composition techniques

1. Composition Refresh
• placement or arrangement of visual elements
• organization of the elements of art according to
the principles of design
• biggest difference between a good photograph
and a mediocre one is the composition
Besides the Rule of Thirds…how can you improve
your photographic compositions?

2. Eliminate Unimportant - Cropping
If main subject is too
small, photo will lack
impact and subject will
become lost among the
clutter.
Crop tight around the
subject to eliminate
background 'noise',
ensuring subject gets
viewer's undivided
attention.

5. Balancing Elements
Rule of Thirds creates a
more interesting photo,
but can leave a void in
scene making it feel
empty.
Balance the 'weight' of
your subject by including
another object of lesser
importance to fill the
space.

7. Background
Busy backgrounds often end is poor photographs. The
camera will flatten the foreground and background.
Solution – look
around for a plain
and unobtrusive
background and/or
compose your shot
so that it doesn't
distract or detract
from the subject.

9. Avoid Mergers
Easy to spot, hard to define.
They occur due to poor
framing.
Examples…
• cutting feet off at the
bottom
• catching half a person
standing in a crowd
• standing in front busy
background - looks like
objects are sprouting
from peoples heads

11. Perspective or Viewpoint
Viewpoint has massive
impact on composition and
can greatly affect your
message. Don’t just shoot
from eye level… consider
photographing from high
above, down at ground
level, from the side,
from the back, from a
long way away, from
very close up...

14. Landscape only? Try Portrait!
Turn the camera on it's side and
shoot an upright picture.
Consider and experiment with
both formats to see what a
difference it can make to the
picture.

15. Framing, Edges, Frame within a Frame
The world is full of frames –
trees, archways and holes.
Place these around the edge
of the composition to help
isolate main subject from the
outside world.
The result is a more focused
image which draws your eye
naturally to the main point of
interest.

17. Leading Lines
Eye is naturally drawn
along lines.
Thinking about how you
place lines in your
composition affects the
way we view the image -
pulling us into the
picture, towards the
subject, or through the
scene.

20. Diagonals
Setting your subject
matter on a diagonal will
almost always make for a
more dynamic picture.
Even if this is an invisible
diagonal that draws your
eye between two points.
Move around the subject
and look for a diagonal.

23. Emphasize
Fill your frame with a repetitive pattern to give the
impression of size and large numbers. Zoom in close so
the pattern fills the frame and breaks of the edges.
Examples – faces in a
crowd, bricks on a
wall, a line of bicycle
wheels all on the
same angle etc.
Repetition & Pattern

24. Breaking Patterns
Interrupt the flow of a pattern by adding a contrasting
object (color, shape, texture) or removing one of the
repeating objects. Sometimes these broken patterns
appear naturally or you can interrupt a pattern yourself.
Pay attention to where
in your frame to place
the break in the pattern
(think rule of thirds),
and consider where
your focus is.
Repetition & Pattern

25. Symmetry
Can make very eye-catching compositions, especially in
places where they are not expected. You can also try to
break the symmetry in some way, introducing tension and a
focal point to the scene.

27. Assignment:
40 Images uploaded to your Google Drive
Folder plus 2 Final Images. (Comp. Tech)
• You should take pictures showing EACH of
the compositional techniques (there are 12)
in this presentation.
• Some of your pictures will include multiple
compositional options.
• Include the technique used as your image
name.
Due:
Tuesday, Oct. 11 – critique Oct. 13th