COMPOSING PHOTOS CONSCIOUSLY

Anton Gorlin
Sep 6, 2018 · 3 min read

We’ve all been there — awestruck by a single shot from a whole trip because it somehow looks amazing. For some reason, it stood out comparing it to all others you did back then. There was something special about the framing, the angle, the alignment of all the elements that made it work. What was it, and more importantly, how to reproduce?

Take note of how the story changes with each crop

The answer is the Composition. There are numerous “rules” or I’d rather say, recommendations helping us to achieve what we want, to show what we see and to hide what is distracting. There is nothing forcing you to use these rules and some rebels keep pointing it out but it’s better to use a headlamp rather than trudge through the forest at night without one. You’ll know how to break the rules tastefully and in a better way if you actually know what to break.

DECOMPOSING COMPOSITION

The Composition consists of two major elements or sections.

1. Alignment — how you arrange all objects within a frame. This includes all lines, shapes, visual flows, background and foreground relations, etc. Alignment is used to either create balance or tension, to lead the viewer’s eye in a certain direction or to the certain object, to add dynamism or emphasize stability, to tell a story.

Composition made of multiple triangles

2. Building Blocks — what you use to create a proper alignment. This includes solid lines, suggested and broken lines, direction, visual mass, shadows, colours, brightness and contrast areas, faces, textures, and patterns.

Broken line composition

Every single rule tells you how to arrange elements to achieve your desired effect. There is no right or wrong here because you may want drama in one shot and calm in another, conflict and one and teamwork in another, etc. The next section covers a few composition techniques, which are easy to follow.

COMPOSITION TECHNIQUES: DIAGONALS

Let’s start off with a well-known composition technique and look at it a bit differently. There is always a way to enhance and to find your own approach with given fundamentals.

The easiest method to build a striking photo is to use diagonals. I’m sure you know and use this method. But does it make a difference which corner diagonals are coming from? It surely does. And I’ll add more to it — the direction also affects your story. The direction is typically suggested by the objects shown in the photo.

Diagonal direction for storytelling

These names and meanings originate from the psychological perception of ascending/descending diagonals. We usually scan a photo left-to-right and it affects how we perceive those diagonals. The ascending one assumes some challenge to overcome, while the descending one is opposite. The example below illustrates what I mean here.

1. That guy is about to start climbing. A challenging way ahead.

2. He’s made it!

3. An easy downhill walk ahead.

4. He’s made it down and having a rest.

So, by just flipping the photo, you can change to the overall look and feel and eclose a different meaning into it.

S-shaped curve for the leading line

COMPLETE COMPOSITION GUIDE

This article shows a tiny bit of the complete photography composition guide I have written. Please read the full article at my site: Photography Composition.

Written by

Lightning struck thinker, landscape photographer, environmentalist, coffee and fantasy book lover.

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