10 Top Photography Composition Rules 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. Doing so will add balance and interest to your photo. Balancing Elements Leading Lines Viewpoint Depth
Balance in photography an important composition techniques What does balance in photography mean? If you place every element of interest in a photograph on one side or another, or more commonly by the beginners in the center of the image, you are leaving little or nothing to look at on the opposite side. This will be a unbalanced and most likely an uninteresting image. Formal balance There are basically two types of balance in photography. Informal balance The second type, informal balance or so called asymmetrical balance is when one or more dissimilar elements are balancing on each side of a given point. If you have a large object in the image it should be counter balanced with a smaller object or objects to make a good composition. Use of asymmetrical balance is more challenging and requires more artistic skill and training to do well compared to symmetrical composition. Radial balance There is also a third type of balance in photography – radial balance. How can you achieve a good balance in your images? Light against dark.
Improving your photography: Composition IMPROVING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHYLesson Two: Composition by Peter Ensenberger,Arizona Highways Director of Photography In a recent "Photography Talk" column, I discussed developing an awareness of light and its relationship to the subjects in your photographs. Light and shadow become integral parts of composition when skillfully incorporated, and should be your first consideration before setting up to make a photograph. Composing a photograph is essentially an editing process - deciding what to leave in and what to leave out. Here are some of the basic elements of effective composition: It is usually best to have one main subject as the focal point because a photograph can successfully tell only one story.
Using Focal Points in Photography By Robert Parviainen Next time you take your digital camera out and line it up for a shot pause before you press the shutter button and ask yourself: “What is the Focal Point in this Picture?” Some other ways to ask the same question might include – What is the central point of interest? What will draw the eye of the viewers of this picture? The reason a focal point is important is that when you look at an image your eye will generally need a ‘resting place’ or something of interest to really hold it. Once you’ve identified a point of interest or focal point you then should ask yourself how you can enhance it. 6 Techniques to Enhance the Focal Point in an Image A focal point can be virtually anything ranging from a person, to a building, to a mountain, to a flower etc. Keep in mind that a combination of above elements can work well together. Lastly – don’t confuse the viewer with too many competing focal points which might overwhelm the main focal point.
» How to Add Depth to a Photo When we take a photo with our cameras, we turn a 3D image into just 2D, and that can cause problems when you’re trying to display depth. It has it’s advantages and disadvantages, depending on what you’re trying to convey with your photo, but ultimately it holds you back when you’re trying to add depth to a photo. If you’ve read many of my tutorials on composition, then you’ll know by now that by implementing some of these techniques, that you can add depth quite easily, and we’re gonna have a look at them now. Rule of Thirds The most important thing you can do is to make sure that you have a foreground and a background, and to a great way to do this is to include the rule of thirds. Frame within a Frame If you want to add a sense of depth, without including an obvious foreground subject, then using natural frames in a scene is a great way to do this. Converging Lines Placing yourself in the frame like this allows multiple lines to all converge at the same point when given enough distance.
Basic Color Theory Color theory encompasses a multitude of definitions, concepts and design applications - enough to fill several encyclopedias. However, there are three basic categories of color theory that are logical and useful : The color wheel, color harmony, and the context of how colors are used. Color theories create a logical structure for color. The Color Wheel A color circle, based on red, yellow and blue, is traditional in the field of art. There are also definitions (or categories) of colors based on the color wheel. Primary Colors: Red, yellow and blueIn traditional color theory (used in paint and pigments), primary colors are the 3 pigment colors that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purpleThese are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors. Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-greenThese are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. Color Harmony 1. 2.
The Skill of Composition Basic Photography Techniques - Photographic Composition, Center of interest, Subject placement, Simplicity, Viewpoint and camera angle, Balance. Today, photography is characterized by a rapid growth in the development of technology and ideas. Each year, millions of pictures are taken and an astonishing array of new films, cameras and imaging systems enter the market. One of the great attractions of the photography field is the ease with which basic skills can be learned. Unlike some of the older arts that take years of training to produce an acceptable product, anyone can quickly learn how to take a picture; however, photographic techniques must be mastered before you can become an accomplished photographer; therefore, mastery of the basic fundamentals is the foundation upon which you will build your photographic and professional skills as a Navy Photographer’s Mate. Lesson 1: Photographic Composition, Center of interest, Subject placement, Simplicity, Viewpoint and camera angle, Balance. Appendix: Subject and Rule of Thirds. Photographic composition is the pleasing arrangement of subject matter elements within thepicture area.
How to Use Figure to Ground Art Theory in Photography Light figure on a dark ground, Florence, Italy © Adam Marelli What is figure to ground? Why can you recognize an amazing photograph but struggle to produce one? Sure there are better cameras, advanced lighting techniques, and endless theories on composition, but very often the root of the problem lies in a simple concept that is often missed. In three words, we can sum up almost every cover of Vogue, National Geographic, and the New York Times – Figure to ground. What is this term, what does it mean, and where does it come from? If you were ever curious to see masterful use of figure to ground, try revisiting the photographers you already love like Steve McCurry, Richard Avedon, or Henri Cartier-Bresson. Dark figure on a light ground, Florence, Italy © Adam Marelli It goes by many names Figure to ground has a multitude of names; subject to background, figure separation, foreground to background, and the list goes on. Light figure on dark ground, Berlin, Germany © Adam Marelli Camouflage 1.
20 Composition Techniques That Will Improve Your Photos There are no unbreakable rules when it comes to how you should compose your photographs. After all, who likes rules except for your old school principal or heads of H.R. departments? There are however, several guidelines you can use to help improve the composition of your photos. First of all we have to define what is meant by ‘composition’. We’ll start with probably the most well-known composition technique: The Rule of Thirds. #1. So I’ve just told you that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to composition and then the first thing I write about is the ‘rule’ of thirds. The idea is to place the important element(s) of the scene along one or more of the lines or where the lines intersect. In this photo, I’ve placed the horizon roughly along the bottom third of the frame and the biggest and closest trees along the line to the right. In this photo of the Old Town Square in Prague, I’ve placed the horizon along the top third of the frame. #2. #3. #4. #5. #6. #7. #8. #9. #10.