). Fog is the most common situation to cause these
effects, although it happens for many other reasons (dust
storms, forest fires, mist, tear gas.)

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Using Reflections

Again, our brain seems clever at resolving a three

dimensional scene with the aid of reflections. If the
reflection folds at the center of the frame, it is less
effective than using the third line, or even leaving the
fold out of the frame all together.

Using Depth of field to Guide the Viewer (Foreground

Background Composition)
Sometimes a complex scene can be softened if the shallow
depth of field is used. If you have a trace that maps from the
foreground to the background, that also can aid the
effectiveness of the image.

Using Depth of field with Monotonous Content

Monotonous content is a good 2D rule - it has a 3D
equivalent. If you have a vast collection of objects that are all
(roughly) the same, they eye can use that to reconstruct the 3D
scene (assuming it's worth doing). If there is two much object
variation, the scene falls apart. Too little and it's boring - move
on.

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More on Composition

The above rules are generic - could work for anything.

Different types of photos have different types of "rules" to be
followed or broken. For more specialized topics, see:

Learn Flowers People

Flowers are something that
Photography
I enjoy taking photos of.
While many of the The true bread and butter
principals involved in of photography, there is a
traditional composition or huge number of variations
available.
portrait composition apply
to flower photography,
sometimes just seeing
examples can inspire.

Learn Low Learn Water

Light
Photography
Requiring a bit of technical
know how, light really
takes on new properties
when there isn't much of it.
Photography
It's one of the requirements
of life and often a focal
point of landscape
photography.

Markets Giving Up
I really enjoy markets but Rules don't define the
getting a good photos at edges of photography.
market isn't obvious. There Sometimes photos that are
are a few things to keep in technically poor making
mind when you are striking images, but there
visiting. are few guidelines to help.

Tide Pools Trees

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Learn Composition http://www.johnharveyphoto.com/LearnComposition/

An amazing world on the One of the most difficult

boundary of the ocean and subjects to make a
land, A single visit to a compelling photograph out
beach will often have more of.
animal species than you
would see in a week of
hiking.

Visit Silvergroves.co.uk for a wide selection of photo frames

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Tags: bridge(3), gulf island(3), silhouette(3), reflection(3), Hong Kong(3), fish(3)

From: John Harvey Photo > Learn Photography > Learn Composition

Thank you for your Course. It's very helpful to us, amateur
photographers in all world around. Thanks, again Daniel Domínguez
México
Daniel Dominguez
Monday, May 7th, 2007 at 10:15:10

Great tips on composition! It is very helpful for amateur

photographers.
Ryan Chan
Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 04:44:22

Hi, I am a schoolboy at a school in India and my father was against the

idea of sending me to expensive photgraphy classes to learn
photography. What you have done to me cannot be measured since
you have boosted my morale and given me an insight into the basics.
Thanks for everything. Regards, Krishna Iyer
KRISHNA IYER
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 at 05:32:13

Hi! It is really cool and illustrative to read, thanks for putting some of
your time into helping us (amateur, and not so amateur
photographers). Regards!
Claudio García - México
Sunday, July 8th, 2007 at 08:16:58

hi i see many pro site but your site is very god & simpel for leraning
photography . i hope to see many page for learning photography . you
help the pepole around the world . thank you .reza from IRAN
reza jaffari
Monday, July 16th, 2007 at 16:01:29

hi i am annie sherchan from nepal , i m very excited to view ur website

.....bekoz i want to be a good pro photographer ..............thank you
very much , it was really great job that u did ...i love it ..................
annie
Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at 00:19:18

Thanks for the great website. I know a lot of these rules already, but
referenced your website in a blog post. Thanks again.
Amanda
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 21:48:29

oh my goodness i love your work so much!

Austin
Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 09:39:21

Thanks - this is very useful. I am looking for resources that relate to

composition in 3D graphics scenes, and it turns out that rules for
photgraphic composition is easily adapted as the aims are very similar
- producing a pleasing still image.
Richard Lyall
Sunday, October 14th, 2007 at 06:36:57

Agree Rules are there to be broken!! Excellent site Thanks

Peter
Saturday, October 27th, 2007 at 12:11:13

Excellent page, very informative, I've been doing photography as a

hobby for the past two years, and this is one of the best and clear
explanations of composition with great examples I have seen. Thank
you so much.
Matthew
Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 08:25:26

Excellent - very useful and informative. Great examples ! Thank you so

much !

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Learn Composition http://www.johnharveyphoto.com/LearnComposition/

Imran
Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 10:14:15

Vere helpful to me. Thank you very much for sharing of your great
knowledge.
Moe Ko Ko
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 at 20:23:43

Thanks for the tips. My wife has been laughing at the way I took
pictures and claiming that she took better picture much better. I hope
to practice with your tips in mind and hope to show off and surprise
her soon. Keep up the good work. Again, many thanks.
Photoidiot
Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 22:15:21

thanks for sharing!

arep
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 04:04:19

Great Job, well done, thanx

Yasir Zeb
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 06:54:54

hey nice work!! i loved it ..It taught me so much. LOL

Shanel
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 13:00:25

DUDE !!! u rock !!! my computer teacher is using your site to teach us
photography !! thanks alot !!! ... Pogo
Pogo
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 13:02:25

Thanx alot for your great effort. Honestly it is really a great simplified
summery in which everybody needs to know what he is doing.
Haytham Zireeni
Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 03:53:06

Hi, many thanks for such a beautiful and helpful course. I have learnt
quiet a things and am still learning by reading here and implementing.
Just wanted to ask you one thing, a SLR is necessary for getting those
dream shots even for a hobbyist like me..isn't it?..Your advice please?
Kimochi
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 01:22:51

thanks for your valuable tips... it is very helpful for me & amateur
photographers. great website done thanks....
Shrinivas Patke
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 03:19:50

Great Site... Great Advices! I specially liked the "Giving up" one. Great
examples of "what's not normal" and "resulted perfectly" :D Loved it!
Another section could be "how to photograph villages" or places...
Capturing angles, and trying to get different perspectives out of the
places we visit, is sometimes very hard :) Best Regards :)
Filipe
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 at 15:08:39

these where great tips!! thanks so much! my photography teacher is

using your site!
Tiff
Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 12:40:04

Very well presented......great knowlege in laymans terms, with

fantastic visual examples that emphasized your explanations so as to
bring out the meaning so easily. Thankyou for your help. Cheers John
John Peel
Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 03:55:20

whole photos seem a painting. This is a art.

nejdet
Sunday, October 19th, 2008 at 05:04:59

good stuff, got new tips.......

mithun
Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 03:05:20

I'm starting a wiki for digital photography. It will basically be a body of

knowledge. I'm looking for people to contribute. Articles can range
from small definitions to full tutorials. Interested in participating?
Please let me know. Aaron
Aaron
Friday, December 26th, 2008 at 07:10:57

thanks for all the insight... i will sure come back to check out this site
again... i have to review!

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ian koyanagi
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 01:19:36

Beautiful photographic examples!

gypsypunk
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 21:52:56

thanks for the tutorial! I love photography, after reading this I'm loving
it more!
Pleau
Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 01:19:20

Brilliant composition tips! Thanks, Jon Harvey - England.

Jon Harvey
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 04:22:31

This is great, fantastic and excellent. pls keep it up, it is a nice job! I
love it.
Abdoulah I. Goumou
Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 07:31:20

These photo's are beautiful. it's so amazing the different types of

angles used to create different looks and feels of a photo.
photography is such an amazing art, you can depict so many different
images and points of views, expressions, etc. unlike anything anyone
has ever seen before. it's so awesome :)
Melissa Petraccoro
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 19:45:10

Thanks for all of the great tips, they were a big help!!!!!
Caitlin "Carter" Tuck
Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 05:36:44

This information was very informative and interesting. I know it will help
me a great deal on future assignments.
Tierra Spence
Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 14:06:19

these pictures are so amazing to look at!!! and interesting too!!!!

dana
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 07:50:08

Beautiful Photography. Touches My Heart. Sometime I also take

Pictures
Vikrant
Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 01:14:38

Hey, John. Your site has been the best I've found for someone who
has no idea what the fancy technical jargon mean! Thanks so much
from this beginner for sharing, and I hope you'll keep them coming.
:O)
Jas
Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 20:04:46

You make me want to get better. Thank you. Rick.C.USA

RICK
Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 11:03:41

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