Photography Tips & Help: 2014

Why is Good Photo Composition Important? Photo 101

Picture composition is one of the most important aspects of a great photograph. What you include in the image (and what you don't), and how you arrange the elements within the frame, contribute significantly to the overall success of the image. Will it have impact? Will it convey your message?

The purpose of making a photograph is the effective expression of facts, ideas, or feelings. Whatever the photographer is trying express guides the photography composition. Two photographers shooting the exact same scene at the exact same time may choose entirely different compositions, each to reinforce their personal interpretation of the scene. For example, two photographers shooting the streets of Manhattan may each have a different story to tell. One might get down low with a wide angle lens to emphasize a homeless person in the foreground, contrasting poverty and wealth in the city. The other photographer might shoot a horizontal frame to take in all the skyscrapers and the big city skyline. There's no right or wrong, but the elements included, and the perspective taken, should serve to strengthen the story being told.

All this implies that you actually do have a vision, or a story to tell with your image. In fact, that's one of the first keys to making a good photograph. Understanding why you want to take the picture, and analyzing what has attracted you to the scene, allows you to emphasize the right elements in your picture so that your message is conveyed to the viewer.

Once you master the different aspects of good photography composition, you can begin to make deliberate choices about how you use them to express your own vision.

Aspects of Photography Composition

Visual Design Elements * Tell the story * Convey the feelings *

light, lines, shapes, texture perspective.
All images can be broken down into these elements. Each one can be used to convey information. These elements form the visual vocabulary you use to speak your message.

Photography Rules of Composition

Once you understand the vocabulary of images, in the form of visual design elements, you then need to understand the grammar. How you assemble the elements together determines whether the final image "works" or not. In fact, the photography rules of composition are not hard and fast rules; rather, they are guidelines that you can use to combine your picture elements so that you tell your story most effectively. You need to be aware of them, but they cannot guarantee a good image. It's up to you to learn when to apply them -- and when to break them. This comes through practice and experience. Here are some rules for you:

Simplify!

Eliminate Distractions

Photography Rule of Thirds

Positioning Your Subject

Visual Weight

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