The document provides information on image composition techniques in photography. It defines composition and discusses key elements such as selecting a subject and center of interest, applying the rule of thirds, balancing elements within the frame, using lines and curves to guide the eye, and considering background, framing, and depth. Good composition is described as carefully selecting and arranging the subject matter within the frame. The document also addresses creating mood and theme through factors like perspective, color, lighting, weather, and isolation or inclusion of background elements.

1. IMAGE COMPOSITION
Yahaya Lawal

2. DEFINITION OF COMPOSITION
Composition has been defined as a laying of comparative
objects and elements in an artwork ( www.photographylife.com).
DEFINITION OF COMPOSITION IN PHOTOGRAPHY
This can be described as placing essentials or features within a
photograph in a way that fits the central idea or target of your
work
(www.digitalcameraworld.com).
GOOD COMPOSTION
Good composition has been defined as the careful selection and arrangement
of the photo’s subject matter within a frame (Busch: 2009)

3. EXAMPLE OF A GOOD COMPOSITION

4. It is a fact that best pictures are not by accident, they are calculated and
crafted. The following will guide us on how to prepare and apply good
composition in our photography. They are only guidelines your intelligence will
tell you when to break the rules.
• VISUALISING A CONCEPT FOR YOUR PICTURE
Photo talks. You should decide what your picture will say and also determine
your audience. Is your photo communicating emotions: happiness, sorrow,
mourning, sympathy, pains or a pathetic situation.

5. PHOTO TALKS

6. It is significant to remember where the image will be used. If it is for display you
need to have tight composition for adequate sharpness and should be framed
And enlarged. If it is on the web page, you need to move back a little, you can crop it later.
Another essential factor is for who is the photo: family, friends, colleagues, etc
SELECTING A SUBJECT AND A CENTRE OF INTEREST
You should not leave your viewers in limbo or confused on what is your soul
intention or focal point. Every picture must have one strong Mecca. Do not
include everything, rather narrow down your subject matter by eliminating all the
unwanted object, cropping or excusing them to leave. Choose one main subject
and allow the other interesting secondary subject to appear.

7. SIMPLICTY / CENTER OF INTEREST
CHOOSE ONE MAIN CENTER OF INTEREST
Some of the prominent compositional techniques to have centre of interest are
as follow:
Most prominent should be your center of interest : you may think that Sister Hafsat
should be pictured but if she stands in front of a latest car in town, she can hardly be
noticed.

11. SINGLE CENTER OF INTEREST
Center of interest should be the brightest object or should not be conquered by
a brighter object. Dazzling background and reflections should not distract
viewers from your core subject.

12. SUBJECT SHOULD NOT ALWAYS BE IN THE MIDDLE
Avoid placing your center of interest always at the at the center of the picture
do not use the literal meaning of the word center every time

13. USING SECONDARY SUBJECT
Presenting multiple center of interest is confusing. If a picture has many
important subjects just include secondary objects that enrich the photo.
Secondary objects can be identified through: brightness, location, and sharpness
( by editing).

14. One of the essential basics of composition is appropriate arrangement of subjects within
a frame. It matters seriously: where subjects are facing and where they are placed.
The most important arrangement is selection of the subject’s distance.
Choosing Subject Distance: Distance selection should not be permanent, it should be
reviewed according to the situation demands. The following are ways to select subject
distance:
 Use wide –angle lens or move back to create the feeling of space or depth.
 Your subject should not be appear too small.
For pictures that stress a person, group or object move as close as possible.
 Fill in the frame entirely.
ARRANGING YOUR SUBJECTS

15. Optimizing Background: Unwanted background is somehow indispensible
unless if the picture is in the night or somehow. Background can be an
advantage or disadvantage to you. The following points can help in managing
Your background.
Make sure your background is not flamboyant, brightly colored or occupied.
 Plain background suits portraits.
 Natural settings such as trees, skies, mountains, waterfalls, etc can make an
attractive compositional background.
FRAMING & THE RULE OF THIRDS
The best position to be assigned to an important subject is usually at one of the
points located one third of the way from top or bottom and sides of the frame.
Burch (2009) defined rule of thirds as a process of breaking up your picture
horizontally and vertically into thirds.

16. PLACING IMPORTANT OBJECT AT IMAGINARY JUNCTION POINTS
To stay away from placing your subject at the middle, you can
stage it at off-center position with the support of imaginary rule of
thirds. We can do this by:
 Splitting the frame into thirds horizontally and vertically.
 Place your center of interest at of the four intersections of the imaginary lines.
 Do not position your object at the edge of your picture.

17. RULE OF THIRD

18. WHEN TO BREAK THE RULE OF THIRDS
The rule of thirds is just a guide, one can break it rationally. We can neglect the
rule if:
 The main object is big enough to occupy one of the imaginary intersection points.
 Placing the image at the centre will help in demonstrating a concept.
 If illustrating symmetry.
BREAKING THE RULE

19. LEADING LINE AND CURVES
Your viewers will like to see the subjects arranged interestingly. Lines and
curves within your image can direct your eyes toward your focal point. Line and
curves can be in a form of walls, fence, building, roads, falls etc

20. Putting every subject of interest on one side of the picture leaving little or nothing to look at on the other
side is making the composition of the photo to be unbalanced. Balancing an image requires that all the
object that occupy one side should be counterbalanced by other objects on the other side. This is not
akin to multiple centers of interest. Object can be balanced in two ways:
 Symmetrical balance: this is where objects of the same size and weight can be placed on both sides.
 Asymmetrical balance; Here the objects of different sizes and weights are stationed on both the opposing
sides.
BALANCING AN IMAGE

21. BALANCING IMAGE

22. FRAMING AN IMAGE
Usually, printed pictures are put in physical frames for some reasons. Border
delineates the shape of the picture and help to center attention on the image
Within the frame. We can apply the basic notion on framing to create an
attractive border within our picture by utilizing the following guidelines:
 Search for clear framing shapes where you can place your composition, example; doo-ways, windows,
spaces between building, etc
 Change position to edge the shot so that the forefront object create a border around your image.
 Situate your frame in the foreground
 Use your frame to breed a sense of depth.

23. FRAMING IMAGE

25. DEPTH

27. • As conclusion there a few basic composition which are;
• Photo Talk
• Simplicity
• Rule Of third
• Breaking the rule
• Balancing
• Line
• Framing
• Depth

28. Busch, D.D (2009). Digital Photography, Wiley Publishing, Inc. Canada.
REFERENCES

29. THEME AND MOODS
Mohd Emran Ngadiman
MP111370

30. What makes these
images effective?

31. CREATING MOOD
• Overall feel of a picture
• Created by
• Perspective
• Color
• Focus (isolation and distance)
• Weather and light
• Sunrise/sunset
• Misty, rainy days
• Sun vs. overcast

32. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PHOTO
• Shape
• Line
• Pattern
• Texture
• Size and space

33. SHAPE
• Tends to be noticed first, before texture and pattern
• Easiest and most recognizable composition tool
• Shape helps create a mood/character for the picture
• Search for the unconventional or surprise shape in
objects

34. CREATING SHAPE
• Common—
• use backlighting to create a silhouette
• Uncommon—
• side lighting with simple background
• underexpose to focus on shape vs. color or texture

36. LINE
• Lines create
• Shape
• Pattern
• Depth
• Perspective
• Line leads the eye
• Focal point/subject
• Diagonals
• S-curves

37. LINE CREATES PERSPECTIVE
• Lines into the horizon show depth and perspective for the viewer
• Vanishing point
• Point at which lines converge and vanish in to the horizon
• Place off-center
• Close-ups decrease perspective while wide-angles can exaggerate it

44. PATTERN
• Orderly combination of shape, line, or color
• Pattern can help echo the character of a photo
• Catching attention
• Random patterns
• Slight variation in a pattern
• Pattern in common places

47. TEXTURE
• Adds realism (sense of touch) to a photo
• Sharp (hard) light highlights texture
• Especially important for close-up and b/w shots
• Side lighting highlights texture
• Most portraits use front lighting to decrease texture on skin

49. USING LIGHT FOR DEPTH
• Sometimes hard light is inappropriate for illustrating shape and depth
• Soft side lighting can give a sense of shape and depth without high contrast
• Portraits
• Still life
• When shape/depth is more important that texture

51. SIZE AND SPACE
• 2D pictures distort depth, relative size, and distances
• Include reference item
• Include parts of the fore- or background
• Use a frame
• Be creative—maybe you want to distort

52. GIVING PERSPECTIVE
• Linear—Lines which converge into the distance
• Diminishing size—objects further away are smaller
• Aerial perspective—atmosphere creates haze, which lightens objects farther
away

53. CUT OFFS
• Avoiding cutting out parts or wholes of people or main subjects
• Avoiding cutting out the path of a moving object

55. Give the object
somewhere to go

57. SHOOTING TECHNIQUE
Ahmad Fathur Rahman bin Hasmiy
MPP141070

58. HIGH ANGLE
High angle from the subject

61. LOW ANGLE
Low angle from the subject

63. EYE LEVEL/NORMAL ANGLE
Eye level from the subject

66. PANNING
• A moving object become static but the background still moving

69. PANORAMA

71. SILHOUTE
• Picture that the background is brighter than the subject and make the
subject black but people well know what is the subject

74. ZOOM IN ZOOM OUT
• We use the bulb setting or slow shutter speed and we zoom our lens

76. ZOOM OUT

77. ZOOM IN

78. CREATIVE LIGHTING SYSTEM
• We use the flash as a slave them we put out of the camera body

82. REFLECTION
• Take the reflection of the object

85. There is only you and your camera.
The limitations in your photography are in yourself
-Ernst Haas

86. THANK YOU 