What is composition?The actual definition of composition is “the act of combining parts or elements to form a whole”. However, you cant just throw in some light and wipe out some pixels when taking a photograph. You have to perfect these things before you capture the image. Some people are said to be "a natural" when taking pictures, however for some people, this skill doesn't come so naturally and so they have to work to get this natural instinct. There are many things to be aware of when you are focusing on the composition of a photograph:
1: Clearly identify your subject:
1: Clearly identify your subject:
- This is the aspect of photography that you have to have in order to capture a photo, otherwise you don't have an image, you just have a snapshot of something indistinguishable.
- This part of your image generally tends to be in focus, as this is what you want the viewer to notice first. Some images may have a slight blur to them, but they tend to have their main focal point as the subject that they want you to look at.
- Make sure that your subject fills up a good proportion of the frame, so that your subject isn't too small, and can be easily identified.
- Although, some photographs may purposely make the subject small, and if you wish to do so, you may, however bare in mind that your subject HAS to be identifiable and shouldn't be too small for your photograph to appear of a good composition.
- This can be a point that a lot of people struggle with because cameras have been manufactured to be of a horizontal orientation. This automatically makes some photographers feel bound by this format and so they are found to be photographing in a single orientation.
- Try to take half of your photographs with a traditional horizontal format, whilst the other half are taken in a vertical orientation. This can give you more choice to pick and choose which orientation is best suited for the scene at hand.
- There is no definite rule as to which orientation you should use under which circumstances, so the best way to approach such a problem is to experiment with both.
- Vary your angles between your photographs so that your images don't look like every other one that was taken in a similar situation at a similar location.
- Move around your subject, angling your camera fro up high, or down below to capture different aspects of the subject, using the change in angle to your advantage.
- Look for different and dramatic angles that will make your images look more eye-catching and unique.
- Don't amputate your subject.
- This means that you shouldn't cut off part of your subject unless it has been purposely done to create a certain effect.
- Sometimes, unintentionally cutting out part of the subject can irritate the viewer or create an incomplete image. It distracts and confuses the eye as the full picture is not visible.
- Try and position your subject where the vertical and horizontal lines cross or intersect as these are the best placement points for your subject.
- Never place the horizon of a landscape image in the centre of your image, for example. Try to place it on a horizontal two thirds line. This way, your composition would appear a lot better. Similarly, subjects like lighthouses would be placed along one of the vertical two thirds lines.
- There are two types of frames to look out for when taking a picture: natural frames and man-made frames.
- The natural frames are present in natural objects, such as a tree framing your subject, or a hole in a cave, or an opening in a rock formation.
- The man-made frames are what have been created by humans, such as door frames or windows or arches. This would be a good place to position your subject.
- As you take your picture, be aware of possible components of the image that could form a sort of frame around your subject, whether it be natural or man-made. This helps contain a subject and is very pleasing to the natural eye.
- When there is too much going on in a picture, it can confuse the viewer as to what the subject is, and what to look at first.
- Sometimes simple photographs with very little going on can be the most effective as the subject stands out and is very clear to the naked eye.
- Try to eliminate anything that would distract the viewer from focusing on the subject or is unnecessary to the moment you are trying to create.
- Your background shouldn't be something that contrasts your subject incredibly, as then there is a possibility that your background may distract the viewer from the subject.
- You want to make your subject stand out as much as possible but you also do not want your subject to seem out of place and stick out like a sore thumb. Thus, you could show the slight surroundings of the subject to contextualise it.
- Lines lead the eye to a focal point, such as a river, or a road in a classic 's' shape, which would draw your eye along the route to he subject.
- Vertical lines add height to your images and diagonal lines add depth. Using this knowledge may be to your advantage when looking at your composition.