Harry Guinness is a photography expert and writer with nearly a decade of experience. His work has been published in newspapers like The New York Times and on a variety of other websites, from Lifehacker to Popular Science and Medium’s OneZero. Read more.
There are two kinds of balance in photography: formal and informal. Understanding both—and knowing how to them—is an important part of composition. Let’s dig in.
Balance has been a part of composition since long before photography came along. It’s an integral part of most renaissance paintings. It’s also a slightly slippery concept. It relies on an idea called “visual weight” that is, in and of itself, a metaphor. The idea is that different objects in a scene all have different visual weight. People, brightly colored things, high-contrast objects, and unusual subjects, for example, all have high visual weight. Other things like large areas of space, sky, water, or ground, have low visual weight. The only way to get a handle on it is to see it in action and play around.
Formal or Symmetrical Balance
Formal balance is symmetry. It’s where the frame is split in half, either vertically or horizontally, and both sides are given equal visual weight. Have a look at this portrait.
It’s essentially perfectly symmetrical along the vertical axis.
Both sides of the image have equal visual weight. There is nothing that pulls our eyes to one side of the image or the other.
Here’s another portrait where, again, the model is central, so it’s pretty much symmetrical.
As you can see, formal balance can work well with portraits. It gives a sense of serenity, seriousness, and solidity. I deliberately used formal balance in the following shot of a Soviet statue in Transnistria because I wanted it to feel like it had stood for years—since it had.
Formal balance is pretty easy to grasp: put the subject in the center. So let’s move on to the trickier concept of informal balance.
Informal or Asymmetrical Balance
Informal or symmetrical balance is where you balance the image by juxtaposing objects with similar visual weights rather than just balancing everything symmetrically. Let’s look at some examples.
In this photo, I have enough visual weight to balance the mountains and clouds nicely. You still get a sense of the scale, but the image doesn’t feel empty. People are visually very heavy so they can often balance a lot.
Here’s another similar idea. Will, the skier, is even smaller in the frame but is still balancing the huge mountain behind him.
Let’s look at this in reverse. Here’s an unbalanced shot. The castle is cool and interesting, but there’s not a lot going on in the photo otherwise.
A few moments later, a boat passed up the river. Now we’re onto something. The small moving boat is enough to balance the gigantic, ancient castle.
You can also balance a single object that has large visual weight with lots of objects that have very little visual weight. Here, the stars in the sky balance the large Joshua trees. The smaller trees also balance the big tree.
Perhaps the best example of asymmetrical balance comes not from photography, but art. Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam is wonderfully balanced: Adam and the earth have the same visual weight as God and the choir of angels.
Unbalanced or Dynamic Images
Remember, balance is just one tool in your compositional toolbox. There’s also other stuff like leading lines, limited color palettes, and much more. This means that not all your images need to be balanced. Unbalanced images tend to have tension, dynamism, and a sense of activity.
Just look at this photo. Will is jumping into a black abyss. This gives a sense of speed and drama to what he’s doing.
Or, take this shot of the Santa Monica Pier. Do the sky and sea balance the pier? Maybe, but I’d say probably not. Instead, we get this dynamic sunset shot of the pier thrusting out into the ocean.
What it comes down to, for me, is what you’re trying to convey. If you want solidity and stability, go with a formally-balanced image. If you’re looking for something more dramatic that still has that balanced look, try some asymmetrically-balanced compositions. Or, if you want something tense and dynamic, go with an unbalanced image.
Play around: whatever composition you go with might not work out, but you might end up with something wonderful! And at the very least, you’ll learn something along the way. There are very few rights or wrongs here.
Photography composition: repetition
Repetition in photography composition is to photography what rhythm is to a song. Repetition of an item, color or element creates a pattern, and patterns draw the eye in to a photograph.
A pattern was formed in the sand by the receding tide. Although the shapes aren’t all exactly the same, the repetition of similar shapes forms a pattern.
You know when you’re standing in a bookshop, looking at a shelf of the latest releases, there are several copies of each? Sometimes, for a big release, they’ll fill an entire section of shelves with the same book so that you can’t possibly miss it.
I don’t think I’m alone with this, but as I stand in front of that section, my eye dances from one copy of the same book to the other before I finally reach out and pick one up to turn it over and read the back cover.
Why does my eye dance from one to the other?
They’re all the same, I won’t glean any additional information by skipping from one identical copy to another. It’s just what we do, we scan to gather information.
If an odd book was put somewhere in that stacked bookshelf, my eye would immediately and irresistibly be drawn to it. This break in the pattern creates interest and, in a photograph, strengthens the composition. The break gives the eye a resting place.
Just as when the rhythm changes in a song, when the repetition is broken in a photograph, it creates depth and interest. It makes the viewer stop and notice. Sometimes the break in the pattern is obvious, other times not.
To make the most of this, place your focal point in the image to break the repetition. Your viewer’s eyes will go straight to it.
The white feather stands out against the pattern in the golden sand, particularly as it’s positioned with the rule of thirds in mind.
How to break repetition in photography composition
Don’t just break the pattern of repetition any old how.
Do it strategically. When breaking the repetition, it’s good to apply another very popular photography composition technique – the rule of thirds.
This is because layering composition techniques creates a strong and visually appealing image. So interrupt the repetition in the photo by positioning your subject at the intersection of the rule of thirds
In this instance we have 3 photography composition techniques in use: repetition of the pillars and lights forms leading lines to the subject, who is also placed at the intersection of the imaginary rule of thirds grid.
Simply creating a pattern of repetition, or a break in a pattern, can give you a subject to photograph in itself. For example, one red apple in a display of green apples.
The repeating pillars form a pattern, as well as leading lines. I positioned my subject to break the repetition, which made the image more interesting.
Everyday scenes for repetition in photography
The great thing about incorporating repetition in photography is that everywhere you look you’ll find repeating elements to use. That is once you start to look for repetition, of course. Think about:
- A line of street lights
- Exposed bricks in a wall
- Cars in a parking lot
- People in a crowd
A number of elements are repeated, adding to the composition, in this image: colour, details and textures. The locks and hooks on the beach hut doors form a leading line that draws our eye through the image. The hook on camera right is the only one out of alignment. This upsets the pattern, so creates visual interest. I know you’re just itching to turn it round the right way!
How to emphasize repetition in photography
The trick with using repetition to its full potential, is to isolate the repetition in the photograph.
When you zoom in on a pattern so that it fills the frame, or at least becomes obvious in the frame, your composition will instantly become stronger. Your image will be more compelling to the viewer.
Allow me to demonstrate with this helpful herd of elephants…
Above is the uncropped photograph.
When I crop the photograph, the single elephant facing forward stands out in the line of elephants facing away. It breaks the pattern and, because it’s positioned bearing the rule of thirds in mind, our eyes are drawn to it, which emphasizes the interruption in the repetition.
Here is another alternative. In this crop I have used a few composition techniques: repetition (of the back view of elephants), leading lines (the line of elephants leads to the odd one out on the end), but also the rule of odds (3 of the elephants are facing forwards – beginning, middle and end).
Here’s a fun thing to do the next time you feel frustrated that the weather doesn’t suit you for photography and you’re stuck indoors, try some repetition photography.
Gather similar objects together and photograph the repetition. Fill the frame with your subject to emphasize the repetition and see how creative you can be.
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We’d love it if you could tell us about your repetition photography experiments and still life set ups in the comments.
If this tutorial has helped you to understand repetition in photography composition, share that too – we love good news!
Strong composition in a painting is a characteristic that is not measurable or quantifiable and is based on different elements and the relationships between them. However, following these painting tips will help you know what to look for and improve your compositions. If the composition in painting is done well you don’t notice it initially; you know that the painting has something about it that is particularly appealing. But when a painting’s composition is done badly (such as when the subject is floating in the middle of the canvas, or squeezed into a corner), the effect is very noticeable, and the painting feels awkward.
Initially, you may have to work at implementing these compositional painting tips deliberately, but with practice, they will become instinctive.
Are You Using a Viewfinder?
If painting from the real world—whether landscape, still life or portrait, or to create an abstract composition—use a viewfinder to isolate your subject and the key elements in a scene, check their placement, and determine the format. When painting landscape outside, move around. Don’t be satisfied with the first pretty scene. The scene through your viewfinder can change dramatically when you move your position by just a couple feet. Try horizontal, vertical, and square formats. The same applies to other genres. Move the viewfinder around until you find the composition that feels right to you.
Where Is the Focal Point?
The focal point is the thing that is the main subject of the painting. The focal point should draw the viewer’s eye to it. Place the focal point on one of the ‘intersection spots’ from the Rule of Thirds, then check the other elements in the painting, which should lead the eye towards this point. It doesn’t have to be an overt ‘path,’ such as a road leading to a house; it can be more subtle, an implied line such as a color repeated in flowers. (Also, don’t try to include too much in one painting.)
Are the Values Varied? Is There Contrast?
Do a thumbnail sketch of your painting’s composition in just three values: white (light), black (dark), and grey (mid-tone). Now check how much of each value there is in the drawing. For a strong composition, you want them to be in quite different amounts, not similar. Try this rule to start: “two-thirds, one-third, and a little bit.” For example, two-thirds dark in tone, one-third light in tone, and a small area or object that’s mid-tone. Often the focal point is the area where there is the greatest contrast in value.
You might also consider composing your painting using Notan, the Japanese term for the balance and harmony of light and dark within a composition.
How Many Elements Are There?
Have an odd number of elements in the painting rather than even.
How Are the Elements Spaced?
Finding neat and orderly arrangements of elements in nature is rare. Just think of the difference between a natural forest, where the trees grow any which way, and a plantation, where the trees are planted in evenly spaced rows. Varying the space between the elements in your composition, the angles at which they lie, and their sizes make a painting more interesting.
Are Any Elements Kissing?
Kissing, in this context, means just touching. Elements must either be apart or overlapping. No kissing please, as this creates a weak, connected shape which will distract the viewer’s eye, causing a momentary pause as they puzzle it out.
Do Warm or Cool Colors Dominate?
It doesn’t matter whether the overall feeling of the color in a painting is warm or cool, it just shouldn’t try to be both.
Is There Unity?
Do the elements in the painting’s composition feel they belong together or are they separate bits that happen to be in the same painting? Sometimes simplifying a painting and creating more negative space can help create unity. You can also help unify a painting coloristically by glazing over the whole painting with a single color; you can always touch up the highlights again if necessary.
Is There Variety?
A painting should have variety as well as unity. Change any of the elements of art to create variety within the composition — for example, a curved line to offset straight lines, a spot of red against a green background. Don’t get stuck in a rut and use the same composition all the time, either, no matter how successful it is. Vary the size, vary where you put the horizon line, where you put the focal point, swap between portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) shaped canvases. You can even try shaped canvases.
Is the Underlying Composition Obvious?
The painting isn’t finished yet if the first thoughts of someone seeing your painting are going to be analytical: “There’s the focal point, with a spot of yellow to highlight it; that line there leads my eye in; that object was placed there for balance, etc.” Run through a checklist for helping you determine whether your painting is finished, including whether your composition is strong and helps your painting convey the message you intended.
by Andrew S Gibson | Last Updated: September 8, 2017
Part of learning to see, and improving the composition of your photos, is training yourself to see the subject in abstract terms.
Converting photos to black and white helps with composition.
It is a form of abstraction that helps make other elements, such as texture and tonal contrast, easier to see.
One of the most important of these is shape.
Many scenes and objects, especially man-made ones, are comprised of geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles, triangles and circles. The images in this article provide some examples.
You can emphasize shapes by building your composition around them.
One way to do this is to simplify the design of the photo so that the shapes become more prominent and easier to see.
The geometric shapes in this photo should be fairly easy to see, starting with the oval shape of the sticker, and the rectangular address label in the center.
If you look closely you will see more – including the outlines of the large letters (forming easy to recognize shapes from the alphabet) and the stylized illustration of the funnel on the left side of the sticker.
Shapes often become stronger in black and white.
In this case the monochrome conversion emphasizes the tonal contrast between the sticker and the surface of the suitcase, and consequently the shape of the sticker.
This scene (above) shows an open air movie screen in a Chinese village. It is dominated by the white rectangle of the screen, but there are additional geometric shapes in the frame. Can you spot them all?
There are diamonds, formed by the pattern in the stone flooring. More rectangles, created by the stones laying next to the wall. Finally, the irregular but easily recognized, shapes of the Chinese letters.
They are easier to see in the monochrome version.
There are lots of shapes in the photo above. The model’s dress is a triangle, echoed by the shape formed by the angle of her arms. Her face is another shape – an oval. Then, behind her is a square formed by the concrete block in the background.
The shape of the concrete block is so strong that I’ve returned to this spot several times to take photos on other shoots.
The shape, and the contrast between the geometric block and the rough edges of the cliff, fascinate me, exerting a visual pull that draws me back to this location.
Here are two more photos taken in the same place.
Irregular shapes
In the photo below the silhouetted figure forms a strong, easily recognizable, but non-geometric shape. Silhouettes take the idea of using shape to its extreme by reducing objects to a flat, two-dimensional shadow.
Irregular shapes can be quite powerful because they stimulate the imagination.
This technique works well if the shape lacks detail (as in this silhouette) as it forces the viewer to engage with the photo and fill in the missing details with their imagination.
Another shape that is meaningful for me is the one in this photo of a Bolivian lady walking in front of a wall. Semi-silhouetted, her coat and hat form a distinctive shape that evokes the feel of an Andean town. The shape is easy to see because her clothes are dark and the wall is white – tonal contrast in action.
The young girl is framed by the rectangular shape of the door behind her. The goods for sale in the doorway merge together to form one large shape.
If composition was easy, every photo would be well composed. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Why thankfully? It’s good that composition isn’t straightforward, because the difficulty gives us room to grow, learn and improve.
Learning to see and utilize shapes in your photos is part of that process. Have fun, enjoy looking for shapes, and good results will follow.
Note from Darlene – Mini-Review of Andrew’s new ebook Mastering Composition
I have the privilege of working with Andrew as a writer over at dPS, so I’m very familiar with his quality of writing, and his teaching skills. Being a good photographer, and being able to teach and explain things so others can understand are two different things. Andrew is good at both!
His newest ebook is a topic I get many request for here on Digital Photo Mentor – composition. It’s the key to creating more interesting and engaging images. Inside the book there are 147 pages covering many different compositional elements. He shows how to use them effectively and provides excellent image examples. At a price of only £6 (less than $10 USD) this is a great deal and could be a valuable resource for moving your photography forward.
July 20, 2016 · Stephanie Kay-Kok
Composition is perhaps the most crucial element of your photos. Great composition can make you seem like a pro, while poor composition does exactly the opposite. Even if everything else is perfect, poor composition can make your photos look amateur and incomplete.
The beauty of your photography depends on composition, but don’t give up if you have a hard time composing photos. Composition is a skill you can improve through guidance and practice. To begin, try out these 5 quick tips for improving composition.
1. Choose a point of interest.
To elevate the aesthetic standard of your photos, you must limit what you try to include in an image. Even if a scene has many interesting subjects, don’t include everything. Choose a distinctive point of interest, then try to frame it. Framing will draw the viewer’s eye to that subject, making it more powerful.
This point of interest could be small or large. Likewise, the frame could be a complete, four-sided frame or an incomplete, more abstract frame. Don’t feel like you have to put a box around everything–though that can look striking sometimes, too. Just keep the subject simple, then find a way to arrange the surrounding elements so that they highlight it.
ivan sgobba – Paris
2. Use contrast.
Contrast can heighten the ‘complexity’ of your photos without ruining their simple beauty. One common form of contrast is light vs. shadow, but you can also find contrast in size, color, shape and sharpness. Contrasting shapes and colors, in particular, can create tension or drama, making the viewer want to see more.
Orbmiser – Raven on the Fog
3. Balance the elements.
Balance is key to achieving striking pictures. If you strive for balance in color, contrast, and lighting, as well as in the arrangement of subjects, the photo will often look well-composed. Balance doesn’t mean having a boring picture, but rather a picture with the right amount of tension. An unbalanced picture breaks this tension and distracts the viewer from the subject. Good balance keeps the viewer’s attention on the subject, which is what you want.
Thorsten Koch – “the most interesting of this ART was the wonderful view through the window”
4. Focus the viewer’s eye.
Blurring the background (or foreground) is a critical skill for a photographer to master. Called “selective focus,” this blurring allows you to focus the viewer’s eye directly on the subject. You can achieve this effect by shooting with a longer lens at the widest possible f/stop possible, as this reduces the depth of field to an extremely shallow margin.
jordan parks – evening approaches
5. Change your perspective.
Changing your perspective is great way to change your composition, especially if you move really low or high. We don’t often experience these vantage points, so your photo will have a fresh look. You might need to lie down in the dirt or climb up a tree, but getting a great shot will make the inconvenience worth it.
Steven Ritzer – Sunset in my little world
Still struggling with composition? Get more help from these 10 tips.
The previous photos were selected from our Flickr group. Next time you get a shot with masterful composition, share your photo with the group so we can admire your work!
Balance is a compositional technique in photography that juxtaposes images within a frame so that the objects are of equal visual weight. When different parts of a photo command your attention equally, perfect balance is achieved. In photography, there are two main techniques of balance you should be aware of: formal and informal. We’ll discuss the difference between each and how they can affect your photo.
*** To learn more about White Balance, see our Photography 101 Workshop in our store.
Knowing how to effectively balance objects within a photo is a skill that all serious photographers must learn. The problem with improperly balanced photographs is that they are less appealing to look at and can instantly turn off a viewer.
Balancing elements in photography becomes important when you frame your shots. If you think back to the chapter on the rule of thirds, you’ll remember that we explained how placing the main subject of your photo off center can create a more dynamic photo. That’s because asymmetry makes a photo more appealing to a viewer because it causes visual tension.
The only problem with the rule of thirds is that it can also leave a wide open empty space in a photo which may make the scene feel empty. In some instances this may work very well for your image, but if it doesn’t you should try to balance the visual weight of your subject by including other objects to fill the empty space.
The two main techniques of using balance in photography are classified as formal and informal balance.
Formal Balance
Formal balance can be defined as symmetrical balance. In the previous chapter, we taught you how to achieve symmetrical balance in photography. All you have to do is frame the shot so that one or more identical or similar subjects are repeated symmetrical on each sides of a given point.
The photo below is a great example of formal balance. Notice how the egg is framed in the middle of the photo with an even amount of space around all sides. The colored triangle shapes on the table top also lends itself to using this type of balance. If this photo was framed differently (using the rule of thirds), with the egg positioned on one of the left or right side of the frame, it would most likely feel unbalanced because one half of the image would be completely empty.
Portraits can benefit greatly by using formal balance. Framing a subject in the middle of the frame for a portrait can help to reduce any visual distractions a background may contain. It’s always a safe bet to frame a portrait in this way. After capturing a standard shot such as this, you can then move on to other types of positioning for the model that are more visually interesting, but still being properly balanced. This can be achieved by using informal balance.
Informal Balance
Informal balance is a less obvious form of balance in photography and requires more attention. It’s a concept that can be difficult to be specific about because it can be achieved in a variety of ways. Simply put, informal balance occurs when dissimilar elements balance each other out on each side of the frame. The size of each element can be irrelevant, but more often than not it’s better to have a larger element juxtaposed with a smaller element or elements to make a good composition.
A well composed photo using informal balance is usually more appealing to look at compared to a formally balanced photo.
Perhaps the best way to learn about informal balance is by looking at several photo examples that effectively showcase it.
Notice how the photo above feels properly balanced while containing two subjects. The man’s position in the bottom left of the frame is counterbalanced perfectly by the sea creature (which is smaller in size) in the top right. If you try to imagine this photo with either one of these subjects removed, it would feel unbalanced. For example, if the sea creature was missing from the image it might feel too heavily weighted visually at the bottom of the frame with just the man looking at an empty space above. If this was the case, a center aligned formal balance might feel better to the eyes.
Above, is another great example of how two objects of varying size can be used to counterbalance each other within the frame. The OUT sign is tall and vertical, while the building is long and horizontal. Juxtaposing of size and direction perfectly complements each other. The positioning of both elements within the frame also provides proper balance for this photo. Notice, how in the alternate examples to the right, the photos feel unbalanced. If the building was centered in the frame, closer to the sign, a large empty space would remain on the left side of the frame, making it feel unbalanced. The same unbalanced feeling would occur if the sign was positioned in the middle of the frame, closer to the building, creating an empty space on the right of the frame.
Above is a final example of a photo using informal balance. The photographer positioned himself to place the juniper in the foreground and to the left side of the image, and the rock formation in the background and to the right side of the image. This framing effectively lends foreground interest and balance to the composition. If the juniper was left out of this photo, it might feel unbalanced to the viewer.
The Rule of Thirds Works Well with Informal Balance
If you didn’t notice already, each of the previous examples followed the rule of thirds. It’s important to keep this in mind when trying to create the best looking photos that utilize the informal balance technique.
Other Ways to Use Informal Balance
In the previous examples, we showed you how objects of different size can be used to counterbalance each other within a frame. While this is the most obvious way to use informal balance in photography, there are other ways.
Other methods you can use include:
Light against dark
A small area of white in a photo can be balanced by a larger area of black, and vice versus. Each one does not have to have the same intensity.
Colors
A small area of vibrant color can be balanced by a larger area of neutral color. Vibrant colors provide more intensity and therefore large neutral areas can be used to compensate for it.
Texture
Small areas with interesting textures in a photo can be balanced by larger areas of smooth, un-textured elements.
There are no fixed rules in photography, but there are guidelines which can often help you to enhance the impact of your photos.
It may sound clichéd, but the only rule in photography is that there are no rules. However, there are are number of established composition guidelines which can be applied in almost any situation, to enhance the impact of a scene.
These guidelines will help you take more compelling photographs, lending them a natural balance, drawing attention to the important parts of the scene, or leading the viewer’s eye through the image.
Once you are familiar with these composition tips, you’ll be surprised at just how universal most of them are. You’ll spot them everywhere, and you’ll find it easy to see why some photos “work” while others feel like simple snapshots.
Rule of Thirds
Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines. The rule of thirds says that you should position the most important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect.
Doing so will add balance and interest to your photo. Some cameras even offer an option to superimpose a rule of thirds grid over the LCD screen, making it even easier to use.
Notice how the building and horizon are aligned along rule-of-thirds lines. Image by Trey Ratcliff.
Balancing Elements
Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty. You can achieve a balanced composition and even out the main subject’s “visual weight” by including another object of lesser importance to fill the space.
Here, the visual “weight” of the road sign is balanced by the building on the other side of the shot. Image by Shannon Kokoska.
Leading Lines
When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn along lines. By thinking about how you place these leading lines in your composition, you can affect the way we view the image, pulling us into the picture, towards the subject, or on a journey “through” the scene.
There are many different types of line – straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial etc – and each can be used to enhance our photo’s composition.
The road in this photo draws your eye through the scene. Image by Pierre Metivier.
Symmetry and Patterns
We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made. They can make for very eye-catching compositions, particularly in situations where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is to break the symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and a focal point to the scene.
The symmetry of this chapel is broken by the bucket in the bottom right corner. Image by Fabio Montalto.
Viewpoint
Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys. Rather than just shooting 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, and so on.
The unusual viewpoint chosen here creates an intriguing and slightly abstract photo. Image by ronsho.
Background
How many times have you taken what you thought would be a great shot, only to find that the final image lacks impact because the subject blends into a busy background? The human eye is excellent at distinguishing between different elements in a scene, whereas a camera has a tendency to flatten the foreground and background, and this can often ruin an otherwise great photo. Thankfully this problem is usually easy to overcome at the time of shooting – look around for a plain and unobtrusive background and compose your shot so that it doesn’t distract or detract from the subject.
The plain background in this composition ensures nothing distracts from the subject. Image by Philipp Naderer.
Depth
Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have to choose our composition carefully to conveys the sense of depth that was present in the actual scene. You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground, middle ground and background. Another useful composition technique is overlapping, where you deliberately partially obscure one object with another. The human eye naturally recognises these layers and mentally separates them out, creating an image with more depth.
Emphasise your scene’s depth by including interesting subjects at varying distances from the camera. Image by Jule Berlin.
Framing
The world is full of objects which make perfect natural frames, such as trees, archways and holes. By placing these around the edge of the composition you help to isolate the main subject from the outside world. The result is a more focused image which draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest.
Here, the surrounding hills form a natural frame, and the piece of wood provides a focal point. Image by Sally Crossthwaite.
Cropping
Often a photo will lack impact because the main subject is so small it becomes lost among the clutter of its surroundings. By cropping tight around the subject you eliminate the background “noise”, ensuring the subject gets the viewer’s undivided attention.
Cut out all unnecessary details to keep keep the viewer’s attention focused on the subject. Image by Hien Nguyen.
Experimentation
With the dawn of the digital age in photography we no longer have to worry about film processing costs or running out of shots. As a result, experimenting with our photos’ composition has become a real possibility; we can fire off tons of shots and delete the unwanted ones later at absolutely no extra cost. Take advantage of this fact and experiment with your composition – you never know whether an idea will work until you try it.
Digital photography allows us to experiment with different compositions until we find the perfect one. Image by Jule Berlin.
Composition in photography is far from a science, and as a result all of the “rules” above should be taken with a pinch of salt. If they don’t work in your scene, ignore them; if you find a great composition that contradicts them, then go ahead and shoot it anyway. But they can often prove to be spot on, and are worth at least considering whenever you are out and about with your camera.
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After I had written my article about juxtaposition and contrast I realized that one of the photos also perfectly illustrated the concept of rhythm in composition. Here it is (I’ve added arrows to show you the way the eye moves through the photo).
The rhythm comes from the way the eye moves from the first tower to the second, then on to the statue. These three focal points are linked by colour (they are a similar shade of brown) and shape (they are all narrow shapes emerging from the bottom of the frame). The combination of shape and colour pull the eye, creating a natural rhythm as it moves through the photo.
I suspect the sensation of rhythm is reinforced by the western convention of reading a page from left to right. It would be interesting to hear from readers whose mother language utilizes text that is read in a different direction. Does that change the way you perceive the rhythm of this photo? Please let us know in the comments.
Another aspect of rhythm is pattern. This photo of a tiled roof is a study of texture, rhythm and pattern. The repetitive shapes and lines of the tiles create a pattern, and a rhythm is created as the eye moves through the image.
Incidentally, rhythm often becomes more powerful in black and white photos because there is no colour, one of the strongest elements in a colour photo, to distract attention from the other elements of the composition (rhythm, texture, tonal contrast and so on).
The key to using rhythm to make your composition stronger is in first spotting the pattern or repetitive elements, then framing the scene in a way that emphasizes the rhythm. This is a test of your observational skills, and you’ll get better at it with practice.
Simplicity and rhythm
There is another way of emphasising rhythm, and that is to keep the composition of your photos as simple as possible. Here’s an example.
There are two types of simplification going on here. One is that I moved in close to the three pots so they dominated the composition. The photo contains just three elements – the stones in the foreground, the white wall in the background and the pots themselves. The other is the conversion to black and white, which simplifies the photo by eliminating colour.
Simplifying the composition strengthens the natural rhythm created by the movement of the eye from pot to pot.
The power of three
Another element in the photo above that helps it work is that there are three pots. Three seems to be a particularly powerful number in many art forms and culturally significant myths and legends as well as photography (think of the three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth or the three ghosts in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol).
Then there’s the Japanese legend of the three wise monkeys.
Again, in this photo I simplified the composition by moving in close. That allowed the natural rhythm created by the position of the three monkeys to become a strong compositional element.
When it comes to composition, including odd numbers of repeating objects seems to work better than even numbers. Three, five or seven of something together is better than two, four or six. It’s a general principle (not a rule) that may come in handy.
Rhythm and line
Sometimes you will come across natural lines and repetitive shapes or patterns that work together to emphasise the sense of rhythm.
In this photo there is a natural rhythm created by the spacing of the incense sticks. This is reinforced because the incense sticks rest on a ledge that moves in a strong diagonal through the frame. Here, line and pattern work together to create a strongly directional sense of rhythm.
Your turn
Can you think of any other examples of using rhythm to make the composition of photos stronger? Feel free to add your photos to the comments.
Mastering Photography
My latest ebook, Mastering Photography: A Beginner’s Guide to Using Digital Cameras introduces you to digital photography and helps you make the most out of your digital cameras. It covers concepts such as lighting and composition as well as the camera settings you need to master to take photos like the ones in this article.
You may not realize it, but every time you bring your camera up to your eye you’re making decisions about composition. Simply put, composition is how you choose to frame the picture you’re about to make. Many books have been written about composition, and while no two people are likely to frame the same scene the same way, there are some general guidelines that can help you improve your photos and make them more interesting and engaging.
The Rule of Thirds
One of the first questions to ask yourself when composing your picture is: “What is my subject?” Of all the things you see in front of you, which one is the reason for taking the photo? Once you’ve answered that question you can begin to work on how best to show that subject. The rule of thirds is a guide to help you do just that.
When you look through your viewfinder or at the LCD screen, imagine a tic-tac-toe grid over the scene. Some Nikon cameras even have a menu item that allows you to turn on gridlines in the viewfinder. These gridlines are a guide to help you frame your image and won’t show up in your final picture.
Notice where the lines intersect. The rule of thirds suggests that these points are the best places to position your subject. Doing so will generally result in a pleasant and balanced composition.
Try moving your camera so your subject appears where two of the lines meet. The subject doesn’t have to be directly on the intersection but somewhere close to it. Try a couple of different compositions to find the one you like best.
These same gridlines can help you to keep your horizons level and the vertical elements in your photo straight.
Where to place the horizon line
Most pictures look better if the horizon is positioned above or below the middle of the frame, not directly in the center of the image. The exception is when shooting a reflection. In this case having the horizon in the center can work well because it creates equal elements at top and bottom—the scene above and the reflection below.
Lean Into the Frame
When photographing people and animals it’s best to have them looking into the frame. If there’s action in your picture, leave more space on the side of the frame where the action is headed. It looks more natural that way and lets the viewer have a feel for where the subject is going.
