Proud Photography Blog

Composition is one of the key factors in photography.  If you are wondering why your photograph is looking good but not great, it could be because of the composition.  Even when we are presented with something spectacular, a good photographer should do more than point and shoot – he should be able to take the photograph in a interesting way, from a good angle.

It doesn’t matter what kind of camera you have, composition is about understanding what is pleasing to the eye and what isn’t.  There are rules you should know about but feel free to break them once you are comfortable with the camera.

The rule of thirds

The first rule that art students learn is the rule of thirds.  The rule of thirds says that an image can be split into three parts by equidistant lines, vertically and horizontally (making a grid of 9 squares).

Generally when we take a photograph, we want something of interest or the focal point to be somewhere around centre of the image or right to the side of it.  We don’t want something to be placed in an area that is neither the centre or between the centre and the side as it may look odd to the viewer.

If there is empty space, remember that there is good empty space and bad empty space.  Some empty spaces give a sense of say, vastness, some come across as pointless because they don’t add to the overall feel of the photograph.

The rule of thirds is not something that is completely set in stone but it is a good starting point.  When you start taking photographs, keep it in mind that you can also break convention by going against the rule of thirds.

Simplicity

Generally speaking less is more.  Is this the same in photography? Generally, yes but it depends.

When it comes to composition, use your imagination and move around to see what works best.  For example with a landscape, you may see a great amount of space, so do we include all of it?

Beware of including lots of space without giving the viewer some context (such as a tree so that people can realise how big the space is).
On the other hand, you don’t want a photograph that is full of distractions – for example, a portrait with something bright in the background.

Some images work when full of detail, such as macro shots that show up lots of fine detail – here the composition shows off patterns and shapes.
Other images should be clean and focus on one area only, such as the portrait.  It’s important to make sure there are no odd distractions on the person or in the background and these distract from the focal point.
Remember – it’s all about paying attention and deciding what looks best – if your eye is drawn in by an interesting object but not distracted by anything else then you have a strong image.