Composition
Design 350: Digital Photography
Golden Mean: Also called the golden ratio/Fibonacci spiral, this creates balance within photography, and helps the viewer to be guided through the photo with ease. (Not being stuck anywhere and not sure where to look.) It is said that it is best to set the object in the smallest square, having the rest of the object on the rest of the spiral so the viewer follows it.
The Rule of Thirds: This is similar to the golden mean, and is based on the composition of a photograph. The rule of thirds helps to make your photographs interesting by where the focus point of the object is placed. Within these nine squares, there are 4 intersection points, and within these points are where your subject should be. This is going to make the photo more visually appealing.
Balancing Elements: Balancing elements is a composition technique that has all of the objects the same visual weight. There are two types of balance, formal and informal. Formal balance is symmetrical balance of the same weight on each side of the photograph. Informal Balance is when objects that are not similar in weight are taken on each side of the frame. This can make it balanced.
Leading Lines: Leading lines is a compositional tool that helps guide the viewer with lines to the main subject. These lines could start at the bottom of the page and go up, or from the foreground to the background. If these leading lines connect, it can create depth for the viewer.
Symmetry: Symmetry is even or balanced on both sides, and is very comforting/perfect to many people and is pleasing to look at. There are 4 different types of common symmetry. Vertical symmetry is where an object is split down the middle vertically and has the same part of the object on both sides. Horizontal symmetry is where the object is split down the horizontal way showing the same image on both sides. An example of this is landscapes. Radial symmetry involves the symmetry of circles, this can include man made objects or found naturally occuring in nature. Reflective symmetry can be found in reflective objects like mirrors, water, and buildings.
Patterns: Patterns are a repetition of a certain object or design repeating itself. In photography this can be shown by zooming in on the patterns. Patterns in photography can sometimes break pattern. An example is finding something that went outside of the pattern to return to the pattern again, or to find a pattern that breaks to find a completely separate pattern next to it.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/719098265478554388/
Viewpoint: Viewpoint, similar to vantage point, is the angle at which the photographer takes the image. Depending on the angle the person takes the photo, the composition changes. Changing the image from eye level, is going to increase the composition of the photo.
Background: The background shows important information about where you are. The background can be blurry to only focus on the subject. The background should not be too messy, so it is important to pay attention to that as well as the subject. The background can be simple, blurry, used to tell a story, to show depth, contrast, and even have very little background.
Depth: Depth is the feeling of space in the photo. So, for example the object is closer to the viewer than the object in the background, this shows a sense of depth. This can be a bit more exciting for the viewer because of the sense of depth. An example of this is as I said above, a different viewpoint, leading lines, a wider angle, and the layers of a landscape.
Framing: Framing is putting the attention on a certain subject by taking things out of the frame to focus on the subject. Framing your pictures can give the photo context on what your photo is about, it leads the eye of the viewer, becomes more intriguing, and adds depth.
Cropping: Cropping can take away some parts of your photograph that you do not like and can focus on the subject even more. Cropping can help to be specific about your subject instead of multiple subjects. Cropping can even change the frame of the original, to a better cropped subject with a better frame.
