Composition Basics
August-September 2002
This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD
by Chris Hudson
I can look at a fine photograph and sometimes I can hear music. - Ansel Adams
Composition is the underlying foundation of all art forms. For photographers, it's no different. It really doesn't matter what sort of camera you're using - the rudimentary principles, guidelines and rules of photographic composition and visual design are the same. By gaining even a basic understanding of them you will improve the quality and success of your images tremendously.
SUBJECT
Perhaps the most important aspect of good photographic composition is identifying and examining your subject or center of interest before you start shooting. Do you actually know what it is that you're about to make a photograph of? Have you really thought about it? What is it about the scene or subject in front of you that is provoking you to pick up your camera and take a picture? Have you examined your subject thoroughly, from all angles? With different lenses? Do you need to include the entire subject in your photograph, or will a more abstract, impressionistic composition communicate the essential qualities of what you see? Does everything from the front of the scene to the background need to be in sharp focus, or can you use a very narrow depth of field to dramatically isolate some single aspect of your subject? By asking yourself as many questions as you can about your subject, why you feel compelled to make a photo of it and how you think it would be best represented, you will be gaining the information you need to capture the essence of what it is you are seeing.
SIMPLICITY
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A cluttered image. |
Once you've worked out for yourself what it is that you are shooting you can start the actual process of composing. To achieve the maximum visual impact in your photography, you should work to create simple, concise images with a very clear center of interest. To do this you should be carefully taking stock of everything in the scene. Think about which elements are important and complementary to your subject and which elements are distractions that add visual clutter to your photograph's frame. The clutter should be eliminated from the image as much as possible while the complementary elements are positioned and utilized in such a way as to emphasize your main subject.
Isolating your chosen subject by moving in close and filling your frame with it (either by using a longer focal length lens or simply moving physically closer) is a very effective method of simplifying your shots. You can also use different camera angles to isolate your subject in different ways. Move around your subject looking through your camera to determine what angle most suits your subject. Zero in on lines and shapes that may draw or lead the viewers attention towards your desired center of interest.
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Shift your position |
Busy backgrounds are common offenders in creating clutter in images. Try to use a camera position in relation to your subject that will provide you with a clean, graphic background. A low camera angle perhaps, with a deep blue sky as the backdrop. Or, maybe you could move around to position a shaded cliff or dark forest (both of which will record as almost black on film) behind your subject. Another option for photographers using cameras with some manual functionality is to shoot with the lens aperture wide open to decrease the depth of field and hopefully render any busyness behind the subject out of focus.
Have you ever taken a photo of one of your paddling buddies with a dock piling or sapling growing out of his or her head? If you have, you're not alone. This is known as a 'merger'. You have merged your friend with the dock by not paying close enough attention to what you are truly seeing through your viewfinder.Mergers are ordinarily easy to avoid, simply by moving your subject (if possible), or your camera position so that the offending dock piling and your subject's head are not occupying the same two dimensional space. Often moving only a foot or two will do the job. Alternatively you could try narrowing your depth of field, throwing that piling out of focus as described earlier.
RULE OF THIRDS
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The 'rule of thirds' creates dynamism.
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Placing your subject matter smack dab in the center of your frame will normally lead to a lackluster photograph. If your center of interest has the same amount of space on all sides it will usually end up appearing static, with little visual interest. To add more of a sense of movement, direction and impact to your subject, place it off center using the rule of thirds. If you imagine your viewfinder divided into thirds with imaginary lines running both horizontally and vertically, the points where those lines cross would be the ideal points to try placing the center of interest of your image.
If you are shooting people, try to place them so that they are looking into the frame as opposed to peering off the near edge of the photo into oblivion. Other subjects that have either an implied or real sense of movement should also be given room in front of them so they look as though they are moving into the photograph. Think about a picture of a kayaker paddling from right to left across a scene. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to have more room to the left of the frame, ahead of the kayak instead of the right so that the paddler is apparently going to drop out of the left hand side of the frame?
More interesting scenic images will also result from positioning horizon lines (or any line for that matter) along one of those imaginary lines dividing your frame into thirds. Decide whether it's the sky or foreground that contains more interest and include more of it. By splitting an image right down the middle with a strong line you will leave the viewer confused as to which half of the photo is the more important.
LINES
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The sweep of line takes your eye to the horizon. |
The emotions, sense of movement and visual unity that different lines can contribute to a photograph can be very useful tools in composition. Horizontals, verticals, diagonals, curves, leading and repetitive lines can all be used to add significant visual impact to an image.
Horizontal lines often portray a feeling of calm or tranquillity, like the horizon at sunrise or something lying at rest. Vertical lines represent height and can be powerful or stoic like the ancient fir trees in the rainforest. Diagonal lines are dynamic and can impart feelings of movement, instability or tension. Gently curving lines can be soothing or even sensual. A repetitive curve or 'S-curve' as is sometimes seen in a trail or shoreline can be exceedingly photogenic as they wind off into the distance.
Any line can be used as a leading line, but diagonals and curves seem to lend themselves readily to this. Leading lines are lines that guide or direct the viewer's eye into the photo space or toward your center of interest. They connect the foreground to the background as well as adding a sense of unity and depth to the image.
FRAMING
Another way of adding depth to an image is to use a visual frame. By placing simple, graphic foreground objects along the edges of your photo you will create the frame. The sense of depth is achieved by forcing the viewer to look through the foreground and into the image. Frames will also isolate your center of interest within the photograph. What you use as a frame will depend mainly on what is available to you at the time and location you are shooting. Sometimes nothing will be readily available. Other times there will by no shortage of appropriate foreground elements. Open tent doors are excellent for framing scenics. Rocks, headlands, trees and other foliage work as well. Use your imagination and keep your eyes open.
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Some of the most striking shots can be very simple compositions.
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There is another type of frame that I'm sure you're aware of, but may never have thought about. That's the actual edges of your viewfinder. What is there to think about? Should you shoot a particular scene in a horizontal of vertical format. The vast majority of photographs shot by amateur photographers are in the horizontal format. This is mainly because most cameras are easier to hold horizontally, not because there is a shortage of vertical subject matter. Shooting vertically tends emphasizes the height of an object. Shooting the same subject horizontally will diminish that feeling of height but allows you to include more in the frame if you step back or zoom out. Which you choose is up to you but if you are taking a picture of something anyway, turn your camera ninety degrees and take a look.
BALANCE
Balance is a difficult attribute of composition to define. Essentially it is just a feeling that all the elements of a photo are where they should be. The image doesn't feel lopsided, with more visual emphasis in one area than another. There may be a flow to the well balanced image, or a feeling of unity. Balance is achieved by how the elements (lines, shapes, areas of color, light or dark) in the photograph appear to relate to one another. They needn't be the same size or laid out symmetrically in the picture space; but visually, one doesn't outweigh another and the way they are associated makes sense.
Visually confusing objects can lead to an impression of imbalance. A portrait of a friend perhaps, with her head resting on her hand, but her arm has been cut off by the edge of the frame, leading to a hand that has no visual support. Similarly a tree branch sneaking into a corner of your image not connected to anything visible in the image, like a tree trunk, will upset the impression of balance in an otherwise satisfactory photograph.
FORGET ALL THE RULES
Hopefully you've absorbed a lot of these 'rules and guidelines' of how to compose photographs. Now I am going to tell you to throw them all out the window. Just go out and shoot. It's true that all of the topics discussed in this article are based on solid experience and proven principles of visual design, but they are, after all, just rules and guidelines. And, as we know rules are made to be broken and guidelines are just that, guides. You should understand how they work and when and how to apply them but you should not focus on them so much that you forget that photography is a creative pursuit which is not bound by such constraints. If you feel a particular subject would be captured better in another way, forget the rules.
As a photographer interested in improving your photographic abilities and creating excellent quality images, you should have a basic understanding of the elements and principles of composition. However, with that understanding comes the ability to intelligently and consciously break those rules to further your creative goals. There is but one rule that cannot be broken: practice makes perfect (or at least gets you on the way). So pick up your camera, pack it with film, load your kayak and head out on your next adventure.
© Text and photos by Chris Hudson, a professional photographer who lives on Vancouver Island, BC.
E:mail : chris_hudson@canada.com
