The document discusses guidelines for effective photographic composition, including simplicity, the rule of thirds, lines, balance, framing, and avoiding mergers. It provides examples of properly and improperly composed photographs based on these principles. The guidelines are meant to help arrange elements in the picture area in a pleasing and attractive way that draws the viewer's eye.

1. Photographic Composition – M.V.Ramachandran

2. Photographic composition is the pleasing arrangement of subject matter elements within the picture area The camera sees and records only a small isolated part of the larger scene, reduces it to only two dimensions, frames it, and freezes

3. Composition Composition is the selection and arrangement of objects in the picture area. A well composed photograph is more attractive and pleasing to the viewer. There are 6 guidelines to follow to get well-composed photographs.

4. Composition 1. Simplicity 2. Rule of Thirds 3. Lines 4. Balance 5. Framing 6. Mergers

5. Simplicity Focus on 1 Subject Have a Simple Background Place the Subject Slightly Off Center

6. Simplicity

7. Simplicity Compare the simple photo on the left... … with the busy photo on the right. Which one do you prefer?

8. Simplicity

9. Simplicity

10. Simplicity

11. How are photographic composition skills developed? You look, You study You practice.

12. Think through your Camera

13. Analyze various media Motion pictures, Television, Magazines Books and newspapers, valuate what you see What is good about this picture or that TV image? What is bad about it?

14. SUBJECT PLACEMENT Principle of Third In the principle of thirds, the intersection of lines that divide the picture area into thirds are marked by O’s.

15. Rule of Thirds Divide the picture area like a tic-tac-toe board and place the subject at one of the intersections. Place horizons high or low in the picture. Rarely should horizons be in the middle. Give moving subjects room to move in the picture.

16. Rule of Thirds

17. Rule of Thirds Subject Placed in Lower Right

18. Rule of Thirds Have a strong center of interest

19. Rule of Thirds

20. Rule of Thirds Horizons High or Low Subject in Lower Left

21. Rule of Thirds

22. Rule of Thirds

23. Rule of Thirds

24. Rule of Thirds The boat has room to move in this picture.

25. Rule of Thirds

26. Principle of Third

27. Principle of Third

28. Principle of Third

29. Principle of Third

30. Principle of Third

31. Dynamic symmetry

32. Dynamic symmetry Symmetrical, or formal, balance in a photograph is achieved when elements on both sides of the picture are of equal weight . Symmetrical pictures, in which both presumed to be approximately equal.

33. Balance

34. Balance Having good balance can help to prevent having a picture that looks lopsided. Provide objects and shapes on either side of the picture to compliment each other. Also provide visual support to objects that need it.

35. Balance The wheel has visual support on both sides of the picture.

36. Balance In this picture the wheel on the right is not in the picture and the Wheel lacks support.

38. Balance The Bison on the right balances the people on the left.

39. Balance The Bison on the right balances the people on the left.

40. Aspects of Balance An object far from the center of the picture seems to have more weight than one near the center. Objects in the upper part of a picture seem heavier than objects of the same size in the lower part of a picture. Isolation seems to increase the weight of an object. Intensely interesting objects seem to have more compositional weight. Regular shapes seem to have more weight than irregular shapes. Elements on the right side of an asymmetrical picture appear to have more weight than elements of the same size on the left side of the picture.

41. Symmetrical Asymmetrical

43. Framing Use Foreground Objects to Highlight the Subject and Give the Picture Depth Pictures of Scenery should have a foreground and background. Provide some visual depth to the picture.

44. Framing The trees in the foreground provide a frame for the mountain in the background. Also, the mountain has been placed in the upper left corner to meet the rule of thirds.

45. Framing This photograph does not have a lot of framing but it has an obvious foreground, middle ground and background.

46. Framing

47. Framing Overhanging branches and plants in the foreground provide a frame for the lake and trees. The person has been placed in the lower right.

48. Framing

49. Framing

50. Framing

51. Framing This photograph does not have a lot of framing but it has an obvious foreground, middle ground and background.

52. Fill the frame

53. Fill the frame

54. Mergers Mergers are something to avoid! A merger could be a background object that interferes with the subject... or an object that is too close to the subject that takes attention away from the subject. A border merger is when people’s heads or feet are cut off at the edge of the picture.

55. Mergers In the picture on the left the tree in the background appears to be coming out of the person’s head. This is a merger that can be avoided by simply moving your vantage point.

56. Mergers A common mistake when photographing large groups of people is to not fit everyone in the picture. This results in people being cut off. This is a Border Merger.

57. Mergers Balloon Head? Much Better!

58. Lines Use Dynamic Lines to Make the Picture Interesting Use Leading Lines to Draw attention to the Subject The S-curve is a popular line used in photos.

59. Lines A mark made by a moving point. Has greater length than width. Directs the eye – horizontal, vertical, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, etc

60. Lines

61. Lines

62. Lines

63. Lines

64. Lines

65. Lines

66. Lines S-Curve

67. Lines S-Curve

68. Lines Leading Lines

69. Lines Leading Lines

70. Lines Leading Lines

71. Lines

72. Lines

73. Lines

74. Cropping

77. Composition Remember, these are guidelines, not Rules. You may only use 1 or 2 of these guidelines at a time. Try them and see if your photos improve.

78. Tone is probably the most intangible element of composition TONE Tone may consist of shadings from white-to-gray-to-black The use of dark areas against light areas is a common method of adding the feeling of a third dimension to a two-dimensional black-and-white picture. Tones are mostly light and airy, the picture portrays lightness, joy, or airiness .

79. EMPHASIS or Focal Point Emphasis in a composition refers to developing points of interest to pull the viewer's eye to important parts of the body of the work.

80. EMPHASIS EXAMPLES

81. Example of digital refocusing

82. Pattern

83. Pattern Pattern can help echo the character of a photo Catching attention Slight variation in a pattern Random patterns Pattern in common places

84. Pattern

85. Texture How an object feels, or how it looks like it feels. Rough, smooth, bumpy, gooey, sharp, etc. Adds interest! Sense of sight and sense of touch involved.

86. Texture