Adobe Photoshop CC

Composition & Cropping

1. What is composition?

2. Composition basics

3. Controlling Composition
What is Composition?
What is composition

How we frame everything:

In any art form Composition is how the artist places their
subject(s) within the working space.

Painters: The canvas

Illustrators: The paper
Sculptors: The three dimensional space
Photographers: The frame

mise en scène – in film it’s the placement of objects within the scene.
Composition
Basics
Composition Basics

There are many ways to frame a photo:

When composing an image there are some rules or guides you may
follow to help you make a more compelling composition.

A Composition may contain one or more of the following

1. The Rule of Thirds

2. Symmetry
3. Forced Perspective
4. Diagonals and Triangles
5. Geometry
6. The Golden Ratio, Golden Spiral, Fibonacci sequence
Rule of Thirds
Rule of Thirds
Symmetry
Symmetry
Forced
Perspective
Forced
Perspective
Diagonals and
Triangles
Geometry
Golden Spiral
• Forced
Perspective

• Rule of Thirds
• Symmetry

• Forced
Perspective
Controlling
Composition
As photographers we have to frame our images for composition
through cropping. We can crop:

1. In Camera
2. In Post
3. In Print

Mastering the art of cropping is the first step to Composition

Comprehension