The Ultimate Guide to Photography Composition

Learning composition in photography is a critical element of photography basics.

The ability to understand composition techniques can genuinely help you make a
difference in your photography, allowing you to take better photos every time.
There are several different rules to keep in mind when planning the perfect
picture taking session, including the following:

1. Use the Rule of Thirds

2. Understand Your Focal Point
3. Choose the Appropriate Angle
4. Use Lines in Your Images
5. Frame Your Subject
6. Take Advantage of Empty Space
7. Adjust for Background and Foreground Depth of Field
8. Avoid Cutting Off Vital Aspects of the Subject
9. Use Symmetry in Your Photos
10. Use Complementary Colors

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 Composition in photography, like the composition in art, is an integral part of
creating an overall image. By introducing the above ten rules into your
photography composition, you are giving yourself the best chance at taking
great photos that you will make you proud.

What Does Composition Mean in Photography?

When it comes to photography, composition is how you put your photo together.
It is the way the elements in your photograph are composed within the frame of
your camera’s lens. It deals with how you frame your subject, what type of angle
you use, the depth of your photo, complementing colors, plus a variety of other
photography techniques that can make your photographs come to life and stand
out from others.

There are a lot of different ways you can use composition to build your perfect
image, and believe it or not, something as simple as the angle you use can
change the photograph from a good picture into a great view.

Use the Rule of Thirds in your Photography

When it comes to taking the perfect photo, try out using the rule of thirds in your

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 composition to create an eye-pleasing image.

What is the Rule of Thirds in Photography?

The rule of thirds in photography is when you imagine horizontal and vertical
lines to divide the frame into nine squares: three by three. Many cameras already
have this feature built-in, which allows you to toggle an overlay on or off in your
viewfinder. If your camera doesn’t have this feature, you can also do this in your
mind.

Once you have the three-by-three sections, you can change the framing of your
subjects. Instead of putting your subject in the center of the image, for instance,
you now have “thirds” to work with, allowing yourself the opportunity to create
eye-catching photos by arranging your subject differently. Try it out next time
you take pictures– you will be thrilled to see that your photos look better when
your subject is not perfectly centered. Using the rule of thirds in your
photography composition can create a more satisfying picture by bringing other
details of the frame into focus.

Understand Your Focal Point

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 What may seem like the easiest part of photography can surprise you! When you
get ready to take a good photograph, it is essential to truly understand the
subject, which is called your focal point. By having a good understanding of the
landscape, item, or person that should be highlighted and in main focus, you are
ensuring that other viewers are immediately drawn to your subject.

Understanding the focal point is one of the principal photography composition

basics. Find your focal point, focus on that subject, and choose how you would
like to frame it. Be sure not to center your focal point every time you take a
photo. It can be much more eye-catching if you place the subject of the photo
off-center.

Choose the Appropriate Angle

You might not believe it, but choosing the perfect angle in your photography
composition can significantly alter the quality of your photo. If you’ve been
framing and taking photographs of your subjects from above and it feels
somewhat stale, try something new. Drop the camera, so it’s level or below the
subject, or try taking the photo from the side. It makes all the difference in some
shots, by merely rearranging how the subject is framed. This technique can be
used for landscape photography or portraits, making it one of the easiest (and
most fun) ways to create entirely different pictures.

Use Lines in Your Images

When planning your photography composition, you might not think of using lines
as being something extraordinary. At first, it might even seem to make things
worse, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll see how lines can drastically alter
your photographs. The human eye is naturally drawn towards lines in a picture
and using them to your advantage will make your photo look more appealing.

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 Horizontal Lines

Horizontal lines give the general idea of a calm, serene landscape that is easy on
the eyes and can be genuinely appealing to view. These lines, such as those in
landscapes like hills and on water, all have a purpose in your composition– to
draw the viewer’s interest.

Diagonal Lines

Diagonal lines can create the general idea that your subject is moving while you
are taking the picture. Take street photography, for example: If you frame a man
standing on the street, it might appear that he is walking down the street based
on how the lines of the road are diagonal behind him. This is a great trick for
creating the illusion of movement in your photography.

Leading Lines

Leading lines are a little bit different: They help to direct the eyes toward the
subject. If you are taking a photo of a winding path in nature, the outline of the
sides of the path is where your eyes will naturally gravitate towards, capturing
your attention and allowing your eyes to follow along up the road to your subject.

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 These are the kinds of lines that will capture the viewer and take them through
the image, through the scene, and allow them to pick up all the little details along
the way, so be creative!

Using lines in your photography composition takes a little practice, but

eventually, you will start to see the lines in your mind before you even decide to
take the shot. You will be able to piece together what looks natural, what is
appealing to the eye, and what subjects make good photographs, simply based
on the position of the lines and the details around them.

Frame Your Subject

When it comes to framing your subject, there are a variety of different

techniques that you can use in your composition to create amazing photos.
Framing your subject will draw attention to the person, place, or thing that you
are taking a picture of. Whether you choose to fill the entire frame with the
subject, frame your subject by using the “frame inside a frame” method, or using
the scenery around your subject for framing, there are plenty of ways to draw
the eyes to your subject using framing.

Fill the Frame

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 For portrait photography composition, including headshots and close up shots of
animals or people, you will want to fill the frame with the subject. This technique
brings out their best details.

Frame-Inside-a-Frame Method

The frame-inside-a-frame method in photography composition is a great way to

compose a photo of your subject. This works well for taking photographs inside
the house (such as in a doorway), or outside (such as inside a garden trellis or
the mouth of a cave). The idea is to create natural “frames” inside the camera
frame, producing an allure all its own.

Framing with Scenery

The right kind of scenery often works well to create frames. This technique can
be just what you need for your photography composition. For example, if you are
taking a photograph of someone inside a car with the window down, it would be
an excellent way to naturally frame the shot. You can also use other scenery
elements, such as rocks, pathways, or tree branches to create frames that will
place your subject in an eye-pleasing manner. By using a frame in your image
composition, you will have no trouble drawing the eyes toward your subject

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 matter.

Take Advantage of Empty Space

If your subject is surrounded by open space, such as a cathedral stretching off

into the sky, or a boat alone in the water, be mindful of the space around the
subject and use it in the composition of your photo. One way to do this is to
make sure your subject is not centered, but slightly off to the side. By utilizing
the extra space when you are composing your shot, you can help draw even
more attention to the subject in question. Whether it be the sky, water, or an
open field, that space can help draw more attention to the original item or person
you want to capture. Negative space like this can become a beautiful part of your
photo!

Adjust for Background and Foreground Depth of Field

When composing your shots, it is vital to determine how you want the
photograph to look. Are you trying to capture an object up close, but want it to
look farther away? Do you want to bring an object in the background closer? To
do this, you have to understand how to adjust for background and foreground
depth of field.

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 When composing your photograph, be sure to examine the background and
foreground around you and use it to your advantage. If you want a close-up
subject to appear farther away, try different angles for your photo and be sure to
include other close-up objects, such as flowers, grass, or a road. While arranging
the shot, be sure to keep your focus on the main subject.

Avoid Cutting Off Vital Aspects of the Subject

This one might sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised by how quickly it
can occur. It’s always important to remember not to cut off any vital aspects of
your subject in the shot. When composing an image, be sure you have
everything you want to be contained inside the camera’s frame. If you are trying
to capture a full-body shot, make sure your subject’s face, body, and limbs are
all in the frame – it’s not something you can fix later, so it’s important to get it
right before taking the photo.

Also, it’s important to focus on the correct part of the subject – if you want the
subject’s face to be the focus, for instance, make sure you aren’t focused mainly
on the arms or hands. This will help you take great pictures of people, pets, and
other items. If you are composing a landscape photograph, make sure that you
don’t cut off an important part of your subject, such as a bench, boat, tree, etc.
This will ensure your photos have good composition. A wide-angle lens can be
very helpful for these types of photos.

Use Symmetry in Your Photos

You don’t always have to center your subject in the frame, but if you do, be sure
to use symmetry in your composition. This is a commonly used technique when
taking photos of pets or people. Symmetry in composition tends to be appealing.

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 Photographing landscape or a person can be appealing if centered. Imagine a
line down the center of your frame, and from there, adjust your composition so
that both sides are symmetrical to each other. This technique can add artistic
balance to your photos. For example, a symmetrical photograph of an ornate
staircase can fill the frame in a way pleasing to the eye.

Use Complementary Colors

Using complementing colors in your photography composition is a great way to

create eye-catching images. With a color wheel, you can determine which colors
are complementing colors, by viewing which colors are directly opposite from
one another on the wheel. By using complementary colors, both in landscape
photography composition and portraits, you will see quite the difference in the
quality of your photos.

Photography Basics: How to Fix Bad Composition

Now and then, a photo that you think worked pretty well may not turn out as
impressive as you hoped. This happens, and it’s perfectly normal. In most cases,
this can be fixed using an editing program. Lightroom is a wonderful program
that is great for editing photos and making changes, such as cropping, tilting,

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 zooming, and filtering to make the photograph look better.

Cropping

Cropping your image allows you to easily cut out any part of the picture that you
want to exclude. For example, if you took a picture and later found there was an
unwanted tree at the edge of the frame, you can crop it out. This is a great way
to eliminate too much negative space, as well.

Tilting

You can use the tilt tool to easily change the perspective of your photograph.
This is helpful if you don’t like a certain angle of a photo, or if you want to
enhance the angled effect. Sometimes, this tool can save a photo that didn’t
properly follow the above composition tips.

Zooming

When your subject is too small or far away, you can easily zoom in on your photo,
cutting out unneeded extras that can be found in the background. In many ways,
this process is similar to cropping.

Straightening

In Lightroom, there is a tool that allows you to select an area on your photograph
and straighten its angle. This is extremely useful if you have a photograph that
features a crooked landscape, as you can straighten it out a bit, and the straight
line will make it more appealing to the eyes.

Effects

If your photo is a little bland and needs some sprucing up, you can always use
the filters that come with Lightroom to change the entire look of the picture. For
example, the black-and-white filter and the antique filters are both interesting
and can change the image. The right filter can often draw focus away from
subtle problem areas in the picture. You can also change the color of the photo,
adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, and sharpness, which can make your
images pop.

Photographic composition is how you arrange the items in your picture. The

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 rules of composition are incredibly important and can make the difference
between good photos and great photos.

There are many ways to achieve proper composition in your photos, including
things like using negative space to make the photographs appear more
attractive, framing your subject properly, and even making sure that you have
the right complementing color scheme in the photograph.

The focal point of your scene is important, as well. You want to be sure you
capture it properly, but not always centered, and be sure to use a different point
of view from time to time. This will help you capture angles you might not have
otherwise considered.

Learning photography composition basics is an important step towards

improving your photography skills. It can truly help you to achieve great pictures
each time you snap the shutter button. As you practice your composition
techniques, you’ll feel the joy and excitement that comes with finding your style
and becoming a better photographer.

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