COMPOSITION

RULE OF THIRDS Divide up the image into 9 parts as follows: If the main subject is placed at one of the intersecting points, you will create an image that is more visually interesting. If the image is off-center, it will be more dynamic.

RULE OF THIRDS

RULE OF ODDS Among odd numbers, the favourite is the number three. Think of the Three Musketeers, Three Blind Mice, the Three Stooges, and the Three Little Pigs. There are three Charlie’s Angels, three Power Puff Girls; and Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Donald Duck’s nephews). Lest we forget, the third time’s the charm, and three strikes and you’re out. The eye also tends to prefer compositions influenced by threes – a point proven by the continuing influence of the Rule of Thirds.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE Photos have more impact if they are not cluttered.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

GETTING IN CLOSE Getting in close helps to simplify and isolate the subject.

GETTING IN CLOSE

FILLING THE FRAME Filling your frame with your point of interest will not only eliminate background distractions, it will also have a more intimate and significant impact on the overall results of your photograph. When you are filling your frame, ask yourself what you’re trying to illustrate. For example, taking a portrait photograph – is it necessary to include the whole person, or would it be more effective to frame just the person’s face. If your goal is to capture your subject’s happiness, having their entire body in the frame will pull attention away from the facial features and result in a far less intimate photo then if you were to move in close to your subject and fill your frame with only the face. This will illustrate details such as the smile and laugh lines and can make the photograph come to life. Make sure what you’re filling your frame with has purpose, otherwise it’s just a distraction.

SELECTIVE FOCUS Use shallow focus to isolate your subject from the background.

VISUALIZATION Try to see in your mind the photo that you want to take.

PERSPECTIVE Try different perspectives for a different view of the world. Child’s Perspective

PERSPECTIVE High Perspective

PERSPECTIVE Oblique or canted Perspective

PERSPECTIVE Bird’s Eye View

PERSPECTIVE Normal Perspective

FRAME WITHIN A FRAME A quick way to focus attention on a particular subject and to enhance the sensation of depth in a scene is to use some object or shape in the foreground as a frame within a frame, such as the overhanging bough that frames a landscape.

FRAME WITHIN A FRAME Many other creative possibilities include doorways, windows, archways—almost anything that lets you look through one thing at another.

HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL FRAMING 90% of of the amateur photographer’s pictures are horizontal.

HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL FRAMING So, why would you ever want to shoot verticals? To bring a feeling of dignity to the subject. Such are the emotions evoked by the vertical line; it conveys strength and power.

NO HORIZON The way you frame and crop your shots has power to give a sense of size to a scene that may not actually be there. For example – the shot to the left of a field of tulips is framed in such a way that there is not beginning or end to the tulips anywhere inside the frame. While the field tulips may in fact end just beyond the edge of the frame in any direction – the feeling that this framing gives is that of a never ending sea of tulips. To get the effect the photographer has managed to get the angles right so that there’s no horizon and they’ve filled the frame with their subject.

NO HORIZON The first shot actually contains a lot more flowers than the second one – but because there’s a break in the flowers with the horizon there’s a sense that the flowers are limited to a certain area. Whereas the second scene could actually have a lot less flowers in it – but they go on and on in the mind of those viewing the shot. Why would you even not want to include horizon line when photographing a landscape? The first image suffers from the inclusion of the sky. There is nothing wrong with including the sky but when the sky serves as an exit point, leading the eye out of the photograph – as it does here – it should be eliminated from the frame. By limiting the emphasis of the photo to one subject (by excluding the sky) you can contain the eye within the picture borders, and it doesn’t wander away from the subject, at least, not for long.

THE RIGHT THIRD – LEAD ROOM Leaving some lead room in front of the runner makes the photo look more active. It also puts more attention to the sunset. Leaving room behind the runner makes her appear to be almost done running. Lead room is the space in front of an object. This element is usually used with the rule of thirds to create a more interesting photo. By leaving room in front of the subject, the view will see that is has somewhere to go. It’s natural for the eye to “enter” a space from the left and flow to the right.

DIAGONAL LINE Leading lines are a very effective composition tool. They provide a path to guide the viewer’s eye throughout the image. Adding a diagonal element to the composition of any image will almost always make it a stronger and more dynamic photograph.