Top 7 Composition Tips
Use the lines
Shoot Vertically and
Horizontally
A big mistake that a lot of people seem to make is always shooting landscape (with the long edge of the photo forming the top and bottom of the picture. Don’t forget that the camera can be turned 90 degrees to shoot more vertical lines and give the feeling of height. It is easily done and if you are not sure how to frame a picture then experimenting with having the camera in both positions doubles the possibilities for you.
Ensure You Have a
Focal Point
When I first started taking photos (and sometime even now) I used to take wide expansive shots trying to take in as much of a scene as I could fit into the lens. However, this approach tends to leave the photograph feeling a bit dull and lifeless. There is no real focal point and everything can look a bit messy. You need to ask the question what is the photo about? What do I want to show the viewer? What is my subject? By focusing on a specific subject the photograph will suddenly be far more interesting. So what do you do if you have a fantastic place to photograph that won’t fit into one frame? Break it down into smaller shots, in short; take more photos!
Filling the Frame
Your photographs are a certain size; you can see what you
are taking through the viewfinder. The
last thing that you want is lots of empty space around a small subject that
will create boredom in the eyeballs. Make sure that the frame is bursting with stuff that is visually
pleasing that makes people want to look at the shot you have taken. That is the point after all! If this can’t be achieved when taking the
shot then think about how to crop the photograph in Photoshop that will provide
maximum impact. Don’t be afraid to cut
off parts of the subject if it makes the photo more dynamic or eye
catching. But you do need to be aware
that cropping people and objects in the wrong place can look odd (cropping out
peoples ankles for example). But
experiment with the photo and have fun just remember the Ctrl-Alt Z button in Photoshop to undo.
Change Your
Perspective
A lot of things have been photographed before. How you can you make a shot stand out? Come at it from a different angle, of
course. Get down on your knees. Sit on someone shoulders, whatever it takes,
regularly try and take shots from the low and high vantage points, try and come
up with a way to photograph a subject that you’ve never seen before. Take my picture of the London Eye. There are hundreds of shots of it as a wheel
or of the spokes at a jaunty angle but I haven’t seen many that show it from
the side like this (I’m opening myself up here; I’ll have to go and check on
flickr). Notice how the Eye itself gives you a vertical element focal point while the Saatchi Gallery in the town hall gives you the diagonal leading to the focal point.
Break the Rules
Almost as cheesy as the Rule of Thirds that is in every list (not included here due to its inclusion previously in another post) is the opportunity to break all of these rules. There will be occasions where simply ignoring the rules will result in a breathtaking photograph or something startlingly original. In which case don’t feel held back by self imposed rules, after all nobody will complain if your photograph drips genius but does not follow some of these guidelines.
Digital Photography Blog has a nice round up full of compositional tips
Mac Dev Centre has some tips on overall improvement of Digital Photos
Digital Camera has the more conventional ‘Top 10’ Compositional Tips
About have some compositional tips for painters but they are useful background knowledge for photographers too.
